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APA Sample Paper
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Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here .
Media Files: APA Sample Student Paper , APA Sample Professional Paper
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Note: The APA Publication Manual, 7 th Edition specifies different formatting conventions for student and professional papers (i.e., papers written for credit in a course and papers intended for scholarly publication). These differences mostly extend to the title page and running head. Crucially, citation practices do not differ between the two styles of paper.
However, for your convenience, we have provided two versions of our APA 7 sample paper below: one in student style and one in professional style.
Note: For accessibility purposes, we have used "Track Changes" to make comments along the margins of these samples. Those authored by [AF] denote explanations of formatting and [AWC] denote directions for writing and citing in APA 7.
APA 7 Student Paper:
Apa 7 professional paper:.
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- Knowledge Base
- APA Style 7th edition
- APA Title Page (7th edition) | Template for Students & Professionals
APA Title Page (7th edition) | Template for Students & Professionals
Published on November 6, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on June 7, 2022.
APA provides different guidelines for student and professional papers. The student version of the APA title page should include the following information (double spaced and centered):
Paper title
- Author name
- Department and university name
- Course number and name
- Instructor name
- Due date of the assignment
The professional title page also includes an author note (flushed left), but not a course name, instructor name, or due date.
Table of contents
Title page example (student and professional version), institutional affiliation, course information, author note, page header, including an image on the title page.
Write an informative, striking title that summarizes the topic of your paper. Try to keep the title focused and use relevant keywords.
Place the title three or four lines down from the top of the paper. Center align and bold it. Don’t forget to use title case capitalization (capitalize the first letter of each word, except small words such as articles and short prepositions).
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Write the author’s name under the paper title (leave a blank line in between). Give their full names (first name, middle initial(s) and last name), but don’t include titles (Dr., Prof.) or degrees (Ph.D., MSc).
Multiple authors on the title page
List the authors in order of their contribution. If there are two authors, separate their names with the word “and”, like this:
If there are more than two authors, separate their names with a comma. Only write “and” before the last author, like this:
Write the author’s affiliation on the next line under the author names. Students should specify the department and institution where they’re attending school. Professional researchers should specify the department and institution where they conducted their research.
Multiple authors with different affiliations
Use superscript numbers on the author line to indicate which institution they’re affiliated with. Don’t use superscript numbers if all authors are affiliated with the same institution (and department).
On a student title page, provide information about the course. List the following information on separate (double spaced) lines under the author’s affiliation:
- Instructor(s)
- Assignment’s due date
For professional papers, you may include an author note. This note may contain the author’s ORCID iD, affiliation changes, disclosures of conflicts of interest, brief acknowledgments, and contact information (in that specific order). Present this information in separate paragraphs.
Place the author note on the bottom half of the page. Center the label “Author note” and apply bold styling. The paragraphs in the author note are left-aligned. The first line of each new paragraph is indented.
For more information about formatting the author note, see section 2.7 of the APA Publication Manual.
For a student title page, the page header consists of just a page number in the top-right corner. There is no need for a running head (as was the case in APA 6th edition).
A professional title page does have a running head. The running head is an abbreviated version of the paper title in all capital letters. The maximum length is 50 characters (counting spaces).
Images are not usually included on an APA title page, and APA does not provide any guidelines for doing so. It’s usually viewed as unprofessional to include an image, since the title page is there to provide information, not for decoration.
If you do decide to include an image on your title page, make sure to check whether you need permission from the creator of the image. Include a note directly underneath the image acknowledging where it comes from, beginning with the word “ Note .” (italicized and followed by a period):
- If you found the image online or in another source, include a citation and copyright attribution .
- If it’s an image you created yourself (e.g., a photograph you took, an infographic you designed), explain this (e.g., “Photograph taken by the author.”).
Don’t give the image a label, title, or number. Only images within the text itself are labeled as figures .
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Streefkerk, R. (2022, June 07). APA Title Page (7th edition) | Template for Students & Professionals. Scribbr. Retrieved March 3, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-title-page/
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APA Title Page (Cover Page) Format, Example, & Templates
Saul Mcleod, PhD
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BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul Mcleod, Ph.D., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years experience of working in further and higher education.
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BSc (Hons), Psychology, MSc, Psychology of Education
Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
In APA Style (7th edition), the cover page, or title page, should include:
- A running head (professional papers only) and page number
- The title of the paper
- The name of the author(s)
- The institutional affiliation
- An author note; optional (professional papers only)
- A student paper should also include course information
Note : APA 7 provides slightly different directions for formatting the title pages of professional papers (e.g., those intended for scholarly publication) and student papers (e.g., those turned in for credit in a high school or college course).
Professional paper APA title page
APA professional title page template
Student paper APA title page
APA student title page template
Formatting an APA title page
Note : All text on the title page should be double-spaced and typed in either 12-point, Times New Roman font. In the 7th edition, APA increaded the flexibility regarding font options: which now include Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans Unicode 10, Times New Roman 12, or Georgia 11. All words should be centered, and capitalize the first letter of important words.
Running Head
In the 7th edition of the APA style manual, running heads are only required for professional papers that are being submitted for publication (student papers do not require a running head, but still need a page number).
Your title page should contain a running head that is flush left at the top of the page and a page number that is flush right at the top of the page.
Place the running head in the page’s header:
- The running head is the the abbreviated title of the paper (IN UPPERCASE LETTERS) aligned left on the page header of all pages, including the title page. APA (7th edition) guidelines require that running heads be a maximum of 50 characters (spaces count as characters).
- The “Running head:” label used in the APA sixth edition is no longer used.
- Place the page number in this same header, but align right, beginning with page number 1 on the title page.
- This header should be 1 inch from the top. Some instructors allow for 1/2 inch, too, but the default is 1 inch.
Paper Title
Position the title of the paper in the upper half of the page. The title should be centered and written in boldface, and important words should be capitalized.
The APA recommends that your title should be a maximum of 12 words and should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no purpose.
Author Name(s)
Institutional affiliation.
Position the school or university’s name below the author(s) name, centered.
A student paper should also include the course number and name, instructor name, and assignment due date.
Further Information
- APA Student Title Page Guide
- APA Professional Title Page Template
- APA Student Title Page Template APA (7th Edition) Sample Paper Template
- APA Referencing
- How to Write a Lab Report
- Essay Writing Guide for Psychology Students
- APA Style Citations & References
- Example of an APA Formatted Paper
- Writing an APA paper
- APA Write-up Template
Title Page Setup
A title page is required for all APA Style papers. There are both student and professional versions of the title page. Students should use the student version of the title page unless their instructor or institution has requested they use the professional version. APA provides a student title page guide (PDF, 199KB) to assist students in creating their title pages.
Student title page
The student title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author affiliation, course number and name for which the paper is being submitted, instructor name, assignment due date, and page number, as shown in this example.
This guidance has been revised from the 6th edition.
Related handouts
- Student Title Page Guide (PDF, 263KB)
- Student Paper Setup Guide (PDF, 3MB)
Student papers do not include a running head unless requested by the instructor or institution.
Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the student title page.
Professional title page
The professional title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author affiliation(s), author note, running head, and page number, as shown in the following example.
Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the professional title page.
From the APA Style blog
APA Style student papers webinar
A new APA Style webinar, “A Step-by-Step Guide for APA Style Student Papers,” taking place on September 10, 2020, will provide detailed guidance on creating, formatting, and organizing APA Style student papers.
Who needs an author note? You … maybe
Professional papers intended for submission to a journal must always include an author note. Student papers do not typically include an author note.
Running head or no running head?
The new APA Style guidelines have separate instructions for students and professionals.
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- Citation Styles
APA cover (title) page: format and templates
There are two types of title page required for APA style papers, a professional and a student version.
Student APA cover page
As long as students do not have any specific guidance from their instructors in regards to a cover page format, they should include the following elements on their cover page:
- Running head : only for APA 6th you write "Running head: TITLE" as a header. APA 7th does not require a running head.
- Title of the paper : three to four lines down from the top of the title page, centered and in bold for APA 7 (APA 6 does not have a title in bold).
- Name of author(s) : include a double-spaced blank line between the paper title and the author name(s).
- Affiliation for each author (the university attended, including department)
- Course number and name
- Name of instructor
- Due date of the assignment (date format used in your location)
- Page number (included on all pages), cover page is number 1.
- Times New Roman is the preferred font, 12-point .
- Double spacing
- 1 inch margins
We created a a student APA cover page template of both 6th & 7th edition, which you can download:
Professional APA cover page
A professional APA cover page should include the following elements:
- Name of each author : include a double-spaced blank line between the paper title and the author names.
- Affiliation for each author: give the name of the institution at which the research was carried out.
- Author note : see the specific instructions below.
- Running head (included on all pages): for APA 6th you write "Running head: TITLE" and for APA 7th only the title in caps is required (omitting the phrase running head).
- Page number (included on all pages): page 1 is the cover page.
- Times New Roman is the preferred font, 12 -point.
Since there are a few slight differences between the professional cover page in APA 6th and 7th edition, we created a template for each version, which you can download.
APA cover page: Author note format
An author note in a professional paper can be found at the bottom of the cover page. It is usually composed of four paragraphs.
- In the first paragraph : for APA 6, give the name of the author and their affiliation. For APA 7, give the authors' ORCID iDs. Omit this part if the authors don't have ORCID iDs.
- Second paragraph : Specify any changes of affiliation (for both APA 6 & 7). Use the following format: “[Author’s name] is now at [affiliation].” This paragraph may also clarify the death of an author.
- Third paragraph : give any confidentiality disclosures and/or acknowledgments.
- Fourth paragraph : give the contact information of the author(s).
Format : start this section in the bottom half of the title page, below the affiliations. Leave a minimum of one blank line between the affiliation and the author note title. Center the title “Author Note” in bold. The first line of each paragraph should be indented and all aligned to the left.
Further reading
For more details not covered in this guide, take a look at the following sources:
📝 Student and Professional APA cover page (7th ed.)
🌐 APA 6th cover page tutorial
Frequently Asked Questions about APA cover (title) page
The title page of a student paper serves as a representation of the author. It is a mere formality, as it makes your paper appear more academic. As a student, the title page helps your instructor identify on a glance who wrote the paper, what the topic is, and for what course. In sum, a student should add a title page when indicated.
The title page of a professional paper serves as a representation of the author. For professionals, the function of a title page is to introduce the reader to the main facts of the paper, such as the author, the topic, the year of publication, and contact information. In sum, a professional should add a title page to comply with academic standards.
No. According to APA style, the title's font of a title page should not include any type of Word Art or "fun" fonts of any kind. APA style indicates titles should be written in the same font as the rest of the text, it should centered and in bold (for APA 7).
Yes, APA style's title page should be formated as page 1 of the paper, followed by the abstract page as page 2.
If you learn better by watching than by reading, here are two YouTube tutorials that will help you create a title page: APA Style 7th Edition: Student Paper Formatting and APA Style 7th Edition: Professional Paper Formatting by Samuel Forlenza, PhD.
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APA Sample Paper APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition) General Format In-Text Citations: The Basics In-Text Citations: Author/Authors Reference List: Basic Rules Reference List: Author/Authors Reference List: Articles in Periodicals Reference List: Books Reference List: Other Print Sources Reference List: Electronic Sources
In APA Style (7th edition), the cover page, or title page, should include: A running head (professional papers only) and page number The title of the paper The name of the author (s) The institutional affiliation An author note; optional (professional papers only) A student paper should also include course information
This page contains sample papers formatted in seventh edition APA Style. The sample papers show the format that authors should use to submit a manuscript for publication in a professional journal and that students should use to submit a paper to an instructor for a course assignment.
The professional title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author affiliation(s), author note, running head, and page number, as shown in the following example. Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the professional title page.
A professional APA cover page should include the following elements: Title of the paper: three to four lines down from the top of the title page, centered and in bold for APA 7 (APA 6 does not have a title in bold). Name of each author: include a double-spaced blank line between the paper title and the author names.