How to Prepare your Dissertation in APA Style
This guide has been taken from the American Psychological Associations Website.
Style Manual
It is recommended that APA Style Seventh Edition is used. It should be in 12-point type using
Times New Roman font.
Spacing
The test in the manuscript should be double-spaced. The right margin of the text should not be
justified, but kept left-aligned, also known as ragged right, like the test in this guide.
Margins
All margins in the document should be set to 1 inch on each side. The margins must be
maintained on all pages, including the appendices. Tables, maps, charts, and illustrations should
fall within such margins.
Bias-Free Language
Eliminate biased language from your writing. Avoid perpetuating prejudicial beliefs or
demeaning attitudes. Instead, use bias-free language to describe all people and their personal
characteristics with inclusivity and respect, including:
• Age
• Disability
• Gender
• Participation in research
• Racial and ethnic identity
• Sexual orientation
• Socioeconomic status
• Intersectionality
For guidelines on how to write about people without bias and examples of bias-free
language, see the Bias-Free Language link on the last page.
Dissertation Order
Your dissertation should include a title page, text, and references. They may include additional
elements, such as tables and figures.
Arrange the pages of an APA Style paper in the following order:
• Title page - required
• Dissertation Approval/Signature Page* - required
*Formatting must be approved by The Graduate School before printing, then
signed by all members of the committee and The Dean of The Graduate School.
• Copyright Page - required
• Abstract - required
• Table of Contents
• Text
• References
• Footnotes
• Tables
• Figures
• Appendices
In general, start each section on a new page. However, the order of pages is flexible in the
following cases:
• tables and figures: Embed tables and figures within the text after they are first
mentioned (or “called out”), or place each table and then each figure on separate pages
after the references. If an embedded table or figure appears on the same page as text,
place it at either the top or the bottom of the page, and insert a blank double-spaced line
to separate the table or figure from the adjacent text.
•
footnotes: Use the footnotes function of your word-processing program to insert a
footnote at the bottom of the page of text on which the footnote appears, or list footnotes
together on a separate page after the references.
Professional Title Page
The professional title page includes the paper title, author names (the byline), author
affiliation(s), author note, running head, and page number, as shown in the following example.
Follow the guidelines described next to format each element of the professional title page.
COMPULSIVE TEXTING AND ACADMIC FUNCTIONING 1
The Role of Compulsive Texting in Adolescents’ Academic Functioning
A DISSERTATION
Submitted to the Faculty of
Montclair State University in partial fulfilment
of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
by
John P. Smith
Montclair State University
Upper Montclair, NJ
August 2020
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Michael S. Silverman
Format
Example
Paper title
Place the title three to four lines down from
the top of the title page. Center it and type it
in bold font. Capitalize major words of the
title. Place the main title and any subtitle on
separate double-spaced lines if desired.
The Role of Compulsive Texting in Adolescents’
Academic Functioning
A DISSERTATION
As shown in the sample to the right, include
the following
submission note underneath the
title and subtitle.
Submitted to the Faculty of
Montclair State University in partial fulfilment
of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Author name
Place one double-spaced blank line between
the submission note and the author names.
Center author name(s) on their own line.
by
John P. Smith
University
As shown.
Montclair State University
Upper Montclair, NJ
Date
Use the month and year that you are
completing your dissertation.
August 2020
Running head
The running head appears in all-capital
letters in the page header of all pages,
including the title page. Align the running
head to the left margin. Do not use the label
“Running head:” before the running head.
COMPULSIVE TEXTING AND ACADEMIC
FUNCTIONING
Page number
Use the page number 1 on the title page. Use
the automatic page-numbering function of
your word processing program to insert page
numbers in the top right corner of the page
header.
1
Dissertation Approval/Signature & Copyright Pages
The next two pages illustrate the proper formatting that should be used for the required
Dissertation Approval/Signature and Copyright pages. All content should be in Times New
Roman and 12 pt font, with the exception of the Copyright label itself being 11 pt font.
COMPULSIVE TEXTING AND ACADEMIC FUNCTIONING 2
MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
DISSERTATION APPROVAL
We hereby approve the Dissertation
The Role of Compulsive Testing in Adolescents’
Academic Functioning
of
John P. Smith
Candidate for the Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Graduate Program: Dissertation Committee:
Counseling
Dr. Michael S. Silverman
Certified by: Dissertation Chair
Dr. M. Scott Herness Dr. Patricia X. Smith
Vice Provost for Research and
Dean of the Graduate School
Date Dr. Frieda F. Friedman
COMPULSIVE TEXTING AND ACADEMIC FUNCTIONING 3
Copyright@2020 by John P. Smith. All rights reserved.
Creating an APA Style table of contents
APA format guidelines for the table of contents
In a dissertation, the table of contents comes between your abstract and your introduction. It
should be written in the same font and size as the rest of your text (usually 12 pt Times New
Roman). At the top of the page, write Contents, centered and in bold.
In APA Style, you can use up to five levels of headings, each with its own formatting style. In
the table of contents, you should include all level 1 and 2 headings, left-aligned and formatted as
plain text. Level 2 headings are indented.
Including lower-level headings in the table of contents is optional. Add an additional indent for
each level. If you have a lot of headings in your text, you may not be able to include them all –
your table of contents should not be more than two pages long in total.
Example: APA table of contents (see below)
How to generate a table of contents in Word
To automatically generate a table of contents in Word, you’ll first have to apply heading styles
throughout your text. After that, you can generate the table of contents.
Applying heading styles
First, go through your text making sure that each level of heading is in keeping with APA Style
rules:
Heading 1
Centered, Bold, Title Case Capitalization*
Heading 2
Left-Aligned, Bold, Title Case Capitalization*
Heading 3
Indented, bold, sentence case capitalization,** a final period. The body
text begins immediately after the period.
Heading 4
Indented, bold, italics, sentence case capitalization,** a final period. The
body text begins immediately after the period.
Heading 5
* Capitalize the first word of the title and all major words (including words that have four or
more letters). Example: The Effects of Autism on Listening Skills.
** Capitalize the first word of the title and proper nouns (just as you would capitalize a
sentence). An example: Teenagers with autism in the United States.
Next, update the heading styles listed in the Home tab at the top:
1. Highlight a level 1 heading.
2. Right-click the Heading 1 style and select Update Heading 1 to match selection
3. Do the same for each level of heading.
Once you’ve done this you can update any other headings quickly using the heading styles. Make
sure all headings are in the appropriate style before proceeding.
Generating the table of contents
Now you can generate your table of contents. First write the title (in the style of a level 1
heading). Then place your cursor two lines below this and go to the References tab.
Click on Table of Contents and select Custom Table of Contents… In the popup window,
select how many levels of heading you wish to include (either two or three) under Show levels,
then click OK:
Updating your table of contents
Now you have a table of contents based on your current headings and page numbers; if you
continue working on your text after this, be sure to go back and update your table of contents at
the end, as headings and page numbers might change.
You can do this by right-clicking on the table of contents and selecting Update Field. Then
you can choose whether to update all information or just the page numbers; it’s best to
update everything, just to be sure.
APA reference page
The APA reference page is a separate page at the end of your paper where all sources you cited
in the main text are listed. The references are sorted alphabetically, double spaced, and
formatted using a hanging indent of ½ inch. Use “References” as page heading and include a
running head with your paper title and page number.
APA reference page example
Creating references in APA format
Each reference must be structured according to the rules for that source type. These rules vary
between books, journal articles, internet articles and more.
You should include a reference for all sources you have cited in the text. One inch (2.54 cm)
page margins on all sides
•
Times New Roman font in 12 pt
•
‘References’ as title (centered)
•
Running head (top left corner)
•
Page number (top right corner)
•
Double spacing within and between references
•
½ inch hanging indent for references longer than one line.
Links for further resources
Additional reference guides are available at: https://apastyle.apa.org/
Purdue University has a comprehensive Writing Lab:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.html
In-Test Citation Checklist: https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/in-text-citation-
checklist.pdf
Bias-Free Language: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/bias-free-language/
Creating an APA Style Reference List: https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/creating-
reference-list.pdf
Center for Writing Excellence - APA Resources: https://www.montclair.edu/center-for-
writing-excellence/cwe-digital-dashboard/resources-for-writers/citing-sources/#APA