A Table of Contents in APA Format

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsGeneral GuidelinesSectionsLocationTable of ContentsTips

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

General Guidelines

Sections

Location

Tips

APA styledoes not require a table of contents, but there are cases where you may need to include one. For example, your instructor may specify that your paper must be submitted with a table of contents. A table of contents can be particularly helpful in cases where your paper is lengthy or covers a lot of material, such as a thesis paper or dissertation. Research papers, in particular, may benefit from the addition of a table of contents.

APA style is the official publication style of the American Psychological Association. APA style is used in psychology courses as well as other social science classes including those in social science, behavioral sciences, and education.

The table of contents serves as a basic roadmap of your paper. It should list all of the major headings and subheadings within the body of your paper. For a standard psychology paper, it might include listings for the introduction, method, results, and discussion sections of your paper.

While the APA may not specify guidelines for a table of contents, you should use the basic APA format for formatting your table of contents:

Since APA does not require a table of contents, you should always refer to your instructor’s guidelines when deciding whether or not to include one.

It is also important to note that the 7th edition of thePublication Manual of the American Psychological Associationwas published in 2020, and included updated guidelines on many topics.

For example, while the previous edition of the style manual required a running head on each page of a paper, the 7th edition has eliminated that requirement onstudent papersunless your instructor specifies to include it. Always ask first.

If you are using a standard APA paper format, your table of contents should include the following sections:

The above format may work well for a standard lab report or research paper. However, your table of contents will look much different if you are writing something such as a critique, essay, or case study.

Notice, that the table of contents does not include the abstract or acknowledgments pages. When applicable, it should list the appendices and the lists of tables and figures.

How to Write a Psychology Research Paper

The exact order of your paper depends largely on the type of paper you are writing. In general, your paper should be presented in the following order:

Table of Contents Format

Because there is no standard format for a table of contents in APA style, you should always defer to the provided guidelines for your assignment.

If your instructor does not have a preferred format, consider using the following:

While you might not think that following APA format is important, it is one of those areas where students can lose points for making small errors. It pays to spend a little extra time and attention making sure that your paper is formatted in proper APA style.

For those writing a paper to submit for publication, check with the publisher for any specific formatting requirements that they may have.

Basic Rules for Writing in APA Format

SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association.Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.); 2020.

Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association.Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.); 2020.

American Psychological Association.Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.); 2020.

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Table of Contents Format#

Table of Contents Format