5 Common APA Formatting Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)
Avoid the top APA 7th edition formatting mistakes that cost students marks. Learn how to fix margins, headings, reference lists, and more.
Stop Losing Marks on These APA Errors
You have written a great paper. Your arguments are solid, your analysis is sharp, and your conclusion is compelling. Then your professor hands it back with points deducted for formatting errors. It is frustrating, and it happens more often than you think.
After reviewing hundreds of student papers, we have identified the five most common APA 7th edition formatting mistakes. Here is how to spot and fix each one.
Mistake #1: Incorrect Margins and Indentation
The most common error is inconsistent margins. APA requires exactly 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all four sides. Many students forget that the first line of every paragraph must be indented 0.5 inches.
How to fix it: In Word, go to Layout > Margins > Normal (1 inch all around). Use the Tab key (not spaces) to indent the first line of each paragraph.
Mistake #2: Missing or Incorrect Running Head
APA 7th edition requires a running head only for professional manuscripts. Student papers do not need one. The running head should be a shortened version of your title (max 50 characters) in ALL CAPS, aligned left in the header.
How to fix it: Check whether your institution requires a professional or student format. For student papers, only the page number (top-right) is needed.
Mistake #3: Heading Formatting Errors
APA uses a five-level heading hierarchy, and mixing them up is one of the easiest mistakes to make. The most frequent error is using bold for Level 2 headings when they should be left-aligned (not centered).
How to fix it: Level 1 is centered and bold. Level 2 is left-aligned and bold. See our full APA formatting guide for the complete heading table.
Mistake #4: Reference List Formatting
The reference list trips up almost everyone. Common errors include: not alphabetizing entries, missing hanging indents, incorrect italicization of journal titles, and forgetting the DOI or URL.
How to fix it: Alphabetize by the author's last name. Apply a hanging indent using Word's Paragraph settings. See our complete reference list guide for step-by-step examples.
Mistake #5: Page Number Placement
Every page in an APA paper must include a page number in the top-right corner. This includes the title page. Many students forget page numbers entirely, or start numbering from page 2 instead of page 1.
How to fix it: In Word, insert page numbers via Insert > Page Number > Top of Page > Plain Number 3 (right-aligned). Ensure the number starts at 1 on the title page.
Format Your APA Papers Perfectly Every Time
Caught any of these mistakes in your own paper? You are not alone. The good news is that you do not have to fix them manually. Formatly applies all APA 7th edition rules automatically — margins, headings, running heads, reference formatting, and page numbers.
Learn more about APA 7th edition formatting or see how Formatly compares to other formatting tools.
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