Instructions
The Four Parts of an APA Paper
APA papers contain four parts: the title page, the abstract, the body of the paper, and
the References page.
• Title Page – This page should contain the following:
o
o
o
o
The “running head” at the top, flush left (your paper’s title that has been
shortened to no more than 50 characters, including spaces). Include the
words Running head before the title, but only do this on the title page.
The words Running head should be in sentence case, but the title should
be in all caps.
The title, which should be in all caps. It should not be more than 12
words.
Your name
The institutional affiliation (this will be your school’s name)
• Abstract – Your paper should have an abstract. The abstract should be a 150–
250-word summary of the key points of your research. It requires its own
separate page, which comes directly after the title page. It will include your
paper’s title (which should appear on every page as the running head), and the
word Abstract at the top, centered on its own line. The first line of text on the
abstract should not be indented. Note: Most papers written in APA style
contain an abstract, but your teacher may not require one. Check with your
teacher for the paper’s specific requirements.
• Body – This is the content of your paper.
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• References – This page is a comprehensive list of all the sources you cited
within the paper. It functions like a works cited page. It appears at the end as