APA Format: Student Title Page
This handout is based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh
Edition, 2019. It covers requirements for a title page for a STUDENT paper; professional papers have
different rules.
A good title should concisely state the main ideas of the paper. To keep titles concise, eliminate meaningless
words; for instance, “method,” “results,” and “A Study of” provide no useful information, and should be
avoided. Abbreviations should also be avoided within the title. (For more information on writing an effective
title, consult the Publication Manual, pp. 31–32.)
The title page includes 7 elements:
1. Page number:
• The number 1 will be in the page header and should be right-aligned, keeping a 1” side margin and .5”
top margin.
2. Paper title:
• The title should clearly identify the topic of the paper (Example: Cross-Cultural Studies of Depression).
• Center the title on the page horizontally and 3–4 lines from the top margin. Boldface the title.
• Capitalize only the first letter of important words in the title.
3. Author byline:
• Type your name in uppercase and lowercase letters, centered on the page, one blank double-spaced
lines below the title.
• If your paper has two authors, type the names and use and before the last author listed; if you have three
or more authors, use commas to separate authors and then use and before the last author listed. Use one
line, if space permits.
4. Institutional affiliation:
• Type the department name and school name, centered under your name, on the next double-spaced line.
5. Full course name:
• Type the course title (including its number and complete name), centered under your department/school
name on the next double-spaced line.
6. Instructor information:
• Type your instructor’s name and title, centered under the course name on the next double-spaced line.
7. Date:
• Add the assignment’s due date in Month Day, Year format (e.g., November 30, 2019), centered under
the instructor information on the next double-spaced line.
Revised 1/2020
Example:
1
Cross-Cultural Studies of Depression
Janet F. Wilson and Paul E. Thompson
Department of Nursing, Saginaw Valley State University
NURS 245: Nurse Provider Clinical I
Professor Judi A. Cox
December 8, 2019
