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APA Headings and Seriation
Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here.
Headings
APA Style uses a unique headings system to separate and classify paper sections. Headings are used to help guide the reader through a document. The levels are organized by levels of subordination, and each section of the paper should start with the highest level of heading. There are 5 heading levels in APA. Regardless of the number of levels, always use the headings in order, beginning with level 1. The format of each level is illustrated below:
APA Headings |
|
Level |
Format |
1 |
Centered, Boldface, Title Case Heading Text starts a new paragraph. |
2 |
Flush Left, Boldface, Title Case Heading Text starts a new paragraph. |
3 |
Flush Left, Boldface Italic, Title Case Heading Text starts a new paragraph. |
4 |
Indented, Boldface Title Case Heading Ending With a Period. Paragraph text continues on the same line as the same paragraph. |
5 |
Indented, Boldface Italic, Title Case Heading Ending With a Period. Paragraph text continues on the same line as the same paragraph. |
Thus, if the article has four sections, some of which have subsections and some of which don’t, use headings depending on the level of subordination. Section headings receive level one format. Subsections receive level two format. Subsections of subsections receive level three format. For example:
Method (Level 1)
Site of Study (Level 2)
Participant Population (Level 2)
Teachers (Level 3)
Students (Level 3)
Results (Level 1)
Spatial Ability (Level 2)
Test One (Level 3)
Teachers With Experience. (Level 4)
Teachers in Training. (Level 4)
Teaching Assistants. (Level 5)
Test Two (Level 3)
Kinesthetic Ability (Level 2)
In APA Style, the Introduction section never gets a heading and headings are not indicated by letters or numbers. For subsections in the beginning of a paper (introduction section), the first level of subsection will use Level 2 headings — the title of the paper counts as the Level 1 heading. Levels of headings will depend upon the length and organization of your paper. Regardless, always begin with level one headings and proceed to level two, etc.
Special headings called section labels are used for certain sections of a paper which always start on a new page.
- Abstract
- Paper title
- References
- Footnotes
- Appendix A (and so on for subsequent appendices)
These labels should be positioned on their own line at the top of the page where the section starts, in bold and centered.
Seriation
APA also allows for seriation in the body text to help authors organize and present key ideas. For lists where a specific order or numbered procedure is necessary, use an Arabic numeral directly followed by a period, such as:
On the basis of four generations of usability testing on the Purdue OWL, the Purdue OWL Usability Team recommended the following:
- Move the navigation bar from the right to the left side of the OWL pages.
- Integrate branded graphics (the Writing Lab and OWL logos) into the text on the OWL homepage.
- Add a search box to every page of the OWL.
- Develop an OWL site map.
- Develop a three-tiered navigation system.
Numbered lists should contain full sentences or paragraphs rather than phrases. The first word after each number should be capitalized, as well as the first word in any following sentence; each sentence should end with a period or other punctuation.
For lists that do not communicate hierarchical order or chronology, use bullets:
In general, participants found the user-centered OWL mock up to be easier to use. What follows are samples of participants' responses:
- "This version is easier to use."
- "Version two seems better organized."
- "It took me a few minutes to learn how to use this version, but after that, I felt more comfortable with it."
Authors may also use seriation for paragraph length text.
For seriation within sentences, authors may use letters:
On the basis of research conducted by the usability team, OWL staff have completed (a) the OWL site map; (b) integrating graphics with text on the OWL homepage; (c) search boxes on all OWL pages except the orange OWL resources (that is pending; we do have a search page); (d) moving the navigation bar to the left side of pages on all OWL resources except in the orange area (that is pending); (e) piloting the first phase of the three-tiered navigation system, as illustrated in the new Engagement section.
Authors may also separate points with bullet lists:
On the basis of the research conducted by the usability team, OWL staff have completed
- the OWL site map;
- integrating graphics with text on the OWL homepage;
- search boxes on all OWL pages except the orange OWL resources (that is pending; we do have a search page);
- moving the navigation bar to the left side of pages on all OWL resources except in the orange area (that is pending);
- piloting the first phase of the three-tiered navigation system, as illustrated in the new Engagement section.
If your bulleted list is part of the sentence and is not preceded by a colon, treat the bullets like a part of the sentence, adhering to standard capitalization and punctuation. This option is helpful for complex or longer bulleted sentences that may be more difficult to read without the aid of punctuation. For items in a bulleted list that are phrases rather than sentences, no punctuation is necessary.
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- APA Style (7th Edition)
- APA Style Introduction
- APA Overview and Workshop
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- General Format
- In-Text Citations: The Basics
- In-Text Citations: Author/Authors
- Reference List: Basic Rules
- Reference List: Author/Authors
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- Reference List: Audiovisual Media
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- APA Legal References
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- Numbers and Statistics
- Additional Resources
- APA Headings and Seriation
- APA PowerPoint Slide Presentation
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- Changes in the 7th Edition
- General APA FAQs
- MLA Style
- MLA Style Introduction
- MLA Overview and Workshop
- MLA Formatting and Style Guide
- General Format
- MLA Formatting and Style Guide
- MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics
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- MLA Works Cited Page: Basic Format
- MLA Works Cited Page: Books
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- Chicago Style
- CMOS Introduction
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- Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition
- General Format
- Books
- Periodicals
- Web Sources
- Audiovisual Recordings and Other Multimedia
- Interviews, Personal Communication
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- CMOS Author Date Sample Paper
- CMOS NB Sample Paper
- CMOS NB PowerPoint Presentation
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- IEEE Style
- AMA Style
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- APA Style (6th Edition)
- APA Style Introduction
- APA Overview and Workshop
- APA Formatting and Style Guide (6th Edition)
- General Format
- In-Text Citations: The Basics
- In-Text Citations: Author/Authors
- Footnotes and Endnotes
- Reference List: Basic Rules
- Reference List: Author/Authors
- Reference List: Articles in Periodicals
- Reference List: Books
- Reference List: Other Print Sources
- Reference List: Electronic Sources
- Reference List: Other Non-Print Sources
- Additional Resources
- Types of APA Papers
- APA Stylistics: Avoiding Bias
- APA Stylistics: Basics
- APA Headings and Seriation
- APA PowerPoint Slide Presentation
- APA Sample Paper
- APA Tables and Figures 1
- APA Tables and Figures 2
- APA Abbreviations
- Numbers in APA
- Statistics in APA
- APA Classroom Poster
- APA Changes 6th Edition
- General APA FAQs
- Using Citation Generators Responsibly
- Using Paper Checkers Responsibly
- Style Manual Glossary
- Avoiding Plagiarism
- Teacher and Tutor Resources
- Writing Instructors
- Writing Instructors Introduction
- Parents
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- Non-Purdue Users
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- Adult Basic Education
- Writing Across the Curriculum: An Introduction
- Creative Nonfiction in Writing Courses
- Poetry in Writing Courses
- Teaching Detailed Writing and Procedural Transitions
- Teaching OSDDP: A Guide for Professional Writing Instructors
- Email Etiquette for Professors
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- Nonfiction Analysis Framework
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- Conducting an Interview Presentation
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- Organizing Your Argument Presentation
- Peer Review Presentation
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- Teaching and Assessing Grammar
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- OWL Video Offerings for Instructors
- Conducting an Interview Presentation
- Job Acceptance Letter Presentation
- Invention Presentation
- Preventing Plagiarism
- Preventing Plagiarism Introduction
- Contextualizing Plagiarism
- Contextualizing Plagiarism
- Truth or Consequences
- Handout: Truth or Consequences
- The Big Picture
- Authorship and Popular Plagiarism
- Copyright and Plagiarism
- Handout: Copyright and Plagiarism
- Collaborative Authorship
- Handout: Collaborative Authorship
- Defining Our Terms
- Class Plagiarism Policy
- Comparing Policies
- Handout: Comparing Policies
- Avoiding Plagiarism
- Avoiding Plagiarism
- Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting
- Peer Summarizing
- Anonymous Paraphrasing
- Paraphrasing from Media
- Handout: Paraphrasing from Media
- Using In-text Citations
- Handout: Using In-text Citations
- Quoting Others
- Handout: Quoting Others
- Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation in Context
- Handout: Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation in Context
- Translingual Writing
- Writing in the Engineering Classroom
- Why Include Writing in Engineering Courses?
- Using Bloom’s Taxonomy
- Types of Writing Assignments for Engineering Courses
- Conceptual Writing Prompts
- Explain-a-Problem Writing Prompts
- How Stuff Works Writing Prompts
- Real-World Example Writing Prompts
- Design-a-Problem Writing Prompts
- Open-Ended Design Writing Prompts
- Writing Tips for Students
- Assessment and Feedback of Engineering Writing
- Research Team
- OWL Presentation Mode
- Writing Instructors
- Graduate Writing
- Introduction to Graduate Writing
- Graduate Writing Topics
- Graduate Writing Genres
- Thesis & Dissertation
- Subject-Specific Writing
- Professional, Technical Writing
- Professional, Technical Writing Introduction
- Workplace Writers
- Effective Workplace Writing
- Audience Analysis
- Prioritizing Your Concerns for Effective Business Writing
- Parallel Structure
- Activity and Postmortem Reports
- Tone in Business Writing
- HATS: A Design Procedure for Routine Business Documents
- Basic Business Letters
- Accentuating the Positives
- Memos
- Four Point Action Closing
- Grant Writing
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- White Papers
- Revision in Business Writing
- Business Writing for Administrative and Clerical Staff
- Writing in Literature
- Writing in Literature Introduction
- Writing About Film
- Literary Terms
- Writing About Fiction
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- Writing in Literature (Detailed Discussion)
- Writing About Poetry
- Writing about World Literature
- Writing in the Social Sciences
- Writing in the Social Sciences Introduction
- Social Work Literature Review Guidelines
- Writing in Psychology: Experimental Report Writing
- Writing in Engineering
- Engineering Project Documentation
- Engineering Project Documentation
- Professional, Technical Writing