{"id":19749,"date":"2020-11-07T10:00:01","date_gmt":"2020-11-07T09:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/?p=19749"},"modified":"2022-10-24T14:47:06","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T12:47:06","slug":"apa-headings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/apa-style\/apa-headings\/","title":{"rendered":"APA headings and subheadings"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"kb-textbox border-left yellow\">This article reflects the\u00a0<strong>APA 7th edition<\/strong>\u00a0guidelines. <a href=index-4958.html>Click here<\/a> for APA 6th edition guidelines.<\/figure>\n<p>Headings and subheadings provide structure to a document. They signal what each section<br \/>\nis about and allow for easy navigation of the document.<\/p>\n<p>APA headings have five possible levels. Each heading level is formatted differently.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"colorbox\" href=index-4959.html><img decoding=\"async\" src=index-4959.html alt=\"APA headings (7th edition)\" width=\"660\" class=\"aligncenter mt-4 mb-5\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"kb-textbox\"><small><strong>Note:<\/strong> Title case simply means that you should capitalize the first word, words with four or more letters, and all \u201cmajor words\u201d (<a href=index-3522.html>nouns<\/a>, <a href=index8e8a.html?p=407369\%22>verbs<\/a>, <a href=index-3479.html>adjectives<\/a>, <a href=index-3567.html>adverbs<\/a>, and <a href=index-3541.html>pronouns<\/a>).<\/small><\/figure>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"additional-guidelines\">Additional guidelines for APA headings<\/h2>\n<p>As well as the heading styles, there are some other guidelines to keep in mind:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"kb-checklist\">\n<li>Double-space all text, including the headings.<\/li>\n<li>Use the same font for headings and body text (e.g., Times New Roman 12pt.).<\/li>\n<li class=\"error\">Don\u2019t label headings with numbers or letters.<\/li>\n<li class=\"error\">Don\u2019t add extra \u201centers\u201d above or below headings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"kb-textbox\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> In longer documents, such as dissertations, you might be required to number your headings. Instructions from your supervisor or university always overrule the APA guidelines.<\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"how-many-to-use\">How many heading levels should you use?<\/h2>\n<p>Depending on the length and complexity of your paper, you may not use all five heading levels. In fact, shorter student papers may have no headings at all.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also perfectly fine for some sections in your paper to go as deep as five levels, where others use only heading level 1.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"when-to-use\">When to use which APA heading level<\/h2>\n<p>Heading level 1 is used for main sections like \u201c<a href=index-4731.html>Methods<\/a>\u201d, \u201c<a href=index-3040.html>Results<\/a>\u201d, and \u201c<a href=index-3013.html>Discussion<\/a>\u201d. There is no \u201c<a href=index-3128.html>Introduction<\/a>\u201d heading at the beginning of your paper because the first paragraphs are understood to be introductory.<\/p>\n<p>Heading level 2 is used for subsections under level 1. For example, under \u201cMethods\u201d (level 1) you may have subsections for \u201cSampling Method\u201d and \u201cData Analysis\u201d (level 2). This continues all the way down to heading level 5.<\/p>\n<p>Always use at least two subheadings or none at all. If there is just one subheading, the top-level heading is sufficient.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"section-labels\">Section labels vs headings<\/h2>\n<p>In addition to regular headings, APA works with \u201csection labels\u201d for specific parts of the paper. They\u2019re similar to headings but are formatted differently. Section labels are placed on a separate line at the top of a new page in bold and centered.<\/p>\n<p>Use section labels for the following sections in an <a href=index-3353.html>APA formatted paper<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=index-4960.html#author-note\">Author note<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4950.html>Abstract<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4960.html#title\">Paper title<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-3727.html>Reference page<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-4849.html>Footnotes<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=index-3273.html>Appendices<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"sample\">Sample paper with APA headings<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=index-4961.html alt=\"APA heading example (7th edition)\" width=\"660\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-306470 size-large mt-4 mb-5\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/apa-headings-example-7th-ed-1-723x1024.png 723w, https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/apa-headings-example-7th-ed-1-212x300.png 212w, https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/apa-headings-example-7th-ed-1-768x1087.png 768w, https:\/\/www.scribbr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/apa-headings-example-7th-ed-1.png 893w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"styles\">Using heading styles in Word or Google Docs<\/h2>\n<p>Instead of formatting every heading individually, you can use the \u201cStyles\u201d feature in Word or Google Docs. This allows you to save the styling and apply it with just a click.<\/p>\n<p>The first time you use APA Style, you need to update the default heading styles to reflect the APA heading guidelines. Click here for the instructions for <a href=index-4962.html>Microsoft Word<\/a> and <a href=index-4963.html>Google Docs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>An added benefit of using the \u201cStyles\u201d feature is that you can <a href=index-4964.html#how-to-generate-a-table-of-contents-in-word\">automatically generate a table of contents<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This article reflects the\u00a0APA 7th edition\u00a0guidelines. Click here for APA 6th edition guidelines. Headings and subheadings provide structure to a document. They signal what each section is about and allow for easy navigation of the document. APA headings have five possible levels. Each heading level is formatted differently. Note: Title case simply means that you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<title>APA Headings and Subheadings | With Sample Paper<\/title>\n
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