Converter
APA Literature Review Format in Word
A literature review is the APA paper with the most citations and the most headings. Upload yours and the headings are set by level, the references get hanging indents and DOIs are checked; the template starts you with themes as headings.
A literature review in APA 7 is organised by theme, not by source: level 1 headings for the themes, level 2 for the strands within them, synthesis paragraphs that compare several studies, and a reference list that is often the longest the student has written. The formatting rules are APA 7's; the marks are lost on heading levels used out of order, citations with no entry, entries never cited, and journal articles without a DOI. Veermat applies the formatting to the Word file you wrote, styles the headings by level, checks every citation in both directions, and lists the articles missing a DOI, adding one from CrossRef with a click.
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Last updated: July 4, 2026 · Reviewed by the Veermat team
Your wording never changes, only the formatting. Formatting and previewing are free — Pro downloads the editable file.
How it works
How to format a literature review in APA in four steps
The fastest way to format a literature review in APA without manual copy-paste, screenshots, or formatting cleanup.
- Step 1
Upload your Word document
Drop in the messy .docx you want cleaned up. Your file is processed only to format it and is never used to train models.
- Step 2
AI reads the structure
The AI detects headings, body text, lists, and tables, and finds inconsistent styling, without changing any of your wording.
- Step 3
Formatting is fixed
Heading styles, alignment, spacing, fonts, lists, indentation, and margins are made consistent across the whole document.
- Step 4
Download the clean .docx
Get a still-editable Word file that opens in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and LibreOffice: clean formatting, your words unchanged.
In short
An APA 7 literature review has a title page, double-spaced text in an approved font, level 1 headings for its themes and level 2 for subthemes, (Author, year) citations for every study, and a References page with hanging indents and DOIs. Veermat applies that to your Word file, checks the citations against the list in both directions, and the template organises the review by theme.
How do you format a literature review in APA?
Like any APA 7 paper, organised by theme: a title page; the introduction under the repeated title; a level 1 heading for each theme (centred, bold) and level 2 headings for subthemes (flush left, bold); paragraphs that synthesise several studies with (Author, year) citations; a conclusion on gaps; and a References page in alphabetical order with hanging indents and DOIs. Veermat styles the headings by level, checks the citations, and lists articles without a DOI.
Free Word template
APA 7 literature review template
Title page, theme headings at level 1 with a subtheme at level 2, Gaps and Future Directions, Conclusion, and a References page with hanging indents.
Many sources, two directions
Every citation matched to the list, and the list to the text
With forty sources, one slips: a study cited but not listed, an entry listed but never cited, a DOI missing. Those are the lines a marker finds first. Veermat matches citations and entries in both directions, names each mismatch, lists the articles without a DOI, and formats the whole list with hanging indents in alphabetical order.
- Title page, text on page 2 under the repeated title
- Theme headings at level 1, subthemes at level 2, in order
- Every (Author, year) matched to an entry, every entry to a citation
- References alphabetical, double-spaced, ½-inch hanging indents
- Journal articles without a DOI listed; one found on CrossRef added with a click
Features
Why people choose Veermat to format a literature review in APA
Headings by theme and level
Theme One, Theme Two and their subthemes become Heading 1 and Heading 2 at APA levels, in order.
Citations matched both ways
Mismatches between the text and the list are named so you can fix them.
DOIs checked and added
Articles without a DOI are listed; a DOI found on CrossRef is added in APA form.
Template organised by theme
Title page, themed headings with a subtheme, Gaps and Future Directions, Conclusion, References.
Use cases
Where it helps most
Stand-alone literature reviews
The common capstone and graduate assignment.
The review chapter of a thesis
Formatted in the same run as the rest of the chapter.
Systematic and scoping reviews in APA
Long reference lists with every DOI checked.
Annotated bibliography turned review
The entries carried over, now cited in synthesis paragraphs.
Why not just copy-paste?
Veermat vs. doing it manually
Fixing formatting by hand takes ages and rarely comes out consistent. Here's the difference.
Output quality
What the cleaned document looks like
Every run produces a clean, still-editable .docx, never a rewrite. Here's what you get.
- Title page and themed headings in APA 7
- Citations and reference list that match
- Hanging indents and DOIs on the references
- Editable .docx, your words untouched
Topic cluster
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Frequently asked questions
Should a literature review be organised by source or by theme?+
By theme. One paragraph per article is an annotated bibliography, not a review. Group the studies that address the same question under one heading and compare them in the same paragraph.
Does a literature review need an abstract?+
Only if the assignment asks for one. A stand-alone review for a course usually does not; a thesis chapter never has its own.
Does it change my words?+
No. Only the formatting changes: margins, font, spacing, title page, headings, page numbers and the reference list. Your sentences and your citations stay as you wrote them; the report tells you what to change by hand.
Is it free?+
Yes. Upload the Word file, see the formatted result and the itemized report free, no signup. Pro downloads the editable .docx. The template is a free download either way.
Format your literature review in APA
Upload the .docx and get it back with the title page, themed headings, citations checked and references in APA 7, with an itemized report.