APA Style and Writing
APA Style is a set of rules for writing academic papers, developed by the American Psychological Association. It provides a standard for formatting documents, citing sources, and structuring ideas clearly and concisely. Originally developed for psychology, APA Style is now widely used across the social sciences, education, nursing, and business.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What disciplines use APA Style?
How do I cite a website in APA?
Use this format:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of webpage. Site name. URL
Is an abstract always required?
Can I use bullet points in APA Style?
KEY TERMS
Title Page
Your title page must include:
Title (bolded and centered)
Author name(s)
Institutional affiliation
Course number and name
Instructor’s name
Abstract
A 150–250 word summary of your paper. It should appear on a new page, titled “Abstract,” and not be indented.
In-Text Citations
APA uses the author–date citation style.
Headings and Subheadings
APA provides five levels of headings. Example:
Level 1: Centered, Bold, Title Case
Level 2: Left-Aligned, Bold, Title Case
Level 3: Left-Aligned, Bold Italic, Title Case
Level 4: Indented, Bold, Title Case, Period. Start text after.
Level 5: Indented, Bold Italic, Title Case, Period. Start text after.