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APA 7th referencing style Examples

This is a guide to using the APA 7th referencing style from the American Psychological Association. It is based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Tips on using headings

  • There are five levels of headings
  • All headings work from the top level down, regardless of how many subheadings in the section
  • Each section begins with the top level heading, regardless of how many subheadings are used within the section
  • Do not use numbers or letters as labels in headings 
  • Do not use Introduction as your first heading
  • The title of the paper is not considered a heading.
    • Place the title at the top of the first page
    • Use regular font in title case (all words except words like and, to, a, the are capitalised. These words are capitalised if first word in title).
    • Bold and centre the title.

Five levels of headings

Heading Level Formatting
1 Centered, Bold, Upper Case and Lower Case Heading (Title Case)
2 Left aligned, Bold, Upper Case and Lower Case Heading (Title Case)
3 Left aligned, Bold, Italicised, Upper Case and Lower Case Heading (Title Case)
4

Indented, Bold, Upper Case and Lower Case Heading (Title Case), ending with a full stop. Text begins on same line and continues as normal paragraph.
5

Indented, Bold, Italicised, Upper Case and Lower Case Heading (Title Case), ending with a full stop. Text begins on same line and continues as normal paragraph.

Example

Results

Outcome of Parenting Intervention

Group Support

Large Groups

Small Groups.

Children Aged 3-5.