APA 7 paper format by the numbers
Everything below is a setting you change once, at the start, in whatever you write in. Set them before you type a word and you never think about them again.
| Setting | APA 7 rule | Where to change it |
|---|---|---|
| Margins | 1 inch, or 2.54 cm, on all four sides | Layout, then Margins, then Normal |
| Line spacing | Double, with no extra space between paragraphs | Paragraph settings, spacing before and after set to 0 |
| Paragraph indent | First line indented 0.5 inch | Paragraph settings, Special, First line |
| Reference indent | Hanging indent of 0.5 inch | Paragraph settings, Special, Hanging |
| Page number | Flush right in the header, on every page including the title page | Insert, then Page Number, top right |
| Running head | Professional papers only, never required for student work | Nothing to do on a student paper |
| Alignment | Left aligned, ragged right edge, no justification | Paragraph settings, Align left |
Two of those cause more lost marks than the rest combined. The first is justified text, which looks tidy and is wrong in APA, because justification creates rivers of white space that hurt readability. The second is the extra space Word adds after every paragraph by default, which quietly breaks true double spacing. Set spacing before and after to zero and the problem disappears.
The fonts APA actually accepts
APA 7 does not demand Times New Roman. It gives you a list, and the point size is tied to the font, so 12-point Calibri is not an APA setting even though it looks fine. Pick one from this list and use it for the whole paper, including the title page, the headings and the references.
| Font | Size | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Times New Roman | 12-point | Serif |
| Georgia | 11-point | Serif |
| Computer Modern | 10-point, normal | Serif, used in LaTeX |
| Aptos | 12-point | Sans serif |
| Calibri | 11-point | Sans serif |
| Arial | 11-point | Sans serif |
| Lucida Sans Unicode | 10-point | Sans serif |
Aptos is the newest name on that list and the one most people have not heard of. Microsoft made it the default font in Word in 2024, which means a brand new document is probably already using it. If you are on a recent copy of Word and you do nothing at all, check the size is 12-point and you are compliant by accident.
The student title page, line by line
APA 7 split the title page in two. The professional version carries a running head and an author note. The student version, which is what an assignment needs, is shorter and has a fixed order.
| Order | Element | How it looks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Page number | Flush right in the header. The title page is page 1 |
| 2 | Paper title | Bold, Title Case, centred, in the upper half of the page |
| 3 | Blank line | One empty double spaced line under the title |
| 4 | Your name | First name, middle initial, last name. No degrees, no titles |
| 5 | Affiliation | Department and university, for example Department of Psychology, University of Leeds |
| 6 | Course | Course number and course name, for example PSY 210: Cognitive Psychology |
| 7 | Instructor | The name and title your instructor uses |
| 8 | Due date | The assignment due date, written out, for example 26 September 2026 |
What does not belong on a student title page: a running head, the word Running head, a border, a picture, your student number unless the brief asks for it, and the date you actually finished writing rather than the date the work is due.
The five heading levels
APA headings are a fixed ladder. You always start at level 1 and you never skip a rung, even if a section only has one subsection. Most undergraduate papers never go past level 2, and that is completely fine.
One detail that trips people: the paper title on the title page is not a heading, and the word Introduction is not one either. APA assumes your paper opens with the introduction, so you repeat the paper title at the top of the first page of text and start writing.
The reference page
References start on a fresh page at the end. The word References goes at the top, bold, centred, in title case, with no underline and no colon. Entries run in one alphabetical list by the first author surname, double spaced, with a hanging indent of half an inch.
That hanging indent is where most formatting marks quietly disappear, because people build it with the space bar. Spaces move when the text reflows on a different screen or printer, so the list arrives at your marker looking ragged. Do it properly instead:
| App | How to set a 0.5 inch hanging indent |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Word | Select the references, open the Paragraph dialog, set Special to Hanging and By to 0.5 inch |
| Google Docs | Select the references, Format, Align and indent, Indentation options, Special indent, Hanging, 0.5 |
| Apple Pages | Select the references, Format sidebar, Layout tab, Indents, set First to minus 0.5 and Left to 0.5 |
| LibreOffice Writer | Select the references, Format, Paragraph, set Before text to 0.5 inch and First line to minus 0.5 inch |
Spacing rules people still get wrong
Double spacing in APA 7 means everywhere, with almost no exceptions. It covers the title page, the body, block quotations, figure captions and the reference list. There is no extra blank line between paragraphs, because the double spacing already does that job. Inside tables and figures you may single space a note if it helps readability, and that is the only place most students will ever need it.
After a full stop you use one space, not two. The two space habit comes from typewriters and APA dropped it. A quotation of 40 words or more becomes a block quote: start it on a new line, indent the whole block half an inch, drop the quotation marks, and put the citation after the closing full stop rather than before it.
What actually loses marks
| Common slip | What it should be |
|---|---|
| A running head on a student paper | Page number only. The running head is for papers submitted to journals |
| Extra blank lines between paragraphs | Spacing before and after set to 0, with double spacing doing the work |
| Justified text with a straight right edge | Left aligned with a ragged right edge |
| A hanging indent made with the space bar | A real hanging indent of 0.5 inch from the paragraph settings |
| References titled Bibliography or Works Cited | The single word References, bold and centred |
| Mixed fonts, usually from pasted text | One approved font at its matching size throughout |
| The completion date on the title page | The date the assignment is due |
Frequently asked questions
The bottom line
APA formatting is a short list of fixed settings, not a skill. One inch margins, double spacing with no extra paragraph gaps, one approved font at its matching size, a 0.5 inch first line indent, a 0.5 inch hanging indent on the references, the page number flush right, and no running head. Set those once at the start of the document, keep the heading ladder in order, and the only thing left to think about is the writing itself.