Concise Guide, 7th Edition
Student Paper Checklist
Use this checklist while writing your paper to make sure it is consistent with seventh edition APA Style. This checklist
corresponds to the writing and formatting guidelines described in full in the Concise Guide to APA Style (7th ed.).
Refer to the following chapters for specific information:
paper elements and format in Chapter 1
writing style and grammar in Chapter 2
bias-free language in Chapter 3
punctuation, lists, and italics in Chapter 4
spelling, capitalization, and abbreviations in Chapter 5
numbers and statistics in Chapter 6
tables and gures in Chapter 7
in-text citations in Chapter 8
reference list and reference examples in
Chapters 9 and 10
Information and resources are also available on the APA Style website. If you have questions about specic
assignment guidelines or what to include in your APA Style paper, please check with your assigning instructor
or institution. If you have questions about formatting your thesis or dissertation, check your institution’s
guidelines or consult your advisor.
Student Title Page
Format (Section 1.6): Double-space the title
page. Center each element on its own line.
Do not use italics, underlining, or different
font sizes.
Title (Section 1.7): Concise, engaging summary
of the paper and its main topic and/or variables.
Write the title in title case: Capitalize the rst
letter of the title, the subtitle, and any major
words of four letters or more (plus linking verbs
“Is,” “Are,” and “Be”). Double-space, center,
and bold the title in the upper half of the title
page (three or four lines down from the top
margin).
Author Name (Section 1.8): Full name of each
author of the paper. The preferred format is
rst name, middle initial(s), and last name (e.g.,
Maribel S. Quantez). Center the name two
double-spaced lines after the title (i.e., one
blank line between the title and author name).
Author Afliation (Section 1.9): Name of the
department of the course to which the paper
is being submitted and name of the college or
university. Use the format: Department, College
(e.g., Department of History, Williams College).
Do not include the school’s location unless part
of its name. Center the affiliation one double-
spaced line after the author name(s).
Course Number and Name (Section 1.6):
Number and name of course to which the paper
is being submitted. Use the format shown
on course materials (e.g., syllabus). Write the
number and name on the same line. Center the
number and name one double-spaced line after
the afliation.
Instructor Name (Section 1.6): Name of the
instructor of the course to which the paper is
being submitted. Use the title and name shown
on course materials (e.g., syllabus). Center the
name one double-spaced line after the course
number and name.
Due Date (Section 1.6): Due date of the
assignment. Include the month, day, and year
in the format used in your country (e.g., May 4,
2020, or 4 May 2020). Spell out the month and
write the full year. Center the date one double-
spaced line after the instructor name.
Page Header (Section 1.17): Page number 1.
Flush right in the header (upper right corner).
Paper Format
Page Header (Section 1.17): Page number.
Appears ush right in the header (upper right
corner) of all pages. Insert page numbers using
the automatic page-numbering function of your
word-processing program.
Font and Font Size (Section 1.18): Use the
same font and font size throughout your
paper (exception: gure images require a
sans serif font and can use various font sizes).
Recommended serif and sans serif fonts:
°
11-point Calibri
°
11-point Arial
°
10-point Lucida Sans Unicode
°
12-point Times New Roman
°
11-point Georgia
°
10-point Computer Modern
Line Spacing (Section 1.20): Double-space the
entire paper. Do not add extra lines before or
after headings or between paragraphs.
Margins (Section 1.21): Margins are 1 in. on all
sides (top, bottom, left, and right).
Paragraph Alignment and Indentation
(Sections 1.22–1.23): Left-align the text (do not
use full justication). Indent the rst line of each
paragraph 0.5 in. (one tab key).
Paper Length (Section 1.24): Follow the
assignment guidelines. If not instructed
otherwise, use the word-count function of your
word-processing program to determine paper
length, counting every word in the paper—but
do not count words in gure images.
Paper Organization
Introduction (Section 1.11): Repeat the paper
title on the rst line of the rst page of text,
before the opening paragraph. Center and
bold the title. Do not include an “Introduction”
heading. Start the rst line of the text one
double-spaced line after the title. Use Level 2
headings for subsections in the introduction.
Text (Section 1.11): Use headings as needed to
organize the text. Use Level 1 headings for main
sections after the introduction (e.g., Method,
Results, Findings, Discussion).
Page Order (Section 1.16): Start each main
paper section on a new page. Arrange pages in
the following order:
°
title page
°
abstract (if needed)
°
text
°
references
°
footnotes (if needed)
°
tables (if needed)
°
gures (if needed)
appendices (if needed)
°
Headings (Section 1.26): Start each new
section with a heading. Write all headings in
title case and bold. Also italicize Level 3 and 5
headings. Follow seventh edition guidelines for
the alignment of headings, as described on the
Headings page.
Section Labels (Section 1.27): Bold and center
labels, including Abstract andReferences.
Writing Style
Continuity (Sections 2.1–2.3): Check for
continuity in words, concepts, and thematic
development across the paper. Explain
relationships between ideas clearly. Present
ideas in a logical order. Use clear transitions
to smoothly connect sentences, paragraphs,
and ideas.
2
Conciseness (Sections 2.4–2.6): Choose
words and phrases carefully and deliberately.
Eliminate wordiness, redundancy, evasiveness,
circumlocution, overuse of the passive
voice, and clumsy prose. Do not use jargon,
contractions, or colloquialisms. Avoid overusing
both short, simple sentences and long, involved
sentences; instead, use varied sentence lengths.
Avoid both single-sentence paragraphs and
paragraphs longer than one double-spaced
page.
Clarity (Sections 2.72.11): Use clear and
precise language. Use a professional tone and
professional language. Do not use jargon,
contractions, colloquialisms, or creative
literary devices. Check for anthropomorphistic
language (i.e., attributing human actions to
inanimate objects or nonhuman animals). Make
logical comparisons using clear word choice
and sentence structure.
Grammar
Verb Tense (Section 2.12): Use verb tenses
consistently in the same and adjacent
paragraphs. Use appropriate verb tenses for
specific paper sections, as described on the
Verb Tense page.
Voice and Mood (Sections 2.132.14): Use
the active voice instead of the passive voice as
much as possible. Use the passive voice only
when focusing on the recipient of an action
rather than on who performed the action.
Subject and Verb Agreement (Section 2.15):
Use verbs that agree in number (i.e., singular or
plural) with their subjects.
Pronouns (Sections 2.16–2.21): Use rst-
person pronouns to describe your work and
your personal reactions (e.g., “I examined,
“I agreed with”), including your work with
coauthors (e.g., “We conducted”). Use the
singularthey” when referring to a person who
uses it as their self-identied pronoun or to a
person whose gender is unknown or irrelevant.
Use other pronouns correctly.
Bias-Free Language (Chapter 5)
Eliminate biased language from your writing.
Avoid perpetuating prejudicial beliefs or
demeaning attitudes. Instead, use bias-free
language to describe all people and their
personal characteristics with inclusivity and
respect, including
°
age
°
disability
°
gender
°
participation in research
°
racial and ethnic identity
°
sexual orientation
°
socioeconomic status
°
intersectionality
For guidelines on writing about people without
bias and examples of bias-free language, see
the Bias-Free Language pages.
Punctuation, Italics, and Lists
Punctuation (Sections 4.1–4.6, 4.84.10): Use
punctuation marks correctly (periods, commas,
semicolons, colons, dashes, parentheses,
bra
ckets, slashes), including in reference list
entries. Use varied punctuation marks in your
paper. Avoid having multiple punctuation
marks in the same sentence; instead, split the
sentence into multiple shorter sentences. Use
one space after a period or other punctuation
mark at the end of a sentence. Use a serial
comma before the nal element in lists of three
or more items. Use parentheses to set off
in-text citations.
Quotation Marks (Sections 4.7): Use quotation
marks correctly. Place commas and periods
inside closing quotation marks; place other
punctuation marks (e.g., colons, semicolons,
ellipses) outside closing quotation marks. Use
quotation marks around direct quotations.
Italics (Sections 4.15–4.16): Use italics correctly
to draw attention to text. Use italics for the first
use of key terms or phrases accompanied by a
definition. Do not use italics for emphasis.
3
Lists (Sections 4.114.14): Ensure items in lists
are parallel. Use commas to separate items
in simple lists. Use semicolons to separate
items when any items in the list already contain
commas.
For more information, including how to create
lettered, numbered, and bulleted lists, see the
Lists pages.
Spelling, Capitalization,
and Abbreviations
Spelling and Hyphenation (Sections 5.15.2):
Spelling and hyphenation should match the
Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary or the APA
Dictionary of Psychology. Write words with
prexes and sufxes without a hyphen.
For more information, including the spelling of
common technology terms, see the Spelling
and Hyphenation pages.
Capitalization (Sections 5.3–5.11): Use title
case and sentence case capitalization correctly.
Capitalize proper nouns, including names of
racial and ethnic groups. Do not capitalize
names of diseases, disorders, therapies,
treatments, theories, concepts, hypotheses,
principles, models, and statistical procedures,
unless personal names appear within these
terms.
For more information, including capitalization
to use for specic paper elements, see the
Capitalization pages.
Abbreviations (Section 5.12–5.18): Use
abbreviations sparingly and usually when
they are familiar to readers, save considerable
space, and appear at least three times in
the paper. Dene abbreviations, including
abbreviations for group authors, on rst use.
Do not use periods in abbreviations. Use Latin
abbreviations only in parentheses, and use
the full Latin term in the text. Do not dene
abbreviations listed as terms in the dictionary
(e.g., AIDS, IQ) and abbreviations for units of
measurement, time, Latin terms, and common
statistical terms and symbols.
For more information, including abbreviations
that do not need to be defined, see the
Abbreviations pages.
Numbers and Statistics
Numbers (Sections 6.1–6.8): Use words to
express numbers zero through nine in the
text. Use numerals to expre
ss numbers 10 and
above in the text. In all cases, use numerals in
statistical or mathematical functions, with units
of measurement, and for fractions, decimals,
ratios, percentages and percentiles, times,
dates, ages, scores and points on a scale, sums
of money, and numbers in a series (e.g., Year 1,
Grade 11, Chapter 2, Level 13, Table 4).
For more information and exceptions, see the
Numbers pages.
Statistics (Sections 6.96.12): Include enough
information to allow readers to fully understand
any analyses conducted. Space mathematical
copy the same as words, with spaces between
signs. Use statistical terms in narrative text: “the
means were,“ not “the Ms were.” Use statistical
symbols or abbreviations with mathematical
operators: “(M = 6.62),” not “(mean = 6.62).
Tables and Figures
General Guidelines (Sections 7.17.7): Include
tables and/or gures if required for your paper
or assignment. When possible, use a standard,
or canonical, form for a table or gu
re. Do not
use shading or other decorative flourishes.
In the text, refer to each table or figure by its
number. Explain what to look for in that table
or gure by calling out the table or gure in the
text (e.g., “Table 1 listsAs shown in Figure
1…).
Either embed each table or gure in the
text after it is rst mentioned or place it on
a separate page after the reference list. If
embedded, place the table or gure at either
the top or the bottom of the page with an extra
double-spaced line between the table or the
gure and any text.
Tables (Sections 7.87.21): Use the tables
feature of your word-processing program to
create tables. Number tables in the order they
are mentioned in the text. Include borders only
at the top and the bottom of the table, beneath
4
column headings, and above column spanners.
Do not use vertical borders or borders around
every cell in the table.
All tables include four basic components:
number, title, column headings, and body.
Write the table number above the table title
and body and in bold. Write the table title one
double-spaced line below the table number
and in italic title case. Label all columns. Center
column headings, and capitalize them in
sentence case. Include notes beneath the table
if needed to describe the contents. Start each
type of note (general, specic, and probability)
on its own line, and double-space it.
See sample tables on the APA Style website.
Figures (Sections 7.22–7.32): Use a program
appropriate for creating gures (e.g., Word,
Excel, Photoshop, Inkscape, SPSS). Number
gures in the order they are mentioned in the
text. Within gures, check that images are clear,
lines are smooth and sharp, and font is legible
and simple. Provide units of measurement.
Clearly label or explain axes and other gure
elements.
All gures include three basic components:
number, title, and image. Write the gure
number above the gure title and image and
in bold. Write the gure title one double-
spaced line below the gure number and in
italic title case. Write text in the gure image
in a sans serif font between 8 and 14 points.
Include a gure legend if needed to explain
any symbols in the image. Position the legend
within the borders of the gure, and capitalize
it in title case. Include notes beneath the gure
if needed to describe the contents. Start each
type of note (general, specic, and probability)
on its own line, and double-space it.
See sample gures on the APA Style website.
In-Text Citations (Chapter 8)
Cite only works you read and ideas you
incorporated into your paper.
Include all sources cited in the text in the
reference list (exception: personal
communications are cited in the text only).
Make sure the spelling of author names and the
publication dates in the in-text citations match
those of the corresponding reference
list entries.
Paraphrase sources in your own words
whenever possible.
For guidance on how to paraphrase sources,
see the Paraphrasing pages.
Cite appropriately to avoid plagiarism, but do
not repeat the same citation in every sentence
when the source and topic do not change.
For guidance on appropriate citation, see the
Appropriate Level of Citation page.
Write author–date citations according to
seventh edition guidelines: Include the author
(or title if no author) and year. For paraphrases,
it is optional to include a specic page
number(s), paragraph number(s), or other
location (e.g., section name) if the source work
being paraphrased is long or complex.
°
One author: Use the author surname in all in-
text citations.
°
Two authors: Use both author surnames in all
in-text citations.
°
Three or more authors: Use only the rst
author surname and then “et al.” in all
in-text citations.
For more information, including exceptions
to basic in-text citation styles, see the Basic
Principles of Citation pages.
Use either the narrative or the parenthetical
citation format for in-text citations.
°
Parenthetical citation: Place the author name
and publication year in parentheses.
°
Narrative citation: Incorporate the author
name into the text as part of the sentence and
then follow with the year in parentheses.
For works with two authors,
°
use an ampersand (&) in parenthetical in-text
citations: (Guirrez & Castillo, 2020)
°
use the word “and” in narrative in-text
citations: Guirrez and Castillo (2020)
For more information, see the Parenthetical and
Narrative Citations page.
5
When citing multiple works in parentheses,
place the citations in alphabetical order. When
multiple parenthetical citations have the same
author(s), order the years chronologically and
separate them with commas (e.g., Coutlee,
2019, 2020). When the authors are different,
separate the parenthetical citations with
semicolons (e.g., Coutlee, 2019, 2020; Ngwane,
2020; Oishi, 2019).
For more examples, see the Citation of Multiple
Works page.
Limit the use of direct quotations. Include the
author (or title if no author), year, and specic
part of the work (page number(s), paragraph
number(s), section name) in the citation.
°
Short quotation (less than 40 words): Use
double quotation marks around the quotation.
°
Block quotation (40 words or more): Use the
block format: Indent the entire quotation 0.5
in. from the left margin and double-space it.
For more information, see the Quotations page.
References (Chapters 9 and 10)
Start the reference list on a new page after
the text.
Center and bold the section label “References
at the top of the page.
Double-space the entire reference list, both
within and between entries.
Use a hanging indent for each reference
entry: First line of the reference is ush left,
and subsequent lines are indented by 0.5 in.
Apply the hanging indent using the paragraph-
formatting function of your word-processing
program.
All reference entries should have a
corresponding in-text citation. The beginning
of the reference entry (usually the rst
author’s surname) and year should match the
corresponding in-text citation.
List references in alphabetical order according
to seventh edition guidelines.
Create the appropriate reference entry for
the type of work being cited, as described in
Chapter 9 and shown in Chapter 10 and on the
Reference Examples pages.
Do not create reference entries for personal
communications and secondary sources.
For a list of works to include and exclude from a
reference list, see the Works Included page.
Each reference entry includes four elements:
author, date, title, and source.
See exceptions for references with missing
information on the Missing Information page.
Use punctuation to group information and
separate reference elements.
For more information, see the Basic Principles
of References page.
List authors in the same order as the original
source. Use initials for authors’ rst and middle
names. Put a comma after the surname and a
period and a space after each initial (e.g., Lewis,
C. S.). Put a comma after each author (even two
authors). Use an ampersand before the last
author.
For more information, including what to do
when a work has more than 20 authors, see the
Reference Elements page.
Capitalize titles in sentence case: Capitalize only
the rst word of the title, the subtitle, and any
proper nouns. Format titles according to the
type of work.
°
Works that stand alone: Italicize the title
(e.g., authored books, reports, data sets,
dissertations and theses, lms, TV series,
albums, podcasts, social media, websites).
°
Works that are part of a greater whole: Do
not italicize or use quotation marks around
the title (e.g., periodical articles, edited book
chapters, TV and podcast episodes, songs).
Write the title of the greater whole (e.g., journal
or edited book) in italics in the source element.
For more information, including when to
include bracketed descriptions for titles, see the
References Elements page.
6
Do not include database information for
works retrieved from academic research
databases. Do include database information
for works retrieved from databases with
original, proprietary content or works of limited
circulation (e.g., UpToDate).
For more information, see the Database
Information page.
Include a DOI or URL for any work that has one.
If there is no DOI, include a URL if the work
is retrieved online (but not from a database).
Present DOIs and URLs as hyperlinks (beginning
with “http:” or “https:”). Copy and paste DOIs
and URLs directly from your web browser. Do
not write “Retrieved from” or “Accessed from”
before a DOI or URL. Do not add a period after
a DOI or URL.
For more information, see the DOIs and URLs
page.
© 2021
Last updated September 8, 2021
More information on APA Style can be found in the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association (7th ed.) and the Concise Guide to APA
Style (7th ed.).
CITE THIS HANDOUT:
American Psychological Association. (2021). Concise
Guide, 7th edition student paper checklist.
https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/
concise-guide-formatting-checklist.pdf
We thank Miriam Bowers-Abbott, of Mount Carmel College
of Nursing, for providing the inspiration for this content.