Tables, Images, & Appendices in APA Style
In some of the assignments, you may find it practical to add a table or an image. In addition, you may need to include an appendix at the end of your writing. Both figures and appendices help to convey data to the reader in a more detailed or visual form. Use this guide to understand how to create and properly integrate tables, images, and appendices in your paper.
How to Create a Table in Microsoft Word
A table puts numerical or textual information into rows and columns. You may use tables if you need to give precise values for complex structured data. It is possible to create a table using Microsoft Word, where you may either insert table and enter the desired number of rows and columns, or draw table by dragging the pencil to make horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines. In addition, a table may be copied from the original source. Each table should have:
- a number according to the order in which it is presented in the text
- a descriptive title so that a reader can immediately understand what information the table contains
- a complete citation, if you are presenting data produced by someone else.
How to Format a Table in APA Style
Number the table.
Table 1
Give a meaningful and understandable title in italics.
Factors contributing to nurses’ involvement in setting health policy
Include a “Note” to give any additional information regarding the table or give a full citation.
Note: Reprinted from Shariff, N. (2014). Factors that act as facilitators and barriers to nurse leaders’ participation in health policy development. BMC Nursing, 13(20). doi:10.1186/1472-6955-13-20
Refer to the table by its label (for example, Table 1) rather than by its name.
“The factors contributing to greater involvement of nurses in the development of health policy and agenda setting can be seen in Table 1.”
When to Use and How to Incorporate Images
Use a graph or an image to present a specific object or a drawing within the body of your work. Figures should add to the reader’s understanding of the content of a paper. An image or a graph may be copied from the original source. All figures must be of good quality, informative, and fit on one page. An image should have a number, a title, and a full reference citation.
How to Format an Image in APA Style
Label an image as Figure and give it a corresponding number.
Figure 1
Give your image a meaningful title.
Figure 1: Current vehicle license plate in Georgia
After writing a title, include a full reference citation to indicate the original source of the image.
Refer to an image by its label.
“Refer to Figure 1 to learn about the standard format for license plates in Georgia.”
What Is an Appendix in a Paper?
An appendix includes supplemental materials that are inappropriate for the body of the paper as they may distract a reader. For example, these may be questionnaires or surveys, raw statistical data, or interview transcripts. The information presented in an appendix is not required to understand the main argument of your work. Therefore, an appendix or appendices should be presented at the end of your work after a Works Cited or References page.
How to Create and Integrate an Appendix
- The appendix heading should begin on a separate page and be in upper case.
- If the work has one appendix, it should be labeled “APPENDIX.” If a paper has two or more appendices, they should be labeled “APPENDIX A,” “APPENDIX B,” and so on.
- Label appendices in the order in which they are presented in the text.
- Each appendix should be referred to by its name in the body of the paper.
- An appendix may include citations, which should be included in the reference list.
- An appendix label should be centered at the top of a page.
“For additional information about the statistical data, see Appendix A.”
To sum up, tables, images, and appendices may help you to provide a comprehensive representation of the data, as well as give readers additional information about the topic. This guide has discussed how to create and integrate each one of these features into your paper. In addition, it has explained how to properly format tables, figures, and appendices according to the rules of APA style.