APA & MLA Styles

This guide contains tips for how to maximize your Academic Writer experience plus additional resources to assist with APA style.

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  • Using Academic Writer
  • Inclusive Language
  • Punctuation Guidelines
  • Writing Guidelines
  • Discussing Statistics In-text
  • Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS) This link opens in a new window
  • Dissertation to Journal Article This link opens in a new window
  • Abbreviations
  • Headings
  • Quotes
  • Title Page
  • Tables
  • Creating APA Style Tables and Figures
  • Formatting Appendices (APA)
  • References (Creating and Editing)
  • Additional Reference Examples

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  Tables and Figures

  

  Learn about the components of a figure, including how to create an effective image, use a legend, and write a caption.

  © 2021 American Psychological Association.

  

  Learn about the components of a table, including how to number and title a table, use table headings, construct the table itself, write table notes, and use other marks or spacing.

  © 2021 American Psychological Association.

  Table and Figure Basics

  • Use tables to simplify text and to show a large amount of information in a concise way. If a table has less than two rows, use text instead.
  • Refer to every table in the text by Arabic numbers (e.g., As shown in Table 1) or with a citation (see Table 1). Summarize the main points of the table as an introduction.
  • Number tables in the order they are mentioned.
  • Be consistent in the formatting and vocabulary of all tables within a document.
    • If you abbreviate a word in one table, you must do it in all tables.

    Table 1

    Definitions of Variables and Sample Items

    • You can use standard abbreviations and symbols such as percents (%) and numbers (no.) in headings without explanation.
    • Ensure each column has a heading.
    • Use sentence case for table headings, which means to lowercase all words except for the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns.
      • See a quick guide on tables below for the different heading types.
      • Use 12-point if possible and only use 10-point if this font ensures the table fits on one page instead of two.
      • Notes are needed if a table is from another source (e.g., Note. Adapted from. ).
        • Notes are single-spaced.
        • Any type of illustration (chart, graph, photograph, drawing) should be cited as a figure instead of a table.
        • Figures should complement the information in the text or to simplify the text.
        • Number figures in the order they are mentioned.
        • Figures should be large enough to read easily and convey only essential information.
          • Guidelines indicate between 8-14 point font with a sans-serif typeface
            • 12-pt Courier is often used for figure font
            • If you abbreviate a word in one figure, you must do it in all figures.
              • Also, keep vocabulary and abbreviations consistent between figures and tables.

              Figure 1

              • When included, Figure notes should begin with the word “Note” in italics, followed by a period and space. The note is placed below the figure.

              Note: For both tables and figures, put them as close to where they are first mentioned as possible without interrupting the text. Usually, a table or figure will appear after the paragraph in which they are first mentioned.