Ask OASIS Basics
In APA style, a figure is any representation of information that does not use rows and columns (e.g., a line graph, map, or photograph).
Keep the following in mind when including a figure in your paper:
- The figure number, in bold text, belongs above the figure.
- The figure title belongs one double-spaced line below the figure number. The title should be in title case and italics.
- Color can be used in the figure if it is necessary for understanding the material. See APA 7, Section 7.26 for guidelines.
- Notes can appear below the figure to describe the contents of the figure that cannot be understood from the figure title (e.g., definitions of abbreviations, explanations of shading, and citations).
For more on figures, see APA 7, Sections 7.22-7.36. (Note that APA 6 recommend significantly different formatting of the figure number and title.)
Examples of Figures
In this example, the writer created the figure using statistics from a journal article.
Figure 1
Pie Chart Showing the Clergy Demographics of the Study's Participants
Note. From “Predicting the Mental Health Literacy of Clergy: An Informational Resource for Counselors,” by J. D. Vermaas, J. Green, M. Haley, & L. Haddock, 2017, Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 39(3), p. 231.
The following is an example of a figure the writer created from their own original data.
Figure 2
Number of Hours of Television Watched Per Week by Age Group
