Home Scholarship Education What Are the APA Formatting Requirements for an Essay?

What Are the APA Formatting Requirements for an Essay?

Different styles of writing can often seem puzzling, especially if you are used, for example, to MLA style and all of a sudden are asked to craft an essay in APA. But this is just a matter of habit. Once you practice a little, you are sure to master the rules of writing in a new style and get a good grade. 

The APA writing format is named after The American Psychological Association and is widely used for creating academic papers in many subjects: social sciences including psychology and criminology; linguistics; business; economics, etc. This is the accepted and official writing format for publications by The American Psychological Association.

Basic Requirements for APA Formatting Style for Students

In most cases, a students essay compiled according to the APA rules of formatting will consist of:

  • the title page
  • abstract
  • introduction
  • body
  • conclusion
  • references

Now, let us look at every component and the requirements for them a little bit closer. 

Title Page

As a rule, the title page in the APA style includes the title of the paper, a student’s name, year of study, and the full name of the college. What is crucial is that the title length should not exceed 2 lines of text and should not count more than 12 words. It should also contain the instructor’s initials and the due date. 

Everywhere in the paper, you are recommended to use the Times Roman font, 12 pt. The ‘page header’ should be present on every page at the top too. 

Writing an Abstract

Don’t worry if you never have this page in your essay – the abstract page is not compulsory but some disciplines might require it. The abstract normally contains one or two hundred words in Times New Roman 12 pt., if another requirement was not stated.  

Also check: European Research Council Starting Grants: University of Melbourne 2022

What About the Margins and Spacing?

Both in the abstract and the essay itself APA demands accurately defined margins and formatting. 

This includes:

  • double spacing in the paper
  • page numbers in the upper right corner
  • equal margins at every side (one inch)
  • Times New Roman Font in 12 pt. 
  • every first word of the paragraph indented 1,5 inch

Formatting In References

The main requirement for the list of references is to include all the sources you referred to in your essay. This section simply enlists every one of them at the end. 

Order your sources according to the alphabet, starting from the author’s last name. All other requirements remain the same for the text – double spacing between lines, the same 1-inch margins, and font.  

How to Deal With Citations In the Text In APA Formatting Style

Besides having sources in references, you will also need to include citations inside the text. They signal to the reader that all the info you have taken for the paper was credible and that this source is open for access. 

Writing a Successful College Essay: How to Do It and What Tricks to Know

Keeping up with the formatting requirements is crucial but this alone can’t take you to the heights. If you really want a superb result and aim your essay to hit home, you should also work at its content. 

Now, the basic rules for every essay are to make research on your own, consult reliable sources, and edit the paper mercilessly. Sure thing, you will need to have strong researching skills and analytical type of thinking so the success of your essay paper starts long before you receive the topic. 

In general, try to read a lot. Subscribe to useful sources of data, find articles in Google Scholar, read magazines that specialize in the subjects of your ain profile. All of it will contribute to better understanding and let you gather many different points of view. 

But what shall you do if there is no time to gain this skill? If you can’t take time to learn and practice but need a good essay for your college? This question is solved by expert essay writing services such as DoMyEssay.net. 

We know that this might sound a little cliche, but Do My Essay and similar reliable services can be a great help when it comes to tasks to create urgent essays. They simply lower your stress and anxiety related to academic success and put the weight off your shoulders. With a service like DoMyEssay, you can order paper on any topic and get it soon. 

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All the info you will provide for making orders is sure to be kept in secret so that you would be protected at all levels. 

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It is unlikely that you will use this feature since all papers from experts come informative and well shaped. Still, if you think there is anything to correct or improve in the paper, be free to ask for additional revision and you will not be charged anything for that. 

These features make the service DoMyEssay worthy to be tried. Even if the task to write an essay in APA style seems impossible to complete and the topic is above comprehension, make sure that this team will cope with anything.