Steps to Formatting Your APA Research Paper

All written assignments throughout your program at Everest are required to use the American Psychological Association (APA), 6th edition guidelines. This guide will take you through the entire process of using the tools in Microsoft Word to set up your document following APA formatting guidelines.

Table of Contents I. Setting up the Paper in APA Style Format

A. Preparing Your Word document

B. Creating Your Running Head

C. Inserting Page Numbers

D. Centering & Creating Your Title Page

E. First Page Header

F. Starting Your Paper

II. Adding In-Text Citations

III. Creating & Updating Your Reference Page

IV. Using Word APA Templates

Steps to Format your Research Paper

1. Open a new document in Word 2007.

2. To set this document up properly for APA style: A. Select Page Layout B. Choose the Margin setting C. Click the Margins pull down menu and select Normal, which is the setting for one inch on all

sides, top, bottom, right and left.

3. Format Font to set the default APA font. A. Click the Home tab B. Locate the Font box C. Click on the arrow to see a list of the Font names and select the correct APA style font,

which is Times New Roman. D. Click on the arrow to see a list of the Font sizes and select 12.

4. Format Spacing to the required Double Space. A. Click the Home tab B. Locate the Paragraph box C. Click on the arrow to see a list of the Line Spacing options and select the correct APA style

spacing which is 2.0.

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5. Create your Running Head A. Click on the Insert tab B. Click the Header options arrow

C. Select the first option in the drop down menu, which is "Blank"

D. In the options block, check the box for “Different First Page” E. Type the words "Running Head" (Title page only), followed by a colon, and hit the space bar. Type in a shortened version of your paper's title (50 characters), in ALL CAPS

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6. Inserting Page Numbers A. Tap the tab key to place your cursor key at the far right margin, directly in line with the

one inch marker B. Click on the Insert tab C. Select the Page Number options arrow D. In the drop down menu, select the “Current Position” option E. Then select Plain Number

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7. Centering the title page A. Double click on the word "Header" or anywhere in the body of the document to exit

the page header area

a. If the pager ruler is not already visible click on the View tab b. In the Show/Hide area check the box to the left of Ruler and the page rulers

should appear

B. Press the enter key to move your cursor down the page until it arrives at the number 2 on your vertical margin, about one third of the way down the page

C. Click on the Home tab D. In the alignment tools section, click on center alignment

8. Create your title page (using standard capitalization) A. Type out the full title of your paper, hit the enter key B. Type in your name, hit enter again C. Type in the name of your school, hit enter one last time D. Type in the course and section number for your course E. Click the Insert tab again F. Select Page Break

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9. First Page Header A. Double click in the header area on the words "type text"

B. Type your abbreviated title in all caps C. Tap the tab key to place your cursor key at the far right margin, directly in line with the

one inch marker

D. Click on the Insert tab again E. Choose the Page Number options arrow F. Click on the "Current Position" option G. Then select Plain Number

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10. Starting Your Paper A. Exit the page header area by double clicking either on the word "Header" or anywhere

in the body of your document

B. Click on the Home tab C. Select center alignment

D. Type in your full title again using standard capitalization rules, hit enter once to double space

E. Click on the Home tab again F. This time selecting the left alignment option G. Hit tab once to indent your paragraph (It's very important not to hit the enter key at

the end of a line) H. Hit Enter to start a new paragraph and hit Tab once to indent

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11. In-Text Citations A. Locate the References tab B. Make sure Style is set to APA C. Select Insert Citation D. Click “Add New Source”

E. Click the “Type of Source” arrow and select the appropriate type of source you will be citing

F. Fill in the fields on the pop up screen G. Click OK

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12. Create Your Reference Page A. Select the Insert tab B. Click Page Break

C. Go up to the References tab D. Make sure Style is set to APA E. Select Bibliography F. Select "Works Cited"

G. Once it appears on the page, rename it "References"

H. If your citations aren’t automatically spaced (see below screenshot for example), hit Enter at the end of each full citation to add a space between your sources

I. In APA style References Pages, full citations should be indented on every line after the first line of the citation, select the text you want to indent

J. Go to the hanging indent triangle in the top horizontal rule bar K. Left click the triangle, and drag it to the one half inch mark

13. Updating Your Reference Page A. If you need to go back and add citations after setting up your References Page, enter

them into the text of your paper in the same manner you entered previous citations (see section # 11)

B. Return to your References Page, click anywhere on the Reference text C. Click "Update Citations and Bibliography"

D. You'll need to re-enter the spaces between your citations and the hanging indentations

E. Congratulations! You’ve completed the basics of using the tools in Microsoft Word to set up your paper using APA formatting. This is a skill you will use throughout your academic career here at Everest. Please be sure to save a copy of this guide and refer to it whenever writing a paper using APA formatting. Once you have completed writing the content of your paper, be sure to go back through it and run a thorough proof for APA, spelling, and grammar errors.

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*NOTE* This is an optional APA template to review and is not required to format your document.

Word APA Templates

A. The Microsoft template won't necessarily be 100% up to date with the most current APA formatting

B. Double check it with your own APA knowledge and make any adjustments C. Pull up a web browser (such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox) D. Search for "Office 2007 APA template"

E. Once you find an APA style template by Microsoft, go ahead and download it

F. Launch the download by double clicking it G. Some things will need to be changed such as placing the appropriate information in the

header and on the title page