Headings
APA style uses a five level format for headings. Regardless of the number of levels in a section, the headings should follow this progression.
Level of heading Ìý |
Format Ìý |
1 Ìý |
Centered, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading Ìý |
2 Ìý |
Flush Left, Boldface, Uppercase and Lowercase HeadingÌý
|
3 Ìý |
Flush Left, Boldface Italic, Title Case HeadingÌý |
4 Ìý |
Indented, Boldface Title Case Heading Ending With a Period. Ìý |
5
|
Indented, Boldface Italic, Title Case Heading Ending With a Period.Ìý |
Lists andÌýSeriationÌý
Lists may be helpful when discussing key points in sections or even sentences. Separate paragraphs or sentences in a series should be identified by an Arabic numeral. Numbered lists may indicate an order to items that is not intended; bullets may be desired instead then. Each item should be written in sentence form, followed by a period.
Lists of short things within a sentence should be done as follows: Her options were to be (a) a psychologist, (b) a sociologist, or (c) a nurse. Within a sentence, use commas to separate three or more elements; use semicolons to separate elements that have internal commas. When discussing longer items, you may choose to use a bulleted list, which should be capitalized and punctuated like a normal sentence.