Q: How to format an article using APA style

Answer: To format a manuscript as per APA style, here are a few general tips on the APA style that might help you:

1. Articles should be typed, double-spaced with 1" margins on all sides.
2. Articles should be in a readable font, preferably Times New Roman 12 point.
3. A page header or "running head" should be added at the top of every page. The running head should be a shortened version of the article title and should not exceed 50 characters.
4. The title page should contain the title of the paper, the author's name, and affiliation.
5. The abstract should be around 150-250 words long.
6. In-text citations should be provided as well as detailed references in a separate references section.

We have a free template to format a journal article as per APA 7^th edition. You can also download sample papers directly from APA, with or without annotations.  

Basic Citation Formats + Free Citation Generator

The table below gives an overview of how to format in-text citations in APA style. If you’re short on time, you can use Paperpal’s free APA citation generator to format your citations and reference list too.

Scenario	Format	Example
1 author — parenthetical	(Surname, Year)	(Miller, 2021)
1 author — narrative	Surname (Year)	Miller (2021) found…
2 authors	(Surname & Surname, Year)	(Chen & Park, 2020)
3 or more authors	(First Surname et al., Year)	(Brown et al., 2019)
Group / organization	(Full Name, Year) → abbreviate after first use	(World Health Organization [WHO], 2023); then (WHO, 2023)
No author	("Title," Year)	("Annual Report," 2022)
No date	(Surname, n.d.)	(Garcia, n.d.)
Multiple works (same parentheses)	Alphabetical order, separated by semicolons	(Adams, 2018; Liu, 2020; Wang, 2022)

How to format the reference list in APA style

Reference List Formatting Rules

• The reference list begins on a new page after the body of the paper.
• The heading "References" is centered and bold at the top of the page.
• All references are double-spaced with no extra space between entries.
• Use a hanging indent: the first line of each entry is flush left; subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inch.
• References are listed in alphabetical order by the first author's surname.
• Include a DOI or URL for all works that have one (format as a hyperlink).
• Do not include a retrieval date unless the source content changes over time (e.g., wikis).

Common Reference Types

The four key elements of any APA reference are: Who When What Where

Journal Articles

Format Surname, I. I., & Surname, I. I. (Year). Title of article in sentence case. Journal Title in Title Case and Italics, Volume(Issue), Page–Page. https://doi.org/xxxxx Example Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Watkins, E. R. (2011). A heuristic for developing transdiagnostic models of psychopathology. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(6), 589–609. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691611419672

Books

Format Surname, I. I. (Year). Title of book in sentence case and italics. Publisher. Example Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Edited Book Chapters

Format Chapter Author, I. I. (Year). Title of chapter. In I. I. Editor & I. I. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xx–xx). Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Websites & Webpages

Format Surname, I. I. (Year, Month Day). Title of webpage. Site Name. URL Example Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, March 15). Understanding COVID-19 vaccines. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/index.html   This answer was originally posted on March 30, 2017, and updated in May 2026.