Guide on How to Write a Paper Using APA Format

Formatting your work can take an unreasonably long time if you don’t know how to do it fast and properly. It’s also caused by many guides having unclear instructions on how you should do it. If you’re still asking yourself how to write a paper and format it in APA style, there are some rules that can help you get a grasp on it.

Rules on How to Write a Paper in APA Format

  • Use Times New Roman, 12pt.
This is the most common font for these papers. It’s merely a suggestion, so you can use another one you like too. Though your teacher would most likely expect you to follow the suggestion so it’s easier to read. And use double-space throughout.

  • Set your margins at 1-inch.
This is very simple as the margin stays the same everywhere. It’s fairly simple to set it in most of the editors.

  • Don’t forget to create a title page.
This is exactly why so many students love working with MLA. If you take your time to see how to write a paper in MLA format, you’ll notice that the title page is optional there. It’s nothing complicated with APA, but you have to remember not to use titles with your name and position, and include a running head there.

  • Indent your 1st words.
It’s recommended you indent every first word just 0.5 inches, so it’s more comfortable to read the text.

  • Don’t forget the running headers.
These have to be throughout your paper, starting with the title page. If the title is too long, you must make it shorter, as the running head shouldn’t be wordy.

  • Use 4 section formatting.
This would be your title page, an abstract, main body of the paper, and references page. Some professors may ask you to do other pages, so it’s better to check the instructions of your assignment first.

One Important Formatting Tip for Beginners

There is no need to hurry and try to finish it all quickly. Try to sit down and understand all of the rules and why they are there. Once you manually do the formatting for APA, MLA and other formats you know you’ll be working with, you can be sure you’ve learned how to do this. Another quick thing you can do is to save some blank documents with all the rules pre-set and use those as a template for your future works.

There is nothing tough about formatting and if you learn to do it once, you’ll have it in your head forever. Formatting will help you read the paper easier, and make sense of paragraphs and arguments, or sections of your work.