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Formatting an APA title page

The title page is a requirement for all APA papers. The primary role of the title page is to present just that: the title. But that’s only the beginning of what is actually required for a properly formatted APA title page. This is the first chance a writer has to truly engage with the reader.

For students, the title page also lets people know which class, professor, and institution the text was written for. For professional authors, the title page is an opportunity to share any affiliations or conflicts of interest that might be present.

APA Style recognizes two different ways to format a title page. One is for student papers and the other is for professional papers. This guide will examine the difference and provide real-life examples of both.

The information provided below comes from the 7 th edition of the APA’s Publication Manual . You can read more about title page elements in Sections 2.1 – 2.8.

Here’s a run-through of everything this page includes:

The difference between a professional title page and a student title page in APA

Elements of an apa style title page, apa formatting title page example, conclusion: formatting a title page in apa 7.

Both student and professional title pages require a title, author, and an affiliation. Both types of title page also require the same basic formatting, including 1-inch indentations on all sides and a page number in the top right corner.

The primary difference is that professional title pages also require an author note and a running head. However, some professors do ask that you provide some of these elements in student papers. It’s a good idea to know how to format them just in case.

Student title page APA

An APA title page for any paper being submitted for a class, degree, or thesis is all about the basics. Here are the elements that should be included in a student title page :

• Title of your paper
• Byline (author or authors)
• Affiliation (department and university)
• Course name and course number
• Instructor name

Page number

Your professor or institution might have their own formatting requirements. When writing a paper for a class, the first rule is to always pay attention to the instructions.

Professional title page APA

A professional title page skips the class info and due date, but it includes:

• Affiliation (division and/or organization)
• Author note
• Running head

The author note and running head are generally only required for professional papers. However, some professors might ask that you include one or both of them. Be sure to check the assignment instructions before submitting.

The title of your paper is really important. This is where the author needs to simultaneously inform and engage the reader without being overly wordy.

An effective title will:

• Engage the reader
• Concisely explain the main topic of research
• Concisely explain any relevant variables or theoretical issues

The paper title should be placed three or four lines down from the top margin of the page. It should be presented in bold, title case, and centered on the page.

Author/Byline

The correct way to display the author’s name is first name, middle initial, and last name. The most important thing is to prevent the possibility of mistaken identity. After all, there are a lot of papers published every year, and it’s possible that someone else has the same name as you do.

For all author bylines in APA, all licenses and degrees are omitted (e.g., Dr., Professor, PhD, RN, etc.).

If your paper has multiple authors, then they should all be listed in the same way, in order of their contributions. All authors should be on the same line, unless more lines are required.

Here’s an example of a properly formatted byline for a paper with two authors:

Cassandra M. Berkman and Wilhelm K. Jackson

Affiliation

The affiliation element is where you identify the place where the work was conducted or who it was conducted for. This is almost always a university or institution. In some cases, there are multiple affiliations for one author, or multiple authors with different affiliations.

Academic affiliations

Academic affiliations include schools, universities, and teaching hospitals. The affiliation line should include the specific department followed by the name of the institution. There is no need to include a location for academic affiliations.

Here is an example of what a basic academic affiliation line should look like:

Department of Psychology, Colorado State University

Non-academic affiliations

Non-academic affiliations are anything that isn’t a school or university, which could be a hospital, laboratory, or just about any type of organization. The affiliation line for a non-academic organization should include the department or division, followed by the name and location of the organization. All elements should be separated by commas.

Here’s how it looks when put to use:

Vidant Health, Greenville, NC, United States

Course number and name (Student only)

Use the course number and course name as they appear on official university materials. Examples:

• ENG 204: Modern English Literature
• PSYC 2301: Research Methodology

Instructor name (Student papers only)

It’s important that you display your instructor’s name in their preferred way. With academics who have multiple degrees and positions, this isn’t something that you should guess at.

It is generally safe to use the course syllabus to see how they prefer to be listed. For example, some use the word “Professor” as their prefix, and many will have PhD, RN, or other type of professional designation.

Due date (Student papers only)

The due date should be presented in the day, month, and year format that is standard to your country.

The page number goes at the top right-hand side of the paper. This is one of the only elements that appears on every single page.

You can add running page numbers to your paper by double-clicking the header portion of the document or clicking the “Insert” tab. It will automatically insert page numbers into the rest of the document.

Author note (Professional papers only)

The author note is usually only required for professional papers. This is where additional data, disclaimers, conflicts of interest, and statements about funding are placed. In some cases, the author statement can be several pages long.

The author note is generally split into four paragraphs, including:

• ORCID iD (a scientific/academic author ID)
• Changes of Affiliation
• Disclosures and Acknowledgments
• Contact Information

Section 2.7 of the Publication Manual has even more information on how to structure these elements for a professional paper.

Running Head (Professional papers only)

While some student papers might require a running head, this is something that is typically only for papers being submitted for publication. This is an abbreviated version of your title that appears at the top of every page to help readers identify it. The running title is particularly useful especially in print versions of journals and publications.

The running head does not have to use the same words as they appear in your title. Instead, try to re-work your paper’s main idea into a shortened form.

For example, if your paper’s title is:

“A Mystery of Style: Exploring the Formatting Mechanics of the Running Head According  to APA Style 7th Edition”

Then your abbreviated title can be something like:

“RUNNING HEAD IN APA 7”

“FORMATTING THE RUNNING HEAD”

The idea is to convey only the most important aspects of your title. The running head should be entered in the page header, flush left against the margin, and presented in all-capital letters.

The APA suggests a maximum length of 50 characters (including spaces and punctuation) for a running head. If your title is already 50 characters and under, then you can use the whole thing as the running head.

Next, let’s have a look at an example of what a real APA title page looks like when it’s all put together.

Student title page formatting example

Professional title page formatting example

All papers written according to APA Style should have a properly formatted title page. Making sure that the title page elements are accurate and informative will help people access your work. It is also the first opportunity that you have as the author to establish credibility and engage the reader.

For more information on the basic elements of an APA paper, check out Chapter 2 of the Publication Manual or our guide on APA format .

Published October 28, 2020.

APA Formatting Guide

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• View APA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
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• Website (no author)
• View all APA Examples

An APA title page provides the details of the paper, such as the title of the paper, author name, and author affiliation. APA title pages have two formats—one for professional papers and one for student papers.

The elements to be added on the title page of a professional paper (in order of appearance) are:

• Page number and running head: These elements appear in the header section. The page number appears at the top-right corner, whereas the running head appears at the top-left corner. If the title is too long, the running head is shortened to less than 50 characters.
• Title of the paper: It provides information about the paper. It is aligned center and set in bold.
• Names of the authors: It gives the names of the contributors to the paper and is aligned center.
• Affiliations of the authors: It gives the department and university details of the authors.
• Author note: It gives extra information about the authors.

In a student paper, the following details are included on the title page:

• Page number: This appears in the top-right corner of the header section.
• Title of the paper: It gives the reader an idea of the information in the paper. It appears in title case and bold. It is center-aligned.
• Names of the authors: The names of the contributors are added here. This field is also called the by-line.
• Affiliations of the authors: It includes the names of the authors’ departments and universities.
• Name of the course: The name of the course for which the paper is written is included in this field.
• Name of the instructor: Unlike the professional paper, the instructor’s name is included in a student paper.
• Due date of the assignment: The due date of the assignment is added here. The format is “Month Day, Year” (e.g., August 22, 2017).

The title page information for APA is different for a professional paper and a student paper. As a student, you need to include the following details in the same order on the title page of your student paper.

• Page number: This appears in the header section. Set the page number in the top-right corner of the header.
• Title of the paper: Set it in title case and bold. Align it to the center.
• Names of the authors: Provide the names of the contributors. This field is also called the by-line.
• Affiliations of the authors: Include your department and university name.
• Name of the course: Provide the name of the course and course number for which the paper is written.
• Name of the instructor: Add the instructor’s name. There is no rigid rule on how to set the instructor’s name. You can set it according to the instructor’s preference.
• Due date of the assignment: Add the due date of the assignment. The format should be “Month Day, Year” (e.g., August 23, 2021).

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APA Title Page (Cover Page) Format, Example, & Templates

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Educator, Researcher

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. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

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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.

On This Page:

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

Student paper APA title page

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 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 Referencing
• How to Write a Lab Report
• Essay Writing Guide for Psychology Students
• APA Style Citations & References
• Example of an APA Formatted Paper

APA Guide: 7th Edition

• Summary of Changes
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Student Paper Example

• Student Paper Example This is a student paper example from the 7th Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Professional Paper Example

• Professional Paper Example This is a professional paper example from the 7th Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Student Title Page Elements

The title page includes the following elements: Page number, Paper title, Author, Author Affiliation, Course, Instructor, and Due Date .  Remember, your instructor can include other requirements for your assignment.  Refer to their instructions carefully.

Your title page and paper is double-spaced. Use 1-inch margins. 

Acceptable Fonts:

• 11-point Calibri 
• 11-point Arial
• 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode 
• 12-point Times New Roman
• 11-point Georgia
• 10-point Computer Modern 1 
• Should summarize the main idea in a succinct way .
• Include strong keywords so that readers can find your work in a database or by using a search engine.
• Avoid using abbreviations in a title.
• The title should be provided in title case .  This means that all major words are capitalized. 
• Be bolded, centered, and begin 3-4 lines down from the top margin of the paper.
• Put a double-spaced blank line between the title and the byline.
• The paper title also appears at the top of the first page of your paper.

Author Name(s) (Byline)

• Beneath the title, type the  author's or authors' full name(s) .
• Do not use titles or degrees.
• ​Order the names of authors based on their contributions.
• Write all of the names on the same line.
• Center the names in a standard font.
• Smith and Doe
• Smith, Doe, and Jones

Author Affiliation

• Identify where you worked or studied when the body of work was completed.
• Include no more than two affiliations for each author.
• Example:  College of Nursing and Health Innovation, University of Texas at Arlington
• Include the department or division.
• Include the name of the institution.
• Include the location of the institution.
• Example:  Hematology/Oncology, Cook Children's Medical Center, Fort Worth, Texas, United States
• Include the location.

Locations should include the city, state, province, and country.

Course Name

• Put the course number and name below the Author Affiliation.
• Check with your instructor on the preferred name.
• Place the month, date, and year after the Instructor(s) name(s).

See the example title page below:

All content on this guide comes from the 7th edition of the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association and from the APA Style Blog.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association ( 7th ed.).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000  

American Psychological Association. (2020, October). Blog .  https://apastyle.apa.org/blog

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APA Title Page

•   Jennifer Janechek

What is an APA Title Page?

An APA Title Page refers to

• a Title Page for a longer document that is formatted according to the conventions prescribed by the American Psychological Association’s Publication Manual .

The title page is comprised of four elements and two optional elements:

Related Concepts: Archive; Scholarly Conversation; Organization

The Title Page appears at the top of the first page of an APA-styled paper.

Like the rest of the paper, the title page should be double-spaced and typed in Times New Roman, 12 pt. The margins are set at 1” on all sides.

Summary of Required & Optional Elements

• Page number
• Full title of paper
• Author byline (aka bio)
• Affiliated Institution(s) or Organization(s)
• Running head: The running head became optional in the 7th Edition of the Publication Manual.
• Author note

Required Components

• The full title of the paper is centered in the upper half of the page, and the first letter of each major word is capitalized. The paper’s title should be a maximum of 12 words and fill one or two lines; avoid using abbreviations and unnecessary words. Do not format the title with bold, italics, underlining, or quotation marks. The title should be centered in the upper portion of the page, centered, and written in boldface. Make sure to capitalize the major words of the title, such as The Silence of the Lambs . Keep your title as concise as possible! You’ll have plenty of time to be detailed in the body text.
• The author byline is comprised of the author(s)’ first name(s), middle initial(s), and last name(s); this line follows after the full title of the research paper. Note that two authors are separated by the word and, but more than two authors’ names are separated by commas. Do not include titles, degrees, or honorifics (Mr., Mrs., Mx., etc.).
• List the institutional affiliation of the author(s) involved with the research paper. Include the name of the college or university you attend, or the name of the organization(s) that provided support for your research.

Optional Components

• Running head (or shortened title) and label – Optional In accordance with APA 7th Edition updates, student papers typically no longer include a running head. If you are unsure about the need for a running head, be sure to consult with your professor. The running head and label is flush with the upper left-hand corner of the title page, while the page number is flush with the upper right-hand corner of the page. The label “Running head” should only appear on the title page; on all other pages, simply include the shortened title of the paper. All letters of the running head should be capitalized and should not exceed 50 characters, including punctuation, letters, and spaces. Example: EFFECTS OF NUTRITION ON MEMORY
• If you are a student, check to see whether your professor asked you to add any additional information in the Author note slot. Some professors require further information, including the date of submission, course number or title, or name of the professor. If your instructor requires you to include an author’s note, position it in the lower half of the title page. Follow your instructor’s directives regarding additional lines on the title page.

Example: APA Title Page of a Student Work

When creating the Title Page , professional and student papers have slightly different rules for APA. We’ll cover the rules that apply to both types first.

You’ll need to include the course number and name, the name of the professor, and the date your assignment is due. All of this should be done line by line beneath the name of your school.

Image courtesy of the APA style guide

Example: APA Title Page of a Professional Work

You’ll need to include an author’s note underneath your institution on the bottom half of the page. There will be a couple of brief paragraphs to write for this note.

• The first paragraph should have the author’s name and symbol and URL for the ORCID iD. The ORCID iD can be excluded if you don’t have one.
• The second paragraph should include any changes in the institution or deaths of the authors.
• The third paragraph should include any disclosures, acknowledgments, or relevant information related to either.
• The fourth/final paragraph is where you’ll include the contact information for the author.

If any of these paragraphs are irrelevant, there is no need to include them. Simply skip to the next relevant one.

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APA Research Paper Title Page: How to Write Guide

13 Jan 2021

Research work written in APA formatting must strictly have a title page. This requirement differentiates this formatting standard from others and also gives some special opportunities. The rules for developing it can be both elementary and strict. We will be focused on the APA 7 title page. The previous research paper title page or APA title page was 6.

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Running Head

The running head represents a short form of the title that is represented to the reader throughout the paper. It is placed in the header of each page. While the name may contain as many words as the author needs, the running head consists of a recognizable and concise part of the name of the work concerning the title page.

The running head is typed entirely in capital letters, and Its length cannot exceed 50 words. A Reminder that “Running Head” is written in this exact way and followed by a colon, and goes before the shortened heading. This is how you can make a professional title page using a proper APA title page.

APA Title Page

The title of your work should be located in the center of the page relative to the vertical axis, centered regarding side margins, and typed in the standard font style and size. APA formatting does not obligate but recommends that it should not be very long and contain useless information. Use standard capitalization while writing the title.

Starting from the moment of writing the title, all the text on the title page should be double-spaced. Student papers usually contain a mistake here, so professors will pay close attention to it! Make sure your research paper cover page uses a precise APA format and is error-free.

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Affiliation With The Institution

The institutional affiliation has a huge role in all of this. It is mandatory according to the APA publication manual and should be present in all research papers. If you are a student, you will write school and the department where you are writing research papers for.

If you are a researcher, you will write the institution and department where you have completed the research paper and the actual research. You can find a title page example with multiple authors. The cover page will include all the authors, with the institutions and departments for each one. University name and department are mandatory to use according to APA guidelines.

The maximum length is not defined. But use a shortened version just in case, and New Roman font works best. Just don't try to write too much here. Be specific and direct.

Details Regarding The Course

Here you will have to provide all the details and information about the course. Make sure to enter the course number and name, the due date, and the name of the instructor name.

Most of the time, the instructor will be your professor, and he or she can help you with the specifics. This is similar to the MLA format.

As always, use short facts and specifics and the full course name on the page. A professional paper will use very short words. This is something that you can see in a student paper and in an abbreviated version.

The due date is pre-set, and you will use the first one agreed upon. There is no way you can change it or make it longer.

Author Note

Author note is the next step you need to complete. This is not something you will see in a new paragraph or start with the first word. It simply means that if you are presenting a professional paper, you can provide ORCID iD, acknowledges (brief only), any changes in affiliation and etc.

Some call this European style, but we believe that all papers should have this if possible. It makes your first page and a student version better. Always use the middle initial and the first letter. Author note is extremely important, keep that in mind. This section goes on the bottom half of the page.

Do Not Include An Image

Some of you will ask should an image be included on the title page or the cover page. The title page is there to provide only the details needed. There is no need to provide an image. Some professors even dislike this dramatically.

According to the modern language association, there are no details or guidelines regarding this and a title page. Your research paper will contain the paper title, page header, sections, and if needed, images, but the cover page will not.

If you have to or must add an image, make sure it is free to use. Only then you can use it on the research paper cover page and don't end up in trouble. The same thing applies to research paper MLA format or MLA style if you prefer. MLA style can be even more complicated when it comes to images, institutional affiliation, and title pages in general.

Don't forget about quotation marks on the student title page and the paper's title if they are needed. Be more focused on the first paragraph and the third paragraph than on this. You can add pictures after the second paragraph.

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Personal Information

After indicating the title of the paper, its author may state his personal information. Personal details are typed directly below the title and use the same formatting style as the aforementioned title, only changing information from the designation of the study to the first and last name of the writer.

According to the same rules, the name of the institution under the auspices of which the research is conducted appears below the author's name. It is as important as the page header.

If you become famous, you will want to share these details in all the papers you write. It is impressive how a simple thing like this can be important.

There is no need to add that all of this makes the whole process look and feel much better.

Page Number

The numbering of the pages in APA coincides with numbering in other formatting styles. The title page is also included in the list of numbered pages. Page numbering should appear in the upper right corner of the header using Arabic numerals. The page number is another mistake you can make.

In a nutshell, nobody likes to read without page number which is even a bigger problem in academic writing. This is why you can see this at any professional version and in professional papers. Page numbers always go in the upper right hand corner, and they are not center-aligned elements.

This simple thing can make your research paper look and feel more advanced and more appealing. Double space is not needed when using the numbers for the pages.

Additional Information

You may ask which `special opportunities` gives a title page. The eye-catching nature of the cover favorably identifies an APA research paper from others.

It is one of a kind, and it is more than just popular. This is why you will have to make sure you understand it completely and know how and when to use it properly.

Keep In Mind

A paper title has a huge role in all of this. It can make your research paper much better when you have a proper research paper title with all the specifics. Don't forget that the page number is important, and also the institutional affiliation elements you have to enter.

This is a small type of writing with one or two lines only, and other pages are much more complex. So, make sure you complete it on the first line and have a perfect sample title.

We know that all of this may sound complicated. At first, it probably is. But, once you have written the page using these guidelines, you will memorize them. You will see how simple they are.

Now you have skills that can make you a much better writer. It is a mandatory thing to know and one that can make your whole education different and better.

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Thanks for your feedback.

Prof. Linda Mia

I’ve worked for the past eight years as a content editor, creative writer, and professional essay writer. Every day, I work hard to make sure my clients are satisfied with the projects and papers I write for them. My areas of expertise are wide, ranging from Psychology and Sociology to Political Science and World History.

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How to Write a Title Page in APA Format for Psychology

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

 James Lacy, MLS, is a fact-checker and researcher.

• Important Elements
• Choosing a Title
• Author’s Name and Affiliation
• Other Elements
• Format for Professional Papers
• Title Page Checklist

The title page is the first page of your psychology paper. In order to make a good first impression, it is important to have a well-formatted title page in proper APA format that clearly represents your paper.

Use APA title page format for psychology lab reports and other student papers. Your instructor may also request that you use a similar format for other types of psychology writing .

This article discusses how to format a title page for a psychology paper. It also covers the differing guidelines for title pages for student papers versus professional papers.

Title Page Elements for a Psychology Paper

There are a number of key elements that your title page should contain. However, it is important to note that the format for psychology student papers is somewhat different than that of professional papers. Important elements to include are:

• Article title
• Author’s name
• Author's school or institutional affiliation
• Running head (not required for student papers)
• Course name
• Instructor name
• Page number

Choosing a Title for Your Psychology Paper

One of the most difficult tasks is choosing a good title. Your title should be as specific as possible.

Your goal should be to craft a title that can stand alone and be fully explanatory without further elaboration. A reader browsing through paper titles in an online database should be able to quickly read your title and know exactly what your paper is about.

Page Title Examples

• An example of a good, specific title : Second-Order Beliefs and the Use of Self-Presentational Explanations for Behavior
• An example of a title that is too general : Cognitive Abilities and Social Understanding

The best way to structure your title is to look at your hypothesis and experimental variables . For example: The Effects of [ Independent Variable ] on [ Dependent Variable ].

The official APA publication manual notes that your title should be brief, yet communicate the main topic and variables of interest.

Avoid words that serve no real purpose or that do not communicate essential information. Some examples of such words and phrases include “An Experiment on…,” “A Study of…”, “method,” or “results.”

While there is no maximum length for titles, the APA recommends keeping your title concise while still including key terms.

Author’s Name and School Affiliation

The next element of your title page is the byline, which lists the author’s name and institutional affiliation. Listing your first name, middle initial(s), and last name is the recommended format. Do not include abbreviations of your titles or degrees such as Dr. or PhD.

Students should include the name of the department followed by the name of their school. This should be centered on the page and appear after the author's name.

Name and Affiliation Example

June Callaway

Department of Psychology, University of Ohio

PSYCH 101: Introduction to General Psychology

Dr. Ashana Lee

September 7, 2022

*Note: This information should be centered on your title page, not aligned to the left as it appears here.

The institutional affiliation should be the location where the research was conducted, most often a college or university. In some cases, research may have been supported by more than one institution. For these instances, only include two affiliations if both schools offered substantial support to the research and only list two affiliations for every author.

What should you do if you were not affiliated with an academic institution when the research was conducted? In this instance, the APA suggests listing your city and state of residence in place of the academic affiliation.

Other Elements of a Title Page

There are also additional formatting concerns you should observe as you draft an APA format title page for your psychology paper:

• A running head should be included in the upper left-hand corner on all pages, including the title page, although this is not required on the title page if it's a student paper.
• Note that the running head should be no more than 50 characters , including letters, spacing between words, and punctuation of your title in uppercase letters.
• The running head should be in all uppercase letters and should only include the title; it should not include the label "running head."
• All pages, including the title page, should also have a page number in the upper right-hand corner.
• Your title, name, and institution should be double-spaced and centered on the page. Student papers should also include the assignment due date directly below the institution's information.

Format for Professional Psychology Papers

The APA's guidelines are slightly different for papers intended for scholarly publication in a professional journal. In addition to the basic elements included in a basic title page, a professional paper should also include:

• A running head : The running head should be a shortened version of the paper's title. It should appear on every page of the paper along with the page number.
• Author affiliation : In the second paragraph, list any changes in author affiliation. For example, if one of the authors is now affiliated with a different university from where the research was conducted, the author's note might state that "Dr. Last Name is now at the Department of Psychology, University of Georgia."
• An author's note : This note should include the author's name, the symbol for the ORCID iD, the URL for the ORCID iD. An ORCID iD is an alphanumeric code used to identify scientific and academic authors. If an author does not have an ORCID iD, their name should be omitted.  
• Disclosures and acknowledgments : In the third paragraph, list any acknowledgments and disclosures, including possible conflicts of interests and sources of financial support.
• Contact information : The fourth paragraph of the author's note should include the author's contact information.

Author's Note, Disclosure, and Contact Info

For an author's note, include the author's name followed by a link to their ORCID iD. The disclosure might be a simple sentence stating that you have no known conflict of interest to disclose. Next, state that correspondence concerning the article should be addressed to the individual listed, then provide the mailing address and email contact for that individual.

Title Page Checklist for a Psychology Paper

Before you turn in your psychology paper, ask yourself the following questions:

• Does your title page contain a title, your name, your institutional affiliation, a running head (not required on title page if it's a student paper), and a page number?
• Is your title clear and specific, and does it accurately describe what your paper is about?
• Is your running head in uppercase format and no longer than 50 characters in length?
• Is the title, your name, and institutional affiliation centered on the page and double-spaced?

Check out this example of a title page in APA format.

American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association .

American Psychological Association. Title page setup . APA Style.

American Psychological Association. Page header . APA Style.

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• Knowledge Base
• APA Style 7th edition
• How to write and format an APA abstract

APA Abstract (2020) | Formatting, Length, and Keywords

Published on November 6, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on January 3, 2022.

An APA abstract is a comprehensive summary of your paper in which you briefly address the research problem , hypotheses , methods , results , and implications of your research. It’s placed on a separate page right after the title page and is usually no longer than 250 words.

Most professional papers that are submitted for publication require an abstract. Student papers typically don’t need an abstract, unless instructed otherwise.

Table of contents

How to format the abstract, how to write an apa abstract, which keywords to use, frequently asked questions, apa abstract example.

Formatting instructions

Follow these five steps to format your abstract in APA Style:

• Insert a running head (for a professional paper—not needed for a student paper) and page number.
• Set page margins to 1 inch (2.54 cm).
• Write “Abstract” (bold and centered) at the top of the page.
• Do not indent the first line.
• Double-space the text.
• Use a legible font like Times New Roman (12 pt.).
• Limit the length to 250 words.
• Indent the first line 0.5 inches.
• Write the label “Keywords:” (italicized).
• Write keywords in lowercase letters.
• Separate keywords with commas.
• Do not use a period after the keywords.

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The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

• Missing commas and periods
• Incorrect usage of “et al.”
• Ampersands (&) in narrative citations
• Missing reference entries

The abstract is a self-contained piece of text that informs the reader what your research is about. It’s best to write the abstract after you’re finished with the rest of your paper.

The questions below may help structure your abstract. Try answering them in one to three sentences each.

• What is the problem? Outline the objective, research questions , and/or hypotheses .
• What has been done? Explain your research methods .
• What did you discover? Summarize the key findings and conclusions .
• What do the findings mean? Summarize the discussion and recommendations .

Check out our guide on how to write an abstract for more guidance and an annotated example.

Guide: writing an abstract

At the end of the abstract, you may include a few keywords that will be used for indexing if your paper is published on a database. Listing your keywords will help other researchers find your work.

Choosing relevant keywords is essential. Try to identify keywords that address your topic, method, or population. APA recommends including three to five keywords.

An abstract is a concise summary of an academic text (such as a journal article or dissertation ). It serves two main purposes:

• To help potential readers determine the relevance of your paper for their own research.
• To communicate your key findings to those who don’t have time to read the whole paper.

Abstracts are often indexed along with keywords on academic databases, so they make your work more easily findable. Since the abstract is the first thing any reader sees, it’s important that it clearly and accurately summarizes the contents of your paper.

An APA abstract is around 150–250 words long. However, always check your target journal’s guidelines and don’t exceed the specified word count.

In an APA Style paper , the abstract is placed on a separate page after the title page (page 2).

Avoid citing sources in your abstract . There are two reasons for this:

• The abstract should focus on your original research, not on the work of others.
• The abstract should be self-contained and fully understandable without reference to other sources.

There are some circumstances where you might need to mention other sources in an abstract: for example, if your research responds directly to another study or focuses on the work of a single theorist. In general, though, don’t include citations unless absolutely necessary.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2022, January 03). APA Abstract (2020) | Formatting, Length, and Keywords. Scribbr. Retrieved November 14, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-abstract/

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MLA & APA Style Guide

• Setting Up Your Paper
• MLA In-Text Citations
• MLA Works Cited Page

APA In-Text Citations

• APA Reference Page
• Annotated Bibliography
• Helpul Resources

Anytime you quote OR use information from an outside source, you include an in-text citation, or sometimes referred to as a parenthetical citation, at the end of that sentence to signify where that information came from.

Basic APA In-Text Format

Paraphrasing Information: (Author(s) last name, year published) ⮕ (Fisher & Bishop, 2015).

Direct Quote: (Author(s) last name, year published, page number)  ⮕ (Fisher & Bishop, 2015, p. 21)

I'm Citing A. . .

• Source With One Author
• A Source With Two Authors
• A Source With Three or More Authors
• A Source With a Group of Authors

Use the author’s last name, a comma, and the year published.

(Guo, 2020).

Connect both authors' last names with & (ampersand), a comma, and the year.

(Dresang & Koh, 2009).

If there are 3 or more authors, use just the last name of the first author, use et al. in place of other authors, a comma, and the year.

(Vardell et al., 2020).

If you are using a source that has a group as an author, like the CDC, the first time you cite them, use the entire group name, the abbreviated name in brackets, a comma, and the year.

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2019).

All subsequent citations will look like this:

(CDC, 2019).

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Title Page Generator

Apa 6th edition, apa 7th edition, free title page creator for top-notch papers.

Whether you are preparing a dissertation, research paper, report or essay, the first thing that your professor sees before grading your work is the title page. Therefore, you need to ensure the title page is excellent to create the best first impression about your work. Apparently, most university and college students find it challenging to format their title pages correctly, with some putting the name, title of their work, or running head, among other components, in the wrong places. The sure, simpler and professional way of doing this is using our title page maker tool.

The dedicated APA, Harvard, Turabian or MLA cover page maker makes creating a title page easy, fast, and convenient. You will also love it because it makes it possible to create title pages for your university papers in the following few steps:

• On the title page creator page, click the preferred writing style. Are you preparing your paper in ASA, MLA or Chicago?
• Add a running head. Try to make this short, about 50 characters.
• Key in your first name and last name.
• Write down your institution.
• Finally, click the icon generate and you are done.

The APA, Harvard and MLA title page generator is that simple to use—no wasting time or risking putting information at the wrong place.

Free MLA, Harvard and APA Title Page Generator for University

Is there a research paper writing help service that can help me prepare top-rated title page for my paper? What is the best way to get it right? Well, there is no need to worry anymore because how to create a title page has gotten a lot simpler with the cover page creator our master thesis writing service offers. The cover page creator makes your work look more professional in just a few steps and guarantees you of better grades and works for many assignments including:

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Using Cover Page Generator to Create Title Pages for All Paper Formats

With the help of title page maker, you will never have to get worried of how to create a running head or position the title of your paper. While you create your title page using the generator, you can get cheap dissertation writing services to help with the rest of your dissertation work. Here is a closer look at the title pages for different types of papers, from APA to MLA, and why you should use our cover page generator:

APA 6 Cover Page

APA is a classical method of formatting that is commonly used on social sciences, education, psychology, law, and political sciences, among other subjects. An APA cover page for version 6 features running head, title of the paper, name of the student. You also need to include the name of the university, page number, and ensure the texts are double spaced. Instead of trying to do it manually, just use the APA title page generator to prepare it fast and correctly. See the example below:

APA 7 Title Page

The APA 7th edition title page closely resembles that of the sixth edition, but comes with some few differences. Just like with the sixth edition type, your title page will require a running head positioned about ½-inch from the top margin, page number, paper title, author, and university. In addition, you will be required to include the affiliations, such as your department, and add notes at the bottom. Does it look challenging to prepare? This is why you should use the APA cover page generator.

MLA Title Page

If you are unsure of how to make an MLA cover page, here is what to know. The MLA formatting style is used in both colleges and schools in the US and across the globe. If you are taking liberal arts, English, culture, nursing and history, the chances are that your professor will ask the papers to be formatted in MLA.

Unlike the APA title page, MLA cover page does not have a running head. At the top of the page, you need to write the name of your university, then jump to the center of the page and put down the title, and then jump to the bottom where you include your name, course, professor, and date. The sure way to get it right is using MLA title page generator.

Harvard Cover Page Design

Harvard formatting style stands out because of partial citations and embedding into the sentences of the texts. The formatting style is mainly preferred for preparing business assignments, but it is not uncommon to see teachers from other disciplines asking you to use it. The title page of a paper following the Harvard format closely resembles that of APA 7th edition, albeit with some minor differences. This is why you should use the Harvard title page generator to create it.

The cover page requires you to put down a running head on the header, followed by the title, your name, and the course (code and name), lecturer’s name, and university. Depending on the university and department, you might be asked to add city and state address. Most students indicate that this is pretty tough for them, but you can make it pretty simple and fun by using Harvard title page generator.

Whether you are preparing your paper in APA, Harvard, or MLA format among others, you can now rely on our expert writers and top dissertation writing services in different fields online. Also, you should use our essay cover page generator to make your work standout. The tool can significantly help to increase your writing skills and improve the grade you will be awarded by your professor. Why struggle creating a title page manually and risk losing some marks, when a title page creator is only a click away?

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