This is the APA 7th edition research paper outline template used for undergraduate and master's-level papers in psychology, education, sociology, and the wider social sciences. It gives you the full IMRaD skeleton — Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion — with nested sub-points, word-count ranges calibrated to a 3000-word paper, and bracketed placeholders where your content goes. For the reasoning behind each section (what belongs where and why), read the companion research paper outline guide. For citation formatting, see the APA citation style guide. The template is free.
PaperDraft is a writing assistant, not a paper generator — the template is free. The draft is your starting point, not your submission. You are responsible for editing, verifying sources, and following your school's academic integrity policy.
What this template includes
- A six-block IMRaD outline sized for a 3000-word APA paper (scalable to 1500 or 6000 words by proportional adjustment).
- Roman-numeral top-level sections with nested capital-letter and Arabic-numeral sub-points.
- Word-count ranges per section so you can budget before you draft.
- Bracketed placeholders — thesis, research question, theme names, sources, findings — flagged as fill-ins.
- APA-style author-year citation stubs under each claim.
- Section-level prompts that remind you what each block must accomplish.
- Word-count targets that match the standard 15 percent intro, 20 percent lit review, 15 percent methods, 15 percent results, 25 percent discussion, 10 percent conclusion split.
APA Research Paper Outline — copy the structure
I. Introduction (approx. 400–450 words)
- A. Hook / opening context (2–3 sentences) — [one concrete observation, statistic, or scenario that frames the problem]
- B. Background on the topic (3–5 sentences) — [what the reader needs to know to understand the rest of the paper]
- C. Narrowing to the specific problem (2–3 sentences) — [the particular aspect of the topic this paper addresses]
- D. Gap in the literature (2 sentences) — [what has not been adequately addressed; cite (Author, Year) for the nearest existing work]
- E. Thesis statement (1 sentence) — [your argument, stated as a single declarative claim]
- F. Preview of paper structure (1–2 sentences) — [the three to five moves the paper will make, in order]
II. Literature Review (approx. 600 words)
- A. Framing sentence for the review — [what question organizes the review]
- B. Theme 1: [theme name]
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- Key source — ([Author], [Year]) — [one-sentence finding or contribution]
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- Key source — ([Author], [Year]) — [one-sentence finding or contribution]
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- Tension or gap within the theme — [what is unresolved]
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- C. Theme 2: [theme name]
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- Key source — ([Author], [Year]) — [finding]
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- Key source — ([Author], [Year]) — [finding]
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- Tension or gap — [unresolved question]
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- D. Theme 3: [theme name]
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- Key source — ([Author], [Year]) — [finding]
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- Key source — ([Author], [Year]) — [finding]
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- Tension or gap — [unresolved question]
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- E. Synthesis and transition to your paper — [the gap your paper addresses, one to two sentences]
III. Methods (approx. 450 words)
- A. Participants or sample — [who, how many, recruitment, inclusion criteria]
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- Sample size and justification — [n = X; power analysis or prior-study rationale]
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- Demographics — [age range, gender distribution, other relevant variables]
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- B. Materials or instruments — [scales, stimuli, software, archival sources]
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- Primary instrument — [name, reliability coefficient if known, citation]
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- Secondary measures — [list]
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- C. Procedure — [step-by-step, from consent to debriefing]
- D. Analytical approach — [statistical tests or interpretive framework]
- E. Ethics and approval — [IRB approval number or consent note]
IV. Results (approx. 450 words)
- A. Finding for Research Question 1 — [one-sentence result; reference Table 1 or Figure 1]
- B. Finding for Research Question 2 — [one-sentence result; reference Table 2]
- C. Finding for Research Question 3 — [one-sentence result]
- D. Secondary or exploratory findings — [brief]
- E. No interpretation in this block — save that for Discussion.
V. Discussion (approx. 750 words)
- A. Summary of main findings in plain language (1 paragraph)
- B. Interpretation of Finding 1
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- How it relates to [literature Theme 1]
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- Why it matters — [implication]
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- C. Interpretation of Finding 2
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- How it relates to [literature Theme 2]
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- Unexpected or complicating aspect — [note]
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- D. Interpretation of Finding 3
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- Relation to [literature Theme 3]
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- E. Limitations — [sample, method, generalizability — be honest]
- F. Implications — [theory, practice, policy]
- G. Future directions — [two or three concrete next studies]
VI. Conclusion (approx. 250 words)
- A. Restate the research question and the paper's answer in fresh language
- B. Summarize the main contribution in one sentence
- C. Point to broader implications or stakes
- D. Closing sentence — [forward-looking, no new evidence introduced]
VII. References — APA 7 hanging-indent list, alphabetical by first author surname.
How to use this template
1. Copy the outline into your document
Paste the template into a fresh Word or Google Doc. Preserve the bold Roman numerals and the nesting. The placeholders in square brackets are markers for content you will replace — keep them visible until they are filled so you can see what remains incomplete.
2. Replace every bracketed placeholder
Work top to bottom. Start with the thesis in I.E — that anchors everything else. Then fill theme names in the literature review, source citations, methodology specifics, and findings. An empty bracket at draft time is an open gap in your argument.
3. Adjust section sizes for your discipline
A 3000-word psychology paper uses the stated word budgets. A 1500-word sociology essay might collapse methods and results into a single analysis section. A 6000-word honors thesis scales each block proportionally. Match your assignment brief before committing.
4. Fill in your citations as author-year stubs
Under each claim bullet, add the APA in-text citation: (Smith, 2020) or (Jones & Patel, 2022). Do not format full reference entries yet — that comes in drafting. See the APA citation style guide for in-text and reference formats.
5. Balance the sections before you draft
Count the bullets in each block. If literature review has twenty bullets and discussion has four, your argument is unbalanced. Rebalance at outline stage — moving bullets takes minutes; rewriting finished prose takes hours.
6. Draft from the outline, section by section
Most writers draft methods first (easiest), then results (just the facts), then discussion, then literature review, and finally introduction and conclusion. Update the outline as drafting reveals better organization.
7. Verify every source against the original
Before submission, open each cited paper and match author name spelling, year, journal volume and issue, and DOI. A template stubs citations; verification is never automatable and always yours.
Section-by-section guide
Introduction
The introduction orients the reader, narrows to the specific problem, names the gap, and states the thesis. The thesis is the single most load-bearing sentence in the paper — if you cannot write it in one sentence, the paper is not ready to draft.
Literature Review
The literature review organizes prior work into themes, not a source-by-source list. Each theme synthesizes multiple studies and ends at a tension or gap. The final paragraph connects the themes to your specific contribution.
Methods
The methods section commits to participants, instruments, procedure, and analysis in enough detail that another researcher could replicate. Vagueness here becomes confusion in the draft — decide specifics at outline stage.
Results
The results section reports findings without interpretation. Each research question gets a one-sentence answer, supported by a reference to a table or figure. Save "what it means" for the discussion.
Discussion
The discussion interprets each finding, ties it back to a theme from the literature review, and honestly names limitations. This is the section where overclaiming starts — keep interpretation tethered to what the data can actually support.
Conclusion
The conclusion restates the question and the answer in fresh language, not by copying the introduction. It may gesture to implications or future work but introduces no new evidence or argument.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Leaving the thesis as a placeholder. An outline without a stated thesis is a topic list. Force yourself to write the thesis in one sentence at I.E before you move on.
- Writing full sentences for every bullet. The outline is scaffolding. Sentence-level polish at outline stage is effort you will redo in drafting.
- Organizing the literature review source-by-source. If your lit review section lists "Smith 2020, then Jones 2021, then Patel 2022," you are writing an annotated bibliography. Reorganize by theme.
- Skipping the methods specifics. "Quantitative analysis" is not a methods outline. Name the statistical test, the sample size, the instrument.
- Treating a template as a substitute for judgment. A template gives you structure, not argument. Your thesis, your theme selection, and your interpretation are yours. See the academic responsibility guide for the full frame.
Frequently asked questions
Does using an APA outline template count as plagiarism?
No. An outline structure is not copyrightable — IMRaD is a convention used across thousands of journals. What must be yours is the content: the thesis, the theme selection, the specific sources, the analytical framing, the interpretation. Filling a standard outline with your own argument is not plagiarism; submitting another student's filled-in outline would be.
How long should a 3000-word paper's outline be?
Aim for 400 to 700 words of outline — roughly one bullet per 30 to 50 words of planned draft. Too sparse and you will discover structural problems while drafting; too dense and you are writing prose in the outline.
Can I use this template for APA 7 thesis chapters?
For a single thesis chapter, yes — treat the chapter as a self-contained paper and scale word counts up. For a full thesis, use the thesis-chapter template instead, which accounts for cross-chapter references.
Do I need to disclose using an outline template?
No. Using a standard structural template is the same as using a thesis statement formula or a citation style — these are writing conventions, not authored content. If you use an AI tool to draft content inside the template, different rules apply; see the AI disclosure guide for academic papers.
What if my discipline does not use IMRaD?
Humanities papers use argumentative-move outlines instead of IMRaD blocks. If you are in literature, history, or philosophy, the MLA outline template is the better starting point. IMRaD is the default for psychology, education, sociology, public health, and empirical political science.
Should my outline include the abstract?
No. Draft the abstract last, after the paper is written, because the abstract summarizes what the paper actually says — not what you planned it to say. Use the abstract template once the draft is complete.