All papers, including student papers, generally include a title page, text, and references. They may include additional elements such as tables and figures depending on the assignment. Student papers generally do not include an abstract unless requested.
Arrange the pages of an APA Style paper in the following order:
- title page
- abstract
- text
- references
- footnotes
- tables
- figures
- appendices
Order of pages is covered in Section 2.17 of the APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition
This guidance has been expanded from the 6th edition.
In general, start each section on a new page. However, the order of pages is flexible in the following cases:
- tables and figures: Embed tables and figures within the text after they are first mentioned (or “called out”), or place each table and then each figure on separate pages after the references. If an embedded table or figure appears on the same page as text, place it at either the top or the bottom of the page, and insert a blank double-spaced line to separate the table or figure from the adjacent text.
- footnotes: Use the footnotes function of your word-processing program to insert a footnote at the bottom of the page of text on which the footnote appears, or list footnotes together on a separate page after the references.
Papers such as dissertations and theses may require additional elements not listed here. Follow the institutional or departmental guidelines of your university to order the pages of a dissertation or thesis.