3. APA Document Formatting

The follow sections explain how to format a student paper in APA format. As mentioned in Section 2, APA style is generally used for writers seeking to publish research in the social sciences. However, like other style conventions (most notably MLA), APA has also been adapted for the purposes of preparing formal papers for academic coursework. Many of the conventions used by researchers preparing manuscripts for professional peer reviewers (i.e., fellow experts in the field) match those expected by instructors for the purposes of peer review by classmates, not to mention commentary by instructors themselves. Specific instructors and course assignments may require variations on the following standard formatting. When no extra clarification is given, use the conventions discussed in this section.

• 3.1. Format Settings Applied to the Whole Document
• 3.2. Standard Parts of an APA Paper
• 3.3. Formatting Tables, Figures, and Lists