APA Order of Major Sections

Here is the conventional arrangement of the major sections of an APA-style paper. Note that although each of the following headings is an active link, the material those links take you to will be covered on other pages of this module)

  • Title Page: acts as the first major section of the document
    • Begins the document’s pagination
    • Includes the paper’s full title centered in the upper half of the page
    • Contains the name(s) of the writer(s) and their institutional affiliation
  • Abstract: acts as the second major section of the document
    • Presents a single-paragraph summary of the paper’s contents
    • Contains approximately 150 to 250 words
    • Includes select keywords for easy access by researchers
  • Main Body: acts as the third major section of the document
    • Presents a report of the writer’s (or writers’) research and findings
    • Includes four sections (typically): the Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion
    • Provides the reader with pertinent information about the paper’s topic
  • References page: acts as the fourth major section of the document
    • Presents a compilation of the sources cited in the paper
    • Provides a comprehensive list of works that appear as in-text citations in the paper
    • Details the full source information for each entry