APA 7th Edition FORMATTING GUIDELINES FOR CAPSTONE PROJECT MANUSCRIPT

References and in-text citations in APA Style

1. The publisher location is no longer included in the reference.

2. The APA in-text citation for works with three or more authors is now shortened right from the
first citation. You only include the first author’s name and “et al.”.

3. Surnames and initials for up to 20 authors (instead of 7) should be provided in the reference entry.

4. DOIs are formatted the same as URLs. The label “DOI:” is no longer necessary

5. URLs are no longer preceded by “Retrieved from,” unless a retrieval date is needed. The website
name is included (unless it’s the same as the author).

6. For ebooks, the format, platform, or device (e.g. Kindle) is no longer included in the reference, and
the publisher is included.

7. Clear guidelines are provided for including contributors other than authors and editors. For
example, when citing a podcast episode, the host of the episode should be included; for a TV series
episode, the writer and director of that episode are cited.
8. Dozens of examples are included for online source types such as podcast episodes, social media
posts, and YouTube videos. The use of emojis and hashtags is also explained.

Inclusive and bias-free language

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Writing inclusively and without bias is the new standard, and APA’s new publication manual contains a
separate chapter on this topic.

The guidelines provided by APA help authors reduce bias around topics such as gender, age, disability, racial
and ethnic identity, and sexual orientation, as well as being sensitive to labels and describing individuals at the
appropriate level of specificity. Some examples include:

9. The singular “they” is endorsed as a gender-neutral pronoun.

10. Instead of using adjectives as nouns to label groups of people, descriptive phrases are preferred.

11. Instead of broad categories, you should use exact age ranges that are more relevant and specific.

APA Paper format

In the 7th edition, APA decided to provide different paper format guidelines for professional and student papers.
For both types, a sample paper is included. Some notable changes include:

12. Font style: Times New Roman- size :12 point

13. Paper: double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11")
14. Margin: 1 inch all sides
15. The running head on the title page no longer includes the words “Running head:”. It now contains
only a page number and the (shortened) paper title.

16. The running head is omitted in student papers (unless your instructor tells you otherwise).
17. Heading levels 3-5 are updated to improve readability.

Mechanics of style
In terms of style, not much has changed in the 7th edition. In addition to some updated and better explained
guidelines, there are two notable changes:

16. Use only one space after a period at the end of a sentence.
17. Use double quotation marks instead of italics to refer to linguistic examples.

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APA Abstract
An APA abstract is a comprehensive summary of your paper in which you briefly address the research
problem, hypotheses, methods, results, and implications of your research. It’s placed on a separate page right
after the title page and is usually no longer than 250 words.

Most professional papers that are submitted for publication require an abstract. Student papers typically don’t
need an abstract, unless instructed otherwise.

Formatting instructions
Follow these five steps to format your abstract in APA Style:

1. Insert a running head (for a professional paper—not needed for a student paper) and page number.
2. Set page margins to 1 inch (2.54 cm).
3. Write “Abstract” (bold and centered) at the top of the page.
4. Place the contents of your abstract on the next line.
a. Do not indent the first line.
b. Double-space the text.
c. Use a legible font like Times New Roman (12 pt.).
d. Limit the length to 250 words.
5. List 3–5 keywords directly below the content.
a. Indent the first line 0.5 inches.
b. Write the label “Keywords:” (italicized).
c. Write keywords in lowercase letters.
d. Separate keywords with commas.
e. Do not use a period after the keywords.

APA Table of Contents

A table of contents is not required in an APA Style paper, but if you include one, follow these guidelines:

• Include all level 1 and level 2 headings (other levels are optional).
• Indicate different heading levels with indents. Adhere to general APA format in terms of font, spacing,
etc.

You can automatically create the table of contents by applying APA heading styles in Word.
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APA format guidelines for the table of contents
In a thesis or dissertation, the table of contents comes between your abstract and your introduction. It should be
written in the same font and size as the rest of your text (usually 12 pt Times New Roman). At the top of the
page, write Contents, centered and in bold.

In APA Style, you can use up to five levels of heading, each with its own formatting style. In the table of
contents, you should include all level 1 and 2 headings, left-aligned and formatted as plain text. Level 2
headings are indented.

Including lower-level headings in the table of contents is optional. Add an additional indent for each level. If
you have a lot of headings in your text, you may not be able to include them all—your table of contents should
not be more than two pages long in total.

APA headings
As well as the heading styles, there are some other guidelines to keep in mind:

• Double-space all text, including the headings.

• Use the same font for headings and body text (e.g., Times New Roman 12pt.).
• Don’t label headings with numbers or letters.
• Don’t add extra “enters” above or below headings.

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APA table format
Tables will vary in size and structure depending on the data you’re presenting, but APA gives some general
guidelines for their design. To correctly format an APA table, follow these rules:

• Table number in bold above the table.

• Brief title, in italics and title case, below the table number.
• No vertical lines.
• Horizontal lines only where necessary for clarity.
• Clear, concise labels for column and row headings.
• Numbers consistently formatted (e.g. with the same number of decimal places).
• Any relevant notes below the table.

An example of a table formatted according to APA guidelines is shown below.

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The table above uses only four lines: Those at the top and bottom, and those separating the main data from the
column heads and the totals.

Create your tables using the tools built into your word processor. In Word, you can use the “Insert table” tool.

APA figure format

Any images used within your text are called figures. Figures include data visualization graphics—e.g. graphs,
diagrams, flowcharts—as well as things like photographs and artworks.

To correctly format an APA figure, follow these rules:

• Figure number in bold above the figure.

• Brief title, in italics and title case, under the figure number.
• If necessary, clear labels and legends integrated into the image.
• Any relevant notes below the figure.

An example of a figure formatted according to APA guidelines is shown below.

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Keep the design of figures as simple as possible. Use colors only where necessary, not just to make the image
look more appealing.

For text within the image itself, APA recommends using a Times New Roman with a size between 8 and 10
points.

For other figures, such as photographs, you won’t need a legend; the figure consists simply of the image itself,
reproduced at an appropriate size and resolution.

Numbering and titling tables and figures

Each table or figure is preceded by a number and title.

Tables and figures are each numbered separately, in the order they are referred to in your text. For example, the
first table you refer to is Table 1; the fourth figure you refer to is Figure 4.

The title should clearly and straightforwardly describe the content of the table or figure. Omit articles to keep it
concise.

The table or figure number appears on its own line, in bold, followed by the title on the following line, in italics
and title case.

Formatting table and figure notes

Where a table or figure needs further explanation, notes should be included immediately after it. These are not
your analysis of the data presented; save that for the main text.
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There are three kinds of notes: general, specific, and probability. Each type of note appears in a new
paragraph, but multiple notes of the same kind all appear in one paragraph.

Only include the notes that are needed to understand the table or figure. It may be that it is clear in itself, and
has no notes, or only probability notes; be as concise as possible.

General notes
General notes come first. They are preceded by the word “Note” in italics, followed by a period. They include
any explanations that apply to the table or figure as a whole and a citation if it was adapted from another source,
and they end with definitions of any abbreviations used.

Specific notes
Specific notes refer to specific points in the table or figure. Superscript letters (a, b, c …) appear at the relevant
points in the table or figure and at the start of each note to indicate what they refer to. They are used when it’s
necessary to comment on a specific data point or term.

Probability notes
Probability notes give p-values for the data in the table or figure. They correspond to asterisks (and/or other
symbols) in the table or figure.

Where to place tables and figures

You have two options for the placement of tables and figures in APA Style:

• Option 1: Place tables and figures throughout your text, shortly after the parts of the text that refer to
them.
• Option 2: Place them all together at the end of your text (after the reference list) to avoid breaking up
the text.

If you place them throughout the text, note that each table or figure should only appear once. If you refer to the
same table or figure more than once, don’t reproduce it each time—just place it after the paragraph in which it’s
first discussed.

Align the table or figure with the text along the left margin. Leave a line break before and after the table or
figure to clearly distinguish it from the main text, and place it on a new page if necessary to avoid splitting it
across multiple pages.

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Referring to tables and figures in the text
Avoid making redundant statements about your tables and figures in your text. When you write about data from
tables and figures, it should be to highlight or analyze a particular data point or trend, not simply to restate what
is already clearly shown in the table or figure:

• As Table 1 shows, there are 115 boys in Grade 4, 130 in Grade 5, and 117 in Grade 6 …
• Table 1 indicates a notable preponderance of boys in Grade 5. It is important to take this into account
because …

Additionally, even if you have embedded your tables and figures in your text, refer to them by their numbers,
not by their position relative to the text or by description:

• The table below shows…

• Table 1 shows…
• As can be seen in the image on page 4…
• As can be seen in Figure 3…
• The photograph of a bald eagle is an example of…
• Figure 1 is an example of…

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APA Reference Page
n the APA reference page, you list all the sources that you’ve cited in your paper. The list starts on a
new page right after the body text.

Follow these instructions to set up your APA reference page:

• Place the section label “References” in bold at the top of the page (centered).
• Order the references alphabetically.
• Double-space all text.
• Apply a hanging indent of 0.5 inches.

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