Formatting a Table in APA Style

Table Number
1. Ensure that your page margins are correct (1.5 on the left and 1 for all others).
2. Enter the word Table with the table number. Note that there is no period after the
number.
3. Open the Paragraph Format window in Word. (In 2003 and earlier, select Format and
then Paragraph. In Word 2007, select the Home tab and then click the arrow to the
right of the word Paragraph.) Under Spacing, select these options:

Before: 12 points (This will ensure a triple space between the text preceding
your table and the table number without your having to put in an extra hard
return.)

After: 0 points

Line spacing: Double

Heres what you have so far:

Table 1
Table Title
1. Enter your table title in italics. Capitalize all major wordsall nouns, verbs,
adjectives, adverbs, and pronounsand ALL words of four letters or more. If a term
is hyphenated, capitalize both words in the term. If the title wraps, put a hard return at
the end of the first line.
2. Under Paragraph Format, Spacing, select these options:

Before: 0 points

After: 6 points

Line Spacing: Single

Heres what you have so far:

Table 1
Storekeeper Cycle 192 Occupational Portion of E-4 Exam Score Means for GENDET
and Designated Sailors
1|Page

Table Setup
1. Determine the number of rows and columns you will need. Note these two special
circumstances in the completed sample table at the end of this document:

An extra column has been added between the two sets of data to provide
spacing between the data sets being compared. This is not necessary if you
have only one data set.

An extra row has been added to the header to accommodate the column
spanners (headings that span multiple columns).

2. Create your table.

3. Select your table and turn off all borders. You can use the borders icon:
4. With your table selected, open the Paragraph Format window and select the
following:

Left alignment

No indents

Spacing before: 12 points

Spacing after: 0 points

Single line spacing

5. Still with your table selected, go to Table Properties and in the cell properties, set
your vertical alignment to Bottom.
Heres what you have so far (dotted lines added to show cell boundaries):
Table 1
Storekeeper Cycle 192 Occupational Portion of E-4 Exam Score Means for GENDET
and Designated Sailors

2|Page

Heading Row
1. Insert a heading for each column of data, including the stub (the left-hand column). If
you plan to have column spanners, enter your column headings in the second row.

Keep all headings short but meaningful.

A column head should not be much wider than the data in the column. If the
head is too long and cannot be shortened, insert a hard return where you want
the text to break and then type the remaining text.

Use standard abbreviations and symbols for nontechnical terms, such as no.
for number and % for percent, and use statistical symbols.

Nonstandard abbreviations and acronyms may also be used but must be

explained in the table notes.

2. Capitalize only the first word, proper nouns, and any acronyms/abbreviations.

Note that the word Cycle is capitalized. If there had been no number after
Cycle, it would have been lowercased. However, the number indicates that
the cycle is part of a numbered series, which is always capitalized in APA.

Also note that statistical symbols are italicized.

3. Select the header row that you have just filled. Using the border icon, select a bottom
border.
Heres what you have so far (dotted lines added to show cell boundaries):
Table 1
Storekeeper Cycle 192 Occupational Portion of E-4 Exam Score Means for GENDET
and Designated Sailors

Storekeeper
Cycle 192
n

SE

SE

3|Page

Column Spanners
1. Many tables do not have column spanners. If yours does, then first merge the cells
above the columns that you want to span.
2. Enter the titles of your column spanners, following the same capitalization rules as for
column heads.
3. Select center alignment and a bottom border for each column spanner.
Heres what you have so far (dotted lines added to show cell boundaries):
Table 1
Storekeeper Cycle 192 Occupational Portion of E-4 Exam Score Means for GENDET
and Designated Sailors
GENDET
Storekeeper
Cycle 192
n

Designated
SE

SE

4|Page

Stub Column
1. Insert the text for the stub column (left-hand column). In quantitative studies, the stub
column generally consists of a list of the major independent variables.
2. Follow the capitalization rules for headings.
3. Ensure that all items in the column are grammatically parallel (all noun phrases, all
verb phrases, all adjectives, or all adverbs) and that they are all described or
categorized by the stub head.
Heres what you have so far (dotted lines added to show cell boundaries):
Table 1
Storekeeper Cycle 192 Occupational Portion of E-4 Exam Score Means for GENDET
and Designated Sailors
GENDET
Storekeeper
Cycle 192
n

Designated
SE

SE

GENDET
vs. total
OJT
GENDET
vs. 6
months
OJT
GENDET
vs. 12+
months
OJT

5|Page

Data Columns
1. Insert the text for the remaining data columns. Textual data follows the capitalization
rules for headings. Ensure that all items in each column are grammatically and
conceptually parallel.
2. Format numerical data as follows:

Horizontally align right, and vertically align by decimal point.

Have equal decimal places for all numbers in a column. Different columns
may have different numbers of decimal places.

Add an asterisk to indicate values for which the null hypothesis was rejected.

Enter a dash in any cell with missing data and explain it in a general note. If
data are not applicable for a cell, leave the cell blank.

Heres what you have so far (dotted lines added to show cell boundaries):
Table 1
Storekeeper Cycle 192 Occupational Portion of E-4 Exam Score Means for GENDET
and Designated Sailors
GENDET
Storekeeper
Cycle 192
n

Designated
SE

SE

GENDET
vs. total
OJT

31

58.40

2.59

81

77.08*

1.60

GENDET
vs. 6
months
OJT

31

58.55

2.49

26

79.16*

2.72

GENDET
vs. 12+
months
OJT

31

58.50

2.66

55

76.01*

2.00

6|Page

Final Formatting
1. Select the first row and then select a top border.
2. Select the bottom row and select a bottom border.
In the Paragraph Format
window, enter 3 points in the After block under Spacing.
3. Click and drag the column lines to adjust the widths of the columns. The stub column
is often the widest column. Try to give it enough space so that the text does not wrap.
If the text is too long, insert a hard return and indent the second line 3 spaces.
4. Text tables with multiple lines of wrapped text require special formatting:

Select all data rows. In the Paragraph Format window, under Line spacing,
select double.

Select all but the top data row. In the Paragraph Format window, change the
12 points Before to 0.

Do not indent the second or subsequent lines in a text table cell.

5. Center the column headers over the column data.

Heres what you have so far:
Table 1
Storekeeper Cycle 192 Occupational Portion of E-4 Exam Score Means for GENDET
and Designated Sailors
GENDET
Storekeeper Cycle 192

Designated

SE

SE

GENDET vs. total OJT

31

58.40

2.59

81 77.08*

1.60

GENDET vs. 6 months OJT

31

58.55

2.49

26 79.16*

2.72

GENDET vs. 12+ months OJT

31

58.50

2.66

55 76.01*

2.00

Notes
There are three types of notes: general notes, specific notes, and probability notes, and
they are sequenced in that order. A table may have no notes, a single note, or any
combination of notes.
7|Page

All notes are double spaced.

Notes may be formatted in 10-point font.

All notes are complete sentences and end with a period. Equations are sentences.

General notes qualify, explain, or provide information about the table as a whole.
General notes end with an explanation of abbreviations or uncommon symbols.
1. Enter the word Note in italics, followed by a period.
2. In the Paragraph Format window, under Spacing, enter 12 points for Before.
3. Enter the text of the note, following standard APA conventions.
4. Enter explanations of abbreviations or symbols as equations, separated by a
semicolon. Space before and after the = sign. Begin the explanation after the = sign
with a lowercase letter unless it is a proper name, and end it with a period.
Example: GENDET = general detailed; OJT = on-the-job training.
5. If you are reproducing or adapting all or part of a table from a copyrighted source,
you must obtain written permission to use it and you must include a full citation in the
general notes. Here are two examples:
Data from a table found in a journal article:
Note. The data in column 1 are from Feedback Channels: Using Social Presence
Theory to Compare Voice Mail to E-Mail, by M. Keil and R. D. Johnson, 2002,
Journal of Information Systems Education, 13, p. 298. Copyright 2002 by
ABI/INFORM Global. Adapted with permission.
Table reprinted from a book:
Note. From Online Learning Communities: Common Ground and Critical
Differences in Designing Technical Environments, (p. 22) by M. Riel and L. Polin,
2004, in S. A. Barab, R. Kling, and J. H. Gray (Eds.), Designing for Virtual
Communities in the Service of Learning, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press. Reprinted with permission
6. If you want to indicate significant differences between two or more data entries in a
tablefor example, if you used a Tukey test to compare the meansuse lowercase
subscripts in each data cell and explain the subscripts in the general notes. For
instance, in a table with 16 means as data entries, 12 of the entries might be followed
by a subscripted a (e.g., 5.47a) to indicate that a Tukey test revealed no significant
difference between them, and the other 4 entries would be followed by a subscripted
b (e.g., 2.09b) to indicate a significant difference between them and the other 12
means. The general note would explain this as follows:
8|Page

Note. Means with different subscripts differ significantly at p < .01 in the Tukey
honestly significant difference comparison.
Specific notes refer to a particular column, row, or individual cell. Within the table,
indicate specific notes with a lowercase, superscripted letter (e.g., a, b, c) at the end of data
in the appropriate cell. To refer to a column, enter the letter at the end of the column head.
To refer to a row, enter the letter at the end of the text in the stub column for that row. To
refer to a cell, enter the letter at the end of the text in that cell.
1. Sequence superscripts from left to right and top to bottom, starting at the top left.
2. Sequence the specific notes horizontally, not vertically.
Example: an = 25. bThis participant did not complete the trials.
Probability notes indicate the results of tests of significance. Include a probability note
only when relevant to specific data in the table. (If the results shown in the table were
insufficiently significant to reject the null hypothesis, do not include a probability note.)
1. Use a single asterisk (*) to indicate the largest probability, a double asterisk (**) to
indicate the next largest, and a triple asterisk (***) to indicate the smallest.
Example: *p < .05. **p < .01. *** p < .001.
2. The number of asterisks should be consistent throughout your dissertation. For
instance, if your first table includes significant results at .05 and .01, and your second
table includes significant results at .01 and .001, then use a double asterisk for .01 in
your second table, even though it is the largest probability for that table.
3. To distinguish between two-tailed and one-tailed tests in the same table, use asterisks
for the two-tailed p values and a superscripted dagger () for one-tailed p values.
Example: *p < .05, two-tailed. **p < .01, two-tailed. p < .05, one-tailed.
4. Be sure to italicize p, enter a space before and after the < sign, and place a period at
the end of each note.

9|Page

Heres the final formatted table:

Table 1
Storekeeper Cycle 192 Occupational Portion of E-4 Exam Score Means for GENDET
and Designated Sailors
GENDET
Storekeeper Cycle 192

GENDET vs. total OJT

Designated

SE

SE

31

58.40

2.59

81 77.08*

1.60

GENDET vs. 6 months OJT

31

58.55

2.49

26 79.16*

2.72

GENDET vs. 12+ months OJT

31

58.50

2.66

55 76.01*

2.00

Note. Adjusted means are based on Armed Forces Qualification Test mean scores as the covariate: (a) 49.45
for GENDET vs. total OJT, (b) 49.39 for GENDET vs. 6 months OJT, and (c) 49.98 for GENDET vs. 12+
months OJT. GENDET = general detailed; OJT = on-the-job training.
*p < .01.

Wide Tables
If your table needs more space than the 6 inches allowed in a standard page, format it in
landscape view.
1. As soon as possible after the table is mentioned, while being careful not to leave too
much white space at the end of a page, enter a section break. In Word 2003 and
earlier, section breaks can be found in the Insert menu. In Word 2007, they are found
under the Page Layout tab in the Page Setup section. Select the Next Page option.
2. Under Page Layout, change your margins so that you have a 1.5-inch top margin and
a 1-inch margin on the sides and bottom. Be careful to select Apply to this section
before you click OK.
3. Create your table.
4. At the end of the table, enter another section break.
5. Open the footer in the section that you just createdthe section after the section with
the table.
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6. Deselect Link to Previous.

7. Go back to the section containing the table and delete the page number. Full-page
tables and figures are not to have page numbers.
Long Tables
If your table is too long to fit on one page, you must break it and continue it on another
page. It is better not to break a table if at all possible. Try inserting another paragraph of
text to force the entire table to the next page. However, never split a paragraph to insert a
table. If you must split a table, follow these formatting guidelines:
1. Never break the table after the heading or in the middle of a row.
2. Add a bottom border to the last row on the first page.
3. Below the bottom border, flush right, insert the following: (Table 1 continues)
4. At the top of the next page, flush left, insert the following: (Table 1 continued)
5. Repeat the header row(s) below (Table 1 continued). Ensure that the header row has a
top and bottom border just as it did on the previous page.

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