This information contains updates for the new APA 7th Edition (APA-7) formatting style. This is not a complete list of all changes, these are highlights for LU undergraduate students. Please refer to the Academic Success Center Writing Center APA Format Quick Guide for additional guidance. The sections listed are from the APA-7 book for reference and location.
- As listed in the APA-7, Student Version guidelines will be used for undergraduate students. Professional Version guidelines will be used for graduate/doctoral students.
- The third person must be used in most student papers. Students should refrain from using first person (I, me, we, us, our) and second person (you, yours) in academic papers unless the assignment clearly permits it such as a reflection paper (section 4.16)
- No running head or abstract needed in undergraduate papers (section 2.3 and 2.8)
- If the Bible is used in a paper, the writer must now include the Bible in the reference and its citations must include the editor's details and year (section 8.28).
- Hyperlinks should be live but they can either be blue or black text if going to be read online (section 9.35).
- Annotated Bibliography sample (section 9.51)
- For the Font, LU recommends that students use 12-point Times New Romans font for the body of all academic papers.
- Heading levels has five levels. All levels are now bold and in title case (capitalize each major word, usually those with four or more letters). Start with level 1 and work down from that. Under a Level 1, you would either have two+ Level 2 headings or none at all (just one big section in paragraphs before the next Level 1 section) (section 2.27).
Example of headings:
Level 1 Heading (centered, bold)
Level 2 Heading (left-justified, bold)
Level 3 Heading (left-justified, italicized, bold)
Level 4 Heading (indented 1/2 inch, bold, not used very often)
Level 5 Heading (indented 1/2 inch, italicized, bold, not used very often)
All highlights are taken from UG Sample Paper. Please refer to the Writing Center webpage for LU edition to APA 7th Edition. Please review assignments, your professor will advise you to the requirements they prefer for the assignment.
