APA Table Generator
Paste data from a spreadsheet, or type it into the grid, and get an APA 7 table: a bold table number, an italic title, horizontal rules only, numbers aligned on the decimal point, and general, specific and probability notes in APA’s order. Copy it into Word or Google Docs with the formatting intact, or as plain text. Free, no sign-up.
Paste cells from Excel or Google Sheets, or type comma-separated values. The first row is the column headings. Write _M_ for italics and ^a to mark a specific note.
One per line, starting with its letter. Mark the cell it belongs to with ^a, as in 209^a.
Paste or type your data to build the table.
How to Use the APA Table Generator
- Add your data. Paste cells from Excel or Google Sheets, or type comma-separated values; switch to Grid to edit cell by cell. The first row holds the column headings.
- Number and title the table. The title is converted to APA title case unless you turn that off.
- Mark what the notes explain. Write _M_ to italicize a statistical symbol and ^a after a value to attach specific note a. Asterisks after values produce the probability note.
- Copy for Word or Google Docs. The table pastes as a real table with its rules; set the font and spacing to match your paper.
The Parts of an APA Table
| Part | APA 7 format |
|---|---|
| Number | Table 1 — bold, flush left, above the title |
| Title | one double-spaced line below the number, in italic title case |
| Column headings | for every column, including the stub (leftmost) column; centered; sentence case |
| Body | stub entries flush left, other cells centered, numbers aligned on the decimal point |
| Rules | above and below the column headings and below the last row, plus one above a row of totals; no vertical rules and no boxes around cells |
| Notes | below the table, in order: general (Note.), specific (superscript a, b, c), probability (*p < .05) |
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed., Sections 7.8–7.21, as reproduced by university library guides.
Give comparable numbers the same number of decimal places, as far as the precision of the measurement allows. Leave a cell blank when a value does not apply, and put a dash where data were not obtained, explaining the dash in the general note.
How Table Notes Work
A general note explains the table as a whole — abbreviations, symbols, the source of an adapted table — and begins with the word Note in italics, followed by a period. A specific note refers to one cell, row or column and is marked with a superscript lowercase letter, starting with a at the top left and reading across and down. A probability note explains the asterisks: *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. Each kind starts on a new line, in that order, and the generator writes only the probability levels your table uses.
Worked Example
Try a sample loads a five-column table of illustrative data: four variables with their n, M, SD and correlation r with grade point average. The generator:
- turns the title into Descriptive Statistics and Correlations With Grade Point Average;
- splits the four number columns at the decimal point, so 6.84, 182.5, 5.1 and 2.9 line up on their points, and turns the hyphen in -.09 into a true minus sign (−.09);
- sets the a after 209 as a superscript and writes its specific note below the general one;
- adds *p < .05. **p < .01., because the correlations use one and two asterisks.
The sample also follows APA’s rule for leading zeros: none before a statistic that cannot exceed 1, such as a correlation or a p value (.24, not 0.24), and a zero before one that can, such as a mean or standard deviation.
Pasting Into Word or Google Docs
The rich copy is a table whose rules are set on the cells themselves, which is what Word and Google Docs keep when you paste. Decimal alignment needs no tab stops: each numeric column is two cells — the whole number right-aligned, the decimals left-aligned — under one heading that spans both, with no line between them. After pasting, apply your paper’s font and refer to the table in the text by its number (“as Table 1 shows”); APA numbers tables in the order they are first mentioned. The plain-text copy lines up in a monospaced font and suits a text-only submission box.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do you format a table in APA 7?
- Put the table number in bold above the table and the title one line below it in italic title case. Give every column a heading, set the stub column flush left and center the other cells, use horizontal rules only — above and below the headings and below the last row — and put any notes underneath: general, then specific, then probability.
- Does APA allow vertical lines in tables?
- No. APA 7 says not to use vertical borders to separate data or borders around every cell; spacing and alignment do that work. Horizontal rules go above and below the column headings, at the bottom of the table, and optionally above a row of totals.
- How do I align numbers on the decimal point in Word?
- Paste the table from this generator: each numeric column arrives split at the decimal point, so the numbers line up with no setup. In a table you build yourself, select the column and set a decimal tab stop instead.
- What goes in an APA table note?
- A general note explains abbreviations, symbols and the source of the table, starting with Note. in italics. Specific notes explain a single cell, row or column and are marked with superscript letters. Probability notes explain asterisks, such as *p < .05. Leave out any note the table does not need.
- Is the table title italicized in APA?
- Yes. The title is italic and in title case, on the line below the bold table number. Column headings are in sentence case and roman, apart from statistical symbols such as M and SD, which are italic wherever they appear.
- How do I credit a table I adapted from another source?
- Add a copyright attribution at the end of the general note — beginning “Adapted from” or “From” and giving the source’s details — and list the source in your references. A thesis or published paper may also need the copyright holder’s permission; see how to cite a reproduced figure or table.