Headings

What are headings?

APA (2025): “Headings identify the content within sections of a paper. Make your headings descriptive and concise. Headings that are well formatted and clearly worded aid both visual and nonvisual readers of all abilities.”

  • There are 5 levels. 1 is the highest. 2 is a subheading of 1. 3 is a subheading of 2, and so on...
  • Do not label your introduction with a heading.
  • Do not add any extra space before or after headings.
  • Do not label them with numbers.
LevelFormat
1Centered, Bold, Title Case Heading Text begins as a new paragraph. Do not forget to tab at the beginning of new paragraphs.
2Flush Left, Bold, Title Case Heading Text begins as a new paragraph.
3Flush Left, Bold, Italic, Title Case Heading Text begins as a new paragraph.
4Indented, Bold, Title Case Heading, Ending With a Period. Text begins on the same line and continues as a regular paragraph. It is indented with a tab.
5Indented, Bold, Italic, Title Case Heading, Ending With a Period. Text begins on the same line and continues as a regular paragraph.