APA title page (cover page)
An APA title page must include:
- A running head (including page number)
- The title of your paper (one or two lines long)
- The full name of the author(s)
- Your university or institution
Additional information, such as a course number or an author’s note, should be placed on a separate line below the institution.
APA title page example
General formatting guidelines
The APA cover page adheres to the general APA formatting guidelines:
- 12 pt Times New Roman
- Double line spacing
- 1 inch (2.54 cm) margins
The formatting requirements for each element on the APA title page are listed below.
Running head
Write “Running head:” followed by a (shortened) version of your paper’s title. It must be:
- Left aligned
- Capitalized
- Maximum 50 characters (not including the words “running head:”)
Read more on how to insert and format a running head.
Paper title
Use an informative, striking title that summarizes the main idea of your paper.
- Apply title case (capitalize the first letter of each word, except small words such as articles and short prepositions)
- Keep it shorter than 12 words
- Don’t use abbreviations or contractions
- Place the title in the center of the page
Author name(s)
The names of the authors are written in full (first name, initial of middle name(s), last name). Include the names of all authors in order of contribution. Don’t include titles (Dr., Prof.) or degrees (PhD, MSc).
APA title page with multiple authors
There are specific guidelines for multiple authors. The formatting guidelines depend on whether the authors have the same affiliation.
| Multiple author variations | Example |
|---|---|
| Two authors, one affiliation | John T. Taylor and George Kotler University of California, Berkeley |
| Three authors, one affiliation | John T. Taylor, George Kotler and Dennis G. Parker University of California, Berkeley |
| Two authors, two affiliations | John T. Taylor University of California, Berkeley Laura Johnson Harvard University |
| Three authors, two affiliations | John T. Taylor and George Kotler University of California, Berkeley Laura Johnson Harvard University |
Setting up the title page
This video will demonstrate how to set up the title page in Google Docs.
12 comments
Jennifer
March 6, 2020 at 7:36 AMThe title of my op-ed article is "There’s no magic bullet for Alzheimer’s, but there are ways to keep your brain healthy". I noticed the author didn't capitalize main words in the title. If I was making a title page with this title would it be capitalized like this "There’s No Magic Bullet for Alzheimer’s, but There Are Ways to Keep Your Brain Healthy"?
Shona McCombes (Scribbr-team)
March 9, 2020 at 2:07 PMHi Jennifer,
Yes, if you were to put this title on an APA cover page, you would capitalize it like that. However, if this is a source that you're including in your APA reference list, only the first letter and proper nouns are capitalized.
Crystal Luffman
February 27, 2020 at 6:54 PMWhen asked for a 5-6 page paper does this include the title page and reference page?
Shona McCombes (Scribbr-team)
February 28, 2020 at 10:46 AMHi Crystal,
It's best to check with your teacher or supervisor to find out what is included in the page count. But in general, the title page and reference page would not be considered part of the page count of an assignment.
Luba King
February 26, 2020 at 9:26 PMhow to place group of five authors on title of paper in apa style?
Shona McCombes (Scribbr-team)
February 28, 2020 at 10:50 AMHi Luba,
You can adapt the multiple authors guidelines given above for any number of authors. If all authors have the same affiliation (i.e. you're all at the same university), you simply list all five authors separated by commas. For example: Luba King, Laura Johnson, John T. Taylor, George Kotler and Dennis G. Parker
Hope that helps!
Chris
February 23, 2020 at 7:52 PMHow many lines are supposed to be skipped between the header and the title of the paper?
Shona McCombes (Scribbr-team)
February 25, 2020 at 10:34 AMHi Chris,
The title should be placed 3 or 4 lines from the top of the page.
Hope that helps!
Julie
January 18, 2020 at 2:48 AMDoes the page number go on a title page?
Shona McCombes (Scribbr-team)
January 20, 2020 at 10:36 AMHi Julie,
Yes, in APA style the page number should be included in the running head on your title page.
Bernard Mwega
January 20, 2020 at 5:15 PMexactly where should the page number be?
top or bottom?
right, centre or left?
Shona McCombes (Scribbr-team)
January 20, 2020 at 6:14 PMHi Bernard,
As shown in the example image above, the page number should be right-aligned in the top header. The title is also included in the header, but left-aligned.
Hope that helps!