Short student response papers do not require headings, but as always follow your instructor's preferences for the assignment.
Your title will be a level one heading, centered and bold. Any subsections within your introduction will be a level 2 heading. Then any main section after that will also be a level 1 heading. This can be a bit confusing, the following example may help:
Title of Your Paper
Begin your paper. You do not need a section labeled introduction, as the first paragraph is assumed to be the introduction.
Level 2 Heading in the Introduction
Use a level 2 heading for any subsections. You may or may not use level 2 headings depending on how you format your paper.
Level 1 Heading for Your First Main Section
For more examples on how to use headings, see the following downloadable document from the APA. Note this example is headings focused and does not include a title page, which you will need. We have also included a table of all available APA heading levels.
Additional examples of all heading levels:
|
Level |
Format |
|---|---|
|
1 |
Centered, Bold, Title Case Heading Text begins as a new paragraph. |
|
2 |
Flush Left, Bold, Title Case Heading Text begins as a new paragraph. |
|
3 |
Flush Left, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading Text begins as a new paragraph. |
|
4 |
Indented, Bold, Title Case Heading, Ending With a Period. Text begins on the same line and continues as a regular paragraph. |
|
5 |
Indented, Bold Italic, Title Case Heading, Ending With a Period. Text begins on the same line and continues as a regular paragraph. |