How to Write a Literature Review in APA Format

Students and other writers, particularly in the social and behavioral sciences, frequently follow American Psychological Association (APA) style when writing research papers. As the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) notes, two types of papers are common in those areas of study--experimental reports and literature reviews. A literature review summarizes the key scientific writing about your topic or question of inquiry. Students tend to write literature reviews frequently in college. Under APA style, the literature review has three components: a title page, introduction and reference list.

Instructions

    • 1

      Begin your APA literature review with a title page. Center your title, typed in upper and lowercase letters, on the upper half of the page. The title should not exceed 12 words. Avoid abbreviations or pointless words. APA allows one or two lines for your title. You must double-space all text on your title page.

    • 2

      Locate your name--first name, middle initial(s) and last name--underneath the title of your paper. Under your name, include the university or organization you are affiliated with.

    • 3

      Include a running header on your title page and all subsequent pages of your APA literature review. On the title page, your header should read as follows.

      Running head: DOPING IN CYCLING: A REVIEW

      On all proceeding pages, omit the words "Running head." Include the title of your paper in capital letters, flush left, and the page number, flush right.

    • 4

      Write the body of your APA literature review--the introduction--on a new page after the title page. Include your header at the top of the page. Center your title on the line(s) after the header. Be sure to double-space. Since professors often design literature reviews to prepare students to do future, more in-depth research in their area of interest, the introduction is the only section of main text required by APA. Some professors may require other sections, such as an abstract.

    • 5

      Begin your reference list on a separate page. Center the word "References" at the top of the page without the use of any special formatting, including quotation marks. Double-space all text throughout your reference list.

    • 6

      Order reference list entries alphabetically by the author's last name. You should indent all lines after the first line of each entry by five spaces to create a hanging indent.

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