numbering of research paper

Want to Get your Dissertation Accepted?

Discover how we've helped doctoral students complete their dissertations and advance their academic careers!

Join 200+ Graduated Students

Get Your Dissertation Accepted On Your Next Submission

Get customized coaching for:.

Crafting your proposal,
Collecting and analyzing your data, or
Preparing your defense.

Trapped in dissertation revisions?

How to insert page numbers: apa 7th edition guidelines, published by steve tippins on january 17, 2022 january 17, 2022.

Last Updated on: 2nd February 2024, 02:56 am

There are straightforward guidelines for inserting page numbers according to APA 7th edition guidelines. To start with, here are the basics:

The numbers should be put in a header at the top right of the page.
They should be the same font and size as the rest of your paper.
Number the first page, with a 1. Thereafter, each of the subsequent pages will be numbered automatically.
Do not write “page” or “p.” or “pp.”

Here are step-by-step instructions for inserting APA page numbers, with screenshots to guide your way.

Inserting Numeral Page Numbers

Step 1: Open the “Header & Footer” tab in the header, click on Insert and select “Page Number.”

To insert page numbers, first click the page number button on the far right

Step 2: If you want to have a different first page and do not want number 1 to appear on this page, then click on “Different First Page.”

You may wish to click "different first page" depending on which page you want it the page numbers to start on

Step 3: From the drop-down list, choose “Top of Page.” Next, choose “Plain Number 3.”

click "top of page" for APA page numbers

Step 4: Click on “Close Header and Footer” in the ribbon.

Over 50% of doctoral candidates don’t finish their dissertations.

Inserting Roman Numeral Page Numbers

If you need to paginate front matter material, such as an abstract, acknowledgments, or table of contents, the process is a little different.

Step 1: Insert a section break between the front material and Chapter 1.

Step 2: In the “Layout” tab, click on the drop-down arrow beside “Breaks.”

Step 3: Click on “Next Page” in “Section Breaks.”

click the dropdown menu beside "breaks" and then click "next page" under the "section breaks" heading.

Step 4: Repeats steps 1 or 2 above. In the drop-down list, open “Format Page Numbers.”

Step 5: Select “Roman” in the “Page Number Format” part of the drop-down list.

Step 6: On the first page of Chapter 1, repeat the above process. This is when you begin to start numbering the pages of your Chapter 1 using numerals 1, 2, 3, etc. To paginate Chapter 1 as page 1, choose “Start at,” and then put in the number 1.

click on the dropdown menu on "number format" and then, at the bottom of the menu below "page numbering," select "start at" and choose the appropriate page

Note : For more information, refer to Section 2.18 of the APA Publication Manual , Seventh Edition.

For help with APA style and much more, check out our Dissertation Editing Services or book a free consultation .

Steve Tippins

Steve Tippins, PhD, has thrived in academia for over thirty years. He continues to love teaching in addition to coaching recent PhD graduates as well as students writing their dissertations. Learn more about his dissertation coaching and career coaching services. Book a Free Consultation with Steve Tippins

grad student working on his dissertation at home

How to Create a Table of Contents for a Dissertation (APA)

In your dissertation, you will need to have a table of contents. The table of contents should contain all the headings, subheadings, preliminary pages, and supplementary pages in the body of your paper. APA does Read more…

person typing on a laptop with a numbers overlay on top

APA Numbers

APA uses the American style imperial standard system of measurement, although it does allow the use of the metric system of measurement if there is a need for it. If you need it, the APA Read more…

woman writing an academic paper on her laptop

APA Paragraph Format

To format your text paragraphs in your papers, you will need to follow a few APA guidelines so that their appearance will be consistent. Consistency in size of paragraphs means that paragraphs are more than Read more…

Honors Guidelines: Page Numbering/Thesis Organization

General Submission Guidelines/Approvals
Page Numbering/Thesis Organization
Support and Questions

Page Numbering Tips

There is no prescribed page numbering style for all honors project. We only ask that you do not print the page number on the title page. The easiest way to format page numbers for different sections, for example using roman and arabic numbers, is to create section breaks in your document. Instructions for Word users. . If you have difficulty with the page numbering appearing as would like, please do not hesitate to con tact us for help .

You may use the formatting style recommended by your discipline's style manual, or whatever style is acceptable to your advisor and department . (For a list of print & online style manuals, see Style and Citation Guides, by Title or Subject .)

You may also wish to view theses submitted by others in your department in previous years to get some ideas for formatting.

Below is an example of the order of pages, and the Roman or Arabic page numbering, as recommended in one of the style guides, Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers, 8 th ed.

Not every thesis will contain all the parts listed below:

1. Front Matter (preliminary pages): use lower-case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv, etc.) in this order:

Title Page (required): counts as page i, but the number is not printed on the page . Title Page is not listed in the Table of Contents.

Dedication; Epigraph (both optional): these count in sequence of Roman numerals, but the number is not printed on the page. These are not listed in the Table of Contents.

Table of Contents (required for all papers divided into chapters; recommended for all) Your Table of Contents would list all items shown below, IF your thesis includes them. (See Chicago Manual of Style for more about Tables of Content )

List of Figures, Tables, or Illustrations (optional, but recommended if appropriate): should be listed in Table of Contents

Preface; Acknowledgments; List of Abbreviations or Glossary; Abstract (all optional): should be listed in Table of Contents

2. Text: includes everything between the front matter and the back matter; begins a new numbering sequence, using Arabic numerals. (Introduction, chapters and/or major sections typically are listed in the Table of Contents.)

Introduction (optional): if included, this is page 1.

Chapters or Sections : if no Introduction, Chapter 1 would be page 1. Begin each new chapter on a new page. Continue sequence of Arabic numbering.

3. Back Matter: continues numbering with Arabic numerals. (List these parts in the Table of Contents.)

Illustrations (optional)

Appendixes (optional): this is where you could put black & white copies of color images from the body of the text.

Endnotes, Bibliography, or Reference List (required in most papers): One of these lists will be the final section of the paper.

If you have difficulty with the page numbering appearing as would like, please do not hesitate to con tact us for help.