Guidelines for essay writing style and format are governed by your School, and can usually be found in your course outline. You should check with your lecturer, tutor, or research supervisor for further information or ask at your School.
If you are having trouble formatting the running head etc, you may like to use Microsoft Word's Student APA Style Paper 7th edition (uses Times New Roman font) or Professional APA Style Paper 7th edition (uses Calibri font) template. Please note that this template may not comply strictly with your School's requirements and may need to be modified but it will provide a starting point for the formatted essay.
- Open Microsoft Word (Click File > New if you already have Word open)
- On the templates page, type "APA" in the search box at the top of the window.
- The range of APA formatted Word documents are shown - choose the APA style paper of your choice and double click to open it.
- In your new document, click into the different sections to override the default explanatory text. As APA 7th no longer requires a running head, double click into the header space and delete the running head command.
*Note that this template may also be used to format Chicago essays or dissertations, as Chicago is not overly prescriptive about format and nominates the APA Manual of Publication as a publishing authority.
Links & Files
- How do I format my assignment? Opens in new window
- How do I format hanging indent in Word? Opens in new window
- What is a title page for APA style and what is the correct formatting for it? Opens in new window
- How do you double space a reference list? Opens in new window
- Purdue University OWL - APA sample paper Opens in new window
