LESSON 77 - APA STYLE OF REFERENCING || FORMATTING PRELIMINARY PAGES OF THESIS & DISSERTATIONS

APA 7th edition formatting for theses and dissertations hinges on consistency across the entire document—especially margins, spacing, pagination, and heading styles—while still allowing institutions to override APA when rules conflict. Preliminary pages (before Chapter One) use lowercase Roman numerals and follow a specific order, but the main body switches to Arabic numerals. The practical takeaway is straightforward: build the preliminary section with APA’s defaults, then verify every detail against institutional requirements so the final submission won’t be rejected for formatting mismatches.

The lesson sets the baseline layout: one-inch margins (2.54 cm) on all sides, double spacing throughout the document, and a font size between 10 and 14 (with APA 7th edition permitting multiple font styles). Running heads are not included in dissertations. Heading formatting is also tightly controlled: Level 1 headings are capitalized and centered, and the instructor flags that institutions may require sentence case instead—so institutional guidelines take priority when they conflict with APA. Pagination begins with the title page being counted but not designated; preliminary pages then carry lowercase Roman numerals, while the main body (from Chapter One onward) uses Arabic numerals placed either in the upper-right corner aligned to the margin or at the bottom center.

Preliminary pages are described as a set of front matter that may include a declaration, dedication, acknowledgements, and lists of abbreviations/acronyms, followed by the table of contents and other navigational elements. The declaration/dedication/acknowledgement headings should be centered, bolded, and in capital letters. When dedicating or acknowledging individuals, the lesson emphasizes using full names rather than vague references (e.g., avoiding “my son” without a name), and ideally including two names to avoid ambiguity.

The table of contents is treated as a major formatting checkpoint. Its title (“Table of Contents”) must be bolded and centered in capital letters, while the entries themselves are not bolded. Page designations are justified to the right margin and connected to headings using auto-formatted leader dots. The table should list all sections in the document, but it may include only up to Level 2 headings (Level 3–5 can be omitted). Spacing rules differ within the contents: single spacing between Level 1 and Level 2 entries, and indentation for wrapped subheadings. Chapter numbering in the table must match the chapter titles, and the lesson notes that chapter titles may appear using Roman numerals or written-out numbers in the document, but the table must stay consistent.

After the table of contents come lists of tables and figures, each starting on a new page. Tables and figures are numbered consecutively from Table 1 to the last table (and Figure 1 onward) under APA 7th edition, though institutions may require chapter-based numbering—again, follow the institution if there’s a clash. Titles for tables and figures should use title case and match the wording used in the document. The lesson also clarifies that tables/figures in appendices should be included in the list of tables/figures.

Finally, the abstract has its own strict rules: the word “Abstract” is bolded, centered, and capitalized; the abstract is a single double-spaced paragraph with no indentation on the first sentence; it should not be italicized; and it should be limited to 250 words (excluding the title), with numerals used for numbers unless they start a sentence. Content should focus on the problem statement and research objectives/questions, avoiding inclusion of both methodology and results/conclusions. The lesson ends by pointing forward to formatting the main body in the next session.