Title of Paper
Author Name
Institutional Affiliation

Repeat the Full Paper Title Here
I post this paper template with some American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines (APA, 2009) in order to help you learn APA. Note that I am not trying to write a thesis here, but am trying to provide you with a useful template and some tips to improve your writing! The use of this template is not required, but I strongly recommend using it to submit your papers in this and other courses if your instructors do not provide a template or guidelines but do require APA. You can simply replace my words and headings with your words and headings. This section is the introduction of your paper. Note that it does not have a heading that says “Introduction”; the fact that it is the introduction is implied by its placement within the paper. A strong introduction will provide the background or an overview of your paper’s topic, explain the paper’s purpose, and provide an outline of the paper.
Headings
All of your papers will probably include first level headings. First level headings are like the one above. They should be centered, boldface, and use title case (Upper and Lower Case like the Examples in this Paper).
For a long, in-depth paper, you may want sections within your headings. These are second level headings. They should be flushed left, boldface, and title case like this:
Second Level Heading 1
Second Level Heading 2 Please note that headings follow the 2x2 rule described below. You cannot just have one first level heading and one second level heading. If you only have enough content for one heading, then that level is not needed! If you add a second level heading, make sure you have at least two sub-topics within the first level heading.
Formatting
Here are some important things to note about this template’s format. First, the margins are one inch on all