APA Style for Capella Psychology Papers

Your Capella professors insist on APA style for three critical reasons:

APA 7th Edition makes the student title page simple. Student papers generally do not require a running head unless your Capella instructor requests one.

Key Components

All text on the title page should be centered and double-spaced. The elements are:

1. Paper Title: Bold, title case, and in the upper half of the page.
2. Author Name(s): Your full name.
3. Affiliation: “Capella University.”
4. Course Number and Name: e.g., “PSY-7001: Foundations of Theory.”
5. Instructor Name: e.g., “Dr. Jane Smith.”
6. Assignment Due Date: e.g., “October 22, 2025.”

You must cite a source every time you paraphrase, summarize, or quote. There are two main ways to do this.

Narrative vs. Parenthetical

• Narrative: The author is part of your sentence. Example: “Smith (2024) argued that…”
• Parenthetical: The citation is at the end. Example: “The study found a correlation (Smith, 2024).”

Citing Multiple Authors (“et al.” Rule)

APA 7 simplified this. For any source with three or more authors, use “et al.” from the first citation.

• Example: (Smith et al., 2024)
• Narrative: Smith et al. (2024) found…

Paraphrasing vs. Direct Quoting

In graduate writing, paraphrase (restate in your own words) more than you quote. Paraphrasing shows you understand. You must include the author and year.

Use direct quotes only when the exact wording is essential. You must include a page number (or paragraph number). Example: (Smith, 2024, p. 15).

The reference list is where most errors happen. Every source in your text must be on this list, and every source on the list must be in your text.

Basic Formatting

• The title “References” is centered and bold at the top of a new page.
• The entire list is double-spaced.
• Use a 0.5-inch hanging indent for each entry.
• Alphabetize entries by the first author’s last name.

Common Reference Formats

Journal Article (with DOI):
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article in sentence case. *Title of Periodical in Title Case, volume*(issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxx

Example:
Van Bavel, J. J., et al. (2024). Misinformation on social media: A practical guide for scientists. *Nature Reviews Psychology, 3*(10), 690-703. https://www.nature.com/articles/s44159-024-00465-4

Book:
Author, A. A. (Year). *Title of work in italics and sentence case*. Publisher.

Webpage on a Website:
Organization. (Year, Month Day). *Title of webpage in italics and sentence case*. URL

Example:
American Psychological Association. (2024). *APA style blog*. https://apastyle.apa.org/blog

APA headings provide a clear hierarchy for your ideas, guiding your reader. A Capella paper will almost always use at least two or three levels.

• Level 1: Centered, Bold, Title Case
• Level 2: Flush Left, Bold, Title Case
• Level 3: Flush Left, Bold Italic, Title Case
•     Indented, Bold, Title Case, Ending with a Period. Text starts after.
•     Indented, Bold Italic, Title Case, Ending with a Period. Text starts after.

For most psychology papers, you’ll use Level 1 for “Method,” “Results,” and “Discussion,” and Level 2 for sub-sections like “Participants,” “Measures,” and “Procedure.”

APA 7 emphasizes writing with inclusivity and respect. As a psychology student, this is an ethical imperative.

Use Specificity

Be specific. Instead of “underprivileged youth,” write “youth from families with incomes below the federal poverty level.” Avoid homogenizing terms.

Person-First vs. Identity-First

Person-First Language (e.g., “a person with schizophrenia”) was the standard. However, many groups now prefer Identity-First Language (e.g., “an autistic person”). Respect the preferences of the group you are writing about. When in doubt, check the APA’s general principles for bias-free language. This is a critical component of our ethics paper writing service.

• Incorrect reference formatting: Mismatched capitalization, missing DOIs, or incorrect italics.
• Misusing “et al.”: Use the APA 7 rule (use “et al.” for 3+ authors from the first citation).
• Citing secondary sources: Always try to find the original (primary) source. Only cite a secondary source (e.g., “Smith’s study, as cited in Jones, 2024…”) sparingly.
• Missing page numbers: Forgetting a page number for a direct quote is a form of plagiarism.