7th edition

Student Paper Checklist (Beginner’s Version)

Use this checklist to help you write a beginner-friendly student paper in seventh edition APA Style, consisting of a title
page, text, and reference list. If your paper has more elements, such as tables and figures, use the Publication Manual
checklist or the Concise Guide checklist. Links in this checklist lead to free resources on the APA Style website. For
questions about specific assignment guidelines, check with your instructor.

General Format
Use the same font and font size throughout Affiliation: Provide the department of your course
your paper. Any legible and accessible font is and the name of your school, centered on their
acceptable, including the default font of your own line after your name (e.g., Department of
word-processing program (e.g., 11- or 12-point Psychology, Williams College).
Calibri, Arial, or Times New Roman).
Course: Provide the name and number of the
Double-space the entire paper, including the course, centered on its own line after the affiliation.
references. Do not add extra lines before or after Match the format given on course materials.
headings or between paragraphs of text.
Instructor: Provide the instructor’s name, centered
Set margins to 1 in. on all sides, which is usually on a new line after the course information.
the default.
Due Date: Include the month, day, and year in the
Insert page numbers in the top right of every page date format used in your country (e.g., September
(including the title page, which is page 1) using the 20, 2023), centered on a new line after the
automatic page-numbering function of your word- instructor name. Spell out the month and write the
processing program. full year.

Place pages in the order of title page, text, and Compare your title page against a sample student
references. Start the text on a new page after the title page to check your work.
title page. Start references on a new page after the
text.

Title Page Text Format

Repeat the paper title on the first line of the first
Title: Write the title in the upper half of the title page of text (page 2), centered and in bold.
page (three or four lines from the top margin),
centered and in bold. Ensure it captures the main
Begin the text immediately after the repeated title.
point of your work. Capitalize the title in title case
Use left-justified paragraphs, with the first line of
(Most Words Capitalized). Add a blank line after
every paragraph indented.
the title and before your name.
Use headings to divide the text into sections as
Author: Write your full name, centered on its own
needed. Short student papers may not require any
line, after the blank line and title.
headings. Do not use the heading “Introduction”;
just start the paper.
Writing Style and Grammar Punctuation
Eliminate wordiness, redundancy, evasiveness, and Avoid overloading sentences with punctuation
circumlocution (i.e., writing in circles). marks. Split too-long sentences into multiple
shorter sentences.
Vary sentence length. Break up paragraphs
longer than one double-spaced page into shorter Use one space after a period or other punctuation
paragraphs. mark at the end of a sentence.

Use transitions to smoothly connect sentences, Use a serial comma before the final item in a list of
paragraphs, and ideas. three or more items (e.g., “bananas, apples, and
oranges” not “bananas, apples and oranges”).
Use a professional tone and professional language.
Do not use jargon, contractions, colloquialisms, or
creative literary devices.

Use verb tenses consistently across sentences and Spelling, Capitalization,

paragraphs. Describe past research in the past or
present perfect tense (e.g., “Researchers found” or Abbreviations, and Numbers
“Researchers have found,” not “Researchers find”).
Use the spellings shown in the APA Dictionary
Use the active voice as much as possible to make of Psychology for psychological terms and in the
your writing more direct. The passive voice is [Link] Dictionary for other words.
allowed when you need to focus on the recipient of Also follow APA’s preferred spellings of technology
an action, but don’t overdo it. words.

Ensure verbs agree in number with their subjects. Write most words with prefixes and suffixes without
a hyphen (e.g., “nonjudgmental” not “non-
Use first-person pronouns to describe your work judgmental”).
and personal reactions. Use “I” for a solo paper;
use “we” for a group paper. Capitalize proper nouns, including names of racial
and ethnic groups (e.g., “Black” and “White” not
Use the singular “they” to refer to a hypothetical “black” and “white”).
person or when gender is unknown; otherwise, use
a person’s self-identified pronouns. Do not capitalize names of diseases, disorders,
therapies, treatments, theories, concepts,
hypotheses, principles, models, and statistical
Bias-Free and Inclusive procedures, unless personal names appear within
these terms (e.g., depression, diabetes, Alzheimer’s
Language disease).

Check your work for bias. Avoid perpetuating Use abbreviations sparingly. Define most
prejudicial beliefs or demeaning attitudes. abbreviations, such as abbreviations for group
Describe all people with dignity and respect using authors, on first use (e.g., “WHO” for “World
the language they use to call themselves. Health Organization”).

Read the Brief Guide to Bias-Free and Inclusive Use words to express numbers zero through nine
Language for preliminary suggestions regarding and numbers that begin a sentence.
the discussion of age, disability, gender, race and
ethnicity, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic Use numerals to express numbers 10 and above as
status. well as all percentages (e.g., 95%), measurements
(e.g., 3 cm), ages (e.g., 5 years old), and time (e.g.,
4 months).
In-Text Citations For quotation citations, include the author, year,
and page number or other location information
Cite only works you read and ideas you (e.g., section name, time stamp from a video).
incorporated into your paper.
Use the short quotation format for quotation of less
Include all sources cited in the text in the reference than 40 words. Ensure the citation appears before
list (exception: cite personal communications in the the period that ends the sentence:
text only). • Sentence “quotation” (Author, year, p. X).
• Author (year) stated “quotation” (p. X).
Match the spelling of author names and the
publication year in the in-text citations to the
Use the block quotation format for quotations of
corresponding reference list entries.
40 words or more.

Paraphrase sources in your own words whenever

possible.

Avoid plagiarism by citing the words and ideas of References

others. However, do not repeat the same citation in
every sentence when the source and topic do not Start the reference list on a new page after the text.
change; this is overcitation.
Write the label “References” at the top of the
Write author–date citations using either the page, centered and in bold.
narrative or parenthetical citation format:
Double-space all references, both within and
• Parenthetical format: (Beatty, 2023)
between entries, and apply a hanging indent (first
• Narrative format: Beatty (2023) stated... line flush left, subsequent lines indented by 0.5 in.).
Use the paragraph-formatting function of word-
Format author names according to how many processing program to achieve the hanging indent.
authors the work has:
• One author: (Kim, 2023) or Kim (2023). Ensure all reference entries have a corresponding
in-text citation. If they do not, add citations or
• Two authors: (Guirrez & Castillo, 2020) or
delete references.
Guirrez and Castillo (2020). Use an ampersand
in the parenthetical format; use “and” in the
Follow the reference examples for the type of
narrative format.
work being cited, such as a journal article, book,
• Three or more authors: (Zheng et al., 2023) or or webpage. Adapt reference format if there is
Zheng et al. (2023). missing information.

When citing multiple works in parentheses, place Capitalize reference titles in sentence case (e.g., A
the citations in alphabetical order and separate tale of two cities not A Tale of Two Cities).
them with semicolons: (Davis, 2023; Joo et al.,
2017; Swann & Gould, 2021). Put references in alphabetical order.

When multiple parenthetical citations have the Double-check the format of authors, dates, titles,
same author(s), order the years chronologically sources, DOIs, and URLs in references, by following
and separate them with commas: (Coutlee, 2019, the Creating an APA Style Reference List Guide.
2020).

Limit the use of direct quotations. It is better to

paraphrase.

© 2023 CITE THIS HANDOUT:

Last updated September 12, 2023 American Psychological Association. (2023). Student paper
checklist (beginner’s version). [Link]
More information on APA Style can be found in the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (7th ed.) and the Concise Guide to APA Style (7th ed.). instructional-aids/[Link]