Citation Styles

APA (7th ed.) papers have one-inch margins and are double-spaced and left-aligned. Use an accessible  font (e.g., 11-pt. Calibri or Arial, 12-pt. Times New Roman) and headings. Paragraphs are indented 0.5". Page numbers are at the top-right, and student papers don't require a running head.

For more information, see the Excelsior College APA Formatting Guide or this annotated student paper.

One of the goals of the new edition was to make citations and formatting simpler for students and instructors. There are now distinct formatting guidelines for student papers (see template below). Other notable changes:

• Student papers no longer require a running head.
• The title of a student paper is in bold. 
• References title section is in bold.
• In-text citations with three or more authors include only the first author, followed by “et al.” 
• In the References list, citations now include up to 20 authors. For citations with more than 20 authors, the first 19 are followed by an ellipsis and then the final name.
• Book citations no longer include publisher location.
• For website articles, the site name is included.
• The label “DOI” is no longer necessary; the formatting is the same as for a URL link.
• When a URL is used, “retrieved from” is only required when a date is needed.
• Instructions have been expanded for various source types, including social media posts and podcasts.
• APA endorses the use of “they” as a singular pronoun, for those who use it as a personal pronoun or for anyone whose gender is unknown or irrelevant.
• There is expanded information on citing oral or traditional knowledge.