How to Create an APA Style Appendix | Format & Examples
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?
-
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?
-
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 in-text 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.
54 comments
Camille Rousseau
May 4, 2022 at 3:40 PMHi,
I'm currently writing a paper on ICOs operating on the blockchain technology. However, I feel like the theoretical section of my paper is way too large compared to the other sections. Since I had to explain how the blockchain works, because it lays the ground for comprehension of my paper.
But it is too large for the ponderation of my section. So I was wondering whether I could put a few pages the theoretical section of my paper in the appendix. Because it is necessary for the comprehension of my paper but too proheminent to be in my paper. But I'm wondering if I can put a few pages of theory that I have written in the appendix since I have only seen that you are supposed to put data or interviews in the appendix. So is it doable ?
Best regards,
Camille Rousseau
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
May 5, 2022 at 11:28 AMHi Camille,
Indeed APA's guidelines suggest an appendix would not usually be used for the kind of material you describe. I'd suggest discussing with your supervisor what you can do about the excessively long theoretical explanations. It may be that you don't need so much explanation, or can just refer the reader to another article that explains the topic in more depth.
Matthew
April 25, 2022 at 10:57 PMHey! I was just wondering how a video would be written in the appendices if used for the research as I can't imagine embedding it would be of much use?
Thanks!
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
April 26, 2022 at 11:05 AMHi Matthew,
Indeed it doesn't seem to make sense to embed the video. APA does mention that things like videos that are difficult to include in an appendix can instead be included as supplemental materials, but this is mainly in the context of journal articles; they say it's not usually done for student papers. It might be best to simply ask your supervisor for guidance on this point, as APA doesn't provide much help.
Rebecca
March 3, 2022 at 2:19 AMExcellent article. I have two questions:
1. I understand that appendices are assigned a letter of the Alphabet in consecutive order. As there are only 26 letters in our alphabet, how do I refer to appendices 27 onward?
2. In the case of many appendices, must each Appendix have its own page? If the information in each Appendix is brief, would it be acceptable to include a few appendices on the same page of a document. I am particularly concerned that the document not become too cumbersome in its printed format (for both practicality, and environmental stewardship).
Thanks in advance.
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
March 3, 2022 at 11:34 AMHi Rebecca,
For your first question, APA doesn't give any specific recommendation as far as I can tell. I think it would be very rare to have so many appendices in a paper; at that point you might think about dividing the information in a different way so that it fits into fewer appendices. But I can imagine if it was absolutely necessary you could use AA, AB, AC, etc.
For your other question, APA does specify that appendices should always begin on a new page. Again, it's probably worth rethinking how your appendices are divided. Not every table/figure/piece of information needs to be its own appendix; if you have a lot of separate materials to include, it's preferable to combine those that are related or comparable in some way into a single appendix.
Rebecca
March 3, 2022 at 10:02 PMThank you. Your responses to both questions work well together. Incorporating your advice, I see that I could conceivably group the additional information into 9 sections and create my appendices based on that. The information I need to include will need to be broken down into sub sections; however the information is neither in table nor illustrative/image format (figure). When the additional information is text, does it fall under 'figure' classification or is there a third type of classification I can be using to differentiate?
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
March 4, 2022 at 10:53 AMHi Rebecca,
No, there's no other specific classification you could use, but you're free to use headings within an appendix. For convenience when referring to them, you could number the headings in some way; APA doesn't require you to do this or provide any guidance on it, but they don't forbid you from doing so. Alternately, as long as the headings used are clearly descriptive of the content, you could just refer the reader to the relevant overall appendix and allow them to find the relevant part themselves: "(see Appendix B)"
Lena
February 22, 2022 at 12:06 AMHi,
it might have been mentioned in the article and I'm just not getting it, but I am not really sure if I have to refer to an Appendix that only contains tables or figures as a whole before referring to each table/figure. That is, could I just write "see Table A1" if I have not mentioned that there is an Appendix A before, or would "see Table A1 in Appendix A" be more suitable in this case?
Thanks very much in advance!
Lena
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
February 22, 2022 at 11:44 AMHi Lena,
As far as I can tell, the APA manual doesn't specify whether you need to refer to the name of the appendix as well as the name of the table/figure in such cases. My advice would be to just refer to the table/figure, as the "A" in the name already makes it clear that it's in Appendix A, so mentioning both could seem redundant.
Piotr
December 1, 2021 at 12:09 PMHi,
I'm doing social research (Gender and alcohol consumption) where I use secondary data, I have been asked to include an appendix. Do you think I can include an article to explain better the concept in general?
Thank you in advance
Piotr.
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
December 2, 2021 at 11:58 AMHi Piotr,
An appendix usually wouldn’t include another article, no. Appendices are typically used to include extra data, or different ways of presenting data, that don’t fit neatly into the text itself. You can of course cite another article within the text of your paper to provide an explanation of the concept.
Kristin Lyle
November 21, 2021 at 9:56 PMPart of the assignment I am doing includes an Appendix section. However, I am not sure if my paper needs one. My paper is a correlational research design proposal using secondary data which I have cited within and included a reference page of. There is nothing in addition that I refer to in my paper outside of the articles. What is your opinion on an Appendix given these circumstances?
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
November 22, 2021 at 12:31 PMHi Kristin,
Based on what you’ve said, it sounds like you don’t have anything to include in your appendix, so there’s no point in having one. If you’re expected to include an appendix, though, it’s likely that your instructor had something in mind for you to include there. It may be that you’re expected to present the data you’re using in a particular way there, or include some other supplementary information. It’s best to ask your instructor about this directly; it’s important to be clear on the exact requirements of your assignment.
Anna
October 26, 2021 at 7:13 PMI'm using APA for my essay and I have been advised to include appendices. For my first appendix, I labelled it as table 1 (table 1:'name'.) and also mentioned in the main body to refer to the table. For my next appendices, will be table 2,3,4 or Appendix A,B,C or A1/B1/C1? Since I already used table 1 as an appendix. Would that mean I can't use Appendix A since it is not the first then?
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
November 1, 2021 at 4:21 PMHi Anna,
If your first appendix consists entirely of a table, you should still label it "Appendix A" rather than "Table 1." You don't need to also label and title the table within the appendix, just treat the appendix label and title as referring to the table, since it's the only thing in that appendix. You can refer to it as such in the text, mentioning that it is a table if you like (e.g. "see Appendix A for a table showing …"). Your subsequent appendices can then just be "Appendix B," "Appendix C," etc.
Hope that helps!
Sophia Barba
October 25, 2021 at 12:54 AMHi!
I have to have an APA 7 appendix in my professional paper that will just consist of two pictures. How should I do this? I have never done a paper with an appendix so I am very lost on how to even start with this. Thank you!
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
October 25, 2021 at 4:39 PMHi Sophia,
You would do this by first giving the appendix the title "Appendix" (assuming it's the only appendix you're including) and an appropriate descriptive title (i.e. briefly describing what the images are). Then you can label the two images separately, "Figure A1" and "Figure A2", and also give each of them a descriptive title that explains what the image is. Depending on the size of the images, you could put them both on one page or on separate pages.
Hopefully that helps!
Laura
October 8, 2021 at 11:44 AMHi there,
Just wondering how you format the Table of Contents to have the Appendix letter and title in the same line even though the label "Appendix A" and the title are formatted on two separate lines in the paper?
Thanks in advance :)
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
October 11, 2021 at 2:56 PMHi Laura,
If you're auto-generating your table of contents in Word, you'll have to manually edit the titles in the table of contents to add the title after the appendix letter. Unfortunately, I'm not aware of a way to do this automatically, but adding the titles manually shouldn't cause any problems.
Josephine
August 30, 2021 at 4:30 AMHi,
In APA 7,
Do you have a new appendix letter every time there is a new topic?
Or
A new Appendix letter per page?
Thanks.
Josephine
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
August 30, 2021 at 1:49 PMHi Josephine,
You don't have to have multiple appendices with different letters at all; it's perfectly fine to just have one, and simply call it "Appendix." But if you do have multiple appendices, they should certainly be divided logically by topic, not just with a new letter for each page.
Nams
July 18, 2021 at 3:00 PMHi,
I actually have two questions:
1. Does APA differentiate between appendix and annex? If so, what is the difference?
2. In a previous answer it was mentioned that tables and figures that are mentioned in the appendix should be listed in the List of Figures/Tables (which makes perfect sense). However, in the article it says that "[i]f an appendix consists entirely of a single table or figure, simply use the appendix label to refer to the table or figure". So, how should those single tables in an appendix be refered to in the List of Tables? Would it be the only table in the List of Tables refered to as Appendix 3 (and the others Table 1, 2, ..., Table A1, A2, etc.)?
Thanks a lot for your help
Nams
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
July 20, 2021 at 3:47 PMHi Nams,
The APA manual only discusses appendices, not annexes. The generally accepted difference between appendices and annexes (not covered specifically in APA) is that an appendix is added to the paper itself and referred to in the text, whereas an annex is more of a separate document.
Your other question is a bit tricky. APA doesn't actually require, or provide guidelines for, lists of tables and figures; they're just something we cover because students are sometimes asked to include them. So there's no specific guidance I'm aware of on this issue. My feeling would be that a table which constituted an entire appendix would simply be omitted from the list, but that's something of a guess, I'm afraid!
Leonard
July 11, 2021 at 3:28 PMHi,
I would like to make a separate appendix for "Additional Items" and would like to use subheadings so the reader can differentiate between those items more easily.
But I do not really know how subheadings are labelled in the appendices. Do you just write A.1, A.2 et cetera or do you have to write something else?
Maybe you know an answer.
Greetings,
Leonard
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
July 12, 2021 at 5:25 PMHi Leonard,
APA doesn't require you to label/number your subheadings at all in general, though it's acceptable to do so. So the simplest approach would be to just give each subheading a descriptive title without any particular number. You could also use A1, A2, etc. in combination with descriptive titles, if you prefer. APA doesn't list any specific rules for this, so it's your own choice.
Martin
June 12, 2021 at 4:55 PMHi, I have only one appendix (Appendix) with text and a table. How should I call this table? Because I cannot name it A1 or B1 etc since I have only one Appendix. Should I then just call it "Table 1"? Thanks!
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
June 14, 2021 at 3:59 PMHi Martin,
In that case, APA advises you do actually refer to the table as Table A1, despite the fact that the Appendix isn't labeled "A." I suppose you can take "A" to stand for appendix in this case—but really it's just a convenient way to distinguish this table from the ones in the text.
Neal
May 16, 2021 at 4:32 PMI am creating an academic portfolio. My narrative pages explain the information supported by documentation in my appendices. In some paragraphs, I am mentioning artifacts that are found in more than one appendix. What is the correct way to notate that in the narrative pages?
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
May 17, 2021 at 10:47 PMHi Neal,
Generally, when referring to your appendices, it's best to make it clear where a certain element can be found the first time you mention it, and then subsequently just refer to it without specifying again where it is. For example, if your appendix featured transcripts of interviews which you quote from in the text, you would refer to the appendix only the first time you quote from it, and not repeat this information for each quotation.
If you mean that you are referring to a piece of information that can be found in multiple appendices, my question would be why you have repeated this element in multiple places. Is it necessary to do so? If for some reason it is necessary, then you could write something like "(see Appendices A and B)" to refer to it.
Let me know, though, if I've misunderstood your question!
Sandra Swartling
May 16, 2021 at 12:39 PMHi!
I have written code in R for my data analysis, should the code be included in the appendix? I do not refer to an appendix for anything else, so the appendix would only include the R- code.
Best,
Sandra
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
May 17, 2021 at 10:41 PMHi Sandra,
I can't really advise you specifically on whether that should be in your appendix. Anything that you refer to in your text and that would add relevant additional information for your readers may be included in an appendix, but it's best to consult with your supervisor if you're not sure about including something. It's certainly no problem for your appendix to only include one thing; there's no minimum to what you can include in an appendix.
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!