How To Do A Apa Title Page | APA 7 Layout In 10 Steps

Blank page. Cursor blinking. You know what you want to write, but the title page has to land right or the rest of the paper feels off. The good news: an APA title page is a small set of parts in a fixed order. Once you place them, you’re done.

This walkthrough is built for student papers in APA 7, with a quick lane for professional papers too. You’ll get a clean checklist, spacing tips that stop “floaty” pages, and the exact fields most instructors ask for.

This page is for the moment you’re asking how to do a apa title page and you want it right on the first try.

What Goes On An APA 7 Title Page

APA 7 uses two title page types. Most class assignments use the student version. A professional title page is used for journal-style manuscripts and some capstone work.

Title Page Element	Student Paper	Professional Paper
Page number in header	Yes, top right	Yes, top right
Running head in header	No, unless your instructor asks	Yes, short title in caps at left
Paper title	Centered, bold, title case	Centered, bold, title case
Author name	Centered, on its own line	Centered, on its own line
Affiliation	School name	Department and institution
Course number and name	Yes, as your syllabus lists it	No
Instructor name	Yes, with preferred title	No
Due date	Yes, in the format your class uses	No
Author note	Usually no	Often yes, below affiliation
Double spacing	Yes, across the whole page	Yes, across the whole page

How To Do A Apa Title Page

Use these steps in order. They match what APA shows in its title page setup and student paper diagrams, so you’re lining up with the standard, not guesswork.

1. Start with a blank page. Your title page is page 1. Don’t add a front-page image or extra header text unless your instructor asked for it.
2. Set the margins to 1 inch. Keep all four margins the same so the centered text looks centered, not nudged.
3. Pick an APA-accepted font and size. Common picks are Times New Roman 12, Calibri 11, Arial 11, or Georgia 11. Use one font for the whole paper.
4. Turn on double spacing. Do it before you type so you don’t end up fixing line-by-line spacing later.
5. Add the page number in the header. Place “1” in the top right. No extra words in the header for a student title page.
6. Type the title in bold, centered, in title case. Aim for a clear title. Keep it on one or two lines. Skip abbreviations unless your instructor wants them.
7. Drop to the next line and add your name. Use your real name as your course roster shows it. No degrees, no titles.
8. Add your school name on the next line. For student papers, the school is the usual affiliation.
9. Add course, instructor, and due date on separate lines. Use the exact course code and course name from your syllabus. Use your instructor’s preferred title. Use the date style your class expects.
10. Do a final spacing pass. Your block should sit in the upper half of the page, with clean spacing and no extra blank lines squeezed in.

Doing An APA Title Page In APA 7 With Student Paper Fields

Those last three student lines—course, instructor, due date—are where most mistakes show up. The fix is plain: copy the wording from your class materials and keep each item on its own centered line.

For the course line, keep the course number and the course name together. If your syllabus shows “ENG 102: Composition II,” keep that structure. If it shows “PSY 101 Intro to Behavior,” keep that structure too, even if the spacing feels odd.

For the instructor line, match the name format your instructor uses in the syllabus or email signature. If they sign as “Dr. Rivera,” keep “Dr.” If they sign as “Professor Rivera,” use that. This is one place where your class rules can override the generic template.

For the due date, choose one date style and stick with it. Many courses use “Month Day, Year.” Some use a numeric date. Use what your instructor grades against, not what your word processor auto-fills.

If you want to see the official layout diagrams, the APA Style title page setup page shows the student and professional title pages side by side.

Spacing That Makes The Page Look Right

Most title pages go wrong in one of two ways: the block floats too low, or the lines bunch up near the top. Both come from manual blank lines and mixed paragraph settings.

Tip: turn on formatting marks. If line gaps look wide, set paragraph spacing After to 0 instead of adding blank lines.

Use paragraph settings, not repeated blank lines

Set the whole page to double spacing. Then use Enter only to move to the next required line. If you’ve been tapping Enter to “push” the title down, undo that and reset.

Keep alignment centered across the block

Center alignment should stay on from the title through the due date line. Switching alignment mid-block makes the page look patched together.

Watch for extra spacing after paragraphs

Some templates add extra space after each line. That turns double spacing into “double plus a little,” and it looks messy. In Word, set “Spacing After” to 0 pt for the title page block.

Setting Up The APA Title Page In Microsoft Word

Word can do an APA title page cleanly, as long as you set the page header first. Once the header is right, the rest is just centered text.

Add the page number

• Go to Insert → Page Number → Top of Page.
• Pick the right-aligned option.
• Check that the number sits in the header, not in the body text.

Set spacing and font before typing the block

• Set the font and size for Normal text.
• Set line spacing to double.
• Set paragraph spacing before and after to 0.

Build the centered title page block

Turn on Center alignment. Type the title, then each required line under it. Keep each line short enough that it doesn’t wrap in awkward spots. If your title wraps, let it wrap naturally and keep it in bold.

Need the full paper setup diagrams in one file? The APA student paper setup guide shows where the title page sits and how the header and spacing work across pages.

Setting Up The APA Title Page In Google Docs

Docs is quick for APA formatting, but it hides a few controls behind menus. Set margins and spacing first, then make the header, then type the block.

Set margins and spacing

• File → Page setup → Margins: set all to 1.
• Format → Line & paragraph spacing → Double.
• Format → Line & paragraph spacing → Remove space after paragraph.

Insert the page number

• Insert → Page numbers → choose the top-right option.
• Click into the header area and confirm the number is on the right.

Type the title page text

Click back into the body. Turn on Center alignment. Type the title in bold, then your name, school, course, instructor, and due date on separate lines.

If your instructor wants your last name beside the page number, add it in the header before the number. Leave a space so it reads cleanly.

Professional Paper Title Pages

If you’re submitting a manuscript-style paper, check whether your program expects a professional title page. This version drops the course lines and swaps in a running head and author note.

Running head basics

The running head is a short form of your title in all caps. It sits in the header at the left, with the page number at the right. Keep it short so it doesn’t crash into the page number.

Author note basics

An author note can include affiliations, disclosures, funding, or contact info. If your instructor didn’t ask for it, you may not need it for class work.

Common APA Title Page Problems And Fixes

Fixing a title page usually takes two minutes once you spot the pattern. This table is built around the issues instructors mark most often.

Issue	What You See	Fix
Title not bold	Title blends into the byline	Select the title line only and apply bold
Wrong alignment	Some lines centered, some left	Select the full block and set Center alignment
Extra spacing after lines	Gaps look larger than double spacing	Set paragraph spacing after to 0 and keep double spacing
Missing course line	Instructor asks “What section?”	Add course number and course name on one centered line
Header text added by a template	“Running head:” appears on student paper	Delete the extra words and keep page number only
Title wraps oddly	One word hangs on its own line	Rewrite the title so it breaks cleanly across one or two lines
Date format mismatch	Instructor expects month-day-year, you used numeric	Swap the date to the class-required style
Affiliation too long	School line wraps into two lines	Use the school’s standard name without extra campus details

A Clean Template You Can Type From Scratch

If you’re rebuilding from a messy document, start fresh. Set margins, font, and double spacing. Add the page number. Then type this structure, one line per item, all centered:

Title of Your Paper
Your Name
Your School
Course Number: Course Name
Instructor Name
Due Date

That’s the student version. If your instructor wants extra items, add them as new centered lines under the due date, unless they told you to place them elsewhere.

Final Pass Before You Submit

Do this quick sweep and you’ll catch most grading deductions tied to formatting.

• Page number is in the header at the top right.
• Student paper title page has no running head text unless your instructor asked.
• Title is centered, bold, and in title case.
• Every line in the block is double-spaced with no added spacing after.
• Course line matches your syllabus wording.
• Instructor name matches the preferred title and spelling.
• Due date matches the date style used in your class.

If you’re still stuck, reread your assignment sheet first. Many instructors tweak one small detail, like adding a section number or changing the date format. Once you match those local rules, your APA title page is set and you can get back to writing.

And yes, if you needed to see the phrase again: how to do a apa title page comes down to the same few fields, in the same order, with clean spacing.