How do I do an APPENDIX in APA style?

Answer

How do I create an APPENDIX in APA style?

 

What is an appendix?

  • A section at the end of a paper that includes information that is too detailed for the text of the paper itself and would "burden the reader" or be "distracting," or "inappropriate" (APA, 2019, p. 41-42).
  • The content in the appendices should be "easily presented in print format" (APA, 2019, p. 41).
    • Examples:
      • lengthy lists (short lists belong in the paper itself)
      • detailed descriptions (essential details should be in the paper itself)
      • instructions to participants; tests, scales, inventories
      • demographic details for subpopulations studied by the paper

 

Where does the Appendix appear in the paper?

  • The appendices section, if there is one, is close to the last section of your APA-style paper:
    • title page
    • abstract
    • text of paper
    • references list
    • tables 
    • figures
    • appendices

 

How to format an appendix:

  • You may have more than one appendix (aka appendices)
  • Each appendix should deal with a separate topic
  • Each appendix must be referred to by name in bold font (Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix C, etc.) in the text of the paper
    • To refer to the Appendix within your text, write, (see Appendix A) at the end of the sentence in parentheses. Example:
      • In addition to the limitations of email, Cummings et al. (2002) reviewed studies that focused on international bank employees and college students (see Appendix B for demographic information).
  • Each appendix must be labeled with a letter (A, B, C, etc.) according to where it appears in the paper.
      • The first appendix referred to in the paper would be named Appendix A
      • The second appendix referred to in the paper would be named Appendix B
      • If you have more than 26 appendices, start the alphabet over with AA, BB, CC, and so on.
      • If there is only one appendix, it is just called Appendix
  • Each appendix must also have a title
  • Begin each appendix on a separate page with page number
  • Place the label and title of each appendix at the top of the page, centered, bold, using normal capitalization. Label first, title second.
  • Paragraphs
    • The first paragraph is flush left and not indented.
    • The second and following paragraphs are indented as "normal" paragraphs are.
    • All paragraphs are double spaced.
  • If your appendices include tables or figures, treat them as they would be treated in the main text.
    • Exception to the tables/figures numbering rule: add the letter of the appendix (A, B, C, etc.) to the figure or table number (e.g., Table B3 would be the third table in Appendix B).
  • If your appendices use information from an outside source, cite it parenthetically within the text of the appendix and include the reference in the main references list for the paper (do not create a separate references list).

 

A sample appendix is below.

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  • Last Updated Jul 06, 2020
  • Views 3043901
  • Answered By Kerry Louvier

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Comments (40)

  1. Not only did this answer my question, it answered several questions I hadn't even considered yet. Excellent resource!
    by Magnus on Nov 23, 2016
  2. Great resource to use, very helpful info. Thank you for the visual example.
    by Anonymous on Dec 15, 2016
  3. Extraordinarily helpful
    by Ashna on Feb 27, 2017
  4. This information was very helpful! The instructions and example provided clarity.
    by Student on Mar 06, 2017
  5. What about page numbering? Is it continuous or does it restart at the beginning of the appendix section or does each appendix have its own page numbering (e.g. A1, A2, B1, B2...)?

    Sara, Librarian Answer: Page numbering is continuous, it does not restart at the appendix section.
    by Brent on Apr 21, 2017
  6. Does APA style require a whole section page for appendices? As in, a page with APPENDIX (or APPENDICES) written in the middle of the page before the actual appendices themselves?

    Sara, Librarian Answer: No. A page like that is unnecessary.
    by Sara on Apr 28, 2017
  7. When I have an assignment limiting to a particular number of pages (lets say 6 pages), do the appendix pages count as one of those six pages?

    Sara, Librarian Answer: Typically the appendix pages do not count as part of the paper. However, we suggest that you check with your instructor to make sure that's their expectation.
    by Katie on May 03, 2017
  8. Hello
    If I add tables or/and figures to my appendix. Do I have to make a new page for every new table/figure or am I allowed to just leave a line and then begin with the new table/figure?

    Sara, Librarian Answer: You can have as many figures and/or tables in one single appendix as makes sense. Each figure/table should still be formatted in APA and include a caption.
    by Kerstin on May 09, 2017
  9. If I have multiple pages to a report that I'd like to include in one appendix (they are all part of the same report), do I continue to title each page Appendix A?

    Sara, Librarian Reply: No. You only need to title the first page of each different appendix.
    by Allison on Jun 06, 2017
  10. Thank you for this exceedingly abundantly helpful resource. Janie Richter
    by Jane Richter on Jun 23, 2017
  11. How are appendices displayed in the ToC?

    Since the title is on a separate line my template is only showing "Appendix" but I'm wondering if it should show "Appendix - Title."

    Sara, Librarian Reply: Hi Brad, different colleges and universities, departments and individual instructors have their own preferences for the format of the title page, table of contents, and other items that are particular to academic papers, so the APA manual doesn’t cover these formats. Since your instructor is responsible for the curriculum and grading rubrics, check with them to find out how they would like your appendix titles to appear in the table of contents.
    by Brad on Jul 29, 2017
  12. I'm required to transcript an interview and add it to my paper. My first question is, do I add this interview as an appendix? If so, how do I do this considering the parameters of the APA style?

    Thank you in advance!

    Sara, Librarian Reply: You can add an interview transcript as an appendix. We highly recommend you talk to your instructor about how they want the transcript formatted and added to your paper.
    If your instructor doesn't have any specific parameters for formatting in the appendix, we recommend sticking to standard APA formatting style: 12pt, Times New Roman font, double spaced, and 1 inch margins.
    by dcrada on Aug 01, 2017
  13. Hi, I was just wondering what you name your appendix if you have more than 26 and have run out of alphabet letters?

    Sara, Librarian Reply: If you run through the alphabet and still have additionally appendices, then we recommend you start over again with Appendix AA, BB, CC, and so on.
    by F on Aug 31, 2017
  14. This is great! Much easier and quicker to read and grasp than the APA style guide.
    by Lily on Sep 03, 2017
  15. How do I provide in text reference to a table which appears in my appendix? I know I have to refer to the table by table number but how do I say which page it is on in the appendices?

    Sara, Librarian Reply: Hi Robin, you would do an in-text reference like you would for any other source: (Appendix B, Figure 1). See the APA Style Blog for more information about citing parts of a work: http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2013/11/how-to-cite-part-of-a-work.html
    by Robin on Oct 30, 2017
  16. How would you reference a figure from an appendix in-text? (see Fig. 4) or (see Appendix B, Fig.4 for more information).

    Sara, Librarian Reply: Hi TJ, we recommend that you include which appendix you are referencing in-text. So the example you would use is (Appendix B, Figure 4). Please see the APA Style Blog if you need any additional clarification http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2013/11/how-to-cite-part-of-a-work.html
    by Me on Oct 31, 2017
  17. Do I need to reference an appendix each time it comes up in the document or just the first time it is referenced?

    Sara, Librarian Reply: Just as you would with an in-text citation, every time you mention an appendix make sure you reference it.
    by Linda G on Nov 05, 2017
  18. If the appendix is a survey or other pre-formatted document, what are the requirements for spacing of the body? Does it still need to be double spaced?

    Sara, Librarian Reply: Different colleges and universities, departments and individual instructors have their own preferences for the formatting of documents added as appendices. We highly recommend that you talk with your instructor/advisor about if they want your document reformatted to be double spaced.
    by Deborah on Dec 21, 2017
  19. Nice work helped me alot
    by Leo Rice on Mar 04, 2018
  20. How would I go about citing information that I used to create a figure within my appendix? Do I need to cite in the appendix where I obtained the information that I used in the graphs/tables?

    Sara, Librarian Reply: Do an in-text citation in your appendix (just like you would in the body of your paper) for the information you are quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing. Then add the full reference/citation information to the main references list for your paper.
    by Nikki on Mar 13, 2018
  21. Hi, can you clarify how I refer to tables in an appendix in APA 6th? Do I need to write (see Table 1 in Appendix A) or is it (see Table A1) or is there another way? thank you.

    Sara, Librarian Reply: Hi Bill, to refer to the Appendix within your text, write (see Appendix A) at the end of the sentence in parentheses. If you are referring to a table, you would then write (see Appendix A, Table 1). I hope that helps clarify things for you!
    by Bill on Mar 14, 2018
  22. I adapted a figure from an image I found in the 2nd page of a paper Appendix.
    In the caption of figure, should I write ,Appendices, instead of the page number which is not available?
    Thank you in advance.

    Sara, Librarian Reply: Yes, in the caption you should write which appendix you got the figure from.
    by Souha on Mar 14, 2018
  23. Excellent and detailed explanation. Very helpful...
    by Murox Tobby on Mar 20, 2018
  24. Thank you this was so helpful
    by angie on Mar 25, 2018
  25. My paper includes a long part with a lot of different events and dates. Therefore, I want to summarize each event and attach it as a table in the Appendix. Do I have to add citations in this table, although I already included all citations in the text and the table does solely contain information from my main text?

    Sara, Librarian Reply: Hi Jake. Yes, if your appendix includes tables or figures, treat them as they would be treated in the main text and add the citations.
    by Jake on Apr 26, 2018
  26. If a text in my paper refers to the Appendix more than once in my text, should I reference the Appendix each time?

    Sara, Librarian Reply: Yes. As with citing, so with referencing your appendices: always cite/reference your source.
    by Adrian on Apr 30, 2018
  27. Hello :) If I have a few pages from a manual I used for my dissertation, and I want to place them in the appendix, how do I do so? Because if I insert them normally, the plagiarism detection software will detect them as copied, I presume.
    Thanks!

    Sara, Librarian Reply: Hi Martina, is there a reason you want to put them in an appendix instead of just citing the section of the source in your dissertation? Do the pages themselves add something to your paper that justifies the duplication? If you still want to add those pages to your appendix, then add them normally. You should also ask your faculty advisor for their opinion or reference your institution's formatting guide.
    by Martina on May 01, 2018
  28. Thank you so much for this! The visual representation was very helpful, particularly because the APA Guide was very hard to interpret in respect to the Appendices.

    I would've put the label and name down incorrectly in my thesis if it wasn't for this!
    by Maddy on Oct 27, 2018
  29. Great work! Your presentation helps me a lot, including the questions and answers portion!
    by Belen,php on Nov 23, 2018
  30. Does the appendix include a page number and a header?

    Sara, Librarian reply: Yes. The appendix should include a page number and a header.
    by Alyssa on Feb 03, 2019
  31. I am trying to cite the appendix of my e-book for my paper. How do I do that?
    by Shashi on Mar 21, 2019
  32. Very helpful. Well detailed and on point. Thank you so much
    by Peter Wanyangi on Apr 02, 2019
  33. Thank you for this reference. The example helped solidify my questions about how to effectively use and appendix. Great!
    by A on May 07, 2019
  34. A very useful and highly relevant information. Thank you all.
    by Dr Sam V Daniel on Sep 23, 2019
  35. Excellent, nicely presented and comprehensive. Loved going through it.
    by Anoop Tiwari on Oct 28, 2019
  36. Excellent explanation, love it, fully helped and thanks a lot.
    by Godwine Okoth on Jan 22, 2020
  37. This was exceedingly helpful,thanks a lot
    by Favour Anne on Mar 18, 2020
  38. This resource is so incredibly helpful - thank you
    by Jennifer on Jun 06, 2021
  39. This is a very useful explanation. It has answered more than one question.Highly relevant information.
    by Carol Nelson on Nov 14, 2022
  40. This is a great reference. thank you!
    by Carlos on Apr 28, 2023

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