1. Title on the Title Page:
* Center-aligned: The title is centered on the title page.
* Uppercase and Lowercase: Use title case (capitalize the first letter of the first word, the last word, and all principal words).
* Concise: Aim for a concise and informative title, usually under 12 words.
* No bold, italics, or underlining: The title appears in plain text.
Example:
The Effects of Social Media Use on Adolescent Self-Esteem
2. Title in the Running Head (Header):
* Abbreviated Title: A shortened version of your title (usually 50 characters or less, including spaces) appears in the upper left-hand corner of every page (except the title page).
* All Capital Letters: This abbreviated title is written in all capital letters.
Example: (If the full title is "The Effects of Social Media Use on Adolescent Self-Esteem", the running head could be "SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND SELF-ESTEEM")
3. Title within the Text (e.g., referring to your own paper in another paper):
When referring to your own published paper within the text of another paper, you would use title case and italicize the title.
Example:
In a previous study (The Effects of Social Media Use on Adolescent Self-Esteem, 2024), we found...
In short: There's no special formatting for the title *within* the body of your paper itself beyond what is standard for titles within the text of a sentence (Title Case, italicized when referring to a published work). The main formatting concerns are for the title page and the running head.