APA format relies on various aspects of formatting the paper to make it look according to standards that are characterized by the American Psychological Association. While I have presented a lot of content on formats and other aspects of writing, APA appeared to be one of my favorite formats so far. Hence, talking about it is essential from the point of covering one of the most-used formats in the world. So, it is important to start with general aspects of formatting of the title page.
Running Head in APA Format
The running head of the APA style paper is mostly its identification of what the paper is about on each page. When people read through a long paper, such as dissertations or lengthy research papers, it is clear that some people might need to recall the title of the work. Imagine this, you are reading a dissertation on 100+ pages. Additionally, the title of this scientific paper is about 50 words as it is in Physics. Hence, there are rarely people who can remember a 50-word title from the first reading. That is the exact reason why the running head exists in the APA 6th edition format. According to the American Psychology Association, running head reminds people of what the whole work is about.
Running Head Standards
- Firstly, the running head has to be a short version of the title, not something brand new.
- To increase the readability of the running head, it is suggested never to exceed 50 characters within its length, which is around 5 words.
- Also, all words in running head have to be in Caps, according to APA format.
- Hence, not to mess up everything, it is considered the best to write numbers of pages flush right (yes, numbers of pages are required) and the text to be flush left.
- Additionally, one should never forget that the running head on the first page has to differ from the same on the second page. As always, readability is everything in APA format. On the first page, there should be words “Running Head” before the shortened version of the title. You must follow identification words, “Running head,” by a colon (:) right after them. That is for the reader to understand that such a short title will follow all the remaining pages. Starting from the second page, there should be no “Running Head” identification words by considering the APA guide.
APA Format’s Title Page
Again, the APA guidelines concentrate a lot of how the overall work looks to attract the reader. Therefore, the first page is specifically designed to make sure the work will catch the reader’s attention. Unlike MLA, in APA format, the only thing that you will find on the title page is the title itself that should be centered, title-cased (explained below), and appear exactly in the center of the page from all sides. When it comes to the orientation of it from top to the bottom, it should be just about the middle line of the APA paper.
The one should never italicize, underline, color, or do whatever with the title page as it clearly destructs the reader. The font has to be 12-point Times New Roman as it is one of the most attractive fonts existing. Again, easiness to read is the most important thing in APA format.
Title Case
Title case means the capitalization of specific letters in the text to attract the reader’s attention to something of importance. However, one should not capitalize each word’s first letter. For example, you should not capitalize secondary parts of the speech that are three or fewer letters long. In contrast, the main parts of the speech, such as pronouns, verbs, nouns, adverbs, and adjectives, have to be capitalized. Everything else that is four or more letters long has to be highlighted in the same way too. So, do not capitalize articles like the, a, an. Do not capitalize short conjunction, such as so, and, but. Additionally, do not capitalize short prepositions like by, to, at, and others in APA format. On the other hand, if such words are first in the title – capitalize them anyway.
Extra Information on Title Page
Coming back to the title page of APA format, one can also name the institution of origin and professor’s name below the title. Also, it is clear that one might be interested in identifying who is the author of the work. Therefore, personal name below the title of the paper and other notes on institutional affiliation can be mentioned. Additionally, it is important to start each important note from the new line. Hence, such information must be in the center too, same as the title of the work.
Further Reading on APA Format
Make sure you do not miss all other articles that aim to develop your knowledge on the utilization of APA format. The must-read articles are as follows:
- APA Citation
- APA Referencing
- APA Reference Format
- APA Style Paper
- How to Cite APA style
- APA Style Reference Page
Do not forget to revisit this list as I add new educational content each day. Hence, I will cover all important aspects of APA format and all other formats with time. Additionally, there is always more information about other paper formats available on the website.