The first paragraph following this heading should be typed on the same line as the heading. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in the heading and of proper nouns. The third level of heading is bolded, indented five spaces from the left, and followed by a period. The paragraph text should be typed on the following line and indented five spaces from the left. The second level of heading is bolded and situated flush left, and the first letter of each word in the heading is capitalized.

The first level of heading is bolded and centered, and the first letter of each word in the heading is capitalized. Note that while the example features headings titled “First Level,” “Second Level,” and so on, each heading in your paper should be named according to the section it describes. How are the five levels of APA-style headings formatted?įormat each of the five levels of APA-style headings as demonstrated in the example below. There are no extra lines or spaces between paragraphs and headings. Note that all paragraphs of the main body, including those that fall under subsections of a larger section, still maintain the pattern of indentation, use Times New Roman font, 12 pt., and are double-spaced.

Any subsections that fall under the major sections are formatted with the next level of heading. However, keep in mind that the Introduction section, which is preceded by the full title of the paper, should be presented in plain type. Major sections of the paper’s main body, including the Method, Results, and Discussion sections, should always be formatted with the first level of heading.

Starting with the first level of heading, the subsections of the paper should progressively use the next level(s) of heading without skipping any levels. Notice how sections contain at least two smaller subsections in the example below: APA headings and subheadings refers to the rules for formatting sections of documents in the 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association’s Publication Manual.Ī research paper written in APA style should be organized into sections and subsections using the five levels of APA headings.

Apa format paper with headings