APA 7 Student Paper LaTeX Template

Maintained by Lanie Molinar Carmelo

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Accessibility Note

All badges and links in this README are designed to be screen-reader-friendly. If you encounter any issues with NVDA, JAWS, or VoiceOver, feel free to open an issue or reach out.

Project Status

    Release Notes

Built for blind and sighted students alike, this template emphasizes accessibility, automation, and academic integrity in APA 7 academic writing.

This repository provides a ready-to-use template for APA 7th edition student papers, written in LaTeX. It emphasizes accessibility, automation, and academic integrity. This template uses the biblatex package with the biber backend (not BibTeX). It includes:

main.tex: Starter document using manual APA formatting and Biber for bibliography processing. PDF/UA tagging is currently disabled (why?).

• apa.csl: Citation Style Language file for APA 7th edition (used by Pandoc).
• Makefile: Build system for PDF, HTML, DOCX, linting, viewing, and archiving.
• .gitignore: Ignores LaTeX build artifacts and editor backups.
• LICENSE: MIT License.

Why This Exists

I originally built this for my own coursework as a blind Computer Science student. Over time, I expanded it into a reusable, standards-compliant template to support accessible academic publishing.

Who This is For

This template is designed for students, researchers, and accessibility advocates who want to produce APA-compliant documents using LaTeX—whether working locally or in Overleaf.

📝 How to Cite This Template

Accessibility Tools Used

This template was built with screen readers like NVDA and JAWS using Microsoft Visual Studio Code.

Note on Typography and Screen Readers

This template uses en dashes (–) for numeric ranges (e.g., pages 10–15, years 2020–2025) to comply with APA 7th edition style requirements.

Important for screen reader users: Screen readers (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver) announce en dashes as "en dash" and em dashes (—) as "em dash"—not as semantic words like "through" or meaningful pauses.

En dashes are used here for APA compliance and professional typography, not for accessibility benefits.

Getting Started

📚 New to LaTeX? Start with the Quick Start Guide for a condensed setup and usage guide.

Quick Start

make check-deps    # Verify dependencies
make pdf           # Build your document
make validate      # Check output quality

Full Setup

1. Install LaTeX (TeX Live, MikTeX, etc.) and Biber.
2. Clone this repo and add your content to main.tex.
3. Add your references to references.bib (see Using Zotero below).
4. Verify dependencies: Run make check-deps to ensure all tools are installed.
5. Build your document using the Makefile (see Build Process).

Build Process

Pre-Commit Hooks

This repository uses pre-commit to enforce linting and formatting standards before commits. Hooks include:

• File size checks
• Merge conflict detection
• Whitespace trimming
• YAML validation
• LaTeX linting with ChkTeX
• Citation checks via .log parsing

To install and activate the hooks:

pre-commit install

To update hook versions:

pre-commit autoupdate

See .pre-commit-config.yaml for configuration details.

LaTeX Linting with ChkTeX

ChkTeX linting is supported via pre-commit hooks and Makefile targets. Suppression can be done using % chktex <number> off / % chktex <number> on comments in .tex files, or by passing -n<number> flags to ChkTeX via the Makefile or pre-commit configuration.

Note: Warning 1 (“Command terminated with space”) is a known false positive triggered by \doublespacing. This warning is globally disabled in the pre-commit configuration using -n1. See .pre-commit-config.yaml for details.

The provided Makefile automates compilation and conversion to multiple formats. Note: This template uses biblatex with the biber backend (not BibTeX).

Common Targets

Target	Description
check-deps	Verifies that required dependencies (LuaLaTeX, Biber) are installed.
check-deps-all	Checks all dependencies including optional ones (Pandoc, ChkTeX).
pdf	Compiles the LaTeX document into a PDF using LuaLaTeX. PDF/UA tagging is currently disabled (why?).
pdf-pandoc	Generates a PDF using Pandoc (alternative method).
html	Converts the LaTeX document to HTML using Pandoc with APA citation styling.
docx	Converts the LaTeX document to DOCX using Pandoc.
lint	Runs chktex and checks .log for missing citations or references.
validate	Validates output files for quality, accessibility, and common issues.
check	Displays metadata and integrity info for the compiled PDF.
view	Opens the final PDF in your default Windows viewer (e.g., Acrobat).
refresh	Reopens the PDF to simulate a manual refresh.
build	Runs lint, compiles the PDF, and opens it—ideal for final review.
watch	Watches for changes to .tex or .bib and rebuilds automatically.
submissions	Copies the final PDF to a submissions/ folder with a timestamp.
status	Lists output file sizes and last modified times.
clean	Removes LaTeX build artifacts and the output directory.
distclean	Removes all generated files, including outputs and submissions.
help	Displays detailed help for all available Makefile targets.

To use a target, run:

make <target>

Example:

make build

All outputs are placed in the output/ directory. Archived PDFs are stored in submissions/.

Manual Build Steps

If you are not using the Makefile, compile your document with:

lualatex main.tex
biber main
lualatex main.tex
lualatex main.tex

Do not use bibtex—this template requires biber for bibliography processing.

Overleaf Compatibility

This template works with Overleaf:

• Upload all files (main.tex, references.bib, etc.) to your Overleaf project.
• In Overleaf, set the bibliography backend to biber (Menu → Settings → Compiler → Biber).
• Overleaf automatically runs the correct sequence (lualatex → biber → lualatex → lualatex).
• You can manage your bibliography in references.bib as usual.

Using Zotero for References

You can use Zotero to manage your references and export them to BibLaTeX format:

1. Select your references in Zotero.
2. Right-click and choose Export Items.
3. Select Better BibLaTeX (preferred) or BibLaTeX as the format and save as references.bib.
4. Replace or merge with the existing references.bib in this repository.

Note: Install the Better BibTeX plugin for improved citation keys and automatic updates.

Zotero Auto-Sync (Optional):

• Right-click your collection → Export Collection → Enable "Keep Updated"
• Zotero will automatically update references.bib when you add/modify entries

Customization

• Update the document title, author, and other fields in main.tex (\title, \author, etc.). PDF/UA metadata is not currently included (why?).
• Use the biblatex options and APA formatting as needed.
• Modify the Makefile to suit your workflow or add new targets.

Troubleshooting

Quick Diagnostics

Before building, verify your system has the required tools:

make check-deps        # Check core dependencies (LuaLaTeX, Biber)
make check-deps-all    # Check all dependencies including optional ones

Common Issues

1. "lualatex: command not found" or "biber: command not found"

Solution: Install the required LaTeX distribution:

• Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt install texlive-luatex biber
• macOS: brew install --cask mactex (includes Biber)
• Windows: Install MikTeX or TeX Live

Run make check-deps to verify installation.

2. Citations not appearing or "undefined citation" errors

Solution:

• Ensure you're running the full build sequence (3 LaTeX passes with Biber in between)
• Use make pdf which handles this automatically
• Check that references.bib is in the correct format
• Verify Biber completed successfully (check output for errors)

Manual verification:

make clean   # Remove old build files
make pdf     # Full rebuild

3. Times New Roman font not found

Solution:

• Windows: Font should be pre-installed
• macOS: Install Microsoft Office or download the font
• Linux: sudo apt install ttf-mscorefonts-installer

Alternatively, change the font in main.tex:

\setmainfont{Liberation Serif}  % Free alternative to Times New Roman

4. Build fails in GitHub Actions CI

Solution: The workflow includes workarounds for common issues. If it still fails:

• Check the Actions log for specific errors
• Ensure main.tex compiles locally first
• Verify no syntax errors with make lint

5. Linting warnings from ChkTeX

Some warnings are expected:

• Warning 1 (\doublespacing): Suppressed globally (false positive)
• Warning 22 (inline math): Suppressed for APA style
• Warning 30 (multiple spaces): Suppressed for spacing control

Add custom suppressions in .pre-commit-config.yaml or Makefile using -n<number> flags.

6. Pre-commit hooks failing

Solution:

# Update hooks to latest versions
pre-commit autoupdate

# Run manually to see detailed output
pre-commit run --all-files

# Bypass hooks if needed (not recommended)
git commit --no-verify -m "message"

Getting Help

If the above doesn't resolve your issue:

1. Check Log Files: Review output/main.log for detailed error messages
2. Validate Output: Run make validate to check for common problems
3. GitHub Issues: Open an issue with:
   • Your LaTeX distribution and version (lualatex --version)
   • Operating system
   • Full error message from log file
   • Output of make check-deps
4. Community Help: Ask on TeX Stack Exchange with the apa and biblatex tags

Known Issues

• ChkTeX Warning 1: \doublespacing may trigger a false positive ("Command terminated with space"). This warning is suppressed globally via -n1 in .pre-commit-config.yaml.
• PDF/UA Tagging: Disabled due to compatibility issues with LuaLaTeX and screen readers. Enabling it causes consistent build errors. Semantic markup is preserved, but full compliance is not guaranteed.

Community and Support

For questions, feedback, or accessibility-related suggestions, feel free to open a GitHub Issue or reach out via Mastodon.

Contributing

Contributions and feedback are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

License

MIT License.

Features

PDF/UA Tagging Status

PDF/UA-1 tagging is disabled in this template due to compatibility issues with LuaLaTeX and screen readers. While semantic markup and screen reader-friendly formatting are preserved, full PDF/UA compliance is not guaranteed.

For details, see Known Issues.

File Structure

├── main.tex                    # Main LaTeX document (edit this)
├── references.bib              # Bibliography database
├── apa.csl                     # APA 7 citation style for Pandoc
├── Makefile                    # Build automation (PDF, HTML, DOCX, lint, etc.)
├── add-refs-heading.lua        # Pandoc filter for accessible references heading
├── .gitignore                  # Ignore LaTeX build artifacts and editor backups
├── .pre-commit-config.yaml     # Pre-commit hook configuration
├── .editorconfig               # Editor configuration for consistent formatting
├── .cspell.json                # Spell checking configuration
├── README.md                   # This file (documentation)
├── QUICKSTART.md               # Quick start guide for new users
├── CONTRIBUTING.md             # Contribution guidelines
├── CHANGELOG.md                # Version history and release notes
├── LICENSE                     # MIT License
├── VERSION                     # Current template version
├── CITATION.cff                # Citation metadata for GitHub
├── scripts/
│   └── validate-output.sh      # Output validation script
├── output/                     # Build artifacts (PDF, HTML, DOCX; auto-created)
├── submissions/                # Timestamped submission copies (auto-created)
├── .github/
│   ├── workflows/              # CI/CD pipeline definitions
│   └── dependabot.yml          # Automated dependency updates
└── .vscode/                    # VS Code settings (optional, not committed)

Citation and Attribution

If you use this template for your academic work, consider acknowledging it:

Option 1: In your paper's acknowledgments (informal):

This paper was formatted using the APA 7 Student Paper LaTeX Template (v1.6.0) by Lanie Molinar Carmelo, available at https://github.com/Lanie-Carmelo/APA-7-Student-Paper-Template

Option 2: In technical documentation or derivative works:

@misc{carmelo2025apa7template,
  author = {Carmelo, Lanie Molinar},
  title = {APA 7 Student Paper LaTeX Template},
  year = {2025},
  publisher = {GitHub},
  journal = {GitHub repository},
  howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/Lanie-Carmelo/APA-7-Student-Paper-Template}},
  note = {Version 1.6.0}
}

Option 3: For derivative templates:

• Keep the version header in main.tex intact
• Document your changes in your own CHANGELOG
• Link back to this repository in your README
• Consider contributing improvements back via pull request

Why Attribution Matters

• Helps other students discover accessible LaTeX tools
• Supports ongoing development and maintenance
• Acknowledges accessibility advocacy in academic publishing
• Enables tracking of template usage and impact