How to create an APA Style appendix
An appendix is a section at the end of an academic text where you include extra information that doesn’t fit into the main text. The plural of appendix is “appendices.”
In an APA Style paper, appendices are placed at the very end, after the reference list.
Do I need an appendix?
You don’t always need to include any appendices. An appendix should present information that supplements the reader’s understanding of your research but is not essential to the argument of your paper. Essential information is included in the main text.
For example, you might include some of the following in an appendix:
- Full transcripts of interviews you conducted (which you can quote from in the main text)
- Documents used in your research, such as questionnaires, instructions, tests, or scales
- Detailed statistical data (often presented in tables or figures)
- Detailed descriptions of equipment used
You should refer to each appendix at least once in the main text. If you don’t refer to any information from an appendix, it should not be included.
When you discuss information that can be found in an appendix, state this the first time you refer to it:
Note that, if you refer to the same interviews again, it’s not necessary to mention the appendix each time.
Appendix format example
The appendix label appears at the top of the page, bold and centered. On the next line, include a descriptive title, also bold and centered.
The text is presented in general APA format: left-aligned, double-spaced, and with page numbers in the top right corner. Start a new page for each new appendix.
The example image below shows how to format an APA Style appendix.
Organizing and labeling your appendices
If you include just one appendix, it is simply called “Appendix” and referred to as such in-text:
When more than one appendix is included, they are labeled “Appendix A,” “Appendix B,” and so on.
Present and label your appendices in the order they are referred to in the main text.
Labeling tables and figures in appendices
An appendix may include (or consist entirely of) tables and/or figures. Present these according to the same formatting rules as in the main text.
Tables and figures included in appendices are labeled differently, however. Use the appendix’s letter in addition to a number. Tables and figures are still numbered separately and according to the order they’re referred to in the appendix.
For example, in Appendix A, your tables are Table A1, Table A2, etc; your figures are Figure A1, Figure A2, etc.
The numbering restarts with each appendix: For example, the first table in Appendix B is Table B1; the first figure in Appendix C is Figure C1; and so on. If you only have one appendix, use A1, A2, etc.
If you want to refer specifically to a table or figure from an appendix in the main text, use the table or figure’s label (e.g. “see Table A3”).
If an appendix consists entirely of a single table or figure, simply use the appendix label to refer to the table or figure. For example, if Appendix C is just a table, refer to the table as “Appendix C,” and don’t add an additional label or title for the table itself.
Frequently asked questions
- What is an appendix?
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An appendix contains information that supplements the reader’s understanding of your research but is not essential to it. For example:
- Interview transcripts
- Questionnaires
- Raw data
- Detailed descriptions of equipment
Something is only worth including as an appendix if you refer to information from it at some point in the text (e.g. quoting from an interview transcript). If you don’t, it should probably be removed.
- Where do appendices go in an APA Style paper?
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Appendices in an APA Style paper appear right at the end, after the reference list and after your tables and figures if you’ve also included these at the end.
- Can I cite sources in an appendix?
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Yes, if relevant you can and should include APA citations in your appendices. Use author-date citations as you do in the main text.
Any sources cited in your appendices should appear in your reference list. Do not create a separate reference list for your appendices.
22 comments
Christina Robinson
May 1, 2021 at 9:21 PMHi! If I have multiple data tables and am using the same Appendix and then labeling as B1, B2, B3- does each table get its own page? or do they go on the same one? This is for APA 7th
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
May 3, 2021 at 5:07 PMHi Christina,
I can't find anywhere where APA specifies this, but their rule for tables that are not embedded in the text is to place them on separate pages, so I think it's safe to assume the same standard would apply if the tables are collected in an appendix. I suggest placing each one on its own page.
Kari
April 26, 2021 at 4:24 AMI'm creating an appendix that includes results from two surveys that were conducted and the email sent to respondents for the survey. Do they each need to be in a separate appendix, or just one.
If just one, on the Appendix page, do I list them by title, sort of like a table of contents?
Thanks!
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
April 27, 2021 at 3:24 PMHi Kari,
You could either have them all in one appendix, with subheadings, or in separate appendices. Using separate appendices seems like the more straightforward option in this case, to me. That way you can refer to "Appendix A" and "Appendix B" rather than "Appendix A1," "Appendix A2," and so on.
Give each appendix a letter (A, B, C...) and a descriptive title, e.g. Appendix A. Results from the First Survey
Hopefully that helps!
Zakirah
April 24, 2021 at 12:48 PMIf my appendix is a formal letter with a letterhead in PDF format, how do I label and include it in the thesis? Should I attach a preview in image format, or the pages itself?
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
April 27, 2021 at 2:53 PMHi Zakirah,
If only the text of the letter is important, you could just include that as an appendix. If its presentation, including the letterhead, is important to retain, it may be best to embed it as an image. An appendix may consist entirely of an image, in which case the image doesn't need a specific figure label and title; the appendix title serves that purpose.
In either case, give the appendix a title describing what the letter is.
Marcus
April 22, 2021 at 11:30 AMIf my appendix needs subheadings, do I use the same rules as subheadings in the body? I would like to be able to reference them by their subsection numbers, but I need named titles for these also. I am providing blocks of code in an appendix titled "Provided Code" and the code blocks have specific purposes and have been titled accordingly.
So is it acceptable to do something like:
"E.4 My Fun Algorithm Name"
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
April 22, 2021 at 6:07 PMHi Marcus,
APA doesn't provide specific guidance on subdividing appendices like this. Your approach seems sensible, following the same numbering conventions you use in the main text and providing a descriptive heading for each subdivision of the appendix.
Another option might be to treat the different blocks of code as either tables or figures, if this is appropriate to how you display them. Then you could label them as e.g. "Table E1" and provide a descriptive title for each (following the same guidelines as for other tables and figures). This would eliminate the need for any subheadings in the appendix, and you could refer to each table/figure in the text by writing e.g. "(see Table E1)."
Marcus
April 23, 2021 at 1:48 AMI reference these programs in the body of the paper, somehow it doesn't feel natural to refer to them as tables or figures. Ultimately if that is the appropriate thing to do, then it should be applied. However, if it is acceptable to provide subheadings with a number, that would be preferable. I did find this quote yesterday that suggested there was information in the apa6 style manual, but I don't own a copy and I'm short on time.
"Like the main text, an appendix may include headings and subheadings as well as tables, figures, and displayed equations" (p. 39)
Is this useful?
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
April 27, 2021 at 2:49 PMHi Marcus,
Yep, you're right actually, APA 6 does mention this. It still doesn't provide specific guidance about how to number them (APA doesn't specifically discuss numbering headings in general, but it's still something you can do within an APA paper if you like). I'd suggest using subheadings in your case, and numbering them the way you initially suggested seems appropriate.
Becky
April 18, 2021 at 2:14 PMHello,
My Appendix C is a single table, after labelling it Appendix C, do I then need to call it Table 1. with its title underneath? It's the only table I've used in my document, also in the main body of text would I write 'Table 1. presents raw data, see Appendix C'?
Just confused on the labelling of it as a table.
Thankyou:)
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
April 22, 2021 at 5:05 PMHi Becky,
No, if Appendix C is just a table, you only need the heading "Appendix C" and a title describing the content of the table. You don't need an extra label and title for the table itself. Then you can reference it in the text by writing e.g. "(see Appendix C)".
Hope that helps!
Dawn
April 15, 2021 at 3:20 PMHi, I was wondering how you would format one appendix with one table only in a report; would you give the table a label and title like in the main body of the report, or would you just have "Appendix", then the title of the appendix (Table of...) on the next line still centred, then the table? Struggling to find anything for APA 7 formatting for this situation! Thanks
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
April 16, 2021 at 4:20 PMHi Dawn,
Yes, your instinct is right: if the appendix consists solely of a table, then you just write "Appendix" (or e.g. "Appendix A" if there are others), followed by a title describing the table on the next line—both centered. Then there's no additional label and title for the table itself; the appendix label and title serve that purpose.
Noemi
March 31, 2021 at 3:23 PMHi,
I'm wondering whether the figures and tables in the appendices should be mentioned in the list of tables (and list of figures, respectively)?
Thanks in advance,
Noemi
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
April 6, 2021 at 3:39 PMHi Noemi,
The APA manual doesn't provide specific guidance on this issue, but my recommendation would be to include such figures and tables in your lists of tables and figures, yes.
Jessie
February 19, 2021 at 1:22 PMHi!
I've been asked to type up the items from my questionnaire into my appendix, and given it doesn't count as a table, or a figure, I was wondering how to format it?
It's not exactly 'text' in the typical sense either, so doing a first line indent and all that would feel weird to me :')
Many thanks,
Jessie
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
February 23, 2021 at 2:34 PMHi Jessie,
I'd recommend including a brief introductory sentence ending in a colon (e.g. "The following questionnaire was presented to the research participants:") and then presenting the questions themselves as a numbered list (using the list formatting function in Word, for example). You'd still have the initial indent on that introductory sentence, but the rest would just be presented as a list.
Amanda
February 15, 2021 at 1:55 AMWhen my Appendix runs to the next page, how is it supped to be titled? Appendix Continued?
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
February 17, 2021 at 3:30 PMHi Amanda,
You don't need to add another "Appendix" heading for a subsequent page of the appendix. The text or other material can just continue onto the next page without a heading.
Tania
January 17, 2021 at 1:28 PMHi,
How do I format the title of tables and figures in the appendix? For example, Appendix A (centered, bold); Figure A1 - is this centered, bold OR is it aligned left, bold?; Figure title - is it centered, title case, italics OR aligned left, title case, italics?
Many thanks,
Tania
Shona McCombes (Scribbr Team)
January 19, 2021 at 12:30 PMHi Tania,
If you have multiple tables or figures in an appendix, format them the same as you would in the main text: the table/figure number is bolded and left aligned; the title is italicized, title case and left aligned. You can see examples in our guide to creating tables and figures in APA.
Hope that helps!