To meet current APA style requirements,

follow these guidelines:

Formatting
 The font should be consistent throughout the document and can
be one of the following:
o 12 pt. Times New Roman
o 11 pt. Georgia
o 10 pt. Computer Modern
o 11 pt. Calibri
o 11 pt. Ariel
o 10 pt. Lucida Sans Unicode
 Entire document is double spaced.
 Margins are 1 inch on all sides.
 Align the body text in your paper left, leaving the right side uneven
or ragged. Do not use justified alignment.
 Paragraphs in the body of the paper are indented 1/2 inch or one
“tab” stop.
 Insert only 1 space after punctuation, including punctuation at the
end of a sentence.
 Student papers do not include a running head, author note, or
abstract, unless specifically requested.

Title Page & Headers

 An Ashford title page contains:
o page number (in the top right margin/header)
o title of your paper (in bold and first letter of any major words
capitalized)
o your full name
 o school name
o course code and name
o instructor’s name
o the date submitted

 The page number is included in the top right of the margin and is
included on all pages.
 The title of the paper is centered, in bold font, and appears 3-4
lines down on the page after the top margin.
 The remaining information appears one double-spaced line below
the title of the paper. It is centered, double spaced, and in standard
font with no bold or underlines.

 SAMPLE TITLE PAGE:

 SAMPLE PAGE 2:

LEVEL HEADINGS

Headings can be placed anywhere in your paper as a way to classify or

organize your paper into sections. There are five levels of headings; the
first three levels are the most commonly used in course assignments.
Levels four and five are typically used in longer papers (e.g., a master’s
thesis or dissertation). Using level headings helps your reader
understand the organization of your paper. Short papers may not need
to use any level headings. Follow these current APA level heading
guidelines:
In-Text Citations
 All in-text citations for direct quotations include...
o the authors’ last names (or title if no author)
o the year the source was published
o the page, paragraph, chapter, section, or time stamp of the
quotation.
 All in-text citations for paraphrased information includes...
o the author last names (or title if no author)
o the publication year.
o Note: Including the page, paragraph, chapter, section, or time
stamp is optional for paraphrased information.
 All sources cited within the paper are also in the References
list (with the exception of personal communications, which are only
cited in the text).
 All quotations less than 40 words are enclosed in quotation marks.
The in-text citation comes before the ending punctuation.
 All quotations more than 40 words are formatted as a block quote.
They start on a new line with the entire quote indented a half an
inch from the left margin—no quotation marks are needed. The in-
text citation comes after the punctuation.
References List
 The References list starts on a new page after the text of the
paper.
 The title, References, is centered at the top of the page, in bold
font.
 Reference entries are listed in alphabetical order.
 All sources listed in the References have at least one
corresponding in-text citation within the body of the text.
 References are double spaced (between entries and within each
entry)and each entry uses a hanging indent.

Style
 Numbers one through nine are spelled out. Any numbers above 10
are written using actual numbers.
 Avoid the use of contractions (e.g., don't, can't, shouldn't), clichés,
and slang. Keep an academic tone to your writing.
 Limit the use of passive voice.
 Avoid anthropomorphism.
 Use appropriate pronouns.
 Use italics only when appropriate in formatting or to emphasize a
word.
 Avoid biased language.
 Use appropriate APA level headings.
 The serial comma is used to separated items in a series of three or
more items.
 Lists follow seriation rules.
 Format and properly cite all tables, images, and figures.
 Use past tense when referring to research or sources that have
already been published.