Using the Five Levels of Heading in APA Style

Organization is a key element in article/review organization.  This organization is achieved through the headings the writer uses to provide a framework for the reader.

The American Psychological Association has a set of 5 levels that they include in their framework: (The following graphic was shared in the APA Style Blog.)

http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/

Here are some points that you should realize about these headings:

• All of the levels are bolded except level 5
• Level 1 is the only level centered.
• Level 2 is the only level left justified.
• Levels 3 - 5 all end with periods.
• Levels 1 & 2 are the only levels that use Title Capitalization.  Levels 3 - 5 use Sentence Capitalization.
• Levels 4 & 5 are indented.

Here is the beginning of a sample document using these headings. Click here to get to the rest of the document.

http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/

Should You Be So Bold?

The APA format for bolding level 1 headings is Quite Confusing.  Here is a table that lists which headings need to be bolded and which don't.