First, why use the Word features to format your tables?
1. If you need to edit (e.g., add a column, delete a row), it will be far easier and everything else will stay lined up.
2. Consistent formatting – your numbers will all stay lined up in a neat little column/row for easy reading.
3. Easy formatting – do you want to spend your time counting and entering spaces/tabs or do you want to spend your time thinking about your study and your writing?
Word includes features that will help you format tables without using tabs, spaces and returns in APA or other formats.
APA Instructions for PC versions of Word:
Mac versions are similar. The basics are first creating a table with the number of rows you need and then changing how the borders are formatted so you don’t see the lines where you don’t want them to show up.