Type your term paper on standard 8.5-inch x 11-inch paper. Double space the text and use 1-inch margins on each side. Times New Roman or something similar in 10-12 font is required.
Make a page header. Headers go on every page of your essay. To create a header, add page numbers to the right side of the top of your paper. Then on the top left side of the paper, flush left, type the title of your paper in all capital letters. On the title page, your header should read: Running head: MY PAPER'S TITLE (substitute your title). On subsequent pages, the header should simply read: MY PAPER'S TITLE (substitute your title).
Set up your title page. The title page is the first page of your essay. It will include the title of the essay, your name (the author) and the college or institution it is written for. Type your title using lowercase and uppercase letters. Center the title halfway down the paper. One the next line type the first, middle initial and last name of the author. Titles such as Dr. are not used. The following line will include the institution's name.
Start a new page. This page includes the abstract. An abstract is a short summary of your essay between 150- 250 words. On the first line, center the word Abstract. The next line begins your summary. Do not indent the text.
Begin the main body of your paper. APA formatting of the main body requires you to indent each paragraph.
Cite your sources. After the main body include a separate page with references. The reference page is a place to show the reader where you got all the information you cited in your text. Center the word "References" at the top of the page. Type your references in alphabetical order. The first line of each source is not indented. Indent all other lines of the source. See Resources for a sample APA-formatted paper.