A running head, especially in APA style, refers to the short title that usually appears at the top of every page of your paper or essay. Also, the APA running head helps to identify the pages in case the pages of your paper or essay get separated. Plus, in the case of publication submission, it helps the reviewer to identify the papers that belong to a particular topic while preserving your anonymity.
Running heads are typically required for professional manuscripts for publication. Having said that, students might be required to include running head in their papers, depending on the instructions of the assignment and professor.
Additionally, if you are to include an APA running head in your paper or essay, then it is crucial to follow the APA guidelines for running heads.
Do you need help with APA style. We can assist. Read more!
Guideline for Creating an APA Running Head
The APA running head consists of the title of the paper, which is typically not more than 50 characters. Therefore, if the title of the paper is more than 50 characters, then a short version of the title should be used. Also, the running head should contain the page number of the page it is on.
Additionally, the running page on the title page of your APA paper should be preceded by the words “Running Head:”
The running head should
- Be written in 12pts Times New Roman font
- Be written in double line spacing
- Have the title of the paper aligned to the left
- Have the title written in all caps
- Have a maximum of 50 characters including the spaces (excluding the words running head on the title page)
- Have the page number for each page aligned to the right
- Have a margin of 1 inch on the left, right and top of the page
- Appear in the header of every page of the paper
- Should not include any abbreviations. However, you can use the ampersand symbol (&) instead of “and.”
Example
Title page
Running head: THE EFFECTS OF WHATSAPP ADDICTION 1
Every other page
THE EFFECTS OF WHATSAPP ADDICTION 2
How to Insert an APA Running Head in Microsoft Word
- Double click the top of the page to be able to edit the header area
- Once you have done that the design panel will be opened at the top of the page
- Check the “different first page” to be able to have a different format for the first page different from the rest of the pages
- Then type “running head:” followed immediately by your paper title in capital letters, aligned to the left.
- Then insert a page number using the automatic page numbering function
- Make sure the page number is placed at the top right corner of the page
- Now go the next page to insert the title of your paper in capital letters aligned to the left.
- After doing that, the subsequent pages will follow this format.
- Then you are all set.
How to Insert an APA Running Head in Google Docs
- Click the top of the page to be able to edit the header area
- Once you have done that the design panel will be opened at the top of the page
- Check the “different first page” to be able to have a different format for the first page different from the rest of the pages
- Then type “running head:” followed immediately by your paper title in capital letters aligned to the left.
- Then Insert the page number by clicking on the Insert tab, then click on the header and then page number.
- Press the tab button to align the page number to the right.
- Now go the next page to insert the title of your paper in capital letters aligned to the left
- Again Press the tab button to align the page number to the right.
- Now, you are all set.
You may also want to read Chicago Format Running Head and MLA Format Running Head!
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