purdue owl level 1 heading

APA 7th Guide: Formatting Resources

• Formatting Resources

In-Text Citations

• Database Specific Formatting

Paper Formatting

Short Direct Quotes

Long Direct Quotes

References Page

Different Sources

Paper Formatting Checklist for Students

General formatting.

• Header includes page numbers, right aligned at the top of each page
• Margins are 1 inch on all sides
• All text is double spaced
• All paragraphs are left-aligned
• All paragraphs in the Text have the first line indented
• Font may be 12pt Times New Roman*
• Header may include a running head*
• Text is center aligned
• Full title of the paper, bolded
• Author name(s)
• Affiliated institution and department
• Course number
• Instructor Name
• Assignment due date (Month Day, Year)
• Left aligned 
• No paragraph indentation
• Usually no more than 250 words
• Starts on a separate page from the Title Page/Abstract
• Title of the paper in level 1 heading format at the top of the first page
• The first line of each paragraph is indented 1/2 inch
• Section headings to organize content

Reference List

• Starts on a new page, separate from the Text
• "References" is capitalized, bold, and centered at the top of the page
• Left aligned with a hanging indent on each reference entry
• Organized alphabetically by the first letter in each reference entry

Tables & Figures* 

• Can appear in the text after the paragraph in which they were mentioned or at the end of a paper after the reference list
• Number (bolded)
• Brief title in italics
• Note following

Appendices*

• Appears in the text after Tables and Figures or the Reference List
• Each appendix is referenced parenthetically in the Text
• Each starts on its own page
• Appendix (X) and Title must be centered and bold at the top of the page

*Not required in the APA 7th Ed. Manual for students, but may be required by your professor.

Which Font?

APA 7th Ed. permits several styles of font, depending on whether the text will be read on a screen or in physical copy. Always check to see if your professor requires a certain font, especially since Times New Roman 12pt font has been the default for so long.

Sans-serif fonts for reading on a screen

• Calibri 11 pt.
• Arial 11 pt.
• Lucida Sans Unicode

Serif fonts for reading in physical copy

• Times New Roman 12pt.
• Georgia 11pt.
• Computer Modern 10pt.

Online Resources for APA Style

• Style & Grammar Guidelines This page links to brief explanations of every aspect of the APA 7th edition manual.
• APA Style Blog Official companion to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 7th Edition.
• Essentials of Paper Formatting A page with links to the essentials of general guidelines for formatting your paper in APA 7th Ed.
• Sample APA 7th Ed. Papers The American Psychological Association has provided a few example papers for both student and professional formatting.
• Purdue OWL APA 7th The Online Writing Lab (OWL) is provided and maintained by Purdue University. It contains examples and detailed explanations of APA 7th edition style guidelines.
• General Paper Formatting Handout
• Types of References Handout
• Formatting Checklist Handout

Level 1 Heading

     This is the highest level of heading and should be used to denote the primary sections within a paper such as the Methods, Discussion, or Conclusion of a paper. Level one headings should be centered, bolded, use title case (upper and lower case letters). All headings should be the same font size as the rest of your manuscript.

Level 2 Heading

     Use this level of heading to organize topics within the major sections of your manuscript. For example, you could have sections for sample selection, participant recruitment, and/or assessment tool in the methods section of your manuscript. The level 2 heading is formatted the same as the level 1 heading except it should be flush with the left margin.

Level 3 Heading  

     This heading is very useful for organizing specific subjects within a topic. For example, if assessing different sources in a literature review, list the name of each source as a level 3 heading at the beginning of the paragraph in which a specific source is discussed. This heading is formatted the same as a level 2 heading, except it is italicized.

Tables & Figures

Each table is assigned a number in bold based on the order it is used in the article (i.e. Table 1 ). Located below the table number (and just above the table itself) should be a clear but concise title in italics and title case. Notes about the table go underneath the table. To format one, put " Note. " in italics with a period or colon then follow it with a description or explanation.

Example provided courtesy of Dr. Kandi Pitchford.

For more information on formatting and when to use tables, check out the link below.

Each figure is assigned a number in bold based on the order it is used in the article (i.e.  Figure 1 ). Located below the figure number (and just above the figure itself) should be a clear but concise title in italics and title case. Notes about the figure go underneath. To format a note, put " Note. " in italics with a period or colon then follow it with a description or explanation.

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Note:  Emblem provided with the approval of South College

For more examples and guidelines for how and when to use figures in a paper, follow the link below.

• APA Figures

Formatting Appendices

• What is an appendix?
• How do I use an appendix?
• How do I make an appendix?

An appendix is a section that can come after the reference list that includes supplementary content that doesn't belong in the main text.

Examples:  results table from a cited source, an info-graphic, a guideline checklist, or a diagram of complex equipment.

Point readers to the content of an appendix in the body of an article by referring to the corresponding appendix heading. Each appendix should be referred to at least once in the text with a parenthesis.

Example:  This kitchen is rated a 5 on the Hazard Scale (for more information on the Hazard Scale, see Appendix B). 

Format an appendix the same way you would start a reference list, with "Appendix" and the title bolded and centered at the top of a new page. If there is more than one appendix, start each on a new page and include a capital letter with the heading. Appendices are lettered and organized by the order they are referred to in the body of the article.

Example: 

Hazard Scale

• 1 - The room is completely safe and the likelihood of being injured is very low.
• 2 - The room is relatively safe, but injury is likely if one is inattentive to the environment.
• 3 - The room is completely unsafe and injury or illness is very likely.

APA Librarian

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APA 7th Edition Tutorial: Download Template & Section Headings

• Download Template & Section Headings
• Abstract Page
• Cite a YouTube Video or Website
• Reference Page
• APA Format Checklist
• Sample APA Paper
• APA Video Tutorials
• APA Step by Step Guide
• Citation Generators

Monroe College & APA Style

Monroe college uses  apa 7 style guidelines for all student papers. , you can download our detailed apa 7 formatting tutorial here ., if your instructor's directions conflict with any apa rules, follow the instructor's directions., apa 7th edition template.

• APA 7 Student Paper Template (.docx) Download this 7th-edition template, and use it to format your APA-style Research Paper. Simply download and save a new copy of the document and paste the contents of your paper into the appropriate fields within the template.
• APA 7 Paper Template WITH ABSTRACT This version of the template includes the ABSTRACT page. Ask your instructor whether the Abstract is required for your paper.
• APA 7 Student Paper Template PDF

7th Edition APA Section Headings

Apa 7 section headings.

•  Running heads are no longer required for student papers.
• written in title case
• Level 1 and 2 Section Headings APA 7

This is an excerpt. The full Annotated Sample Student Paper can be downloaded from the official APA Style Website here .

Purdue OWL 7th Edition Changes Guide

Great News! The Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) has created a handy guide to Changes in the 7th edition of the APA Style Manual

We've done our best to lay out the basic standards for the two different editions here, but you can go to the OWL for a more comprehensive breakdown of the new APA standards.

A Monroe College Research Guide

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Generate accurate APA citations for free

• Knowledge Base
• APA Style 7th edition
• APA headings and subheadings

APA Headings and Subheadings | With Sample Paper

Published on November 7, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on October 24, 2022.

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.

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Table of contents

Additional guidelines for apa headings, how many heading levels should you use, when to use which apa heading level, section labels vs headings, sample paper with apa headings, using heading styles in word or google docs.

As well as the heading styles, there are some other guidelines to keep in mind:

• Double-space all text, including the headings.
• Use the same font for headings and body text (e.g., Times New Roman 12pt.).
• Don’t label headings with numbers or letters.
• Don’t add extra “enters” above or below headings.

Are your APA in-text citations flawless?

The AI-powered APA Citation Checker points out every error, tells you exactly what’s wrong, and explains how to fix it. Say goodbye to losing marks on your assignment!

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Depending on the length and complexity of your paper, you may not use all five heading levels. In fact, shorter student papers may have no headings at all.

It’s also perfectly fine for some sections in your paper to go as deep as five levels, where others use only heading level 1.

Heading level 1 is used for main sections like “ Methods ”, “ Results ”, and “ Discussion ”. There is no “ Introduction ” heading at the beginning of your paper because the first paragraphs are understood to be introductory.

Heading level 2 is used for subsections under level 1. For example, under “Methods” (level 1) you may have subsections for “Sampling Method” and “Data Analysis” (level 2). This continues all the way down to heading level 5.

Always use at least two subheadings or none at all. If there is just one subheading, the top-level heading is sufficient.

In addition to regular headings, APA works with “section labels” for specific parts of the paper. They’re similar to headings but are formatted differently. Section labels are placed on a separate line at the top of a new page in bold and centered.

Use section labels for the following sections in an APA formatted paper :

• Author note
• Paper title
• Reference page

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Instead of formatting every heading individually, you can use the “Styles” feature in Word or Google Docs. This allows you to save the styling and apply it with just a click.

The first time you use APA Style, you need to update the default heading styles to reflect the APA heading guidelines. Click here for the instructions for Microsoft Word and Google Docs .

An added benefit of using the “Styles” feature is that you can automatically generate a table of contents .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2022, October 24). APA Headings and Subheadings | With Sample Paper. Scribbr. Retrieved April 10, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-headings/

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Apa style (6th edition), in-text citations.

APA requires citing with the (1) the author’s last name and (2) the publication year. These pieces of information can never be separated and will always appear together within the text. In-text citations can appear either within the sentence or at the end of the sentence.

When the authors' names are mentioned within the sentence, the year of publication will follow in parentheses.

In Williams (2011) , the data showed that citations are important.

Williams' (2011) data showed that citations are important.

When the authors' names are not used within the sentence, they must appear in parentheses at the end of the sentence, followed by a comma and the year of publication.

The data showed that citations are important (Williams, 2011) .

For in-text citations in specific contexts, see our headings below:

Direct Quotations

Page numbers are required for direct quotations from sources that have numbered pages, such as books or journals. This number appears in parentheses at the end of the sentence and is preceded by "p." and one space.

According to Smith (2003) , “It is better to overcite than undercite” (p. 2) .

Research requires the frequent use of citations: “It is better to overcite than undercite” (Smith, 2003, p. 2) .

Multiple Authors

When a source with multiple authors is mentioned within the sentence, write out the word "and." However, when the source appears in parentheses at the end of the sentence, use the abbreviation for "and" (&) instead.

In Williams and Jones (2011) , the data showed that citations are important.

The data showed that citations are important (Williams & Jones, 2011) .

When a source has 3 to 5 authors, list all of the authors the first time the source is mentioned. In subsequent citations, use only the first author's last name and “et al.” (meaning "and everyone else"). Write "et al." in lowercase, place a period after "al." and do not place a comma between the author's name and "et al."

1st Use: The data showed that citations are important (Williams, Jones, & Smith, 2011) .

2nd Use: The data also showed that direct quotations should be used sparingly (Williams et al., 2011) .

When a source has 6 or more authors, use only the first author's last name and “et al.” within the text.

Saal et al. (2013) argued that historic homes should be preserved.

Historic homes should be preserved (Saal et al., 2013) .

When a source does not list an author, you have two options:

1. Use the name of the publisher. When you are citing a webpage, the publisher will appear at the bottom of the website with the copyright date.

The data showed that citations are important (Organization for Research, 2005) .

2. Use the shortened title of the source. Note: A source without a named author or publisher might not be reliable.

The data showed that citations are important (“Using Sources,” 2005) .

No Publication Year

When a source does not list the year of publication, you have two options:

1. Use the copyright date. When you are citing a webpage, the copyright year will appear at the bottom of the website.

2. Use the abbreviation “n.d.” for no date.  Note: A source without a publication year or copyright year might not be reliable.

The data showed that citations are important (“Using Sources,” n.d.) .

Multiple Sources

When citing multiple different sources in the same citation, list them in alphabetical order (like on your References page) and separate them with semicolons.

The data showed that citations are important (Aeron, 2009; Coldwater et al., 2013; Williams & Jones, 2011) .

When citing two or more sources with the same author(s) and the same year of publication, place a lowercase letter ("a," "b," "c," etc.) after the year of publication, to differentiate the sources. These letters should also appear on the References page. Assign letters based on the alphabetical order of the sources on the References page.

The data showed that citations are important (Aeron, 2009a; Aeron, 2009b) .

References Page

The References page lists the full citation of each source used in your paper. Follow these general notes on APA format:

• Start your References on a new page.
• Write the word "References" at the top of the page and center it, with no bold or italics.
• Highlight all of the citations on your Bibliography.
• Right-click and select “Paragraph.”
• Under “Indentation,” go to “Special” and select “Hanging” from the drop-down menu.
• Alphabetize sources by the author's last name. If there is no author, alphabetize by the first major word in the title.
• For 8 or more authors, list the first 6 names, insert an ellipsis (. . .), and end with the very last author's name (Allison, H. L., Brown, M., Rothes, N., Cherry, G., Astor, J. J., Page, E., . . . Gordon, L. D.).
• Italicize books and journals, and place quotation marks around article and webpage titles..
• An article title will look like this.
• A book title will look like this .
• A Journal Title Will Look Like This .

The information provided in each of your citations will be different for each type of source. You can check this format at the Purdue OWL. Here are some examples of Reference citations for common types of sources:

Because all of the content in a book is written by the same author(s), you can cite the entire book on your References, even if you only used information from one chapter or a few pages. If a book has multiple copyright dates, use the most recent.

General Format

AuthorLastName, A. A., & AuthorLastName, B. B. (year). Book title in lowercase and italics: Capitalize only the

first word of the title and subtitle (edition, if applicable). Publication City, State: Publisher Name.

Example, with No Edition

Lord, W. (2012). The night lives on: The untold stories and secrets behind the sinking of the "unsinkable"

ship—Titanic . New York, NY: Open Road Integrated Media.

Example, with Edition

Butler, D. A. (2012). "Unsinkable": The full story of the RMS Titanic (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Da Capo Press.

Article or Chapter in Edited Book

Edited books contain articles or chapters written by different authors. Thus, your References must list each individual article or chapter that you used in your research.

AuthorLastName, A. A., & AuthorLastName, B. B. (year). Article title in lowercase with no quotation marks:

Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle. In A. EditorLastName & B. EditorLastName (Eds.),

Book title in lowercase and italics: Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle (pp. page range of article).

Publication City, State: Publisher Name.

Example, with One Book Editor

Beesley, L. (1960). The loss of the S. S. Titanic, its story, and its lessons. In J. Winocour (Ed.), The story

of the Titanic: As told by its survivors (pp. 1-110). New York, NY: Dover Publications.

Example, with Two Book Editors

Middleton, P., & Woods, T. (2004). Textual memory: The making of the Titanic's archive. In T. Bergfelder

& S. Street (Eds.), The Titanic in myth and memory: Representations in visual and literary culture (pp. 63-72).

New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Journal Article

Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle. Journal Title in All Caps and Italics, volume number

italicized (issue number), article page range. 

Frey, B. S., Savage, D. A., & Torgler, B. (2010). Interaction of natural survival instincts and internalized

social norms exploring the Titanic and Lusitani a disasters. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ,

107 (11), 4862-4865.

Newspaper Article

AuthorLastName, A. A., & AuthorLastName, B. B. (year, month day). Article title in lowercase with no

quotation marks: Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle. Title of Newspaper in All

Caps and Italics . Retrieved from http://www.fullURL.com/

Broad, W. J. (2012, April 9). A new look at nature's role in the Titanic 's sinking: The iceberg was

only part of it. The New York Times . Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/10/

science/a-new-look-at-natures-role-in-the-titanics-sinking.html?_r=0

If a webpage does not have a stated author, use the publisher listed at the bottom of the page, next to the copyright date. If the webpage does not provide a year of publication, use the most recent copyright date at the bottom of the page.

Organization or Publisher. (year). Webpage title in lowercase with no quotation marks: Capitalize only the

first word of the title and subtitle. Retrieved from http://www.fullURL.com/

Example, with Publisher as Author

National Geographic Channel. (2012). Titanic facts: Some fast facts about her builders, her victims,

and her survivors. Retrieved from http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/titanic-100-years/

articles/titanic-the-final-word-with-james-cameron-facts/

Style and Format

APA has the following stylistic requirements for the body of your paper:

• Refer to authors by their last names only.
• Use past tense verbs when discussing a source's statements or data, because the source was published in the past.
• Write out numbers one through nine, but use numerals for numbers 10 and higher.
• Use the percent symbol (%) instead of the word “percent” when discussing statistics.

If your direct quotations have 40 words or more, format them as block quotations. This means you will remove the quotation marks and completely indent the quotation one inch from the rest of the paragraph. For example:

Many scholars continue to prefer humans over computers:

The human brain, with its flexibility and capacity to imagine, is still superior in many ways to the electronic model. The computer is never tired or preoccupied or careless, so it is wonderful at remembering and observing rules. But it doesn’t have the imagination of even a very young human brain—which not only can forget the rules, but can find in them loopholes and options. Electronic intelligence can process information like a house afire, but it still can’t think . (LaRocque, 1999, p. 52)

APA also had standards for formatting your paper, tables, and figures.

Page Headers

In APA, the first-page header will be different from headers on the following pages. To make the first-page header different from the rest, follow these steps:

• Double-click on the header
• Go to the "Header and Footer Tools" tab
• Check the option for "Different First Page"

Your first-page header should be as follows. Note that “head” is not capitalized:

Running head: SHORTENED TITLE OF PAPER IN ALL CAPS

The headers for the rest of the paper should be as follows:

SHORTENED TITLE OF PAPER IN ALL CAPS

This text should be on the left side of the header with your page number on the right. All of the headers should be in the same font type and font size as the rest of the paper. See an example APA paper at the Purdue OWL .

Section Headings

The format for each heading level in APA can be seen below. All headings should be in the same font size and type.

Level 1 Headings Are Centered and Bold

Level 2 Headings Are Left-Aligned and Bold

The paragraph text for a Level 2 section will begin on the next line.

Level 3 headings are indented half an inch, bolded, lowercased, and followed by a period. The paragraph text for a Level 3 section

will begin on the same line.

Level 4 headings are indented half an inch, bolded, italicized, lowercased, and followed by a period . The paragraph text for a Level 4

section will begin on the same line.

Level 5 headings are indented half an inch, italicized, lowercased, and followed by a period. The paragraph text for a Level 5 section

Tables and Figures

Table captions appear above the table. Write the table number on its own line and the title of the table on the next line.

Title of Table Capitalized in Italics

Figure captions appear below the figure. Write the figure number and the title on the same line and follow each with a period.

Figure 1 . Title of figure, lowercased.

Additional Resources

• Purdue OWL APA Guide
• APA Style Blog

MLS 452: Research Methods & Project: Headings

• Library Catalog
• Tips for GALILEO
• Check for Full Text
• Empirical Research
• How to Paraphrase
• Sample Paper
• Scientific Posters
• APA Sample Paper
• APA Citations
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Headings are an important part of your research paper. They provide organization for your argument and let your reader take note of important key points. Make sure that ideas of equal importance share the same heading level.

Heading Level Formatting Chart

There should be at least two sections for each heading level that you use. For instance, if you use Heading Level 2 under your first Heading Level 1, you need to have at least two Heading Level 2 subsections under that Heading Level 1 section, but your second Heading Level 1 section does not have to have any Heading Level 2 subsections.

Heading Level Example

Section One

Subsection One

Subsection Two

Section Two

Section Three

Conclusion vs. Discussion

One of the Heading Level 1 sections of your paper should be labeled either Conclusion or Discussion , depending on the purpose of your paper. If you have original research, you should discuss your results and their implications. If you are simply reviewing literature on a particular topic, then you will conclude your summary on the subject.

• Conclusion: What are the main, overarching themes found in each work that has been reviewed? Do multiple works agree on the same points, or do some of them contradict each other?
• Discussion: Do your results support your original hypothesis? Why or why not? How is your work similar or different from others? Why is it important to the field? What implications does your research have?

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Purdue Online Writing Lab. (2019). APA formatting and style guide. Retrieved from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html

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General Format

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

This section contains information on The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) method of document formatting and citation. These resources follow The Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition), which was issued in 2017.

Since The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is primarily intended as a style guide for published works rather than class papers, these guidelines will be supplemented with information from, Kate L. Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (8th ed.), which is largely based on CMOS with some slight alterations.

To see a side-by-side comparison of the three most widely used citation styles, including a chart of all CMOS citation guidelines, see the Citation Style Chart.

Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in CMOS.

A Note on Citations

Unlike many citation styles, CMOS gives writers two different methods for documenting sources: the Author-Date System and the Notes-Bibliography (NB) System.  As its name suggests, Author-Date uses parenthetical citations in the text to reference the source's author's last name and the year of publication. Each parenthetical citation corresponds to an entry on a References page that concludes the document. In these regards, Author-Date is very similar to, for instance, APA style.

By contrast, NB uses numbered footnotes in the text to direct the reader to a shortened citation at the bottom of the page. This corresponds to a fuller citation on a Bibliography page that concludes the document. Though the general principles of citation are the same here, the citations themselves are formatted differently from the way they appear in Author-Date.

If you are using CMOS for school or work, don't forget to ensure that you're using your organization's preferred citation method. For examples of these two different styles in action, see our CMOS sample papers:

Author-Date Sample Paper

NB Sample Paper

General CMOS Guidelines

• Text should be consistently double-spaced, except for block quotations, notes, bibliography entries, table titles, and figure captions.
• A prose quotation of five or more lines, or more than 100 words, should be blocked.
• CMOS recommends blocking two or more lines of poetry.
• A blocked quotation does not get enclosed in quotation marks.
• A blocked quotation must always begin a new line.
• Blocked quotations should be indented with the word processor’s indention tool.
• Page numbers begin in the header of the first page of text with Arabic number 1.
• For CMOS and Turabian’s recommendations, see “Headings,” below.

Supplemental Turabian Style Guidelines

• Margins should be set at no less than 1”.
• Typeface should be something readable, such as Times New Roman or Courier.
• Font size should be no less than 10 pt. (preferably, 12 pt.).

Major Paper Sections

• The title should be centered a third of the way down the page.
• Your name, class information, and the date should follow several lines later.
• For subtitles, end the title line with a colon and place the subtitle on the line below the title.
• Double-space each line of the title page.

CMOS Title Page

• Different practices apply for theses and dissertations (see Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, ad Dissertations [8 th ed.].
• Titles mentioned in the text, notes, or bibliography are capitalized “headline-style,” meaning first words of titles and subtitles and any important words thereafter should be capitalized.
• Book and periodical titles (titles of larger works) should be italicized.
• Article and chapter titles (titles of shorter works) should be enclosed in double quotation marks.
• The titles of most poems should be enclosed in double quotation marks, but the titles of very long poems should be italicized.
• Titles of plays should be italicized.
• For example, use lowercase terms to describe periods, except in the case of proper nouns (e.g., “the colonial period,” vs. “the Victorian era”).
• A prose quotation of five or more lines should be “blocked.” The block quotation should match the surrounding text, and it takes no quotation marks. To offset the block quote from surrounding text, indent the entire quotation using the word processor’s indentation tool. It is also possible to offset the block quotation by using a different or smaller font than the surrounding text.
• Label the first page of your back matter, your comprehensive list of sources, “Bibliography” (for Notes and Bibliography style) or “References” (for Author-Date style).
• Leave two blank lines between “Bibliography” or “References” and your first entry.
• Leave one blank line between remaining entries.
• List entries in letter-by-letter alphabetical order according to the first word in each entry, be that the author's name or the title of the piece..
• For two to three authors, write out all names.
• For four to ten authors, write out all names in the bibliography but only the first author’s name plus “et al.” in notes and parenthetical citations.
• When a source has no identifiable author, cite it by its title, both on the references page and in shortened form (up to four keywords from that title) in parenthetical citations throughout the text.
• Write out publishers’ names in full.
• Do not use access dates unless publication dates are unavailable.
• If you cannot ascertain the publication date of a printed work, use the abbreviation “n.d.”
• Provide DOIs instead of URLs whenever possible.
• If no DOI is available, provide a URL.
• If you cannot name a specific page number when called for, you have other options: section (sec.), equation (eq.), volume (vol.), or note (n.).

CMOS Bibliography Page

• Note numbers should begin with “1” and follow consecutively throughout a given paper.
• Note numbers are superscripted.
• Note numbers should be placed at the end of the clause or sentence to which they refer and should be placed after all punctuation, except for the dash.
• Note numbers are full-sized, not raised, and followed by a period (superscripting note numbers in the notes themselves is also acceptable).
• In parenthetical citation, separate documentation from brief commentary with a semicolon.
• Do not repeat the hundreds digit in a page range if it does not change from the beginning to the end of the range.

For more information on footnotes, please see CMOS NB Sample Paper .

While  The Chicago Manual of Style does not include a prescribed system for formatting headings and subheads, it makes several recommendations.

• Maintain consistency and parallel structure in headings and subheads.
• Use headline-style for purposes of capitalization.
• Subheadings should begin on a new line.
• Subheadings can be distinguished by font-size.
• Ensure that each level of hierarchy is clear and consistent.
• Levels of subheads can be differentiated by type style, use of boldface or italics, and placement on the page, usually either centered or flush left.
• Use no more than three levels of hierarchy.
• Avoid ending subheadings with periods.

Turabian has an optional system of five heading levels.

Turabian Subheading Plan

Here is an example of the five-level heading system:

CMOS Headings

Tables and Figures

• Position tables and figures as soon as possible after they are first referenced. If necessary, present them after the paragraph in which they are described.
• For figures, include a caption, or short explanation of the figure or illustration, directly after the figure number.
• Cite a source as you would for parenthetical citation, and include full information in an entry on your Bibliography or References page.
• Acknowledge reproduced or adapted sources appropriately (i.e., photo by; data adapted from; map by...).
• If a table includes data not acquired by the author of the text, include an unnumbered footnote. Introduce the note by the word Source(s) followed by a colon, then include the full source information, and end the note with a period.

How to Cite the Purdue OWL in CMOS

On the new OWL site, contributors’ names and the last edited date are no longer listed at the top of every page. This means that most citations will now begin with the title of the resource, rather than the contributors' names.

Footnote or Endnote (N):

Corresponding Bibliographical Entry (B):

“Title of Resource.” List the OWL as Publishing Organization/Web Site Name . http://Web address for OWL resource.

“General Format.” The Purdue OWL. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/02/.

Author Date In-text Citation:

("General Format" 2017).

Author Date References Page Citation:

Year of Publication. “Title of Resource.” List the OWL as Publishing Organization/Web Site Name . http://Web address for OWL resource.

2017. “General Format.” The Purdue OWL . https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/02.

How do I style headings and subheadings in a research paper?

Headings and subheadings can help organize and structure your writing. In general, longer and more complex works warrant more of them than shorter ones. Avoid overusing headings in short projects; they should never be used to compensate for poor structure or to explain an underdeveloped idea.

When headings are called for in your writing project, observe the basic guidelines below.

The paper or chapter title is the first level of heading, and it must be the most prominent.

Headings should be styled in descending order of prominence. After the first level, the other headings are subheadings—that is, they are subordinate. Font styling and size are used to signal prominence. In general, a boldface, larger font indicates prominence; a smaller font, italics, and lack of bold can be used to signal subordination. For readability, don’t go overboard: avoid using all capital letters for headings (in some cases, small capitals may be acceptable):

Heading Level 1

Heading Level 2

Heading Level 3

Note that word-processing software often has built-in heading styles.

Consistency

Consistency in the styling of headings and subheadings is key to signaling to readers the structure of a research project. That is, each level 1 heading should appear in the same style and size, as should each level 2 heading, and so on. Generally avoid numbers and letters to designate heads unless you are working in a discipline where doing so is conventional. Note that a heading labeled “1” requires a subsequent heading labeled “2,” and a heading labeled “a” requires a subsequent heading labeled “b.” 

In a project that is not professionally designed and published, headings should be flush with the left margin, to avoid confusion with block quotations. (The exception is the paper or chapter title, which is centered in MLA style.)

For readability, it is helpful to include a line space above and below a heading, as shown in this post.

No internal heading level should have only one instance. For example, if you have one level 1 heading, you need to have a second level 1 heading. (The exceptions are the paper or chapter title and the headings for notes and the list of works cited.) You should also generally have text under each heading.

Capitalization

Capitalize headings like the titles of works, as explained in section 1.5 of the MLA Handbook .

The shorter, the better.

Purdue Online Typing Lab Purdue OWL® College concerning Liberated Arts

APA Headings and Seriation

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This web a carried to she by the OWL at Purdue University. As printing this page, it must include the entire right perceive.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The URAL at Purdue and In University. All rights reserves. Dieser material may cannot be published, reproductions, broadcast, rewritten, button redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes accept of our terms or conditions of lovely use. Do not use the heading “Introduction”; text along who beginning of the paper is assumed to be the introduction. APA Styling headings have five ...

Note:  This page consider who latest type of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), where discharged in October 2019. The equivalent resource for of aged APA 6 style  can be found here .

APA Styling functions adenine unique headings system to severed real classes paper sections. Headings are used to help guide the reader through a document. The levels been organized by levels of subsidiary, and each section of who paper should start in of highest level of heading. Go been 5  heading levels  in APA. Regardless is who number of planes, all application the headings by orders, beginning with level 1. Which format of anywhere level is illustrated below:

Thus, if the article has to departments, some of which have subsections and some of which don’t, use headings relying switch the level of subordination. Section headings receive leve one format. Subsections receive level two structure. Subsections starting subsections receive level three format. For examples:

Method  (Level 1)

Side of Study  (Level 2)

Participant Population  (Level 2)

Teachers  (Level 3)

Pupils  (Level 3)

Results  (Level 1)

Spatial Ability  (Level 2)

Test One  (Level 3)

     Teachers With Experience.  (Level 4)

     Teachers in Training.  (Level 4)

     Teaching Assistants .  (Level 5)

Test Two  (Level 3)

Kinesthetic Ability  (Level 2)

In APA Style, and Preamble section never gets a head the headings can not indicated for letters otherwise numbers. Available subsections in the beginning of a paper (introduction section), the first level of subsection will getting Step 2 headings — the title the the paper counts as the Water 1 heading. Levels of headings will depend with the length and organization of respective paper. Regardless, always begin with level one headings and proceed to level two, etc.

Special headings called section labels are used for certain scope of a paper which always beginning on a new page.

• Paper title
• Appendix A (and so on for subsequent appendices)

These labels should be positioned on their own line at the top of of page where an section starts, in bold and centered. 

APA also allows for seriation in the body wording in help authors organize or present key ideas. Forward lists where a targeted order alternatively numbered procedure is needed, use can Arabic numeral directly followed by a period, such as: Heading Stages Template: Student Paper, APA Style 7th Edition

On the basis of quadruplet generations of usability testing on the Purdue OWL, the Purdue OWL Usability Team recommended the following:

• Move the navigation bar from and right to the left side of the BIRD pages.
• Integrate branded graphics (the Writing Lab additionally OWL logos) into aforementioned text on to OWL homepage.
• Add a search box to every page of the OWL.
• Develop an OWL site map.
• Develops a three-tiered navigation system.

Numbered lists should control full sentences or paragraphs rather than phrases. One first news after each number should can capitalized, since well as which first word on anything following doom; any sentence should end with a period or another punctuation.

For lists that do not communicate hierarchical order or chronology, use bullets:

In general, participants found the user-centered TREE mock up until becoming easier till use. What follows live samples of participants' responses:

• "This output is easier to use."
• "Version deuce see better organized."
• "It took me a few minutes to learn how to use this version, instead according that, I felt more comfortable with it."

Authors may also use seriation for paragraph cable text.

For seriation within sentences, authors may exercise letters:

On the basis of investigation conducted by the simple team, OWL staff are closed (a) the URAL spot map; (b) integrating graphical with text on the OWL homepage; (c) advanced boxes on all OWL pages except the orange URAL resources (that is pending; we do hold a search page); (d) touching the navigation bar to the left side of pages on entire OWL resources other in the orange area (that is pending); (e) piloting the first phase of the three-tiered navigation system-, because illustrated in the new Encounter section. Research Guidance: APA Styles (7th Edition) Citation Guide: Journal Articles

Authors maybe also separate spikes include bullet lists:

On the basis of that investigate performs by the usability team, OWL staff have completed

• one OWL site map;
• integrating graphics with text on the OWL homepage;
• search boxes on all OWL pages except the orange OWL resources (that is pending; our do have a search page);
• moving the navigation bar to the left side of my on all OWL resources except in the orange area (that your pending);
• piloting the first phase of the three-tiered shipping system, as illustrated to the new Engaging area.

With your bulleted list is part of the sentence and is not preceded with an colon, treat an bullets like a share out the sentence, adhering to standard capitalization and punctuation. Is option is helpful for complex or longer bulleted sentences that may be moreover difficult to read without the aid regarding punctuation. For products in a bulleted index that are phrases rather than sentences, does punctuation is necessary.