Headings provide the reader with some insight into the content being discussed under them. Therefore, they should be properly created. The following sections describe different levels of headings, how they are formatted, and the rules to be followed while creating the hierarchy of headings.
Five levels of headings are used in APA style, although it is not compulsory to use all five levels in a paper. Headings of equal weightage are assigned the same level. In general, the first paragraph of a paper is considered to be the introduction; therefore, no separate heading called “Introduction” is used. If there are subheadings in the introduction text, you should style them as Level 2 headings.
Level 1 heading
Each main heading in a paper is designated as Level 1. Any subheading within a Level 1 heading is styled as a Level 2 heading.
Case: Title case
Format: Bold
Alignment: Centered
Example:
Chronic Inflammatory Lesions of the Placenta
Level 2 heading
This is the first subheading of a Level 1 heading. There can be one or more Level 2 headings under a Level 1 heading. However, do not use a Level 3 heading directly under a Level 1 heading.
Case: Title case
Format: Bold
Alignment: Flush left
Example:
Chronic Villitis (Including CVUE and Basal CV)
Level 3 heading
This is the subheading of a Level 2 heading. There can be one or more Level 3 headings under a Level 2 heading.
Case: Title case
Format: Bold italic
Alignment: Flush left
Example:
Intervillous Thrombus with Hematoma
Level 4 heading
This is the subheading of a Level 3 heading. There can be one or more Level 4 headings under a Level 3 heading. The heading ends with a period. Begin the text on the same line following the period.
Case: Title case
Format: Bold
Alignment: Indented
Example:
Consequences of the Disease.
Level 5 heading
This is the subheading of a Level 4 heading. There can be one or more Level 5 headings under a Level 4 heading. The heading ends with a period. Begin the text on the same line following the period.
Case: Title case
Format: Bold italic
Alignment: Indented
Example:
Severe Cases.
Here are all of the heading formats:
Chronic Inflammatory Lesions of the Placenta (Heading 1)
Chronic Villitis (Including CVUE and Basal CV) (Heading 2)
Intervillous Thrombus with Hematoma (Heading 3)
Consequences of the Disease. (Heading 4)
Severe Cases. (Heading 5)
The header section constitutes the title of the paper and the page number. They are set on all pages of the paper. In APA, what is in your header depends on whether you are writing a student paper (paper for a course or assignment) or an professional paper (usually meant for publication).
The title is in all caps and left-aligned. In running heads, the number of characters of the title should not exceed 50 characters. If the title of your paper is very long, you must use a shortened title for the running head.
The page number is aligned to the right margin. The page number of your paper is numbered with Arabic numerals.