Chapter 5: Formatting Assignments
Introduction
This chapter explains APA Style formatting for essays and assignments. It follows the guidelines in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (the Publication Manual). The word “essay” is used in this section, but these guidelines can be used for other types of assignments. Students should follow the formatting guidelines provided by their instructor. If students are not provided with any direction, they can follow the guidelines here.
Why is formatting important? (2.16)
A poorly organized essay or assignment can lead to instructors misunderstanding or misinterpreting the content. They might question a student’s knowledge or attention to detail, and students might receive lower grades because of poor organization or formatting errors. A well-organized assignment is easier to understand and easier to mark. More information about organization can be found in section 2.26 of the Publication Manual. One way to make formatting easier is to create a template for essays and assignments using a program like Microsoft Word. The instructions for creating a template are explained in the next section.
About This Chapter
This chapter is organized into parts that each explain a specific element of formatting an assignment. The chapter includes information about the following topics:
- Creating an APA Style template in Microsoft Word
- Formatting a title page in APA Style
- Creating running heads, if they’re required
- Formatting an essay in APA Style:
- The order of the pages
- Fonts and font sizes
- Spacing and margins
- Word count
- Paragraph alignment
- Formatting footnotes, if they’re required
- Adding tables and figures, if they’re required
- Adding an appendix or appendices, if they’re required
- Formatting a reference list in APA Style
.
What’s Next?
Following APA Style formatting for essays ensures consistency, and helps instructors to understand work and mark it accurately. The references page and reference list entries must also be formatted following APA Style. More information on formatting reference list entries in APA Style can be found in Chapter 6.
The next section explains how to create an APA Style essay template in Microsoft Word
Sources
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: The official guide to APA style. (7th ed.).
Microsoft Support. (2023). Create a template. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-a-template-86a1d089-5ae2-4d53-9042-1191bce57deb
Ocean County College Library. (2021). How to format an essay with Microsoft Word. https://www.ocean.edu/student-services/college-essay-format/
Thompson Rivers University Writing Centre. (n.d.). How to create a running head (APA). https://www.tru.ca/__shared/assets/how-to-create-a-running-head36845.pdf
APA Style is set of guidelines created by the American Psychological Association (the APA). These guidelines help writers, including students, to format written work and citations in a consistent way.
In APA Style, the title page is the first page of a paper or other assignment. It contains the title of the paper, the author’s name, and the institutional affiliation. A student title page also includes the course number and name, instructor name, and assignment due date.
A footnote appears on the bottom of the page that contains the sentence to which it refers. Footnotes provide additional information or context. Most student APA Style papers do not require footnotes.
An appendix comes after the reference list of an essay or assignment, and it contains any additional information such as raw data or interview transcripts. The information in the appendices is relevant but is too long or too detailed to include in the main body of the essay or assignment.
A reference list appears at the end of an assignment or essay, and it contains all of the reference list entries for information resources used for that assignment or essay.
