APA 7 Heading Levels: All Five Are Bold. Which Are Italic, Which Are Indented, and Where the Text Starts on the Same Line
All five heading levels are bold. What changes is centering, italics, indentation, and whether your text starts on the next line or the same one. An example of each, and how to nest them without skipping a level.
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APA In-Text Citations: The Format for Every Scenario
APA in-text citations for every scenario: one author, two, three or more, no author, no date, a direct quote, a source within a source. The format for each.
How to Format a Block Quote in APA 7 (40+ Words)
APA 7 formats quotations of 40 or more words as block quotes. Here is exactly how to format an APA block quote: indentation, spacing, and citation placement.
APA Reference Page: How to Format Every Source Type
How to format every source type on an APA 7 reference page: books, journal articles, websites, videos, and more, with a copy-ready pattern for each.
APA 7 Heading Levels: All Five Are Bold. Which Are Italic, Which Are Indented, and Where the Text Starts on the Same Line
All five heading levels are bold. What changes is centering, italics, indentation, and whether your text starts on the next line or the same one. An example of each, and how to nest them without skipping a level.
APA Running Head & Page Numbers: When You Actually Need Them
APA 7 made running heads optional for students. Here is when you actually need one, and how to set up running heads and page numbers correctly in Word.
APA Title Page: Student vs. Professional (With Templates)
APA 7 has two title pages: student and professional. Here is exactly what goes on the student version, what changed from APA 6, and templates to copy.
Hanging Indents for APA References: The Two-Click Fix in Word and Google Docs, and Why the Tab Key Breaks It
The Tab key looks right and falls apart the moment your text reflows. Here is the actual hanging-indent setting in Word and in Google Docs, in about a minute.
APA 7th Edition Format: The Complete Student Guide
The complete guide to APA 7th edition format: page setup, title page, headings, in-text citations, and references, in the order you actually build them.
Last-Minute APA Formatting Checklist: 15 Things to Verify Before You Submit Your Final Paper
It's finals week and your paper is due in hours. You've written the content, but is the formatting actually right? Here's a 15-point APA 7th edition checklist you can run through in under 30 minutes.
The 10 APA Formatting Mistakes That Cost the Most Points, and the Fix for Each One
Margins, spacing, headings, citations and the reference list. Ten formatting errors that cost points, what causes each one, and the fix, so you can clear them before you submit.
APA Capitalization Rules Every Grad Student Gets Wrong
APA 7th edition uses two different capitalization systems depending on context, and knowing which one applies where is something most graduate students never fully learn until their committee tells them they got it wrong.
APA 7 Numbers: Spell It Out or Use a Numeral? The Rule, and Every Exception That Trips Students Up
Spell out numbers below 10, use numerals for 10 and above. That part is easy. Then come the exceptions for time, age, measurements, percentages and statistics, and that is where the points go.
APA List Formatting: Lettered, Bulleted, and Numbered Lists Done Right
APA 7th edition has specific rules for when to use each list type, how to format the items, and what case and punctuation to apply. Getting these wrong is easy because most of the errors look correct at a glance.
APA Punctuation Rules: Colons, Apostrophes, and Quotation Marks Done Right
Punctuation errors in APA writing are easy to overlook because most of them look correct. A straight apostrophe, a misplaced colon, quotation marks outside a period. They all show up in dissertation feedback.
How to Cite YouTube, Podcasts, and TED Talks in APA 7
Need to cite a YouTube video or podcast in APA 7? Here's the exact format for videos, podcasts, TED Talks, and other media sources students use most.
APA Reference List vs. Bibliography: The Difference, and Why APA Asks for a Reference List
They are not two names for the same page. A reference list holds exactly what you cited. A bibliography holds everything you read. APA asks for the first, and the difference changes what belongs on the page.
The In-Text Citation Mistakes That Cost You Points Every Time
Comma placement, when "et al." starts, page numbers on direct quotations, and years that do not match the reference list. The in-text rules that are easiest to get wrong, and how to fix each before you submit.
How to Cite a Website in APA 7 (Without Losing Points on Your Reference List)
A page with an author, a page without one, a whole site, a page with no date, and one that could change tomorrow. The APA 7 format for each, plus the retrieval-date rule that only applies to some of them.
The 7 Changes in APA 7th Edition That Still Trip Up Graduate Students
Learned APA before 2019? Running heads, title pages, DOI format: seven things changed in APA 7th edition, and they are why your paper keeps getting sent back.
The APA Formatting Errors Your Professor Sees Before Reading Your Argument
Margins, spacing, headings and the reference list are all visible before a single sentence gets read. Here are the formatting errors that cost points at that first glance, and how to clear each one quickly.
DOIs in APA 7: The One Correct Format, and Why the Old One Keeps Turning Up
APA 7 wants every DOI as a full https://doi.org/ link. Citation generators and older articles still hand you a "doi:" prefix or a "Retrieved from" line. Get it wrong once and it is the same error repeated down the whole page.
Why Your Headings Look Wrong (Even When You Think You Followed the Rules)
Your headings tell a reader how the paper is organized before they read a word. Level 1 centered, Level 2 flush left, Levels 4 and 5 running into the paragraph, and the places Word's built-in heading styles quietly disagree with APA.
3 Block Quote Formatting Errors That Scream 'Copy-Paste'
APA block quote format has 3 rules most students break. 40+ words, 0.5" indent, citation after the period. Here's how to stop looking like you copy-pasted.