Title Page For Apa 6Th Edition | Avoid Format Dings

If you’re being asked for APA 6th edition style, your title page has to do two jobs: look clean at a glance and match the rule set your grader is using. A lot of “APA help” online defaults to APA 7, so small details get missed, then you lose points for things that feel petty. This guide keeps it simple and exact, so your first page won’t trip you up.

You’ll see the phrase “title page for apa 6th edition” in rubrics for psychology, nursing, education, and a bunch of grad programs that haven’t switched templates yet. The core pieces are stable: a header with a running head, page number 1, and a centered block with your title and author details.

Title Page Requirements At A Glance

Element	Where It Goes	APA 6 Rule
Page number	Header, top right	Start with 1 on the title page
Running head label	Header, top left (title page only)	Type “Running head:” then your short title in caps
Running head short title	Header, left side	All caps, 50 characters max (not counting the label)
Paper title	Centered, upper half	Title case, concise, no bold or italics
Author name	Centered, line below title	First name, middle initial (if used), last name; no titles
Institutional affiliation	Centered, line below author	School or organization where the work was done
Double spacing	Whole page	Everything is double spaced, including the title block
Margins	All sides	1 inch on top, bottom, left, right
Font	Whole paper	Use a readable font; many classes expect 12-pt Times New Roman

Title Page For Apa 6Th Edition Layout Rules That Teachers Check

APA 6 isn’t hard; it’s just picky about placement. The easiest way to keep it straight is to build the page in two zones: the header area at the very top, and the centered title block in the upper half of the page. Once those are correct, the rest is mostly spacing and clean typing.

Set Up The Page Before You Type Anything

• Use 1-inch margins on every side.
• Turn on double spacing for the entire document.
• Pick one font and stick to it across the paper.
• Use left alignment for body pages; the title block itself will be centered.

This “boring setup” step saves time. If you start typing first and fix spacing later, headers drift and centering gets messy.

Build The APA 6 Running Head Correctly

The running head is the line in your header that identifies your paper. In APA 6, the title page header is special: it includes the words “Running head:” before your short title. Starting on page 2, you drop that label and leave only the short title in all caps plus the page number.

The short title is an abbreviated version of your paper’s title. Keep it within 50 characters, including spaces and punctuation. If your full title is long, trim it to the core idea, then capitalize every letter.

Two solid references that match common instructor expectations are Purdue OWL’s APA 6 general format and the University of Arizona’s APA 6th edition guidelines PDF.

Header Placement Details

• Put the page number flush right in the header.
• On page 1 only, type “Running head:” flush left, then a space, then your short title in caps.
• On page 2 and beyond, keep the short title flush left, in caps, with no label.

If your word processor keeps pushing your short title away from the left margin, check that you’re typing in the header area, not the main page body. Also check that the header uses the same font as the rest of the paper.

Pick A Short Title That Fits The Header

Your short title is not a subtitle and not a sentence. Treat it like a label. Start with the main topic words, cut filler words, then count characters. Include spaces in the count. If you hit 51, trim again. Hyphens and commas count too.

A quick method: write your full title, circle the 2–4 words that carry the meaning, then rebuild a short title from those words. If your paper title is “Effects of Sleep Loss on Reaction Time in New Drivers,” a short title like “SLEEP LOSS AND REACTION TIME” stays clear and fits the limit.

Write The Centered Title Block

The centered block is what most people think of as the “cover page.” In APA 6, it usually includes three lines, all centered and double spaced:

1. Your paper title in title case.
2. Your name.
3. Your institutional affiliation.

Place this block in the upper half of the page. Many instructors describe it as “about one third down,” which is a visual target, not a strict line count. If your title is two lines, keep it natural; don’t cram words to force one line.

Paper Title Rules That Keep You Safe

• Keep the title focused and specific, not cute.
• Avoid abbreviations unless your class uses them routinely.
• Don’t add bold, italics, underlines, or quotation marks.
• If the title runs long, break it into two lines in a clean spot.

Author Name And Affiliation

For the author line, use your name as your instructor knows it. Skip degrees, roles, and honorifics. For affiliation, use your institution’s name. If you’re writing for a workplace, your affiliation can be the organization where the work was completed, if your instructor allows it.

Quick Build In Word

Microsoft Word can do an APA 6 title page cleanly once you set up the header correctly. The tricky part is the “different first page” setting, since the title page header needs the “Running head:” label and later pages do not.

1. Open a blank document and set margins to 1 inch.
2. Set line spacing to double for the whole document.
3. Insert a header, then check “Different First Page.”
4. Insert the page number at the top right.
5. Click to the left side of the header on page 1 and type “Running head: SHORT TITLE IN ALL CAPS.”
6. Go to page 2, open the header, and type only “SHORT TITLE IN ALL CAPS.”
7. Close the header, then return to page 1 and type your centered title block.

When you’re centering the title block, use the center alignment button and keep the cursor in the main document area, not the header. If you center text while you’re still in the header, your running head gets centered too.

Quick Build In Google Docs

Google Docs works fine for APA 6, but you need to be deliberate with headers. Use “Different first page” so you can show the “Running head:” label on page 1 only.

1. File → Page setup: set 1-inch margins.
2. Format → Line & paragraph spacing: choose Double.
3. Insert → Headers & footers → Header, then check “Different first page.”
4. Insert → Page numbers: choose the option that puts a number in the header, top right.
5. Click in the header on page 1, align left, type “Running head: SHORT TITLE IN ALL CAPS.”
6. Click in the header on page 2, align left, type “SHORT TITLE IN ALL CAPS.”
7. Go back to page 1, click in the body, center-align, and type the title block.

If Docs keeps adding extra space above your centered title, check the “Header” margin in Page setup. A smaller header margin can give you more breathing room for the title block.

What Instructors Commonly Add Or Remove

APA 6 title pages can vary by class. Some instructors want extra lines like course name, instructor name, and due date. That’s closer to what APA 7 student templates show, yet many professors mix rules. Your safest move is to follow the rubric first, then keep the APA 6 core intact: running head, page number, and the three centered lines.

If you add course details, keep them centered and double spaced under the affiliation, unless your instructor tells you to left-align them. If your instructor asks for an author note, place it on the title page in the lower half, aligned left, and follow the specific class directions, since that area changes by discipline.

Common Mistakes And Fast Fixes

This is where most point losses happen. The good news: each mistake has a quick repair, and you can spot them in a two-minute scan.

Mistake	What It Causes	Fix
Missing “Running head:” label on page 1	APA 6 mismatch on the title page	Turn on “Different first page,” then add the label only on page 1
Running head not in all caps	Header looks off against the spec	Capitalize every letter in the short title
Short title longer than 50 characters	Header wraps or gets cut	Trim to a tighter short title; keep the full title in the center block
Page number missing on title page	Pagination starts late	Insert page number in header so it auto-fills all pages
Title block not centered	Cover page looks like a draft	Center-align only the title block lines in the body
Single spacing on the title page	Compressed look	Set double spacing for the whole document
Extra titles after your name	Non-APA author line	Remove “Dr.” “Ms.” degrees, and job roles
Affiliation missing or too specific	Reader can’t place the work	Use the institution or organization name as your affiliation

One Clean Title Page Template You Can Copy

Below is a plain-text template you can copy into your document and then replace the placeholders. Keep the header content in the header area, and keep the centered block in the body of page 1.

Header (top left): Running head: SHORT TITLE IN ALL CAPS
Header (top right): 1

[Centered, upper half of page]
Full Paper Title In Title Case
Your Name
Your Institution

After you paste it, adjust only two things: your short title in the header and your full title in the centered block. Everything else is spacing and alignment.

Print-preview it once; headers sometimes shift when exported to PDF, so catch it before upload final.

Final Two Minute Check Before You Submit

• On page 1, the header starts with “Running head:” and the short title is in caps.
• The page number shows 1 at the top right.
• Title, name, and affiliation are centered and double spaced.
• Margins are 1 inch on all sides.
• Your short title is 50 characters or fewer.

If your instructor is strict about APA 6, this scan catches nearly every formatting deduction. It also helps if you’re switching between APA 6 and APA 7 in different classes, since the running head label is the detail that changes most often.

Once your title page for apa 6th edition is set, save the file as a template. Next time, you’ll only swap the title and short title, and you’re done.