How to Insert an Image on an APA-Style Paper

The American Psychological Association (APA) guide is typically used to format works in the social sciences. The guide covers a wide variety of formatting for references, lists, charts, graphs, pictures and other elements of a paper. Inserting an image into an APA-style paper is simple and the guide offers a standard procedure for doing so.

Instructions

1. Choose your image. Decide on the image you would like to place in your paper and locate it on your computer. Ensure that the image is appropriate for your paper, then insert it onto the page in the desired location.

2. Size the image. The APA has set specifications for image and font size. The height of an image should not exceed standard margins -- determined by the requirements set for your assignment -- and font size used in the caption or photo credit must be between 8 and 14 points.

3. Insert a caption describing the figure or image. Number the image you are inserting and, if applicable, give the image a title and describe what it is depicting using sentence case style.

   For example: Figure 1. The solar system. This figure demonstrates the movement of the solar system.

4. Add a photo caption. If the image is not your own, you must include the copyright information as instructed by the copyright holder just below the image and above the figure heading. Include this information in your final reference page.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember: using an image that is not your own, without giving credit, is plagiarism.

References

• Purdue, The Owl: APA Tables and Figures 2