Effective Leaders

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education Standard Format for Written Assignments

All students are expected to use the following format for all written course assignments:

• Title Page • Body of Text • References

(The course syllabus may include additional requirements for assignments.)

For doctoral students completing applied dissertation documents, the Style Guide for

the Applied Dissertation should be used. This guide is available at http://education.nova.edu/applied-research/index.html

• Set 1” margins on all sides. • Use left margin justification. • Set the font for 12 pt with Times New Roman. • Do not use running heads, page headers, or footers. (Exception: page numbering, explained in the next bulleted item) • Use the “Insert” function in MS Word to insert Arabic page numbers at the upper right corner with the same font as the text (no “page”, “p.”, italics, periods, hyphens, underlining, or bold). Click on “Page Layout” and then “Page Setup”, select the “layout” tab and check the box before “different first page”. Click OK, and the first page will not have a page number. Begin page numbering on the first page of the body of the paper, not the title page. • Use white paper. The title page will contain three single-spaced sections, vertically and evenly

spaced and centered. It will contain no page number. • Top section:

Title of the Assignment (Upper and Lower Case Style)

• Middle section:

by Student’s Full Name

Course prefix and number, CRN Title of Course

• Bottom section: Nova Southeastern University

Month day, year

The Body of Text will start with the page number 1. • Indent ½” for each new paragraph, the default on most word processors. • Text is to be double-spaced

• For headings and subheadings, follow current APA style as described in sections 2.13, 3.02-3.03, and 5.13 of the APA manual. • Use a “page break” to start on a new page; use a “section break” if you need to change the orientation of a page within the document. (Click on down arrow next to shortcut bar, select “More Commands” and add the “Insert Page and Section Breaks” to your shortcuts.)

The References list will start on a new page after the main body (use a page break, if necessary); pagination should be continuous throughout the main body and the References section. The title is to be centered at the top of the page on the first available line (as shown below). The ensuing instructions show how each item will look with a hanging indent.

References

For each entry, use a hanging indent and single-spacing. To format for a hanging indent in

MS Word, highlight the text, click on “Paragraph,” and on the “Indents and Spacing”

page, choose “Hanging” under “Special.” Double-space entries.

References are listed in alphabetical order and follow the current APA format. The hanging

indent looks like these two instruction items. Appendix/appendices pages start on a

new page following the References list (see section 2.13 in the APA manual for

additional information about appendices)

Note: Follow APA guidelines for any aspect of style that is not specifically addressed

in this document or in your syllabus.

Updated 7/27/16 DLF