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's APA Style Paper template (based on APA 6th edition). 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 and double click to open it.
- In your new document, click into the different sections to override the default explanatory text, including the pre-formatted running head (for which you need to type the short (3-4 words) version of your essay title). The page numbering is also pre-formatted.
Links & Files
- Downloadable pre-formatted APA style report (6th edition) template
- How do I format my assignment?
- How do I format hanging indent in Word?
- What is a title page for APA style and what is the correct formatting for it?
- How do I format the running head for my APA essay?
- How do you double space a reference list?
- Purdue University OWL - APA sample paper