Headings clarify your logic and organization for the reader by establishing a hierarchy of sections in the paper.
In APA 7, all heading levels use title case. (Note that APA 6 recommended sentence case for Levels 3, 4, and 5.) In title case, the first letters of words with four or more letters are capitalized, while all other letters are left lowercase.
Here is the formatting for APA heading levels:
Title [Centered, Bold, Title Case—also used for References heading]
Introductory paragraph(s) go here. The first line of each paragraph is indented a half inch from the left margin. Do not justify the right margin. Also remember to double-space your lines throughout the document. There is no need to include an Introduction heading above these introductory paragraphs (see APA 7, Section 2.27).
Level 1 [Centered, Bold, Title Case]
First paragraph begins on next line, indented.
Level 2 [Left-Aligned, Bold, Title Case]
First paragraph begins on next line, indented.
Level 3 [Left-Aligned, Bold Italic, Title Case]
First paragraph begins on next line, indented.
Level 4 [Indented .5 inches, Bold, Title Case, Period]. The first sentence of the paragraph in this section begins on the same line.
Level 5 [Indented .5 inches, Bold Italic, Title Case, Period]. The first sentence of the paragraph in this section begins on the same line.
