Q. How should I format an APA running head?

From the APA Manual, page 229, "The running head should be a maximum of 50 characters, counting letters, punctuation, and spaces between words. It should appear flush left in all uppercase letters at the top of the title page."

Note that on the title page you should place the text "Running head:" before your running head. On all subsequent pages you should only have the text of the running head.

For example:

On the title page it should be "Running head: ABBREVIATED TITLE IN CAPS" (no more than 50 characters).

On all other pages it should be "ABBREVIATED TITLE IN CAPS."

Step by step instructions for creating a running head:

1. On the first page of the document double-click in the header area at the top of the page
2. Choose the option for a different header on the first page
3. Add the option for a plain page number in the upper right corner
4. Add your running head in all capitals preceded by the phrase "Running head:" For example, Running head: WESTERN LIBRARIES IS THE BEST (Note: if you write the running head first and then add page numbers you may find that your header text disappears)
5. On the next page repeat steps 1-4, but simply omit the phrase "Running head:"

For a visual demonstration of the process, see this video on adding a running header in Microsoft Word.