Formatting Your APA-Style Paper in Microsoft Word 2013

A professor may require that you format your paper according to APA

(American Psychological Association) guidelines. Here is a brief guide:

Basic Formatting:

Set the font to 12-point Times New Roman.

1. From the Home Tab, select Times New Roman in the Font group.

2. From the Home tab, select 12 for the font size in the Font group.

Set the page margins to one inch all around.

1. Select the Page Layout tab.

2. Under line spacing, click Double. Also, check the box next to “Don’t add space between

paragraphs of the same style.”

Title Page:

APA calls for a separate

title page. Click on

“Insert” and “Page

Number” and then click

on “Top of Page.”

Click on the option for

the page number to go

box). After that, type a

colon and a shortened

version of your title in ALL CAPS. In the right hand corner, type a number 1. Click outside of the header

box to deactivate the header. Next, in the center of the page, type your full paper title, then your name,

and then the name of the college. Your professor may also want you to add the course name and the date.

This information should be in the top half of the page. An “Author Note,” such as the one listed on the

OWL Purdue website, is optional for undergraduate class papers.

Next Step: Once you have completed your title page, tab down to the second page. On the second page,

you should see a “2” in the top right corner. Double-click at the top of the second page to activate the

Generally, an abstract will cover the major objective/purpose, main points of research including the

process, the findings, and the conclusion. You can also define key words and acronyms in this section.

The Main Body:

Formatting:

If your assignment does

not require an abstract,

then you will begin your

paper on the page directly

after the title page. In

main sections of your

paper, such as

“discussion”, “findings”,

and “conclusion.”

In-text citations: With APA citations, you will need to use the author-date method. The year of research

is especially pertinent to scientific research, so the year will always follow the author’s name. If you are

directly quoting from a source or paraphrasing, you will need page numbers, as well (although with some

online sources you may not have page numbers). Notice that the closing period follows the in-text

citation. If you are simply referring to another work or study but not quoting or paraphrasing from it, then

Referring to an idea:

Smith (2013) writes on the importance of efficient organization during the research process.

Whether you are using a direct quote or referring to an idea from an outside source, you will need to

provide an in-text citation as well as an entry for each source on the References page (see next page).

Long Quotations: Quotations that are 40 words or longer need to be set off in a block-quotation style.

Each line should be indented one-half inch from the left margin, and no quotation marks are used.

Double-spacing should be used, and the in-text citation should occur after the closing punctuation mark.

Annotated Bibliography:

Please see the handout on annotated bibliographies on the ARC front desk

reference desk of any library) for help on how to cite specific sources.

On the following page is a step by step list for creating a “References” list using MS-Word.

1. Force a page break at the end of your paper to start your references page instead of typing it in a

separate document (you may forget it when you turn in your paper). To do this, move the cursor

to the very end of your document. Click the Insert tab, then Page break under the Pages group.

Click the Center icon on the Home tab under the Paragraph group.

2. Type References (or Reference if you’ve used only one source). Press Enter.

3. Click the Left Align icon on the Home tab under the Paragraph group.

*Disclaimer: The Middle Georgia State University SSC offers this handout as a guide only. Please

defer to the requirements of your professor when they differ from the guidelines presented here.