If you are keen to learn how to create an APA cover page, then this is a must-read post for you.
American Psychological Association or APA is a writing style standard for students and professionals. When creating its cover page, you need to stick to a certain guideline. If you are not aware of it, we will help you to know through this blog post. This post elaborates on the cover page structure from the APA Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Let’s proceed further!
Table of Contents
All You Need To Know About APA
Before discussing the APA cover page, let’s understand the APA writing style. APA provides a definite set of instructions for students and professionals papers. The student version of the cover page includes a number of essential information. The main things you need to include in it are the page title, the Name of the author, and institutional affiliation. These important points on the student version of the APA format cover page are described in the below-given list:
- In the first place, you need to write a catchy paper title.
- After that, you need to mention the Name of the author.
- Next, write the Name of the university and department.
- Proceeding further, provide the course number and Name.
- Mention the Name of the instructor.
- Finally, write down the due date of the assignment.
Important: When writing the professional APA cover page, provide an author note. Yet, it is not necessary to provide the course name, instructor name, and due date.
How To Format The APA Cover Page?
The below-given guidelines can help you to create an effective APA cover page:
Line spacing:
There should be two line spaces before starting the next line.
Font:
APA recommends using Times New Roman font so that it looks clean and easy to read. Make sure that your institution doesn’t specify a particular font style.
Font Size:
Keep the font size 12 points.
Margins:
When creating an APA cover page, you need to keep a one-inch margin all around.
You may see many of these formatting items to be common with the rest of your APA paper. However, you have to look for the specifications defined by different institutions and professors. Once you check with the differences, proceed further to get it accomplished.
Running Head on APA Format Cover Page
It is a short title for the cover page. American Psychological Association recommends placing this short title on the top of every page. This title serves the below-given functions:
Identification
Firstly, it helps the readers to understand the page separation when a new page starts.
Anonymity
The next function of this short title is to keep the author’s Name anonymous during the review process.
Things You Need To Consider When Formatting the Running Head
If you want to perform the running head formatting for the APA cover page, then the below-given steps can help:
- Keep all the initial letters capital.
- Place it in the header section of the cover page.
- Write “Running head:” on the APA cover page and ensure to use the colon.
- The word count limit for the running head title is 50 characters, including spaces.
How to Do the Page Numbering?
For the page numbering, you need to follow the APA guideline, according to which you have to place the page number on the top right corner in the header section of the page. Start the number from 1 on the APA title page and make sure that the text is right-justified.
How to Create APA Cover Page Sections?
When creating the APA cover page, you need to have the three major sections to keep in mind; Title page, Name of the author, and Institutional affiliation. The information mentioned on the page should have double line spacing. You can use both lower and uppercase characters in the text. The standard font style and size should be Times New Roman and 12 points, respectively, as per the APA guidelines. The three main important things required in the APA cover page are described below:
1: APA Paper Title
In the first place, you need to understand the guidelines for the APA paper title. When writing the title, you need to make sure that it is effective, informative, and able to summarize the paper’s topic. Besides, ensure to choose the right keywords for the title. Place it three or four lines down from the top of the paper. Furthermore, the title should be bold and centrally aligned. Don’t miss to capitalize the first letter of each word used in the title (Avoid capitalizing the articles and short prepositions). The title should follow the below instructions:
- The maximum word limit for the title is 12 words.
- You can use two lines on the APA cover page title as per the requirement.
- The title should be precise and avoid the use of abbreviations.
- Avoid making your title boldface or italics.
2: Name of the Author
The next thing you need to mention on the cover page is the Name of the author. This place is specified for placing your Name. When submitting it for publication, you have to keep the paper anonymous. Write your Name in this line by following the below-given instructions:
- Put the full Name of the author.
- Provide the Name under the title.
- Don’t provide the titles or degrees after the Name.
3: Institutional Affiliation
Institutional affiliation is the next important thing when creating the APA cover page. You can provide it under the author byline. It is the place where the author has accomplished the research for the APA style paper. Providing its Name alone is sufficient. You don’t need to provide any descriptive text.
Takeaway!
The guide described in this post can help you to create an effective APA cover page. It has summarized all the essential elements of the page. It is a standard procedure for creating the page. However, you need to confirm with the institute if there is any change in the formatting. To find more exciting and informative posts, you can visit our blog section.
