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APA 7 student paper

APA Format (7th Edition): Title Page, References & Rules

How to lay out an APA 7 student paper, from the title page to the reference list, with an annotated sample page and a checklist to run before you submit.

Annotated sample pageChecklistReference list rules

The page, annotated

Tap a numbered marker to see the rule for that part of the page.

1
Screen Time and Sleep Quality in First-Year University Students
Maya R. Thompson
Department of Psychology, Northfield University
PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology
Dr. Samuel Okoye
March 3, 2026

Rule 1 of 5

Page number

Top-right corner of every page, starting with 1 on the title page. Student papers have no running head.

APA paper format, step by step

These are the student-paper rules from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition). Your instructor’s instructions take priority where they differ.

General layout

US Letter or A4 page, 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins, double spacing throughout, left-aligned text with a ragged right edge, and the first line of each paragraph indented 0.5 inch.

Headings

APA has five heading levels. Level 1 is centred, bold, title case. Level 2 is flush left, bold, title case. Level 3 is flush left, bold italic. Don’t label the introduction “Introduction”; the paper title at the top of page 2 does that job.

The reference page

Put references on a new page with the heading References centred and bold. Each entry gets a 0.5-inch hanging indent, the list is double-spaced and alphabetical by the first author’s surname, and works by the same author are ordered by year, oldest first.

In-text citations

Cite every source in the text with author and year, (Thompson, 2024), and add a page number for direct quotes, (Thompson, 2024, p. 12). Quotes of 40 words or more become indented block quotes with no quotation marks.

Pre-submission checklist

0 of 10 checked

Need the references? The APA citation generator formats each entry, and the citation checker reviews a list you already have.

Questions students ask

What font does APA 7 require?
APA 7 allows several readable fonts: 11-pt Calibri, Arial or Lucida Sans Unicode, 12-pt Times New Roman, 11-pt Georgia, or 10-pt Computer Modern. Use the same font throughout.
Do student papers need a running head?
No. Since the 7th edition, student papers only need a page number in the top right corner. Professional papers submitted for publication still use a running head.
Is an abstract required?
Not for student papers unless your instructor asks for one. Professional papers need an abstract of up to 250 words on its own page after the title page.
How do I format the APA reference page?
Start a new page, put “References” in bold and centred at the top, double-space every entry, use a 0.5-inch hanging indent, and order entries alphabetically by the first author’s surname.