can a research paper have subheadings

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Formatting Research Paper Headings and Subheadings

Different style guides have different rules regarding the formatting of headings and subheadings in a paper, but what information you should actually put into your subheadings is a different question and often up to personal taste. Here we quickly summarize general guidelines, different approaches, and what not to do when choosing headings for a research paper.

Does it matter how I name my sections and subsections?

The main sections of a research paper have general headers and are often journal-specific, but some (e.g., the methods and discussion section) can really benefit from subsections with clear and informative headers. The things to keep in mind are thus the general style your paper is supposed to follow (e.g., APA, MLA), the specific guidelines the journal you want to submit to lists in their author instructions , and your personal style (e.g., how much information you want the reader to get from just reading your subsection headers). 

Table of Contents:

• Style Guides: Rules on Headings and Subheadings
• What Sections and Subsections Do You Need? 
• How Should You Name Your Sections and Subsections?
• Avoid These Common Mistakes

Style Guides: Research Paper Heading and Subheading Format

Headers identify the content within the different sections of your paper and should be as descriptive and concise as possible. That is why the main sections of research articles always have the same or very similar headers ( Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion ), with no or only small differences between journals. However, you also need to divide the content of some of these sections (e.g., the method section) into smaller subsections (e.g., Participants, Experimental Design, and Statistical Analysis ), and make sure you follow specific journal formatting styles when doing so. 

If the journal you submit to follows APA style , for example, you are allowed to use up to five levels of headings, depending on the length of your paper, the complexity of your work, and your personal preference. To clearly indicate how each subsection fits into the rest of the text, every header level has a different format – but note that headers are usually not numbered because the different formatting already reflects the text hierarchy.

APA style headings example structure

Level 1 Centered, Bold, Title Case

Text begins as a new paragraph.

Level 2 Left-aligned, Bold, Title Case

Level 3 Left-aligned, Bold Italic, Title Case

Level 4     Indented, Bold, Title Case, Period . Text begins on the same                    

                                 line and continues as a regular paragraph.

Level 5     Indented, Bold Italic, Title Case, Period. Text begins on the                           

                                 same line and continues as a regular paragraph.

If you only need one section header (e.g. Methods ) and one level of subsection headers (e.g., Participants, Experimental Design, and Statistical Analysis ), use Level 1 and Level 2 headers. If you need three levels of headings, use Levels 1, 2, and 3 (and so on). Do not skip levels or combine them in a different way. 

If you write a paper in Chicago style or MLA style , then you don’t need to follow such exact rules for headings and subheadings. Your structure just has to be consistent with the general formatting guidelines of both styles (12-pts Times New Roman font, double-spaced text, 0.5-inch indentation for every new paragraph) and consistent throughout your paper. Make sure the different formatting levels indicate a hierarchy (e.g., boldface for level 1 and italics for level 2, or a larger font size for level 1 and smaller font size for level 2). The main specifics regarding Chicago and MLA headings and subheadings are that they should be written in title case (major words capitalized, most minor words lowercase) and not end in a period. Both styles allow you, however, to number your sections and subsections, for example with an Arabic number and a period, followed by a space and then the section name. 

MLA paper headings example structure

1. Introduction

2. Material and Methods

2.1 Subject Recruitment

2.2 Experimental Procedure

2.3 Statistical Analysis

3.1 Experiment 1

3.2 Experiment 2

4. Discussion

5. Conclusion

What research paper headings do you need?

Your paper obviously needs to contain the main sections ( Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and maybe Conclusion ) and you need to make sure that you name them according to the target journal style (have a look at the author guidelines if you are unsure what the journal style is). The differences between journals are subtle, but some want you to combine the results and discussion sections, for example, while others don’t want you to have a separate conclusion section. You also need to check whether the target journal has specific rules on subsections (or no subsections) within these main sections. The introduction section should usually not be subdivided (but some journals do not mind), while the method section, for example, always needs to have clear subsections.

How to Name Your Sections and Subsections

The method section subheadings should be short and descriptive, but how you subdivide this section depends on the structure you choose to present your work – which can be chronological (e.g., Experiment 1, Experiment 2 ) or follow your main topics (e.g., Visual Experiment, Behavioral Experiment, Questionnaire ). Have a look at this article on how to write the methods for a research paper if you need input on what the best structure for your work is. The method subheadings should only be keywords that tell the reader what information is following, not summaries or conclusions. That means that “ Subject Recruitment ” is a good methods section subheading, but “ Subjects Were Screened Using Questionnaires ” is not.  

The subheadings for the result section should then follow the general structure of your method section, but here you can choose what information you want to put in every subheading. Some authors keep it simple and just subdivide their result section into experiments or measures like the method section, but others use the headings to summarize their findings so that the reader is prepared for the details that follow. You could, for example, simply name your subsections “ Anxiety Levels ” and “ Social Behavior ,” if those are the measures you studied and explained in the method section. 

Or, you could provide the reader with a glimpse into the results of the analyses you are going to describe, and instead name these subsections “ Anxiety-Like Behaviors in Mutant Mice ” and “ Normal Social Behaviors in Mutant Mice .” While keeping headings short and simple is always a good idea, such mini-summaries can make your result section much clearer and easier to follow. Just make sure that the target journal you want to submit to does not have a rule against that. 

Common Heading and Subheading Mistakes 

Subheadings are not sentences.

If your heading reads like a full sentence, then you can most probably omit the verb or generally rephrase to shorten it. That also means a heading should not contain punctuation except maybe colons or question marks – definitely don’t put a period at the end, except when you have reached heading level 4 in the APA formatting style (see above) and the rules say so.  

Be consistent

Always check your numbering, for example for spaces and periods before and after numbers (e.g., 3.2. vs 3.2 ), because readability depends on such features. But also make sure that your headings are consistent in structure and content: Switching between short keyword headings (e.g., “ Experiment 2 ”) and summary headings (e.g., “ Mice Do not Recognize People ”) is confusing and never a good idea. Ideally, subheadings within a section all have a similar structure. If your first subsection is called “ Mice Do not Recognize People ,” then “ People Do not Recognize Mice” is a better subheader for the next subsection than “Do People Recognize Mice? ”, because consistency is more important in a research paper than creativity. 

Don’t overdo it

Not every paragraph or every argument needs a subheading. Only use subheadings within a bigger section if you have more than one point to make per heading level, and if subdividing the section really makes the structure clearer overall.

Before submitting your journal manuscript to academic publishers, be sure to get English editing services , including manuscript editing or paper editing from a trusted source. And receive instant proofreading and paraphrasing with Wordvice AI, our AI online text editor , which provides unlimited editing while drafting your research work.

How do I style headings and subheadings in a research paper?

Headings and subheadings can help organize and structure your writing. In general, longer and more complex works warrant more of them than shorter ones. Avoid overusing headings in short projects; they should never be used to compensate for poor structure or to explain an underdeveloped idea.

When headings are called for in your writing project, observe the basic guidelines below.

The paper or chapter title is the first level of heading, and it must be the most prominent.

Headings should be styled in descending order of prominence. After the first level, the other headings are subheadings—that is, they are subordinate. Font styling and size are used to signal prominence. In general, a boldface, larger font indicates prominence; a smaller font, italics, and lack of bold can be used to signal subordination. For readability, don’t go overboard: avoid using all capital letters for headings (in some cases, small capitals may be acceptable):

Heading Level 1

Heading Level 2

Heading Level 3

Note that word-processing software often has built-in heading styles.

Consistency

Consistency in the styling of headings and subheadings is key to signaling to readers the structure of a research project. That is, each level 1 heading should appear in the same style and size, as should each level 2 heading, and so on. Generally avoid numbers and letters to designate heads unless you are working in a discipline where doing so is conventional. Note that a heading labeled “1” requires a subsequent heading labeled “2,” and a heading labeled “a” requires a subsequent heading labeled “b.” 

In a project that is not professionally designed and published, headings should be flush with the left margin, to avoid confusion with block quotations. (The exception is the paper or chapter title, which is centered in MLA style.)

For readability, it is helpful to include a line space above and below a heading, as shown in this post.

No internal heading level should have only one instance. For example, if you have one level 1 heading, you need to have a second level 1 heading. (The exceptions are the paper or chapter title and the headings for notes and the list of works cited.) You should also generally have text under each heading.

Capitalization

Capitalize headings like the titles of works, as explained in section 1.5 of the MLA Handbook .

The shorter, the better.

Headings identify the content within sections of a paper.

Make your headings descriptive and concise. Headings that are well formatted and clearly worded aid both visual and nonvisual readers of all abilities.

Levels of heading

There are five levels of heading in APA Style. Level 1 is the highest or main level of heading, Level 2 is a subheading of Level 1, Level 3 is a subheading of Level 2, and so on through Levels 4 and 5.

The number of headings to use in a paper depends on the length and complexity of the work.

• If only one level of heading is needed, use Level 1.
• If two levels of heading are needed, use Levels 1 and 2.
• If three levels of heading are needed, use Levels 1, 2, and 3 (and so on).

Use only the number of headings necessary to differentiate distinct sections in your paper; short student papers may not require any headings. Furthermore, avoid these common errors related to headings:

• Avoid having only one subsection heading within a section, just like in an outline.
• Do not label headings with numbers or letters.
• Double-space headings; do not switch to single spacing within headings.
• Do not add blank lines above or below headings, even if a heading falls at the end of a page.

Headings are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Sections 2.26 and 2.27 and the Concise Guide Sections 1.25 and 1.26

Related handouts

• Heading Levels Template: Student Paper (PDF, 257KB)
• Heading Levels Template: Professional Paper (PDF, 213KB)

Format of headings

The following table demonstrates how to format headings in APA Style.

Note. In title case, most words are capitalized .

Headings in the introduction

Because the first paragraphs of a paper are understood to be introductory, the heading “Introduction” is not needed. Do not begin a paper with an “Introduction” heading; the paper title at the top of the first page of text acts as a de facto Level 1 heading.

It is possible (but not required) to use headings within the introduction. For subsections within the introduction, use Level 2 headings for the first level of subsection, Level 3 for subsections of any Level 2 headings, and so on. After the introduction (regardless of whether it includes headings), use a Level 1 heading for the next main section of the paper (e.g., Method).

Creating accessible headings

Writers who use APA Style may use the automatic headings function of their word-processing program to create headings. This not only simplifies the task of formatting headings but also ensures that headings are coded appropriately in any electronic version of the paper, which aids readers who use navigation tools and assistive technologies such as screen readers. 

Here are some tips on how to create headings in some common word-processing programs:

• If you use Academic Writer to write your APA Style papers, the headings menu in the Writing Center will format headings for you in 7th edition APA Style.
• Follow these headings directions from Microsoft to customize the heading formats for your future use.
• To apply Level 4 and 5 headings (which are inline headings, meaning the heading appears on the same line as paragraph text), first type the heading and a few words of the text that follows. Then highlight the text that you want to be your heading and select the appropriate heading level from the Styles menu. Only the highlighted text will be formatted as the Level 4 or 5 heading.

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13.1 Formatting a Research Paper

Learning objectives.

• Identify the major components of a research paper written using American Psychological Association (APA) style.
• Apply general APA style and formatting conventions in a research paper.

In this chapter, you will learn how to use APA style , the documentation and formatting style followed by the American Psychological Association, as well as MLA style , from the Modern Language Association. There are a few major formatting styles used in academic texts, including AMA, Chicago, and Turabian:

• AMA (American Medical Association) for medicine, health, and biological sciences
• APA (American Psychological Association) for education, psychology, and the social sciences
• Chicago—a common style used in everyday publications like magazines, newspapers, and books
• MLA (Modern Language Association) for English, literature, arts, and humanities
• Turabian—another common style designed for its universal application across all subjects and disciplines

While all the formatting and citation styles have their own use and applications, in this chapter we focus our attention on the two styles you are most likely to use in your academic studies: APA and MLA.

If you find that the rules of proper source documentation are difficult to keep straight, you are not alone. Writing a good research paper is, in and of itself, a major intellectual challenge. Having to follow detailed citation and formatting guidelines as well may seem like just one more task to add to an already-too-long list of requirements.

Following these guidelines, however, serves several important purposes. First, it signals to your readers that your paper should be taken seriously as a student’s contribution to a given academic or professional field; it is the literary equivalent of wearing a tailored suit to a job interview. Second, it shows that you respect other people’s work enough to give them proper credit for it. Finally, it helps your reader find additional materials if he or she wishes to learn more about your topic.

Furthermore, producing a letter-perfect APA-style paper need not be burdensome. Yes, it requires careful attention to detail. However, you can simplify the process if you keep these broad guidelines in mind:

• Work ahead whenever you can. Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” includes tips for keeping track of your sources early in the research process, which will save time later on.
• Get it right the first time. Apply APA guidelines as you write, so you will not have much to correct during the editing stage. Again, putting in a little extra time early on can save time later.
• Use the resources available to you. In addition to the guidelines provided in this chapter, you may wish to consult the APA website at http://www.apa.org or the Purdue University Online Writing lab at http://owl.english.purdue.edu , which regularly updates its online style guidelines.

General Formatting Guidelines

This chapter provides detailed guidelines for using the citation and formatting conventions developed by the American Psychological Association, or APA. Writers in disciplines as diverse as astrophysics, biology, psychology, and education follow APA style. The major components of a paper written in APA style are listed in the following box.

These are the major components of an APA-style paper:

Body, which includes the following:

• Headings and, if necessary, subheadings to organize the content
• In-text citations of research sources
• References page

All these components must be saved in one document, not as separate documents.

The title page of your paper includes the following information:

• Title of the paper
• Author’s name
• Name of the institution with which the author is affiliated
• Header at the top of the page with the paper title (in capital letters) and the page number (If the title is lengthy, you may use a shortened form of it in the header.)

List the first three elements in the order given in the previous list, centered about one third of the way down from the top of the page. Use the headers and footers tool of your word-processing program to add the header, with the title text at the left and the page number in the upper-right corner. Your title page should look like the following example.

The next page of your paper provides an abstract , or brief summary of your findings. An abstract does not need to be provided in every paper, but an abstract should be used in papers that include a hypothesis. A good abstract is concise—about one hundred fifty to two hundred fifty words—and is written in an objective, impersonal style. Your writing voice will not be as apparent here as in the body of your paper. When writing the abstract, take a just-the-facts approach, and summarize your research question and your findings in a few sentences.

In Chapter 12 “Writing a Research Paper” , you read a paper written by a student named Jorge, who researched the effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets. Read Jorge’s abstract. Note how it sums up the major ideas in his paper without going into excessive detail.

Write an abstract summarizing your paper. Briefly introduce the topic, state your findings, and sum up what conclusions you can draw from your research. Use the word count feature of your word-processing program to make sure your abstract does not exceed one hundred fifty words.

Depending on your field of study, you may sometimes write research papers that present extensive primary research, such as your own experiment or survey. In your abstract, summarize your research question and your findings, and briefly indicate how your study relates to prior research in the field.

Margins, Pagination, and Headings

APA style requirements also address specific formatting concerns, such as margins, pagination, and heading styles, within the body of the paper. Review the following APA guidelines.

Use these general guidelines to format the paper:

• Set the top, bottom, and side margins of your paper at 1 inch.
• Use double-spaced text throughout your paper.
• Use a standard font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, in a legible size (10- to 12-point).
• Use continuous pagination throughout the paper, including the title page and the references section. Page numbers appear flush right within your header.
• Section headings and subsection headings within the body of your paper use different types of formatting depending on the level of information you are presenting. Additional details from Jorge’s paper are provided.

Begin formatting the final draft of your paper according to APA guidelines. You may work with an existing document or set up a new document if you choose. Include the following:

• Your title page
• The abstract you created in Note 13.8 “Exercise 1”
• Correct headers and page numbers for your title page and abstract

APA style uses section headings to organize information, making it easy for the reader to follow the writer’s train of thought and to know immediately what major topics are covered. Depending on the length and complexity of the paper, its major sections may also be divided into subsections, sub-subsections, and so on. These smaller sections, in turn, use different heading styles to indicate different levels of information. In essence, you are using headings to create a hierarchy of information.

The following heading styles used in APA formatting are listed in order of greatest to least importance:

• Section headings use centered, boldface type. Headings use title case, with important words in the heading capitalized.
• Subsection headings use left-aligned, boldface type. Headings use title case.
• The third level uses left-aligned, indented, boldface type. Headings use a capital letter only for the first word, and they end in a period.
• The fourth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are boldfaced and italicized.
• The fifth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are italicized and not boldfaced.

Visually, the hierarchy of information is organized as indicated in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” .

Table 13.1 Section Headings

A college research paper may not use all the heading levels shown in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” , but you are likely to encounter them in academic journal articles that use APA style. For a brief paper, you may find that level 1 headings suffice. Longer or more complex papers may need level 2 headings or other lower-level headings to organize information clearly. Use your outline to craft your major section headings and determine whether any subtopics are substantial enough to require additional levels of headings.

Working with the document you developed in Note 13.11 “Exercise 2” , begin setting up the heading structure of the final draft of your research paper according to APA guidelines. Include your title and at least two to three major section headings, and follow the formatting guidelines provided above. If your major sections should be broken into subsections, add those headings as well. Use your outline to help you.

Because Jorge used only level 1 headings, his Exercise 3 would look like the following:

Citation Guidelines

In-text citations.

Throughout the body of your paper, include a citation whenever you quote or paraphrase material from your research sources. As you learned in Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” , the purpose of citations is twofold: to give credit to others for their ideas and to allow your reader to follow up and learn more about the topic if desired. Your in-text citations provide basic information about your source; each source you cite will have a longer entry in the references section that provides more detailed information.

In-text citations must provide the name of the author or authors and the year the source was published. (When a given source does not list an individual author, you may provide the source title or the name of the organization that published the material instead.) When directly quoting a source, it is also required that you include the page number where the quote appears in your citation.

This information may be included within the sentence or in a parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence, as in these examples.

Epstein (2010) points out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Here, the writer names the source author when introducing the quote and provides the publication date in parentheses after the author’s name. The page number appears in parentheses after the closing quotation marks and before the period that ends the sentence.

Addiction researchers caution that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (Epstein, 2010, p. 137).

Here, the writer provides a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence that includes the author’s name, the year of publication, and the page number separated by commas. Again, the parenthetical citation is placed after the closing quotation marks and before the period at the end of the sentence.

As noted in the book Junk Food, Junk Science (Epstein, 2010, p. 137), “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive.”

Here, the writer chose to mention the source title in the sentence (an optional piece of information to include) and followed the title with a parenthetical citation. Note that the parenthetical citation is placed before the comma that signals the end of the introductory phrase.

David Epstein’s book Junk Food, Junk Science (2010) pointed out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Another variation is to introduce the author and the source title in your sentence and include the publication date and page number in parentheses within the sentence or at the end of the sentence. As long as you have included the essential information, you can choose the option that works best for that particular sentence and source.

Citing a book with a single author is usually a straightforward task. Of course, your research may require that you cite many other types of sources, such as books or articles with more than one author or sources with no individual author listed. You may also need to cite sources available in both print and online and nonprint sources, such as websites and personal interviews. Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.2 “Citing and Referencing Techniques” and Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provide extensive guidelines for citing a variety of source types.

Writing at Work

APA is just one of several different styles with its own guidelines for documentation, formatting, and language usage. Depending on your field of interest, you may be exposed to additional styles, such as the following:

• MLA style. Determined by the Modern Languages Association and used for papers in literature, languages, and other disciplines in the humanities.
• Chicago style. Outlined in the Chicago Manual of Style and sometimes used for papers in the humanities and the sciences; many professional organizations use this style for publications as well.
• Associated Press (AP) style. Used by professional journalists.

References List

The brief citations included in the body of your paper correspond to the more detailed citations provided at the end of the paper in the references section. In-text citations provide basic information—the author’s name, the publication date, and the page number if necessary—while the references section provides more extensive bibliographical information. Again, this information allows your reader to follow up on the sources you cited and do additional reading about the topic if desired.

The specific format of entries in the list of references varies slightly for different source types, but the entries generally include the following information:

• The name(s) of the author(s) or institution that wrote the source
• The year of publication and, where applicable, the exact date of publication
• The full title of the source
• For books, the city of publication
• For articles or essays, the name of the periodical or book in which the article or essay appears
• For magazine and journal articles, the volume number, issue number, and pages where the article appears
• For sources on the web, the URL where the source is located

The references page is double spaced and lists entries in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. If an entry continues for more than one line, the second line and each subsequent line are indented five spaces. Review the following example. ( Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provides extensive guidelines for formatting reference entries for different types of sources.)

In APA style, book and article titles are formatted in sentence case, not title case. Sentence case means that only the first word is capitalized, along with any proper nouns.

Key Takeaways

• Following proper citation and formatting guidelines helps writers ensure that their work will be taken seriously, give proper credit to other authors for their work, and provide valuable information to readers.
• Working ahead and taking care to cite sources correctly the first time are ways writers can save time during the editing stage of writing a research paper.
• APA papers usually include an abstract that concisely summarizes the paper.
• APA papers use a specific headings structure to provide a clear hierarchy of information.
• In APA papers, in-text citations usually include the name(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication.
• In-text citations correspond to entries in the references section, which provide detailed bibliographical information about a source.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Encyclopedia

Writing with artificial intelligence, apa headings and subheadings.

• © 2023 by Jennifer Janechek - IBM Quantum
• headings when there are at least two subsections within a larger section.
• using subheadings only when the paper has at least two subsections within a larger section

Table of Contents

APA headings and subheadings refers to the rules for formatting sections of documents in the 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association’s Publication Manual .

A research paper written in APA style should be organized into sections and subsections using the five levels of APA headings. 

Related Concepts:

Notice how sections contain at least two smaller subsections in the example below:

Design  

Participants. , demographics..

Characteristics.

Limitations

Starting with the first level of heading, the subsections of the paper should progressively use the next level(s) of heading without skipping any levels. Major sections of the paper’s main body, including the Method, Results, and Discussion sections, should always be formatted with the first level of heading. However, keep in mind that the Introduction section, which is preceded by the full title of the paper, should be presented in plain type. Any subsections that fall under the major sections are formatted with the next level of heading.

Note that all paragraphs of the main body, including those that fall under subsections of a larger section, still maintain the pattern of indentation, use Times New Roman font, 12 pt., and are double-spaced. There are no extra lines or spaces between paragraphs and headings.

How are the five levels of APA-style headings formatted?

Format each of the five levels of APA-style headings as demonstrated in the example below. Note that while the example features headings titled “First Level,” “Second Level,” and so on, each heading in your paper should be named according to the section it describes. 

First level

The first level of heading is bolded and centered, and the first letter of each word in the heading is capitalized. The paragraph text should be typed on the following line and indented five spaces from the left.

Second level

The second level of heading is bolded and situated flush left, and the first letter of each word in the heading is capitalized. The paragraph text should be typed on the following line and indented five spaces from the left.

Third level

The third level of heading is bolded, indented five spaces from the left, and followed by a period. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in the heading and of proper nouns. The first paragraph following this heading should be typed on the same line as the heading.

Fourth level

The fourth level of heading is bolded, italicized, indented five spaces from the left, and followed by a period. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in the heading and of proper nouns. The first paragraph following this heading should be typed on the same line as the heading.

Fifth level

The fifth level of heading is italicized, indented five spaces from the left, and followed by a period. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word in the heading and of proper nouns. The first paragraph following this heading should be typed on the same line as the heading.

Method  (1st level)

Design (2nd level)

        Participants (3rd level)

        Demographics. (4th level)

              Age Group. (5th level)

Limitations  (2nd level)

• For student papers, include only the page number in the top right margin of every page of the paper
• For professional papers, place the page number in the top right margin and the running head in the top left margin of every page of the paper. Running heads should be a shortened version of the paper title.

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APA Headings and Seriation

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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 .

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:

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.

• Paper title
• 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. 

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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Need editing and proofreading services, apa headings & subheadings | formatting guidelines & examples.

• Tags: APA , APA Style , Formatting Guidelines

APA headings and subheadings provide a clear structure to your document and make it easy to navigate through. This is especially beneficial when it comes to longer documents. 

The APA format makes use of headings and subheadings to indicate a hierarchy. But what is an APA paper heading and how do you customize it? We will answer all these questions with the help of concrete examples and templates.

Let’s start off with understanding the basics of how to customize these APA format headings and subheadings. 

APA heading format

There are five APA heading levels that can be used as per the latest APA guidelines. You can decide which level of heading to use, depending on the length and complexity of your document.

• The level 1 heading is the main APA heading for your paper, which is used to indicate all the major sections (excluding the introduction). 
• The level 2 heading is included under the level 1 heading and is used to indicate its different aspects.
• The level 3 heading is used to indicate the subpoints to be included under the level 2 heading and so on.

Here are the formatting guidelines for the APA heading formats for the 7th edition:

• Avoid creating too many subheadings. This makes your document shabby and difficult to understand. 
• Do NOT number the APA-style headings and subheadings. The APA paper format does not make use of Roman and Arabic letters and numerals to number the headings.
• Include a double space between the content and the heading for the first 3 levels.
• Use the title case for all your headings.
• Avoid creating a single APA subheading under the parent heading. 

Let’s take a look at how to format each of these APA heading levels in more detail.

APA heading levels

As stated above, the APA Style guide consists of 5 levels of headings. Each level heading should be bolded and in some cases italicized . Here are the guidelines for the five APA format headings:

APA level 1 heading

The level 1 heading for an APA paper is the main heading in an APA-style paper. It is used for all the significant sections of the paper such as “Methods”, “Results”, and “Discussion”. 

Do NOT include the Introduction in the level 1 heading. The heading of your paper present in the APA title page serves as a de facto heading for your introduction. 

Here are the formatting guidelines for an APA level 1 heading:

• Centrally align and bold the heading.
• Leave a double space between the heading and the text under it. 
• Begin writing the text on a new line, leaving an indent 0.5 inches from the left margin. 

Here is the APA heading format example:

APA Level 1 Heading

The text is indented and begins on a new line.

A section label is used to indicate specific parts of your paper including. It is similar to a level 1 heading but is formatted slightly differently. It is bolded and centrally aligned but is placed in a separate line at the top of a new page. 

APA level 2 heading

A level 2 heading is a subsection that is included under the level 1 heading. For instance, subheadings such as “Test Sample” are included under the main heading “Method”. Make sure that there are two or more subheadings present under each main heading. 

The level 2 APA subheading format is as follows:

• Left align and bold the heading.
• Leave a double space between your heading and the text pertaining to it.
• Leave an indent and begin writing the text on a new line.

Here is a level 2 APA heading example:

APA Level 2 Heading

APA level 3 heading

Level 3 APA subheadings are used to further categorize characteristics included under the level 2 subheading. For instance, the level 2 subheading “Test Sample” may further be divided into sample groups such as “Preteens”, “Adolescents”, and “Adults” . 

Here are the formatting guidelines for an APA level 3 heading:

• Left align, bold, and italicize the heading.
• Leave space between the heading and the text included below it.
• Leave a 0.5-inch indent and begin writing the text on a new line.

Here is a level 3 APA heading example:

APA Level 3 Heading

APA level 4 heading

The level 4 APA subheadings are rarely used when it comes to school papers. They’re more often used in more complex and detailed papers such as postgraduate or professional research papers. It is used to further categorize information included in the level 3 heading. For instance, the sample group of “Preteens” can further be divided into categories such as “Children (6–8 years)” and “Children (9–12 years)”.  

Following are the formatting guidelines for an APA level 4 heading:

• Left align, indent, and bold the heading.
• End the heading with a period.
• Begin writing the text after the period in the same line.

Here is a level 4 APA heading example:

APA Level 4 Heading. The text begins in the same line.

APA level 5 heading.

The level 5 heading is the final heading included under the APA formatting guidelines. It is used to further categorize information included under the level 4 heading. For instance, the category “Children (6–8 years)” can be further divided into “Boys” and “Girls”.

Following are the formatting guidelines for an APA level 5 heading:

• Left align, indent, bold, and italicize the heading.
• End your heading with a period.

Here is a level 5 APA heading example:

APA Level 5 Heading. The text begins in the same line.

When you put all of the headings together, it should look something like this:

APA Level 5 Heading . The text begins in the same line.

APA heading format for Microsoft Word and Google Docs

Things get much easier when it comes to formatting APA headings in MS Word and Google Docs. Instead of individually inserting each heading, you can simply make use of the “styles” feature. This allows you to select a heading of your choice with a single click.

Make sure to edit your heading as per the APA formatting guidelines, since these default settings are not available in MS Word or Google Docs.  

APA heading example

To understand how the APA levels are structured, let’s take a look at an APA format for headings. The following research paper outline highlights the methods used to collect the effect of coffee on preteens and young adults. 

Here’s how the headings and text should be structured in the following example.

If you think formatting is not your strong suit and you want to make things easier, consider working with professional editing services . These professionals not only correct structural errors and content flow but also rectify all proofreading errors. 

Need help with formatting your paper? Here are a few more articles you can refer to:

• MLA Format: 9th Edition Paper Formatting Guidelines
• APA Header Format: 5 Steps & Running Head Examples
• Chicago Style Citation: Quick Guide & Examples
• Chicago Title, Cover Page & Body | Paper Format Guidelines
• How to Create In-Text Citations and Reference Page in APA 7

Frequently Asked Questions

When should i use each level of heading, how are headings numbered in apa style, can i use more than five levels of headings in apa style.

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• The Complete Guide to APA Format in 2020

APA Headings and Subheadings

• Headings and Subheadings
• Discussion Section
• Websites and Online Sources
• Journals and Periodicals
• Other Print Sources
• Other Non-Print Sources
• In-text Citations
• Footnotes and Endnotes
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There are five levels of headings available to use in an APA formatted paper. These headings indicate the hierchy of the information within the paper.

For example, if your paper contains the standard main sections Method , Results , and Discussion , these should all use the first-level heading.

• Method (level one)
• Results (level one)
• Discussion (level one)

If you want to include Participants and Instruments within the Method section, you would make these a level two heading.

• Participants (level two)
• Instruments (level two)

A subsection of Participants , like Age or Race , would be level three headings. This pattern continues down to level five headings.

• Age (level three)
• Race (level three)

Styling the Different Headings

Each level has specific formatting requirements to make it visibly obvious which level it is. As with all other text in an APA formatted paper, the font size should be 12pt. The differences between each level are as follows:

Level One Heading

Level one headings are centered and bolded, with all major words capitalized (articles and conjunctions are not captalized).

Level Two Heading

Level two headings are similar to level one headings, except are aligned on the left.

Level Three Heading. Level three headings are similar to levels one and two, except they're indented by 5 spaces, followed by a period, and the text following the heading does not start on a new line.

Level Four Heading. The level four heading is identical to level three, except it is also italicized.

Level Five Heading. Finally, the level five heading is identical to level four, except it is no longer bold.

Further Learning

The following video by the University of Maryland is excellent at visually explaining everything on this page.

Generate accurate APA citations for free

• Knowledge Base
• APA Style 6th edition
• APA headings and subheadings (6th edition)

APA headings (6th edition) | How to use and format (example)

Published on November 7, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk .

A paper is usually divided into chapters and subsections. Each chapter or section has its own heading, and these headings provide structure to a document. As well as many other APA format requirements , there are specific guidelines for formatting headings to ensure that all papers are uniform and easy to read.

Table of contents

Apa heading formatting, apa headings example, using heading levels, aligning word’s heading styles to apa style, setting up in google docs.

The APA formatting guidelines for each heading style are outlined in the table below. APA recommends using 12pt. Times New Roman font for both the body text as the headings.

* Capitalize the first word of the title and all major words (including words that have four or more letters). Example: The Effects of Autism on Listening Skills. ** Capitalize the first word of the title and proper nouns (just as you would capitalize a sentence). An example: Teenagers with autism in the United States.

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The example shows the different heading levels according to APA style. Hover over the different headings to see the specific APA formatting guidelines. You can also download the APA heading Template to add the correctly formatted APA heading styles to Word.

Download APA Headings Template

The Effects of Smartphones on the Attention in Classrooms

This research aims to gain insight into the relationship between smartphones and students’ attention in classrooms. This chapter further discusses the research method, the sampling method and the data analysis procedure.

Research Method

In addition to an extensive literature review, 40 interviews were conducted for this study. The goal of conducting interviews was to find out how students looked at the use of smartphones in the classroom.

Sampling Method

A non-probability sample was used to gather participants for this research. The driving factors behind this decision were cost and convenience.

Procedure. Participants were given an introductory text prior to the survey. In this introductory text, the participants were informed that all answers would be processed anonymously.

Participant recruitment. Students who participated in this study were recruited through posts on the school’s Facebook page. As an incentive, students who participated were granted an exemption for writing an essay.

Participant assessment. Participants were selected based on their age and gender to acquire a representative sample of the population. Furthermore, students had to share additional demographic information.

Data Analysis

The interviews collected for this research were transcribed and then coded. Next, the coded interviews were analysed and compared. The statistical program SPSS was used to perform the analysis.

First Hypothesis

The first hypothesis was tested using a regression analysis that used attention in classrooms as the dependent variable and the use of smartphones as the independent variable. The results of this analysis showed that the attention of the student decreases when a smartphone is used.

Using the right heading levels not only helps readers navigate your paper, but also enables you to automatically generate an APA style table of contents in Word.

Use as many heading levels as you need. Some papers only have three heading levels, whereas others use all five. It’s also possible for one section (e.g. “methods”) to have more subheadings than other sections. When writing your paper or thesis, you will often use these heading levels:

Heading 1 : Use heading 1 for the main elements of your paper, such as the “methods,” “results,” “conclusion” and “discussion” sections.

Heading 2 : Use heading 2 for the subsections underneath heading 1. For example, under “methods,” include sections describing the “participant selection,” “experiment design’ and “procedure.”

Heading 3:  The heading 2 subsections (e.g. “procedure”) can be split up further into subsections such as “data collection” and “data processing.” Use heading 3 for these subsections.

Heading 4 and 5:  Depending on your paper, you can also use heading 4 and 5 for subsections that fall underneath heading 3 and 4, respectively.

Instead of formatting every heading individually, use Word’s built-in headings feature, which you can find in the toolbar at the top of your document. This is the easiest and fastest way to format all the headings in your paper.

By default, Word’s heading styles do not follow APA style. However, you can change the default settings by right-clicking on the heading style and selecting “modify.”

You can also download the Scribbr APA Heading Word template . When attaching this template to your Word document the correctly formatted APA headings are added and the heading formatting will automatically apply on all existing headings.

To attach the APA heading template to your Word document go ‘tools’ and ‘Templates and Add-ins’. Next, attach the downloaded template to the document and check the box ‘automatically update heading styles’.

Scribbr Citation Checker New

The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

• Missing commas and periods
• Incorrect usage of “et al.”
• Ampersands (&) in narrative citations
• Missing reference entries

This video will demonstrate how to format different APA heading levels in Google Docs.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2020, November 07). APA headings (6th edition) | How to use and format (example). Scribbr. Retrieved August 21, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/6th-edition/archived-headings/

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• Level Headings Format Table

This sample will give you an example of heading levels used in the body of the paper

The APA Style Blog offers a short sample paper describing level headings and how to properly use headings within a paper.  Click this link to see the Heading Levels Template Student Paper

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APA Headings and Subheadings

The use of headings and subheadings give the readers a general idea of what to expect from the paper and leads the flow of discussion. These elements divide and define each section of the paper. APA recommends five-level heading structure based on the level of subordination.

Table of Content

• 2 Guideline
• 4  A Couple of Writing Tips

Levels indicate the hierarchy of importance and scope of each heading and subheading. The extent of using the different levels depends on the length and complexity of the paper. Usually, short papers or articles use two to three levels, but longer papers necessitate up to five levels. Level 1 encompasses a broader topic and levels 2 to 5 covers narrow to more detailed topics.

Level 1 Section heading

Level 2 Subsection heading

Level 3 Subsection of a subsection heading

Level 4 Subsection under a subsection of a subsection heading

Level 5 Subsection under the three subsections heading

• No heading is needed for the first part of a paper as it is already assumed as the introduction.
• Headings and subheadings are not accompanied by letters or numbers.
• Use as many levels as required in your paper to present the most organized structure.
• The same level of heading or subheading should be of equal importance regardless of the number of subsections under it.
• Use at least two subheadings for each section and subsection, or use none.
• Start with level 1 through 5.
• Paragraph begins below levels 1 and 2, whereas for levels 3-5, the paragraph begins in line with the headings.
• Capitalize each word for levels 1 and 2.
• For levels 3-5, the headings are indented and end with a period.
• Only the first word is capitalized for levels 3-5.

To give you a clearer picture, here is the recommended format and example for the heading levels.

Methods (Level 1)

Research Design (Level 2)

Paragraph begins here…

Study Site and Participant (Level 2)

Data Collection (Level 2)

Instruments. (Level 3) Paragraph begins here…

Procedures. (Level 3) Paragraph begins here…

Socio-demographic and medical history data gathering. (Level 4) Paragraph begins here…

Anthropometric and body composition assessment. (Level 4) Paragraph begins here…

Dietary assessment. (Level 4) Paragraph begins here…

Three-day food record. (Level 5) Paragraph begins here…

Semi-qualitative FFQ. (Level 5) Paragraph begins here…

 A Couple of Writing Tips

Writing is meant to communicate ideas and get our points across as clearly and as effective as possible. But no matter how informative your writing is, it wouldn’t be as valuable if it is incoherent. You have to write in such a way that every part of your paper will have a logical sequence and sound structure to make it comprehensive and easy to understand. There are certain ways in writing a clear and concise paper, and here are simple tips which are especially useful for scientific studies:

First, state your points clearly and precisely .

Second , integrate parts with relevant or similar information to avoid repetition .

Third, use an active voice .

And fourth, organize the structure of your paper.

As a writer, I think the most important among the aforementioned tips is the organization of structure. Once you have a complete picture of what you will include in your paper, everything else will follow.

• Incorporating Headings & Subheadings

by acburton | May 18, 2024 | Resources for Students , Writing Resources

Think about the last time you read a really long academic article or publication for a class. When the text just seemed to drone on and on to no end, think back – weren’t you really grateful for those headings (and sometimes subheadings) that broke up the longer text, switched or elaborated on a topic, stimulated your eyesight, and gave your noggin a much needed break? I bet you were! Headings and subheadings enable longer texts and differing topics and subtopics to be clearly differentiated for your reader, yet linked in a way that can be clearly understood and appreciated. Let’s go through a few other benefits to using headings and subheadings in your writing!

Incorporating headings and subheadings into your longer pieces of writing;

• Enhances the readability of your work by organizing the content in your essay and guiding your reader.
• Delineates subsections of a topic and provides an avenue to expanding on more complex ideas within a main idea.
• Demonstrates your understanding of a particular citation style.

While headings and subheadings don’t replace the use of effective transitions , they can be used in tandem to further organize your paper, guiding your reader through your topic of choice. To use headings and subheadings appropriately, you’ll want to keep in mind three very important considerations:

• the hierarchy of a heading versus a subheading (and everything that may come after)
• the format (i.e., which citation style you are aiming to follow, and
• accessibility, to be sure that your paper is intelligible to all readers.

The Hierarchy

Headings and subheadings are represented in the form of a hierarchy, or a ranking that clearly characterizes your main topic from your subtopic or issue. The prefix “sub” in “subheading” means under or beneath so your subheading (or subissue) will always be placed underneath your heading. Use a heading whenever you are switching subjects and want to outline the main idea of a section and use subheadings to delineate the varying subsections underneath the main idea. Think of it like a pyramid structure, not in shape, but with your heading on the very top, subheading just beneath, and so on and so forth, going “deeper” into your research until you begin a new section.

Citation styles, including APA format, utilize a system of “Levels” to distinguish the format of headings and subheadings as they move throughout your essay. The number of headings to use in a paper depends on the length and complexity of the work (APAStyle).

In APA format, headings and subheadings are delineated into five possible levels:  Level 1 is the highest or main level of heading, Level 2 is a subheading of Level 1, Level 3 is a subheading of Level 2, and so on through Levels 4 and 5 (APAStyle). Most students utilize Levels 1-3 for their work. If only one heading is needed for your assignment, use Level 1. If two levels are needed, use Levels 1 and 2 (and so on.) (APAStyle). The first image below provides a visualization of the APA heading format; the second image is an example of APA headings in a research paper from the field of education (APAStyle).

MLA in contrast emphasizes consistency over a specific style. Purdue Owl offers two examples of how to structure your essay using section headings and subheadings, although it is important to remember that while these can be used as a reference, they are by no means the rule . Remember, the goal is consistency throughout your paper.

Note: Although MLA does not have specific style for headings within your paper, there is a general format used for the first page of your paper. See Purdue Owl for more information.

Below, you can see two examples of acceptable headings for a paper that requires MLA formatting. The first follows a system of Levels, like what is used for APA format. The second example uses a format that numbers different sections and subsections. According to this example, Erosion and Terracing are examples of Soil Conservation, while Water Conservation and Energy Conservation require their own, main headings.

Accessibility

While the use of headings and subheadings work to enhance the readability of your work, without keeping accessibility in mind, your headings and subheadings can seem thorough and conducive to you, while being inaccessible and confusing to someone else. Check out these accessibility guidelines suggested by West Virginia University;

• Make sure your headings and subheadings always follow a consecutive hierarchy.
• Particularly when following APA format, do not skip a header for stylistic reasons.
• While using bold or italics may be unavoidable, do not use all caps. Doing so may cause some assistive technology to substitute full words for individual letters.
• Avoid using abbreviations.
• Aim to avoid language that can be confusing to non-native speakers of English (e.g., puns, a play on words).

Note: Visit the Writing Center for additional help on how to format with accessibility in mind!

Streefkerk, Raimo. “APA Headings and Subheadings | With Sample Paper.” Scribber, https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-headings/ . Accessed 18 May 2024.

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Headings in Chicago style

Published January 22, 2021. Updated February 15, 2023.

If you have a longer paper, you may want to divide it into sections and subsections to make it easier to read. Each section and subsection will need a heading, or what Chicago style calls a “subheading” or “subhead.” This guide helps you to format these headings and gives some tips and guidelines for using sections and subsections in your paper.

Because The Chicago Manual of Style is intended more for those pursuing publication, its guidelines are more flexible as most publishers have their own in-house styles. This guide uses the guidelines and standards from the 9th edition of Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations . This guide is intended more for students and is still Chicago style.

Here’s what you’ll find on this page:

What is a subheading and when should you use one?

How should you format subheadings in chicago style.

For help writing your essay, research paper , or other project, check out these writing tips .

If your paper is longer, you may find it helpful to divide it into clear sections. Each section can have its own title or heading, and Chicago calls these section titles “subheadings” or “subheads.”

Sections can be further divided into sections, and the subheadings for these sections are the second level of subheadings. You can continue to divide sections, creating further levels of subheadings.

In a typical paper, you will probably only want to use two or three levels of subheadings. Otherwise, the subheadings may end up being more distracting than helpful and detract from the reading experience.

It is important to be consistent in your formatting of subheadings in Chicago style. You can easily do this by creating styles for each subheading level in your word-processing program. There is a fair amount of flexibility in the actual formatting of the headings in Chicago style. The main thing is to make sure you are consistent.

You’ll also want to make sure you do not end a subheading with a period unless it is a run-in subheading. You should put one or two blank lines before each subheading and one line (or one double-spaced line) after each subheading. Never end a page of your paper with a subheading—you should make sure the subheading is not separated from the first paragraph of the section.

Turabian gives a number of formatting possibilities for levels of subheadings (see Appendix A for more specific details). Here is one possible set of options for five levels of subheadings that Turabian recommends:

First level: Center your text, use headline-style capitalization, and place the text either in italics or bold.

Second level: Center your text, use headline-style capitalization.

Third level: Left align your text, use headline-style capitalization, and place the text in either italics or bold.

Fourth level: Left align your text, use sentence-style capitalization.

Fifth level: Run your subheading in at the beginning of the paragraph, place the text in italics or bold, use sentence-style capitalization, and end the subheading with a period.

Here’s how the five levels of subheadings might look in practice:

Works Cited:

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations , 9th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018.

Chicago Style Guides

Chicago Style : Annotated bibliography | Abstract | Block Quote | Headings | Outline | Page Numbers | Title page

Citing sources : In-text citations | Bibliography | Reference list | Footnotes | Citing Multiple Authors | Citing Sources with No Authors

Chicago Style Citation Generator : Article | Book | Image | Interview | Journal | Movie | PDF | Textbook | Website | YouTube

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Why APA Formatted Papers Have Different Levels of Headings and Subheadings

The proper usage of headings and subheadings in APA Formatted Papers can seem mysterious to most college writers. What headings are necessary? When should you use subheadings? How do you properly format them so you donΓÇÖt lose points on your paper?

In simplistic terms, think of your headings and subheadings as a visual roadmap helping you to organize your paper for your readers while giving them a succinct understanding of what information you will be sharing in each section. Your professor will inform you which of these categories you need to include in your paper.

• Introduction
• References and Appendices

The Title Page of an APA formatted paper is normally considered the first page. The title of your paper does not count as a level. The second page of an APA paper will be the one to contain the “Abstract.” Since the Abstract is a summary, you should limit it to just one paragraph of about 150 to 250 words without any subheadings, whereas other sections of your paper will require them.

You can create up to five levels of headings and subheadings. Many APA Formatted Papers contain only one or two levels, while other more in-depth papers will need all five. The APA style will require you to format these in a specific way to clearly illustrate their increasing levels of specificity for your readers.

Here are some general rules for creating effecting headings and subheadings.

Headings Keep your headings short. Most are one to five words that provide a strong indication of the information in the section. Only use a heading if you have more than one heading for the level. Think of it this way, you wouldnΓÇÖt create a bulleted list of one item. The same holds true for headers in your APA Formatted Papers.

Subheadings Subheadings are often a little longer than headings because they are more descriptive and expand upon the heading. Think of your subheadings as a reference for readers to skim through your papers to get a quick understanding of what information you will be sharing with them and how you will transition from your Abstract through to your Conclusion. If you are including a subheading to a section, APA formatted papers require you to have two subheadings on the same level.

Some other general tips for you to consider are, donΓÇÖt overdo the use of headings and subheadings. Not every paragraph needs them. They are intended to enhance the content in your paper, not detract from it. It is often best to write the content of your paper first, and then add in concise headings and subheadings where appropriate.

Before you get started with the formatting of your paper, you will need to research the latest APA style revision to make sure you donΓÇÖt lose points for formatting errors. If you prefer to focus your time wisely on the quality of your content and not the formatting parameters, you’ll be happy to know there are many resources available. Formatting software is one reliable, helpful tool to consider for saving time while taking the guesswork out of formatting your APA style papers.

For more information about APA writing software or how to download our APA Style Software, contact us today!

David Plaut

David Plaut is the founder of Reference Point Software (RPS). RPS offers a complete suite of easy-to-use formatting template products featuring MLA and APA style templates, freeing up time to focus on substance while ensuring formatting accuracy. For more information, log onto http://www.referencepointsoftware.com/ or write to: info @ referencepointsoftware.com

Reference Point Software is not associated with, endorsed by, or affiliated with the American Psychological Association ( APA ) or with the Modern Language Association ( MLA ).

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MLA Format Sub-headings

If you would like to utilize subheadings (subtitles) in your research paper, it is a good idea to first check with your instructor to be 100% sure what subheading format he/she would like you to use.

Depending on how long your paper is, you will need either one level subheadings or several levels subheadings

One Level Subheadings:

Format : centered, capitalize the first letter but not the whole subtitle.

MLA Format One Level Subheading

*Visit this full  sample paper for ideas!

Multi-Level Subheadings:

If your paper has subtitles under subtitles, see the format below. Be sure to check with your instructor first if he/she agrees with this format before you decide to use it.

– MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th Edition – Writing the Research Paper, 7th Edition.

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The Graduate School

University information technology (uit), main navigation, formatting requirements: text.

• Submission Procedure
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General Formatting Requirements

Parts composed of related chapters, headings and subheadings, tables and figures, footnote and reference citations, appendix or appendices, references or selected bibliography.

• Documentation Styles
• Writing Styles
• Print Quality
• Accessibility in the PDF
• Electronic Version Submitted for Thesis Release
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• Color Contrast
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• Heading Space
• Double Space
• Single Space
• Previously Published, Accepted, and Submitted Articles as Chapters of a Dissertation
• Alternate Figure/Table Placement

The text follows the preliminary pages and is numbered with Arabic numerals. Page numbers of the text are in the upper right corner of the page centered between the top of the page and the bottom of the top margin. The number is placed so that it does not extend into the right margin. Pages with MAIN HEADINGS (the first page of chapters or main sections that are used in the place of chapters) are counted in sequence with the rest of the text (beginning with page 1); however, no number appears on main heading pages. 

The organization of the text is the responsibility of the student and the supervisory committee and varies by discipline and subject. The text must be well organized and must adhere to standards in the student’s field. The text may begin with a separate introduction, or the introduction may form all or a portion of the first chapter or main section. 

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all language used follows Standard American English grammar and punctuation rules (some exceptions may apply for creative works). Manuscripts submitted with extensive grammar and punctuation deficiencies will be returned unprocessed. Please use Grammarly on your Thesis or Dissertation prior to submitting it to the Thesis Office for review . Using Grammarly can speed up the approval of your manuscript and make the Thesis Release process smoother and more efficient. 

Text may be divided into chapters, numbered with Roman or Arabic numerals (but not both), each chapter having its own title. Another option is to divide the text into main sections. If this option is chosen, the section divisions may or may not be numbered. For example, if the text is divided into INTRODUCTION, REVIEW OF LITERATURE, METHODS, RESULTS, and DISCUSSION (or other similar divisions), the INTRODUCTION may be assigned the number “1” and other sections numbered sequentially or only the word INTRODUCTION may stand as the section title. Note that such section titles are in all capital letters. See Figure 2.8. 

The heading of each chapter or main section (e.g., CHAPTER 1, CHAPTER 2, INTRODUCTION) is placed 2 inches from the top of the page in all capital letters. If the word chapter is used, the title for numbered chapters appears in all capital letters a heading space below the word chapter. Following another heading space, the text begins. If chapter numbers are not used, a heading space separates the title from the first paragraph of text. 

The text must be double-spaced throughout (except for entries in the table of contents, references, lists of figures and tables, and block quotes, all of which are single spaced as illustrated in this handbook). No additional space is inserted between paragraphs. All paragraphs must be uniformly indented. *Please note that some word processing software will automatically add extra space between each paragraph and care must be taken to ensure that the double spaces between paragraphs are the same size as all other double spaces within the manuscript. 

For helpful hints in formatting refer to the FAQ and Student Resources on the Thesis Office website. 

On rare occasions, long manuscripts may be divided into separate parts composed of related chapters. Individual parts may or may not be titled, but they must be numbered. Each part is then preceded by a part-title page (see the Appendices at the end of the handbook). The part number and title (if used) are typed in all capital letters, centered within the thesis margins and between the top and bottom margins of the page. If both part number and title are used, there is a heading space after the number and before the title. The page is counted in sequence with the rest of the manuscript, but no number appears on the page. The chapter number or title of the first titled section of the first part begins on the page following the part-title page 2 inches below the top of the page. The chapters or titled sections, if numbered, are numbered consecutively throughout the text. The numbering does not begin over with new parts. Page numbering is also consecutive.

If part-title pages are used to designate separate parts in a manuscript, they also must be used before each appendix (if used) and before the references (or selected bibliography). Format and numbering are the same as described in the preceding paragraph. When part-title pages are used with appendices and references, the title of each section is not repeated on the following page, and the text begins 1 inch from the top of the page.

If a reprint of a previously published article is incorporated as a chapter, a part-title page will precede the first page of the reprint. The chapter title is placed on the part-title page. A full credit line (stating “Reprinted with permission from” followed by the source) must be placed on the part-title page.  Publishers will frequently require specific wording.  See Figure 2.9 for an example.

Quotations three lines of print or fewer require double quotation marks. They also must have citation and page numbers listed for them. Quotations longer than three lines of print must be in block quote form. They are indented from the left margin the same amount that the first line of new paragraphs are indented. They may be single or double spaced. Whether double or single spaced, they are separated from the text by a double space. Quotation marks are not used with a block quotation unless quotation marks appear within the source quoted. Citation and page numbers must be listed for block quotations. 

Headings establish the organization of the manuscript. There are two types of headings in any manuscript: main headings and subheadings. 

Main Headings

Main headings always begin on a new page, are centered 2 inches down from the top of the page, printed in all capital letters, and used for chapters or main sections (e.g., CHAPTER 1, INTRODUCTION), the titles of the preliminary divisions of the paper (i.e., ABSTRACT, TABLE OF CONTENTS, LISTS, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS), and other major sections of the paper (APPENDIX, REFERENCES).

Main headings start 2 inches from the top of the page and are always followed by a heading space. Main headings more than two lines are always double spaced. If the main heading is preceded by the word “CHAPTER” and its numerical designation, the word “CHAPTER” and the Roman or Arabic numeral following it begin 2 inches from the top of the page. After a heading space, the title of the chapter follows. The text begins after a heading space if no subheadings are used. If a subheading follows the main heading, the text begins after a double space. 

Main headings over 5 inches in length are split and placed on two or more lines so that the lines appear visually balanced. 

Subheadings

Subheadings are used for divisions of the various chapters or sections of the manuscript. There are two types of subheadings: freestanding and paragraph. Freestanding subheadings are always higher in level than paragraph subheadings. See the glossary for the definitions of freestanding and paragraph subheadings. 

Appearance and Order

Subheadings must be used in hierarchical order, levels cannot be skipped (e.g., a first-level subhead followed by a third-level subhead would be incorrect), they and must be used consistently throughout the manuscript. Many students use no more than one or two levels of subheadings. Some, however, require additional levels (see Figure 2.10 for a description and illustration of main headings, subheadings, and spacing). Subheadings must follow the subheading scheme as outlined in Figure 2.10. If the student wants to use paragraph subheadings, they may eliminate some of the higher levels of subheadings as long as the new scheme is done consistently throughout the manuscript. 

Capitalization

Unlike main headings, subheadings are not printed in all capital letters. Either a headline style or sentence style capitalization scheme is used for subheadings. Although capitalization schemes may vary across subheading levels, within each level capitalization schemes must be consistent (e.g., all first-level subheadings could be headline style while all second-level subheadings could be sentence style). 

For a subheading to end the page there must be room for the heading space, the subheading and at least two lines of text. If there is not enough room, the subheading moves to the top of the next page. This is the only time a gap is allowed in the text when it is not the end of a chapter or before an equation too long to fit at the bottom of a page. 

Freestanding subheadings (i.e., all subheadings except paragraph headings) are preceded by a heading space and followed by a double space. Two or more freestanding subheadings in a row are separated only by a double space. Paragraph subheadings are preceded by a double space only and are indented the same amount as the regular paragraphs in the manuscript. (See Appendix B for a comparison of spacing requirements.) Subheadings of two or more lines are double spaced. 

Heading Spaces

A heading space is a space that is larger than the double spaces used in a document. Heading spaces are used below main headings (a title in ALL CAPS) and above freestanding subheadings . Regardless of the word processing program being used to write the document, the heading spaces must be created consistently throughout the document so that they are always the same size. There are only a few instances when a heading space is not required:

• When a freestanding subheading begins the page
• Above a paragraph subheading
• When two or more subheadings are in a row (without text between). In this case, the subheadings are separated by a double space (not a heading space) 

Again, all heading spaces must be the same size. Please see Figure 2.10 for an example. 

In some disciplines, subheadings are numbered with a local numbering system. If this system is used, chapters or main sections must be numbered with Arabic numerals. The first subheading is then numbered 1.1 followed by the title, the second 1.1.1, and so on. If this system is used, all chapters/main sections and all levels of subheads (including paragraph subheadings) must be numbered. 

Accessibility of Headings and Subheadings

In order to ensure that our publications are accessible to readers and researchers who are visually impaired, headings and subheadings must be tagged or styled as headings so that screen reading software can distinguish the headings and subheadings from the rest of the text of the manuscript. This function is built into the official Word template offered by the Thesis Office. If students wish to use a different word processing or layout program to create their manuscript, they must use the accessibility tools within the program to ensure accessibility. 

A table is a compilation of data in columns or rows (tabular form). A figure is a visual or graphic presentation or illustration. Photographs, maps, diagrams, plates, or schematic presentations all are figures. Tables and figures must be referred to by number in numerical order in the text. The expressions “the following table/figure” or “the table/figure below” or “see the table/figure on p.##” may not be used. It is incorrect to refer to the placement of a table or figure in a manuscript. 

Accessibility Issues for Figure and Tables

It is necessary to create tables and figures that are accessible to readers who are visually impaired. Print within a figure must be sharp and legible. Figure captions and table titles should be coded in such a way that a screen reader parsing the converted PDF can distinguish the figure caption and table title from the rest of the text. The official Word template provided by the Thesis Office has this function built in. If students use a different word processing or layout program, they should utilize the accessibility tools within the program. Color should not be relied upon to convey information in a figure unless it is necessary. If color is necessary, high contrast colors must be used. Alternate text must be inserted within the manuscripts for any images and tables. Further information about color and suitable alt text for figures and tables can be found in Appendix A. 

Table and figure order

The first reference to a table or figure must be in numerical order (e.g., Table 1.1, Table 1.2, Table 1.3, and so forth). Once the table/figure has been referred to, it can be mentioned again out of its numerical order (e.g., it would be perfectly appropriate at this point in the handbook to refer to Figure 2.1 because it has been mentioned previously. It is not appropriate to refer to Figure 2.13, however, because Figure 2.12 has not been mentioned yet). Each table and figure must be mentioned in the text . Each figure or table appears only once; a figure or table cannot be used twice. Refer to previous tables and/or figures if relevant. 

Table and figure placement

The easiest placement of tables and figures is by type (all figures grouped together and all tables grouped together) in numerical order at the end of the chapter or main section in which they are first referenced. They appear after the first-level subheading “Figures” and/or “Tables. Whether you place figures first or tables first is at the student’s discretion but must be consistent from chapter to chapter. Each table and figure must be accompanied by a title or caption. In other words, a list of titles or captions may not be placed prior to the tables and figures, as is common in some journal submission formats. 

A large table or figure is placed by itself on the page, centered within the thesis margins. Although it is not necessary for large tables or figures to be centered precisely between the top and bottom margins of the paper, tables and figures should be placed so that they look balanced on the page. If the entire caption cannot fit on the same page with its figure, create a part-title page for the caption and place the figure on the page following (see the section on Part-title pages later in this chapter, as well as Figure 2.10). 

If two or more items are placed on a page, they must be separated by a space larger than a double space to separate the items visually. 

When a table or figure continues to a second page, the number and the word “continued” are placed at the bottom of the figure or at the top of the table. On continued tables, column heads should also be repeated. 

See Appendix D for other methods of figure and table placement. 

Figure numbering and captions

All figures must be numbered consecutively (1, 2, 3 . . .) throughout the manuscript and appendices or numbered locally with decimals (1.1, 1.2 . . . 3.1 . . . A.1) by chapter. If figures are numbered locally with decimals, the divisions of the manuscript must be numbered with Arabic numerals. Figures cannot be numbered by subsection (within subheadings). The number and caption are placed below the figure within the thesis margins (note that this is different from tables, where the title is placed above). In the case of long captions or captions for figures with parts, the first sentence needs to be a general caption that describes the whole figure. Subsequent sentences explain the individual parts. The first sentence of the caption appears in the list of figures, if used. Parts must be labeled (a, b, c, d). Figure captions must be in one consistent format throughout the manuscript. All captions for figures should be single spaced. If there are super- or subscript numbers in the figure captions, however, lines may be double spaced. All figure captions must be in the same font style and size as the text. Figures should not be enclosed in thick-lined boxes if they can be avoided. 

Table numbering and titles

Tables also are numbered consecutively (1, 2, 3 . . .) throughout the manuscript and appendices or numbered locally with decimals (1.1, 1.2 . . . 3.1 . . . A.1) by chapter or numbered section. Tables cannot be numbered by subsection (within subheadings). The number and title of each table is placed above the table (note that this is different from figures, where the caption is below). Table titles may be double- or single-spaced, but the spacing should be consistent throughout the manuscript. One consistent format must be used throughout. All table titles must be in the same font style and size as the text. Table titles are separated from the table by a double space. Regardless of the style guide selected, there are solid, horizontal lines spanning the data presented, below the title, after the column headings, and at the end of the table. Generally, vertical lines are not necessary in a table. Tables should not be enclosed in thick-lined boxes. Spacing between entries in a table is dependent on the best method of presenting the material. When a table continues to a second page, the table number and the word “continued” are placed above repeated column headers before the table continues. While text within the table may be in a different font or font size than the rest of the text in the manuscript, print within a table must be crisp and legible regardless of size. To increase accessibility, color should not be relied upon to convey meaning in a table (see Appendix A for more information). 

Local numbering

If tables and figures are numbered locally with decimals (i.e., within each chapter or main section), the first table or figure within the first main heading is given the number 1.1, the second 1.2, and so on. If local numbering is used for figures, it also is used for tables. If local numbering is used, the main divisions of the manuscript must be numbered with Arabic (1, 2, 3) numerals. Tables or figures in the appendices of a manuscript numbered locally are numbered A.1, A.2, B.1 and so on. Local numbering of tables and figures never exceeds one decimal place (i.e., tables and figures are never numbered according to the number assigned to a subheading). 

Landscape (broadside) placement

Tables and figures may be placed on landscape-oriented pages to better accommodate width. If the title or caption to a full-page landscaped table or figure is on a separate page, however, the title or caption is placed on a portrait-oriented page. 

Page number placement 

Page numbers are placed in the upper right corner on all pages with figures or tables. Page numbers throughout should be placed in the same position. 

Tables and figures may be reduced to fit within the thesis margins, but the title or caption must be the same size print as the rest of the manuscript. Print size in a reduced table or figure must be crisp and legible. 

Oversize tables and figures

Oversize tables and figures can be reproduced electronically, but the print may not be readable. Therefore, two hard copies of any oversize table or figure are required: one to be submitted to the Thesis Office to be forwarded to Special Collections in the Marriott Library and one students submit to their department. 

Part-title pages

A long table title or a long figure caption may be placed on a part-title page preceding the item if the table or figure is so large that the caption or title cannot be accommodated on the page. When a part-title page is used, the caption or title begins at or slightly above mid-page (depending on length) and is single spaced. (The caption or title may be double spaced if there are super- or subscript numbers within.) 

If part-title pages are used for titles or captions, the pages are counted and numbered in sequence with the manuscript. Page numbers appear in the upper right corner in the same position as page numbers in the text. The page number that is listed in the List of Tables or List of Figures is the number of the part-title page. 

Format of display equations is dictated by the style guide the student is following. Short equations are centered within the thesis margins. All equations are set off from preceding and following text by a double space. 

In general, equations that are numbered should be numbered at the right margin of the manuscript with the number either in brackets or parentheses. Equations may be numbered consecutively or locally with decimals. If they are locally numbered, the main divisions of the manuscript must be numbered with Arabic numerals. Local numbering of equations never exceeds one decimal place (i.e., equations are never numbered according to the number assigned to a subheading). Equation numbers must be aligned with each other throughout the manuscript. 

Whether a student uses a footnote or a reference citation system depends upon the discipline. The format of footnotes or reference citations should adhere to the format specified in the department-approved style manual the student has selected. Footnotes must adhere to the same margins as the rest of the text. Font should be a minimum of 2 millimeters. 

If a number reference citation system is employed, numbers in the text may be superscript, in brackets, or in parentheses on the line of text depending on the style guide used. Superscript numbers always are placed outside all punctuation marks; if more than one reference is cited at a time, the numbers are separated by commas (e.g., many 6,7,10−12 agree with the findings of Einstein. 4). Numbers in brackets or parentheses on the line of text are placed inside or outside punctuation depending on the style guide followed. A comprehensive reference list in numerical order is placed at the end of the manuscript or, in cases where the manuscript is comprised of journal articles as chapters, at the end of each chapter. 

Note that the Latin term “et al.” stands for “et alii” (and others). “Et” is not an abbreviation; it is never followed by a period. “Al.,” however, is an abbreviation and is followed by a period. The style guide dictates whether “et al.” is italicized. 

Spacing of footnotes and endnotes

Whether footnotes appear at the foot of the pages on which they occur or as notes at the end of each chapter or main section (endnotes), they must be single-spaced within each entry with a double space between entries. If print quality is clear, the footnote entries may be single spaced rather than separated by a double space. The choice of spacing must be consistent from chapter to chapter. Notes at the end of each chapter begin with a new page of text. The word “Notes” or “Endnotes” should appear as a first- level subheading on the page listing them. Entries are single spaced and there is a double space between entries. Notes are not placed at the end of the manuscript; they are more accessible at the end of each chapter or at the foot of the page. In case of error, many notes would have to be renumbered if all were placed at the end of the manuscript. Notes (endnotes) must be listed in the table of contents as a first-level subheading. 

Placement of footnotes

Footnotes placed at the bottom of the page appear in numerical order. If multiple references occur on the same page of text, all the notes referred to must begin on the same page as the reference. In the case of lengthy footnotes, what will not fit above the bottom 1-inch margin should be carried over to the area reserved for footnotes on the following page. 

Footnotes are separated from the text by a solid 20-space line. This line does not extend into the left margin. The first line of the note begins a double space below the solid line and is indented using the same size indent as used in the text. The numeral is raised above the line and the note is not followed by a period or a space before the note begins (see example at foot of page). 1 Multiple footnote entries have no space between lines, with a double or single between entries (see example at the foot of the page). 2

If used, an appendix follows the text but precedes the references or bibliography. The pages of the appendix are numbered consecutively with the rest of the text. There is considerable flexibility in the kind of material that may be placed in appendices: computer programs, tables of raw data, questionnaires, letters, original historical source material, etc. Each appendix should be sequenced with upper-case letters of the alphabet (APPENDIX A, APPENDIX B). If there is only one appendix, no letter is used; one appendix may or may not have an explanatory title. If there is more than one appendix, each has an explanatory title. The appendix title(s) must be listed in the table of contents in all upper-case letters. Subheadings in an appendix, however, are not listed in the table of contents. Subheads in an appendix follow the same subhead scheme selected for the main text. 

1 Footnote sample. Note the font style is the same as the rest of the text. The size of the font may be the same size as the text or smaller, so long as it is consistent for all the footnotes. 

2 Footnote sample. Style guide used determines whether the footnote is inside or outside punctuation such as periods, commas, etc. 

The enumeration of any illustrative material (tables, figures, etc.) in the appendix is continuous with the text (e.g., if Table 20 is the last table in the text, the first table in the appendix is Table 21). Or if illustrative materials are locally numbered by chapter or section, the tables, figures, and so forth in the appendix are also locally numbered (e.g., Table A.1 for Appendix A, Table B.1 for Appendix B, etc.). The format and type font used in the appendix must be consistent with the rest of the manuscript. Exceptions are computer programs, reproduced documents, or similar items. Consult with the manuscript editor if there are questions concerning appendix materials. 

Material in the appendix must adhere to the same margin specifications and print size specifications (characters may be no smaller than 2 millimeters) as the rest of the manuscript. 

A separate page for the title of each appendix (i.e., part-title page) is often used when diverse, previously printed materials (e.g., computer printouts, letters used in questionnaire surveys, questionnaires, etc.) are included. If a part-title page is used with one appendix, part-title pages must be used with all appendices. The first line of the title (e.g., APPENDIX A) is centered within the left and right thesis margins and begins either at mid-page or 2 inches from the top of the page in the same spot as the chapter headings or section titles; the choice of placement must be the same for each appendix. The title of the appendix (e.g., QUESTIONNAIRES) follows below a heading space and is centered within the thesis margins. The part-title page is counted in sequence with the rest of the manuscript, but no number appears on the page. The part-title page is considered the first page of the appendix for the purposes of the table of contents (see appendices herein). 

Sometimes students will have large tables or data sets or large numbers of schemes that they want to include as supplementary information, but which are not necessary for inclusion in the main text and increase the length of the manuscript. These appendices can be uploaded directly to ProQuest after the rest of the manuscript is processed through the Thesis Office. In these instances, a part-title page is added to the manuscript as an appendix that lists the titles and file names of the appendices that will be uploaded as supplementary files to ProQuest. Consult with the manuscript editors if you are in doubt about whether something should be included in the final manuscript or as a supplementary file uploaded directly.

Some departments require submission of a DVD. DVDs may not be submitted electronically because of copyright issues. However, students in departments with this requirement must submit two DVDs: one to the Thesis Office to be forwarded to Special Collections in the Marriott Library and one the students submit to their department. 

The style of the references or selected bibliography must be patterned after the department-approved style guide the student has selected from the list of department- approved journals and manuals of style on the Thesis Office website (see also Chapter 3 herein). Please note that reference management software, such as EndNote, do not necessarily follow the chosen style guide correctly. It is the students’ responsibility to make sure that all references are correct according to their selected style guides. 

The list of references is placed at the end of the manuscript in numerical or alphabetical order depending upon the system used. Scientific papers usually do not list any material in the references that has not been referenced in the text. The reference section is generally entitled “REFERENCES,” or less commonly, “LITERATURE CITED.” The references must be placed at the end of each chapter or section in manuscripts composed of a series of articles previously published or accepted for publication. In this case, the subtitle “references” is treated as a first-level subheading. 

Writers in the humanities often consult background material that is not directly cited but is included in a bibliography. The compilation of direct and indirect reference material is entitled “SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY.” 

The first page of the references or selected bibliography begins 2 inches from the top of the page with the main heading typed in all capital letters. A heading space follows. Entries are single spaced within an entry and double spaced between each entry. The reference section is listed as the last item in the table of contents (unless a vita is used). 

If a separate part-title page is used with the reference section, the first reference begins 1 inch below the top of the page and no major heading is used on the page with the references (see “Parts Composed of Related Chapters”). 

Citation of Web-accessed Information

Web citations must include name of author, title of publication, and date of publication. These items are formatted according to the style guide selected. In addition, the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) must be provided in the following form: 

• protocol or access-mode identifier (i.e., http, https), followed by a colon and two forward slashes (e.g., http://) 
• host name, always typed in lower case (e.g., http://www.ieee.org)
• pathway to the document, including file names, typed exactly as it appears, including upper and lower case and punctuation 
• A sample URL is: http://www.ieee.org/Policy/Submis/Abstract/pabs587.cfm

URLs may be broken only after a slash or double slash or after a period. Never insert a hyphen, and never break a URL at a hyphen. 

A vita may be included but is not required. If used, it follows the references or selected bibliography and is listed in the table of contents as the last main heading of the manuscript. The author should use a standard short curriculum vita format that includes professionally relevant information such as name, colleges and universities attended, degrees and certificates, professional organizations, positions held, and publications. Do not include personal information such as birthdate, home address, or social security number. 

Note that the spelling of the title of this section may be VITA or CURRICULUM VITA. Vitae is incorrect. 

Graduate College Formatting Guide

• Page Numbers (Microsoft Word)
• Page Numbers (Google Docs)
• Page Breaks and Section Breaks
• Headings, Subheadings, and Table of Contents (Microsoft Word)
• Headings, Subheadings, and Table of Contents (Google Docs)
• Inserting Tables and Figures
• Comments and Track Changes
• References, Bibliography, Works Cited
• Landscape Pages & Special Materials

Setting the Normal Style

Set the "normal" style of font.

Before we can set up headings, we'll need to define the format of the text that  isn't  a heading. The "styles" in word set some default formatting for text. Setting up the "Normal" style will create a default font setting to keep the text uniform throughout the document. The Styles pane is located under the HOME tab.

Right click on the "Normal" style to open the Modify option.

This will open a Modify Style Dialog Box. Start by changing the Paragraph formatting. This is located by selecting the Format drop down in the bottom left of the Dialog Box.

There are two things that should be set under the Paragraph settings. Under the INDENTS AND SPACING tab, check to turn on "Don't add space between paragraphs of the same style." Under the LINE AND PAGE BREAKS tab, check to turn on the "Widow/Orphan Control."

Once both of those have been set and you click "okay," you'll be returned to the Modify Style Dialog Box. Now we can set the font formatting. Select the font you wish to use throughout the document, change the font size to 12 point, ensure the line spacing is double spaced, and select the option to remove space between paragraphs (this is indicated by two lines pointing towards each other).

Adding Headings & Subheadings

Inserting headings and subheadings.

Using the same technique we can create a standard for the various types of headings and subheadings used across the thesis. The Thesis & Dissertation Manual generally follows APA style for heading levels. In order to keep headings consistently correct and link the Table of Contents, the Styles function in Word is used. This is going to show you some examples of the formatting required for the headings and how to use the various heading levels. We'll also see how to use styles and update your Table of Contents. 

Modifying Heading Levels to Match Required Formatting

Level 1 headings.

Chapters will be linked to Heading Level 1. If you choose not to have chapters, you will use level 1 for your major headings (typically: Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, etc.). They should be typed in title case, center aligned, and bold. The number of the chapter can be in Arabic or Roman numerals or spelled out so long as it is consistently done throughout the document. The heading should be on one line, so if you are using chapters, it should look something like this:

Chapter 1: Introduction

Once you have formatted a chapter heading, select the text of the chapter heading then right click on Heading 1 in the Styles pane and select "Update Heading 1 to Match Selection." 

Adding More Level 1 Headings

Once you have formatted the first heading and updated the style, you simply need to type the new level 1 heading in title case and then, with your cursor in line with the heading, click on the heading 1 button in the styles pane to format it and link it for your table of contents. Make sure to use this feature every time to ensure all headings are properly linked to your table of contents.

Level 2 Headings

Subsections of your major headings should be the next level down. Level 2 headings will be left aligned, bold, and title case. They should look like this:

Level 2 Heading

Once you have formatted a level 2 heading, select the text of the heading then right click on Heading 2 in the Styles pane and select "Update Heading 2 to Match Selection." 

Adding More Level 2 Headings

Once you have formatted the first heading and updated the style, you simply need to type the new level 2 heading in title case and then, with your cursor in line with the heading, click on the heading 2 button in the styles pane to format it and link it for your table of contents. Make sure to use this feature every time to ensure all headings are properly linked to your table of contents.

Level 3 Headings

If you wish to further subsection your paper, you will use level 3 headings. Level 3 headings will be bold italic, left aligned, and title case. They should look like this:

Level Three Heading

Once you have formatted a level 3 heading, select the text of the heading then right click on Heading 3 in the Styles pane and select "Update Heading 3 to Match Selection." 

Adding More Level 3 Headings

Once you have formatted the first heading and updated the style, you simply need to type the new level 3 heading in title case and then, with your cursor in line with the heading, click on the heading 3 button in the styles pane to format it and link it for your table of contents. Make sure to use this feature every time to ensure all headings are properly linked to your table of contents.

Level 4 & 5 Headings (and beyond)

It is common to find the first 3 heading levels in papers that are as long as a thesis or dissertation. Occasionally, you may find the need to go beyond those levels. It is important to note that for the thesis and dissertation, only the first 3 headings should be included in the table of contents. It is also recommended that you only use the styles function for the first 3 headings because they stand alone on their own line of text. The next heading levels will begin on the same line as the paragraph that starts that section which means that the style function will not work properly. If you were to link the heading, the entire paragraph will appear in your table of contents.

This means that you will need to, carefully, ensure you are formatting the headings manually. Each level should be consistently formatted the same way. APA has standards for levels 4 & 5 which are described here. For heading levels beyond level 5, you should pick a consistent formatting that clearly indicates they are a subsection of the level 5 heading. It is also recommended that you carefully evaluate if this level of heading is truly necessary for your writing.

Level 4 Heading

Level 4 headings will begin on the same line of the paragraph that makes up the section. It will be indented 0.5", much like a normal paragraph indent. The heading will be in title case and bold font with a period at the end of the heading:

            Level Four Heading Here.  Start the first sentence of the paragraph that follows the heading on the same line and continue typing. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc at pellentesque massa. Sed nec urna nec est efficitur iaculis. Etiam efficitur velit id dignissim eleifend. Duis euismod, nisi sed cursus sodales, sem nisi porttitor ante, eu dignissim justo tortor nec mauris.

Level 5 Heading

Level 5 headings will begin on the same line of the paragraph that makes up the section. It will be indented 0.5", much like a normal paragraph indent. The heading will be in title case and bold italic font with a period at the end of the heading:

            Level Five Heading Here.   Start the first sentence of the paragraph that follows the heading on the same line and continue typing. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc at pellentesque massa. Sed nec urna nec est efficitur iaculis. Etiam efficitur velit id dignissim eleifend. Duis euismod, nisi sed cursus sodales, sem nisi porttitor ante, eu dignissim justo tortor nec mauris.

Table of Contents

Once you have added headings and used the styles feature, you will be able to use the word function to "generate" a table of contents. You will need to type "Table of Contents" in bold font, centered at the top of the page you will be inserting your table of contents onto. Then, place your cursor on the next line

From the References tab, click on Table of Contents and select Custom Table of Contents...

From the pop up window, you will want to change the tab leaders to (none) rather than the default. The rest of the default settings will be fine, so click ok once you've done so.

This will populate your table of contents.

From here, you will need to open the style pane to modify some of the formatting of the table of contents.

You will need to locate TOC 1 and click on it, and select "modify" from the drop down list.

TOC 1 style should be bold. If you've properly set up your "normal style" of font (see above), this should be the only modification to your TOC styles that you need to make. If the text is not properly set up and you need to further format it, you can do so from this window.

If set up correctly, your table of contents should look like the image below.

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Incorporating Headings in Academic Essays and Papers

A consistent structure is a big thing when writing an academic essay or paper. The framework for writing an academic paper encompasses using headings and subheadings to divide the content into manageable chunks or sections.

When writing longer essays and research papers (10 pages and above), breaking the test into different but related sections might be helpful to avoid unnecessary strained transition sentences. 

The headings are the first thing the readers look at when reading the essay. They are akin to the headlines in a magazine or webpage. Subheadings are the additional subtopics or headings immediately after the main title or header. Headings are meant to grab the readers' attention, but the subheadings make them draw the readers deeper into the topic.

A subheading is a mini-headline given to a section or paragraph within the main text. They are often smaller than the main heading but larger than the paragraph text.

While headings can be used in most academic papers of different lengths (even those less than ten pages), subheadings are reserved for shorter sections within a larger section. If you have a paper with just three main points and the first point has three subpoints, you can use subheadings to organize the subpoints under the main point.

When used in an essay, research paper, or other longer papers, the headings and subheadings should be formatted such that they are distinguishable from the contents of your text.

Let's dig deeper and see how to make headings and subheadings in an essay.

Why Use Headings and Subheadings in Essays and Research Papers

Headings and subheadings capture the readers' attention, making it easier to sell your ideas to those who skim through written pieces first to determine whether it is worth their time.

Using headings and subheadings helps organize your thoughts. They enable readers to focus on the critical aspects of the essay or research paper. In an essay or research paper, each subheading is considered a mini-essay with thoughts limited to a specific element or perspective of the topic.

Using headings and subheadings informs your readers about where they are in the paper. Also, these subheadings act as signposts or directions that orient the readers to your thoughts in the paper.

The subheadings ensure that your thoughts are structured and that you remain focused on the topic within a limited area. For instance, if you are writing a mental health essay or research paper, you can have a subheading dealing with risk factors and another dealing with the impacts of stigma on mental health.

Subheadings also make the research process easier because you can organize your research around them. This way, you can approach your research systematically and limit its scope. You can then scrutinize and organize the scholarly resources rather than focus on the entire research pile.

Having subheadings in essays or research papers makes writing the paper easier. You can plan, draft, and polish each essay section independently. Doing so helps you to write the paper with ease. Consequently, you can fight off writer's block by putting points of argument under each subheading and organizing it later when you are psyched up to write.

Features of a Good Subheading for an Essay or Research Paper

In research writing, it is imperative to have a refined heading and subheading. We discussed how to do this when we wrote about titling an essay and other academic papers. However, certain features make a subheading or a heading stand out. A good subheading can be many things, but let's sample some of the outstanding features it must have. Here are some aspects that make an excellent subheading and heading:

• A good subheading is brief, concise, and focused. Shorter headings and subheadings give meaning and enhance the readability of a research paper or essay.
• It must have a line space between it and the content.
• It contains the keywords that relate to the thesis and topic, telling the reader precisely the main idea of the section's content.
• Its wording matches the rest of the subheadings and headings
• Can create a flow that summarizes the work independently at a glance
• Is ten words or less and refined to have meaning on its own
• It stands out from the rest of the text in terms of styling and formatting
• It engages the readers such that it gives clues about what to expect
• Uses signposting words to realign the interests of the readers
• Are they relevant to the text
• It uses parallel structures for consistency

How to Make Subheadings in An Essay or Paper

If you are like many students who wonder about how to integrate subheadings into an essay, this section clarifies everything. First, however, there are some crucial tips that you need to consider.

Remember, a subheading expands your heading and comes after the latter. While both hook the audience by grabbing their attention, the subheading enables your readers to delve deeper into the topic. Subheadings are used to divide an otherwise large chunk of paper into sections or chapters.

Subheadings are primarily written in sentence cases and should never be in capital letters. Therefore, you should capitalize the first letter of the subheading of your essay. This is unlike the heading in the title case, meaning that all the major words (nouns, adverbs, pronouns, and adjectives) and words with four or more letters have their first words capitalized. Subheadings subordinate the higher levels. To make a good subheading, here are the tips.

1. Choose the correct length

A good essay subheading should be easy to read. Precisely, it should take a few seconds to read. Our experts recommend keeping the subheading between 4 to 10 words, the standard length of subheadings in academic writing. Ensure as well that it fits a single line. If your subheading runs over, it will be ambiguous and might alter the structure of your essay or paper.

2. Limit the information

You only have a few words to impress your readers. Therefore, only bring in the most crucial information you want to use to bait your readers. Avoid examining every aspect and focus on one aspect of the topic. As long as you have aroused the reader's curiosity to explore your essay, that's it!

3. Maintain Consistency

When you use headings and subheadings in an essay or academic paper, ensure that each maintains the same level. You should not skip subheading levels. And if the first subheading is the only subheading, you are better off eliminating it and maintaining the heading. An excellent strategy to maintain this consistency is planning your essay, which you can do by creating an outline .

4. Number appropriately. It is a must

APA or MLA format does not allow you to label headings and subheadings with numbers or letters. However, there are some instances, such as when writing a dissertation or thesis, where you will most likely be required to use multilevel numbering for the headings and subheadings. Therefore, when you number the headings and subheadings, ensure that it is in a consistent format that you can later use when referring to them elsewhere, for instance, in a table of contents. Microsoft Word automates the process of numbering by choosing the heading styles.

5. Be persuasive

A good subheading should coax the readers to read the text. It should give them an appetite to devour your paper. And it should be persuasive because it does the work of signposting the ideas to expect in a subsection.

6. Ensure Progression

When writing the subheadings, ensure they each add new information to your text to avoid repetitive subheadings. It would be wise to ensure that each subheading addresses a unique aspect of the topic instead of echoing the previous subheadings discussed. As you edit your paper, guarantee that the subheadings progress and add new and relevant information to engage the readers.

7. Stay away from puns, contractions, and idioms

Although tempting, avoid using corny words, jokes, and puns in your subheadings. You should not use contractions as well. Introducing these aspects can make your subheadings and headings ambiguous, deterring the readers from reading the content.

8. Ensure they are relevant and engaging

As you write the subheadings, ensure that they are relevant to the content of your essay. Eliminate any irrelevant subheadings in your essay. Think about the vital information you must include and how you need to format it into a separate section. The strategy helps write subheadings that address your essay's real issues. The subheadings should also give the readers a clue of what to expect to grab their attention further.

9. Include Keywords and Phrases

When writing the subheadings, you should include relevant keywords and phrases that attract the readers' attention. In addition, the keywords and phrases should be related to your topic and thesis statement.

10. Format them well

If you are writing an academic paper (research paper or essay), ensure that your subheadings and headings are formatted per the citation and formatting styles. Later in this article, we look at how to format subheadings and headings in MLA and APA, which are the most common styles. You can also acquaint yourself with other academic writing styles such as Chicago, Vancouver, Oxford, Bluebook, or Harvard.

If you intend to write an A essay, consider reading our guide on writing first-class essays to integrate other factors that professors look for when assigning higher grades for essays.

Related Read:

• How to write an introduction .
• Using headings and subheadings in the dissertation literature review.

Headings and Subheadings in APA

In APA formatting and citation style, headings are used in essays and research papers to separate and classify paper sections. The headings are meant to guide the readers through the document. Headings and subheadings are organized in subordination levels, with each section of the paper starting with the highest heading level.

You can organize headings into five different levels in APA. However, it would help if you used the headings in order beginning from level 1, regardless of the number of heading levels.

Below is how to organize the levels:

• Heading 1 is bold, centered, and written in the title case. This can include the main elements of the paper, such as Literature Review , methods, conclusion, discussion, recommendations, etc.
• Heading 2 is flush left, in boldface, and written in title case. These are the headings directly under heading 1. So, for example, under methods (level 1), you can have subsections such as sampling strategy, data analysis, or data processing as level 2.
• Heading 3 is flush left, in boldface italics, and title case.
• Heading 4 is indented, in boldface, and written in title case.
• Heading 5 is indented, in boldface italics, and title case.

You can use at least two subheadings in APA or non at all. If there is just one subheading, the top-level heading is enough, so do away with it.

When writing a paper in APA , the first paragraph is automatically understood as the introduction. Therefore, there is no need to start with the heading "introduction." The paper's title, which is centered and bolded, becomes the de facto level 1 heading. If your introduction has subsections, you can use headings within the introduction beginning with level 2 headings for the first level subsection, level 3 for the subsections of level 2 headings, and so on. After writing the introduction, use the level 1 heading for the following main section of the paper. Headings should be descriptive and concise. They should be well-formatted and clearly worded for visual and content appeal.

Formatting Headings and Subheadings in APA

When writing headings and subheadings in APA, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• The headings in APA are never labeled with numbers or letters
• You should not use more than one subsection within a section
• Ensure that the APA headings and subheadings are descriptive and concise
• Use as many headings and subheadings as you may require
• Headings 3-5 should all be indented and terminated with a period.
• Headings levels 1 and 2 should be formatted in sentence cases.
• Ensure that the first word in the heading level 3-5 is capitalized.
• Begin a paragraph below levels 1 and 2. However, levels 2-5 begin in line with the headings.
• There should be double line spacing for the APA heading.

MLA headings and subheadings enhance a paper's coherence, soundness, and quality. Using the hierarchy of 5 heading levels in APA should be easier now that we have explained everything.

Headings and Subheadings in MLA

MLA headings are sometimes confused with the header. While the MLA heading is found on the first page and serves the purpose of identifying information, the header is the identifier located on top of every document page.

Using section headings in MLA help improve the readability of the document. Students are mainly not required to use headings when writing essays and papers.

Formatting Headings and Subheadings in MLA

• The font should be readable, most preferably Times New Roman or Arial
• Use double-line spacing
• Every new paragraph after the headings or subheadings should have a half an inch indent.
• All the headings and subheadings must be written in the title case
• You should not include a period after the MLA headings and subheadings
• The title is the main heading. It should be center-aligned and written in sentence case. It should never be italicized, bold, underlined, or put into quotation marks unless when referring to works within it.
• All headings that succeed the title of the document are subheadings.
• The subheadings have five different levels, just like in APA formatting.
• The subheadings are styled as per their order of prominence.

Unlike APA, MLA allows the use of font styling to differentiate the levels of the subheadings. However, the styling of the subheadings should be consistent so that the readers can follow the structure of the essay or paper.

Every subheading should appear in the same size, format, and style for easier identification as one reads your text. The subheadings in MLA papers or essays should flush to the left margin to avoid confusing them with block quotes. Avoid online one level for the internal levels. For instance, if you have a level between 1 and 5, you should ensure that there is more than one instance. If you have one level 2 subheading, ensure that you also have a second level 2 subheading. Above all, every heading and subheading must have content or text beneath them. The content should support the thesis statement of your paper.

Related reading:

• Writing case study answers for business and nursing classes . 
• Analytical essay writing steps and tips. 

Levels of subheadings in MLA formatting

• Level 1 is bold, flush, or aligned with the left margin
• Level 2 is italicized, flush, or aligned with the left margin
• Level 3 is bold and center-aligned
• Level 4 is italicized and center-aligned
• Level 5 is underlined, flush, or aligned with the left margin

Ensure you use the correct subheading level to help you navigate through your essay or paper. It also helps to know what to be added to the automatic table of contents. Use the subheadings as illustrated below:

• Subheading 1 for the first subsection after the chapter title
• Subheading 2 for the subsections that are directly under Subheading 1
• Subheading 3 for the subsections that are directly under Subheading 2
• Subheading 4 for the subsections that are directly under Subheading 3
• Subheading 5 for the subsections that are directly under Subheading 4

Take some time and watch this video by Dr. Andy Jonson illustrates how to use headings and subheadings in academic writing.

Below are some sample questions, expert answers, and recommendations for essay subheadings and headings.

Should essays have subheadings?

Although shorter essays are written in continuous, flowing, and paragraphed texts and do not need subheadings, longer essays are carefully structured using headings and subheadings.

An essay or research paper can have headings and subheadings (subtopics) if it is long enough to accommodate different sections. Nevertheless, when writing the headings and subheadings, they should be relevant and consistent with the topic and contribute to the overarching goal of the essay or research paper (the thesis statement). A good length for a heading or subheading should be ten words or less. While standard essays do not use subheadings, they assuredly improve the structure of extended essays.

Subheadings subordinate the headings (the title of the essay). They should be persuasive, descriptive, and conversational. They should elaborate on what is in the headline and capture the importance of the topic. Maintain consistency when writing them.

Can introductions have subheadings?

For short papers, no. However, you can include sub-sections for longer papers with appropriate headings and subheadings. For instance, when writing a proposal, dissertation, or thesis, you can have sections and subsections for the problem statement, background information, research questions, hypothesis, aims/objectives, and paper overview.

Can a conclusion have a subheading?

You should not include subheadings in the concluding paragraphs of an essay unless for more extended research papers.

Can subheadings in essays be questions?

No, section headings and subheadings must not be phrased as questions in MLA, APA, or Harvard formatting styles.

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