APA 7 Dissertation Formatting: A Practical Guide

APA 7 is commonly required for dissertations in education, psychology, social work, nursing, public health, and other social and behavioral sciences. It provides rules for citations, references, headings, academic writing, and document formatting.

However, APA 7 does not determine every formatting requirement in a dissertation. Universities may have their own rules for title pages, preliminary pages, page numbering, chapter organization, and other elements. Before formatting your manuscript, check your graduate school's dissertation manual and confirm which requirements take precedence.

This guide covers the APA 7 rules most relevant to dissertation preparation.

1. Basic APA 7 Formatting Requirements

APA 7 provides general guidance on margins, fonts, spacing, paragraph alignment, and page numbers. Your university may require additional adjustments for dissertations.

Check your dissertation manual before applying these rules. For example, a university may require a wider left margin for binding or a particular arrangement of preliminary pages.

Many dissertations use Roman numerals for preliminary pages and Arabic numerals beginning with the main text. This is a common institutional convention, not a universal APA 7 requirement.

2. APA 7 In-Text Citations

APA uses an author-date citation system. Sources cited in the text must have corresponding entries in the reference list, and reference list entries should correspond to sources cited in the manuscript.

The most common formats are:

• One author: (Collins, 2020)

• Two authors: (Collins & Smith, 2020)

• Three or more authors: (Collins et al., 2020)

• Direct quotation: (Collins, 2020, p. 45)

For a narrative citation, the author's name appears in the sentence: Collins (2020) argued that the findings supported the proposed explanation.

Direct quotations require a page number when one is available. For sources without page numbers, use an appropriate alternative locator, such as a paragraph number, when necessary.

Block quotations

A direct quotation containing 40 words or more is formatted as a block quotation. Indent the quotation 0.5 inch from the left margin, omit quotation marks, and place the citation after the quotation's closing punctuation.

Shorter quotations remain within the paragraph and use quotation marks.

For a dissertation, check quotations throughout the manuscript to ensure that the formatting and citations are consistent.

3. How to Format the APA 7 Reference List

The reference list begins on a new page under the centered, bold heading References. Entries are arranged alphabetically by the first author's surname.

Apply these core rules:

• Double-space entries and use a 0.5-inch hanging indent.

• Use sentence case for book titles and article titles.

• Use title case and italics for journal names.

• Italicize journal volume numbers.

• Include a DOI when available and present it as a URL.

• Do not include the publisher's location in a book reference.

• Check that every in-text citation has a matching reference and that every reference is cited in the text.

Example: Book reference

Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Routledge.

Example: Journal article reference

Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.

Author-list rules

APA 7 uses et al. for in-text citations of works with three or more authors, beginning with the first citation. The reference list follows a different rule: list up to 20 authors. For works with 21 or more authors, list the first 19, insert an ellipsis, and then give the final author's name.

Do not apply the in-text citation rule to the reference list.

4. APA 7 Heading Levels

APA 7 provides five heading levels to show the relationship between sections and subsections. Most dissertations use only the levels needed to organize their content.

Use heading levels consistently. Do not select a heading level based only on the font size or appearance you prefer.

Dissertation chapter structure is not determined by APA headings alone. A university may require specific chapter titles, section sequences, or heading formats. Follow the dissertation manual where it provides additional requirements.

5. Other APA 7 Rules Worth Checking

A few changes and conventions are particularly easy to overlook:

• DOIs: Present available DOIs in URL format, such as https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx.

• Book references: Omit the publisher's city and state.

• Bias-free language: Use accurate, respectful, and appropriate terminology when discussing people and communities. Follow APA guidance on topics such as age, disability, gender, race, and ethnicity.

• Headings and reference titles: APA headings use title case, while book and article titles in reference entries generally use sentence case.

• Footnotes: APA primarily uses author-date citations in the text. Footnotes may be used for supplementary content or copyright attribution where appropriate, but they do not replace ordinary in-text citations.

For detailed examples, consult the official APA Style website.

6. APA Dissertation Formatting Checklist

Before submitting your dissertation, check the following:

• Confirm that your institution requires APA 7 and identify any additional dissertation rules.

• Check margins, font, spacing, paragraph indentation, and page numbering.

• Review heading levels and capitalization throughout the manuscript.

• Check in-text citations, including author names, dates, and quotation locators.

• Confirm that every in-text citation matches a reference list entry.

• Check reference order, capitalization, italics, hanging indents, and DOI formatting.

• Verify the formatting of tables, figures, appendices, and other required sections.

• Apply your university's requirements for the title page, preliminary pages, and chapter structure.

• Remove unresolved comments and tracked changes before submission, where required.

   

Getting Your Dissertation Ready for Submission

Correct APA formatting involves more than fixing individual citations. Errors can recur across chapters, references, headings, tables, and preliminary pages. A final review should therefore assess consistency across the full manuscript while checking the requirements set by your university.

The Two Dissertation Moms provides dissertation editing and formatting services for researchers who need support preparing their manuscripts for review and submission. If you need a second review of your formatting, citations, references, or overall manuscript presentation, visit our dissertation editing and formatting service.

The goal to work towards is a manuscript that follows APA 7 where applicable and meets your institution's specific dissertation requirements.

Have a question? Email us today!

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