Northern Illinois University
Effective Writing Practices Tutorial

APA Format Guidelines

Information presented here on general APA formatting guidelines follows the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed., and basic academic standards. Where applicable, the manual sections are included in brackets.

Font [8.03]	Use a uniform (serif) font and size, preferably 12-point Times New Roman.
Header [8.03]	The header, the top of each page, should include the running head and page numbers. The running head, an abbreviation of the title in 50 characters or less, should be typed in all caps and left-aligned. On the title page only, introduce it with the words "Running head" followed by a colon. For example: Running head: ABBREVIATED TITLE Insert page numbers, beginning with the title page, in the upper right corner using the program software.
Line Spacing [8.03]	Double-space the entire document with no extra space between paragraphs, sections, headings, quotations, or references.
Margins [8.03]	Margins should be uniform and at least 1 inch.
Paper	Type and print the document on 8.5-by-11-inch paper.
Paragraphs [8.03]	Indent the first line of each paragraph (except the first paragraph of the abstract or block quotations) by 0.5 inches, and left-align all paragraphs.
Title [2.01; 2.02]	Include the title on a separate page. It should be no more than 12 words and centered horizontally on the top half of the page. Only capitalize the first letters of major words. [2.01] Underneath the title, include the author's name and the institutional affiliation. [2.02] Repeat the full title above the first paragraph in the document.

MLA Format Guidelines

The following guidelines for MLA format use traditional academic standards outlined in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed. (New York: MLA, 2003). Because the current edition of the handbook (8th ed.) does not cover manuscript formatting, most academics default to these guidelines.

Font	Use a uniform typeface and size, preferably 12-pt Times New Roman.
Heading	The heading includes four lines of information: author's name, instructor's name, course number, and date. This information needs to be left-aligned and double-spaced at the top of the first page.
Margins	Use uniform 1 inch margins.
Page Numbers	Include the author's last name followed by the page number in the header, right-aligned.
Paper	Type and print the document on 8.5-by-11-inch paper.
Paragraphs	Indent each paragraph by half an inch.
Spacing	The document, including the works cited list, should be double-spaced with no extra space between paragraphs, quotations, or references.
Title	Center the title beneath the header and above the first paragraph. Only capitalize the first letter of major words. No separate title page is needed.

Previous

Next