Title Page and Header

• According to APA style, titles should be 12 words or fewer. The title page of the paper should include the article title, the institution or organization for which the paper was written, the author's name and the date in this order. This information should be centered horizontally and vertically on the title page. A header that includes three words from the title and the page number, separated by a comma, should be placed in the upper right-hand portion of the page. This header begins on the title page and should be repeated on each page of the paper.
  
  

Spacing, Margins and Type

• All parts of the paper should be double-spaced. This includes the body of the paper, references, footnotes and quotations. The title page also should be double-spaced. Margins should be consistent throughout -- 1-inch on top, bottom and each side. The typeface, style and size should not vary; it should be consistent throughout. Do not bold individual words, sentences, headings or subheadings.
  
  

Paragraphs

• Papers should have paragraphs that are more than one sentence long and shorter than the entire page. When splitting paragraphs across multiple pages, do not begin a paragraph on a page when you only can fit one sentence before the end of the page and do not carry a single sentence from a paragraph onto another page.
  
  

Grammar, Spelling and Writing Conventions

• Proofread the paper, paying close attention to common errors in grammar, spelling and convention. These can include incorrect subject-verb agreement, homonyms such as "there" and "their" or "it's" and "its," and missing or inaccurate punctuation. Other items to keep in mind are the types and structure of sentences. Proofread for sentence errors such as fragments or run-ons.
  
  

Citations

• All information included in the paper that is not the writer's original thoughts or ideas must be cited in the body of the paper. These citations must include the last name of author whose work is referenced, followed by a comma and the year of publication in parentheses. This is listed at the end of the paraphrased text before the period that ends the sentence. When quoting a source directly, list the title of the article or book in italics, the author's last name, the date of publication in parentheses, the quoted information in quotation marks, and the page number in parentheses before the period ending the quotation.
  
  

References

• APA format calls for references to be listed on their own page at the end of the paper. References should be double-spaced and the second line and subsequent lines of the reference should be indented a half inch from the margin. References should include author, title and date of publication. Reference formats differ, depending on the type of reference. Complete, detailed instructions on citing printed and electronic sources are available.