In typical APA Style formatting for student or professional papers, the first line of every paragraph, including the first paragraph of the paper’s body text, should be indented by 0.5 in or 1.27 cm (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020, p. 45). There are some exceptions to this pattern, including information on title pages, block quotations spanning more than one paragraph, and reference list entries; if your paper includes an abstract, then the first line of the abstract should be flush to the left margin rather than indented (APA, 2020, p. 46). If your instructor requests specific formatting that differs from APA Style’s guidelines, please follow your instructor’s directions.
For examples of APA Style formatting for paragraphs, please see the Sample Annotated Student Paper and Sample Annotated Professional Paper from APA Style’s website, as well as their Student Paper Setup Guide.
Reference
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
