With your title page ready, it's time to start the body of your paper, where all the real writing happens.
The body is the largest part of your paper. It's where you present your ideas and use research to support them. A later lesson covers exactly how to cite your sources. For now, let's get the body formatted correctly.
The page number
At the top of the page sits the page number, continuing from the title page. So the first body page shows 2 in the top right corner of the header.
If you're using PERRLA, this is automatic: every page gets the right number in the right spot, with no setup.
The paper title, again
Before you start writing, APA asks you to repeat the full title of your paper at the top of the first body page.
Put it on the first line of the page, bold, centered, and in Title Case, exactly as it looks on the title page. In APA, the title also stands in for the introduction's heading. The paragraphs under it are your introduction, so don't add an "Introduction" heading.
The main text
After the title, press Enter once and start typing. Here's what to keep in mind:
- Indent the first line of every paragraph half an inch.
- Use double spacing throughout.
- Leave no extra space before or after paragraphs.
- Keep the text left-aligned, never justified.
If you followed the page setup lesson, all of these are already set.
A first body page
Here is page 2 of the sample Bigfoot paper. The title is repeated at the top, the introduction runs under it with no heading, and the first heading comes only when the next section starts.
Bigfoot: The Truth Revealed
Bigfoot has been reported across western North America for decades, and the evidence offered for it has ranged from footprints and film to tufts of hair. Yet no body or recent fossil of the creature has ever been authenticated, hair offered as proof keeps matching animals we already know (Sykes et al., 2014), and a 1977 test traced one sample to the deer family (Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI], n.d.).
Background
Sykes et al. (2014) tested 30 hairs credited to Bigfoot and similar creatures. Every hair attributed to Bigfoot matched an animal already known to science, most often a black bear.
- Page 2The numbering continues from the title page.
- The title, repeatedBold, centered, Title Case, on the first line of the page.
- The introductionStarts right under the title, with no heading. Double-spaced, first line indented half an inch.
- The first headingYour first real section after the introduction. Lesson 7 covers all five heading levels.
Quick checklist
- Page number at the top right of the header, page 2 onward
- Paper title repeated on line 1, bold and centered
- No "Introduction" heading
- Double spacing throughout
- Half-inch first-line indent
- Left alignment, never justified
- No extra space before or after paragraphs
- Headings used only where they help organize your ideas
How PERRLA handles body pages
PERRLA sets up the body pages for you. The page number continues, the title repeats in the right style, and the paragraph settings stay consistent as the paper grows.
PERRLA also has every APA text and heading style, block quotes included. In PERRLA Online, choose Text & Heading Style on the ribbon and pick the style you need. The block quotes lesson shows how that works for a long quote.