APA 7 Template

This is the student version: your name, department, course code, instructor and due date, instead of a running head. If your program specifically wants the professional format (used for journal submissions), you’ll need to swap in a running head and drop the course details.

The template shows both, right where students usually mix them up. A parenthetical citation puts the whole thing in brackets, like (Smith, 2020). A narrative citation names the author as part of your sentence, with only the year in brackets, like “Greenhaus and Allen (2011) argue that…”. Both appear in the sample body text with a note pointing out which is which.

Not always, which is why it’s marked optional in the template. Where your program does require one, keep it to a single paragraph under a centered, bolded “Abstract” heading, summarizing your research question, method and key findings.

Alphabetically by author surname, with a hanging indent on the second and later lines of each entry. Every reference in the template’s own list is a real, published source, so you can see exactly where the italics, punctuation and DOI link fall rather than guessing from a style guide.

Placeholder text under a sample heading, there to show you the formatting for optional extras like a survey instrument or interview guide: a page break, then a bolded, centered title. Delete it if your paper doesn’t need one.

Yes, you’re welcome to share it in its original format (no editing allowed). If you post about it on your blog or social media, please reference this page as your source.

Yes, our free MLA 9th edition template covers the same ground for MLA-style papers.

Yes. If you’d like feedback on more than just formatting, our coaches can help you strengthen the actual writing and argument too. Get in touch to discuss our private coaching services.