Losing marks on citations and formatting is the most avoidable way to drop a grade. Here are the ten APA 7th-edition mistakes we see most often — and exactly how to fix each one before you submit.
Key takeaways
- Use APA 7 student format — no running head, just a page number top-right.
- Double-space everything, 1-inch margins, a legible 11–12 pt font.
- Every in-text citation needs a matching reference, and vice versa.
- Reference list: alphabetical, hanging indent, titles in sentence case.
- Direct quotes always carry a page or paragraph number.
- Use ‘et al.’ from the first citation for three or more authors.
First, set up the basics
APA 7 (the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association) has a student-paper format that’s simpler than the professional one. Get these foundations right and half the common errors disappear:
- Font: a legible, consistent font — 12-pt Times New Roman, 11-pt Calibri or Arial, or 11-pt Georgia.
- Spacing: double-spaced throughout, including the reference list, with no extra blank lines between paragraphs.
- Margins: 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all sides.
- Page numbers: top-right of every page.
The 10 mistakes that cost marks
1. Adding a running head you don’t need
Student papers in APA 7 do not require a running head — just the page number. Running heads are for professional manuscripts. Delete it unless your instructor explicitly asks for one.
2. A messy title page
A student title page shows, centered and double-spaced in the upper half: the bold title, your name, your department and institution, the course number and name, the instructor, and the due date. No “Running head:” label.
3. Wrong heading levels
APA has five heading levels with specific formatting. The two you’ll use most: Level 1 is centered, bold, title case; Level 2 is flush left, bold, title case. Don’t just enlarge text — use the defined styles so your structure is clear to the marker.
4. In-text citations in the wrong shape
APA is author–date. Parenthetical: (Smith, 2020). Narrative: Smith (2020) argued… For three or more authors, use the first author plus “et al.” from the very first citation: (Johnson et al., 2021).
5. Forgetting page numbers on direct quotes
Any direct quote needs a specific location: (Smith, 2020, p. 15), or (para. 4) for sources without page numbers. Quotes of 40+ words become a block quote — indented, double-spaced, with no quotation marks.
6. A reference list that isn’t alphabetical or hanging-indented
References go in alphabetical order by the first author’s surname, each with a hanging indent (first line flush left, the rest indented 0.5 in). In Word: select your references → Paragraph → Indentation → Special → Hanging.
7. Title case where you need sentence case
In the reference list, article and book titles use sentence case — capitalize only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns. Journal names, by contrast, use title case and are italicized.
8. Mishandling DOIs and URLs
Format DOIs as live links (https://doi.org/10.xxxx). Don’t write “Retrieved from,” and don’t add a retrieval date unless the source is designed to change over time, such as a wiki.
9. Mixing up reference formats
Three you’ll use constantly:
- Journal article: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxx
- Book: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the book (2nd ed.). Publisher.
- Web page: Author or Organization. (Year, Month Day). Title of the page. Site Name. URL
10. Citing something that isn’t in the reference list (or vice versa)
Every in-text citation must have a matching reference, and every reference must be cited at least once. This mismatch is one of the easiest marks to lose — and one of the easiest to catch in a final read-through.
Your 2-minute pre-submission checklist
- Double-spaced, 1-inch margins, page numbers top-right
- Title page complete, with no running head (student paper)
- Every in-text citation has a matching reference
- Reference list alphabetical, with hanging indents
- Titles in sentence case; journal names italicized in title case
- Direct quotes carry a page or paragraph number
Run through that list and you’ll catch the errors that quietly cost the most marks. If you’d rather have a second pair of eyes, WriteDen’s editors can check your paper against APA 7 and flag anything that’s off — so your grade reflects your work, not a missed indent.
This guide covers APA 7th edition, student-paper format. Always follow your instructor’s or institution’s specific requirements where they differ.
Need a hand? WriteDen’s editors can proofread, format and polish your paper. Place your order or message us on WhatsApp — backed by our money-back and plagiarism-free guarantees.