The first page of an APA paper is the title page, which is also known as the cover page. The title page should include the title of the paper, the name of the author, and the institutional affiliation.
The title of the paper should be concise and clearly reflect the main focus of the research. It should be centered on the page and written in title case, meaning that the first letter of each major word is capitalized. The title should be no more than 12 words and should not include abbreviations or unnecessary words.
Below the title, the name of the author should be written in the same font as the title. If the paper has multiple authors, their names should be listed in the order in which they contributed to the research.
Below the author's name, the institutional affiliation should be listed. This is the organization where the research was conducted or where the author is affiliated. The institutional affiliation should also be centered on the page and written in the same font as the title and author's name.
In addition to the title, author's name, and institutional affiliation, the title page may also include a running head and page number. The running head is a shortened version of the title that is used in the header of each page of the paper. It should be no more than 50 characters, including spaces, and should be written in all capital letters. The page number should be placed in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
The title page is an important element of an APA paper as it provides the reader with important information about the research and the researcher. It should be well-organized and visually appealing, and it should adhere to the guidelines set forth in the APA Publication Manual.
