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Title of Assignment
Student’s Name
University of West Alabama
Name of the Course
Name of the Assignment
Instructor’s Name
Restatement of Title
The assignment should begin with a centered restatement of the title. This will serve as the first heading in the document. This first paragraph underneath the restated title will serve as the introduction for the document. Do not include an additional heading for the introduction. In addition, student work never requires an abstract, so don’t create one. Notice that the first line of each paragraph in this document is indented. Additionally, related to paper formatting, running heads are no longer used in APA style for student work, so they have been left out of this document (APA, n.d.). Page numbers are included in the top right corner of the header for each page.
First Level One Main Heading of the Assignment
The main headings in a document are referred to as level one headings (APA, 2020). These level one headings are centered and use title case, which means that the main words are capitalized (APA, 2020). Level one headings are in bold font. In general, students are expected to create a short introduction in this paragraph related to the first main point before including any level two sub-headings.
First Level Two Sub-Heading Under the First Level One Heading
Depending on the length of an assignment, students are expected to include level two and, sometimes, level three headings. Level two headings are sub-headings under the main level one headings. Level two headings are aligned to the left of the page like a regular sentence. Level two headings still use title case for the words and are still in bold font (APA, 2020). In addition, the first three levels of headings contain no punctuation at the end of the heading. For shorter assignments, students will likely only need to use level one headings.
Second Level Two Sub-Heading Under the First Level one Heading
Regarding headings, the rule is that there must be at least two headings in the same level in the same section of a document or that level of heading should not be used at all. In other words, if there is one level two heading underneath a main level one heading, there must be at least a second level two heading as well. There should never be only one level two heading underneath a level one heading.
Second Level One Main Heading of the Assignment
The material in this section is related to the second main point of the assignment. The first paragraph in this section is an introduction of the second main point.
First Level Two Sub-Heading Under the Second Level One Heading
The material in this section relates to the first sub-heading underneath the second main level two heading. The heading rules are the same as the level two rules mentioned above.
Second Level Two Sub-Heading Under the First Level one Heading
If level two sub-headings are used in the document, there should be at least two level two headings in this section.
Conclusion
At the end of the document, students should wrap up their information by including a brief concluding paragraph that highlights the main points or arguments made in the document. This conclusion heading is considered a level one heading, so all of those rules apply here. After the conclusion paragraph, the reference section will be included on the next page down. Do not start the reference section immediately after the conclusion if the concluding paragraph occurs in the middle of a page. The reference section always starts on the next page down.
References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.b).
APA style: Title page setup. American
Psychological Association.
American Psychological Association. (2020).
Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (7th ed.).
