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Last Updated on: 2nd February 2024, 04:52 am
APA 7 has five heading styles, which can be used for each section of a paper. The headings should be in the same font and size as the rest of your paper, and double spaced. Also, do not add extra “enters” above or below them. Because the first paragraphs of a paper are understood to be the introduction, the heading “Introduction” is not needed. However, you will need to provide the heading, “Conclusion,” for the last paragraph of the paper. Unless abbreviations are already defined in the body of your paper, do not put them in the headings. Keep in mind that instructions from your college or university always overrule the APA guidelines.
Title Case
In APA, title case is used for capitalizing the headings. For the title case, capitalize all major words, such as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. The following are some of the words that need to be in upper case:
- Major words, and the second part of major words that are hyphenated, such as High-Speed, High-Tech, In-Depth
- The first word of the heading even if it is The or An.
- The first word after a colon
- With, Between, From
The following are some of the words that need to be in lower case:
- the, a, an, such, as, up, in, down, on, and, but, for, or, and, nor
Examples of Headings Written in the Title Case
- Computer-Aided Design for Creating 3D Sequences With Animation
- Flood Risk Reduction Activities in China: An Empirical Study
Over 50% of doctoral candidates don’t finish their dissertations.
The Five Levels and How They Should be Formatted
| 1 | Centered, Bold, Upper Case and Lower Case Heading (Title Case) Text begins as a new paragraph. |
| 2 | Left aligned, Bold, Upper Case and Lower Case Heading (Title Case) Text begins as a new paragraph. |
| 3 | Left aligned, Bold, Italicized, Upper Case and Lower Case Heading (Title Case) Text begins as a new paragraph. |
| 4 | Indented, Bold, Upper Case and Lower Case Heading (Title Case). It ends with a period. The text begins on the same line and continues as a paragraph. |
| 5 | Indented, Bold, Italicized, Upper Case and Lower Case Heading (Title Case). It ends with a period. The text begins on the same line and continues as a paragraph. |
Examples of Headings With Text
Emotional and Psychological Connotations Between Colors and One’s Mood – Level One
Meaning and Perceptions of Colors – Level Two
Some colors are described as being “warm,” such as orange and read. Others are called “cool,” such as blue and green.
Color Psychology – Level Three
In general, a color’s psychological properties are associated with a person’s moods. When light is emitted from a color, its wavelengths can strike people’s eyes in different ways, which influences their perception.
The Influence of Color Preference – Level Four. A person’s color preference is influenced, in part, by their environment, and can change as they age.
Psychopathology and Its Relationship to Color Preference – Level Five. A preference for cool colors tends to reflect an emotionally balanced person. A preference for warm colors usually reflects an emotionally unbalanced person.
Note. For more information about headings, see Sections 2.26 & 2.27, Table 2.3, and Figures 2.4 and 2.5 on pages 47-49 of the APA Manual, 7th edition.
