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In addition to rules about citations and references, the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
establishes guidelines in the following areas:
Simply click any topic above for a
brief summary of APA style guidelines, with a reference
to the relevant pages in the Publication Manual (5th
ed, 2001).
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| Abbreviations |
APA rules for abbreviations
state:
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Acronyms and abbreviations must be spelled out completely
on initial appearance in text.
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Use only if abbreviation is conventional, is apt to
be familiar, will save considerable space, and will
prevent cumbersome repetition.
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Avoid beginning a sentence with an acronym or an abbreviation.
For further information, see pages 80-86 in the Publication
Manual.
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| Capitalization |
APA rules for capitalization
state:
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Capitalize all words of four letters or more in titles
of books and articles in text.
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Do not capitalize names of laws, theories, and hypotheses
except for proper nouns.
For more information, see pages 75-79 in the Publication
Manual.
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| Hyphenation |
APA rules for hyphenation state:
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For compound words not in the dictionary, use hyphens
for clarity rather than omit them.
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Hyphenate compound adjectives that precede the noun
they modify:
- role-playing technique
- two-way analysis
- middle-class families
- Do not hyphenate a compound adjective if its meaning
is established or it cannot be misread:
- grade point average
- sex role difference
For more information, see pages 70-74 in the Publication
Manual.
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| Numbers |
APA rules for numbers state:
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Use figures for numbers 10 and above (12 of the subjects);
for numbers above and below 10 grouped for comparison
(2 of 16 responses); for numbers representing time,
dates, and age (3 years ago, 2 hr 15 min); for numbers
denoting a specific place in a series, book, or table
(Table 3, Group 3, page 32).
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Use words for numbers below 10 that do not represent
precise measurements (eight items, nine pages); for
numbers beginning a sentence, title, or heading (Forty-eight
percent responded; Ten subjects improved, and 4 subjects
did not.).
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See pages 99-105 in the Publication Manual.
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| Quotations |
APA rules for quotations state:
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Incorporate quotations of less than 40 words in the
text with double quotation marks.
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Place quotations of 40 or more words in a double-spaced
block, indented five spaces from left margin. Do not
use quotation marks with a blocked quotation.
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If quoting more than one paragraph, indent the first
line of each paragraph five additional spaces from the
left margin (for a total of ten spaces).
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A page number always immediately follows a quotation,
even when the author and date precede it: Lu (1990)
found that "several hypotheses were partially supported"
(page 48).
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See pages 95-99 and 245-246 in the Publication Manual.
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