IRSC Libraries Home

APA 7th Edition Style Guide: Headings in APA

  • About In-text Citations
  • In-Text Examples
  • What to Include
  • Volume/Issue
  • Bracketed Descriptions
  • URLs and DOIs
  • Book with Editor(s)
  • Book with No Author
  • Book with Organization as Author
  • Book with Personal Author(s)
  • Chapters and Parts of Books
  • Classical Works
  • Course Materials
  • Journal Article
  • Magazine Article
  • Multi-Volume Works
  • Newspaper Article
  • Patents & Laws
  • Personal Communication
  • Physicians' Desk Reference
  • Social Media
  • Unpublished Manuscripts/Informal Publications (i.e. course packets and dissertations)
  • Formatting Your Paper
  • Formatting Your References
  • Annotated Bibliography
  • Headings in APA
  • APA Quick Guide
  • Submit your Paper for APA Review

What are headings?

Headings, sections, subsections, or levels of subordination are a style of dividing your research paper into major parts, then minor subsections. Most college papers do not need headings, especially if you are only producing two to five pages. However, if your professor requests you use headings or your are writing an especially long or detailed paper, then use headings to help readers navigate your text. Follow the APA style rules for creating the correct level of heading. Always start with a level one heading and drill down to the last subsection possible (five) in order as seen below. Instructions and examples for headings are available on p. 47- 49 of the new APA 7th Edition manual.

Levels of Headings

Additional headings resources.

  • APA Style: Headings This page of the APA Style Blog provides more details about styling paper section headings in APA style.
  • Heading Levels Template: Student Paper APA Style 7th Edition This example student paper clearly illustrates how to style section headings including the paper title and the Introduction section (which should not be labeled Introduction as APA assumes all papers begin with an introduction section).

Proper Title Case vs. lowercase paragraph heading

Proper title case is using both uppercase and lowercase letters in a title. It calls for the major words to be capitalized while any small conjunctions are made smaller, i.e., 

The Title of this Paper is Lengthy

Lowercase paragraph heading calls for the first word to be capitalized along with any proper nouns contained within the heading, i.e., 

        The title of this heading is much shorter and all lowercase except for the first word.

  • << Previous: Annotated Bibliography
  • Next: APA Quick Guide >>
  • Last Updated: Oct 22, 2024 11:15 AM
  • URL: https://irsc.libguides.com/APA

apa 7 essay format headings

APA Style 7th Edition: Citing Your Sources

  • Basics of APA Formatting
  • In Text Quick View
  • Block Quotes
  • Books & eBooks
  • Thesis/Dissertation
  • Audiovisual
  • Conference Presentations
  • Social Media
  • Legal References
  • Reports and Gray Literature

What are headings?

Levels of headings.

  • Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
  • Additional Resources
  • Reference Page

Headings are used to effectively organize ideas within a study or manuscript.  It can also highlight important items, themes or topics within sections.  By creating concise headings, the reader can anticipate key points and track the development of your argument.  The heading levels establish the hierarchy of each section and are designated by their formatting.

Adapted from American Psychological Association. (2009). Format for Five Levels of Heading in APA Journals. Publication manual of the American psychological association (6th ed., p. 62) Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

  • If you need to use subsections in any given section, use a least two, otherwise omit their use.
  • Do not label headings with numbers or letters
  • Use of title case : Use of both upper and lower case letters, all major words are capitalized
  • Paragraph headings are immediately followed by text for that subsection, rather than starting on a new line.  The heading sits at the start of the first paragraph for that section.
  • << Previous: Paper Elements & Formatting
  • Next: Academic Integrity and Plagiarism >>
  • Last Updated: Oct 25, 2024 9:38 AM
  • URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/APA7th

IMAGES

  1. APA Headings and Subheadings

    apa 7 essay format headings

  2. APA Headings and Subheadings

    apa 7 essay format headings

  3. APA Headings and Subheadings

    apa 7 essay format headings

  4. APA Style Paper: Brief Formatting Guide on 7th Edition

    apa 7 essay format headings

  5. 7th Edition APA Style: How to Use APA Headings in Your Paper

    apa 7 essay format headings

  6. APA 7th Edition Style Guide: Heading & Sub-heading

    apa 7 essay format headings

VIDEO

  1. APA Headings (level 1, level 2, and level 3)

  2. APA 7th style references/ Hindi/ Urdu Tutorial/ Formatting APA references & APA reference page

  3. APA 7: Levels of Headings

  4. APA 7th Edition: Using Oxford Commas

  5. APA (7th edition) Formatting & Style Guide: References and Citations

  6. Format of Headings in Thesis according to APA 7

COMMENTS

  1. APA Headings and Seriation

    Headings are used to help guide the reader through a document. The levels are organized by levels of subordination, and each section of the paper should start with the highest level of heading. There are 5 heading levels in APA. Regardless of the number of levels, always use the headings in order, beginning with level 1.

  2. Headings

    There are five levels of heading in APA Style. Level 1 is the highest or main level of heading, Level 2 is a subheading of Level 1, Level 3 is a subheading of Level 2, and so on through Levels 4 and 5. The number of headings to use in a paper depends on the length and complexity of the work.

  3. PDF Student Paper Setup Guide, APA Style 7th Edition

    Indent the first line of every paragraph of text 0.5 in. using the tab key or the paragraph-formatting function of your word-processing program. Page numbers: Put a page number in the top right corner of every page, including the title page or cover page, which is page 1. Student papers do not require a running head on any page.

  4. APA Sample Paper

    Media Files: APA Sample Student Paper , APA Sample Professional Paper This resource is enhanced by Acrobat PDF files. Download the free Acrobat Reader. Note: The APA Publication Manual, 7 th Edition specifies different formatting conventions for student and professional papers (i.e., papers written for credit in a course and papers intended for scholarly publication).

  5. PDF Heading Levels Template: Student Paper, APA Style 7th Edition

    to format each level of heading, Figure 2.4 demonstrates the use of headings in the introduction, and Figure 2.5 lists all the headings used in a sample paper in the correct format. In the Concise Guide to APA Style (7th ed.), this content is found in Table 1.3, Figure 1.3, and Figure 1.4, respectively. Level 5 Heading.

  6. APA Headings and Subheadings

    Headings and subheadings provide structure to a document. They signal what each section. is about and allow for easy navigation of the document. APA headings have five possible levels. Each heading level is formatted differently. Note: Title case simply means that you should capitalize the first word, words with four or more letters, and all ...

  7. PDF APA 7 Student Sample Paper

    Commented [AF16]: Common paper sections (literature review, methods, results, discussion) typically use Level 1 headings, like this one does. Level 1 headings are centered, bolded, and use title case. Text begins after them as a new paragraph. Commented [AF17]: This is a Level 2 heading: left aligned, bolded, title case. Text begins as a new ...

  8. A step-by-step guide for creating and formatting APA Style student papers

    Headings format. For detailed guidance on formatting headings, including headings in the introduction of a paper, see the headings page and the headings in sample papers. Alignment: Center Level 1 headings. Left-align Level 2 and Level 3 headings. Indent Level 4 and Level 5 headings like a regular paragraph. Font: Boldface all headings. Also ...

  9. APA 7th Edition Style Guide: Headings in APA

    2. Flush Left, Bold, Upper and Lowercase Heading. Text begins as new paragraph. 3. Flush Left, Bold, Italics, Upper and Lowercase Heading. Text begins as new paragraph. 4. Indent, Bold, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading with a Period at the End. Text begins on the same line.

  10. Headings

    Format: 1: Center, Bold, Title Case Heading. Text begins as a new paragraph. 2: Flush Left, Bold, Title Case Heading Text beings as a new paragraph. 3: Flush Left, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading Text begins as a new paragraph. 4 Indented, Bold, Title Case Heading, Ending With a Period. Text begins on the same line and continues as a regular ...