AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL

ASSOCIATION (APA) STYLE

ALICE T. VALERIO
APA Style
 rules or guidelines observed to ensure clear,
consistent presentation of the printed word

 concerns uniform use of punctuations and

abbreviations, construction of tables,
selection of headings and citation of
references and other elements that are part
of a manuscript.
General Instructions in
Manuscript Preparation
1. Paper
• 8 ½ X 11, heavy white bond paper
2. Typeface
• 12-pt Times New Roman
• 12-pt Courier New
• 12-pt Sans Serif
3. Spacing
• double space;
• single space for table titles and headings, figure
captions, references, footnotes and long quotations.
• Triple- or quadruple-spacing after chapter titles,
before major subheadings, before footnotes, and
before and after tables in the text.
General Instructions in
Manuscript Preparation
4. Margins
• 1 ½ “ left margin, 1” top, bottom, and right margins
5. Pagination
• number all pages, except the artwork for figure and
major chapters
• preliminary pages usually carry lowercase roman
numerals
• Introduction (Chapter I) – Arabic numerals
• page numbers continue throughout the appendix
6. Figures, Tables, and Footnotes
• short tables may appear on a page with some text
• long tables and each figure are placed on a
separate page immediately after the page on which
the table or figure is first mentioned
 General Instructions in
Manuscript Preparation
• Figures and figure captions
• Figure number is italics; text of the caption is not italicized; capitalize
only the first word and any proper nouns; figure captions are typed
below; Minimum size – 8 pt, maximum size – 14 pt
• Paragraphs and Indentations
• First line of every paragraph and the first line of every footnote
• Bibliography has a hanging indent format (first line is set flush left
and the subsequent lines are indented)
7. Uppercase and Lowercase letters
8. Headings
CENTERED UPPERCASE HEADING

Flush Left, Italicized, Uppercase and

Lowercase Side Heading

Indented, italicized, uppercase only the first word and proper noun,
paragraph heading ending with a period.
Editing Style
1) Period
• used in initials of names (R. A. Santos); abbreviation for United
States when used as an adjective (U.S. Navy); latin abbreviations
(a.m., cf., i.e., vs.), and reference abbreviations (Vol. 1, 3rd ed.,
p. 10)
• No periods for abbreviations of state names (NY, NH, NC),
acronyms (APA, WB, IQ), and metric and nonmetric measurement
abbreviations (cm, ft, hr, kg, min, ml) except “in.”
2) Comma
• used between elements in a series of three or more items; before
and and or
Ex: Imus, Bacoor, or Indang
In a study conducted by Sandoval, Campos, and
Reyes (2005) . . .
• to set off a nonessential or nonrestrictive clause, that is, if removed
would leave the grammatical structure and meaning of the sentence
intact.
Ex. Ex-President Estrada, the 13th President of the Philippines, was
accused of plunder.
Editing Style
 Do not use comma
• before an essential or restrictive clause
Ex. These were the infrastructures that were
especially built in tourism.
• between the two parts of a compound
predicate
Ex. The results contradicted Valerio’s findings and
indicated that the effect was not significant.
• to separate parts of a measurement
Ex. 5 years 2 months, 5 min 20 s
Editing Style
3) Semicolon
• to separate two independent clauses that are not
joined by a conjunction
Ex. The freshmen students incurred higher expenditures;
the sophomore incurred lower expenditures
• to separate elements in a series that already contain
commas
Ex. The order of pilot testing was Silang, Imus, Bacoor; or
Imus, Bacoor, Silang.
4) Colon
• used between a grammatically complete
introductory clause (one that could stand as a
sentence) and a final phrase or clause that
illustrates, extends, or amplifies the preceding
thought.
Ex. There are two sources of pollution: the point sources
and non-point sources.
Editing Style
If the clause following the colon is a complete
sentence, it begins with a capital letter.

Ex. The result was worth noting: The Philippines is the

leading exporter of banana in the world.

Do not use a colon after an introduction that is not

a complete sentence.
Ex. The formula is Y = a + bX
5) Dash
• to indicate only a sudden interruption in the
continuity of a sentence.
Ex. The respondents—50 members, 40 nonmembers—
were considered separately.
Editing Style
6) em dash (two hyphens)
• to set off an element added to amplify from the main
clause; no space before and after
Ex. Students--undergraduate and graduate- -are
exempted.
7) Quotation Marks
• to introduce a word or phrase used as an ironic
comment, as slang, or as an invented or coined
expression (no quotation marks after the initial usage)
Ex. Ex-President Estrada was accused as the “biggest
jueteng lord” in the country.
• to enclose quotations in text
Ex. Dizon (2003) found that the “ill-gotten wealth” of Ex-
President Marcos amounted to US$50 billion.
 Editing Style
 to set off the title of an article or chapter in a
periodical when it is mentioned in the text.
Ex. Dizon’s (2004) study on the “Impact of the
Exchange Rate on Export Volumes” pointed out . . . .
 to reproduce material from a test item or verbatim
instructions to participants.
Ex. The performance was categorized as “high”,
“average”, and “low”.
Note: Use single quotation marks within double
quotation marks to set off material that in the
original source was enclosed in double quotation
marks
Ex.. Dizon (2003) stated, “The ‘ill-gotten wealth’ of
Ex-President Marcos amounted to US$50 billion”.
 Editing Style
8) Parenthesis
• to set off reference citations and page number in text
Ex. Reyes (2001) and Santos (2002) reported that. . . .
(p. 245).
• to introduce an abbreviation,
Ex. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
• to enclose statistical values,
Ex. (p < .05)
• Do not use parenthesis to enclose material within other
parenthesis
Ex. (National Statistics Office [NSO], 2005)
9) Slash
• to separate numerator from the denominator ( e.g. X/Y)
• to cite a republished work in text .
Ex. Reyes (1996/2000)
Editing Style
10)Brackets
• used to enclose material inserted in a quotation by some
person other than the original author.

Ex. Boserup (1999) stressed that “man’s influence on the

quality of the environment depends on the damage
he does [alteration in a cultural system] and the effort
devoted to undoing that damage”.

• If a complete sentence ends with a parenthesis, the period

follows the closing parenthesis.
Ex. The Philippine agriculture is characterized by a
relative scarcity of land (in relation to people).
• If a complete sentence is enclosed in a parenthesis, the period
is placed inside the closing parenthesis.

Ex. (The Philippine agriculture is characterized by a

relative scarcity of land in relation to people.)
Editing Style
11) Seriation

• To show seriation within a paragraph or sentence use

lowercase letters in parentheses.
Ex. The three principal thrusts are (a) institute a new
program, (b) strengthen support services, and (c) Increase
saving rates.

• To indicate seriation of separate paragraphs (e.g.,

itemized recommendations or procedures) number
each paragraph with an Arabic numeral followed by a
period.

Ex. The following immediate recommendations are:

1. Launch a massive rural infrastructure programs in the
poorest regions.
2. Immediate land reform program in poorest areas.
Editing Style
12) Quotations
• Short quotations (fewer than 40 words) should
be incorporated into the text and enclosed by
double quotation marks.
Ex. Cruz (2003) stated, “The Philippine agriculture is
characterized by a relative ‘scarcity of land’ in
relation to people” (p. 300).
• Long quotations (40 or more words) – no
quotation marks to enclose block quotations
Ex. Cruz (2003) found the following:

Many developing countries have depended on

export promotion as a road to economic development
for many reasons . . . (p.300).
Editing Style
13)Ellipsis points
• used to indicate omitted material
• Type three periods with a space before and
after each period to indicate an omission
within a sentence.
• Type four periods to indicate an omission
between two sentences.
14) Spelling
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary –
standard spelling reference for APA
Ex. aging, canceled, appendix- appendixes,
matrix-matrices
Editing Style
15)Hyphenation
• Compound words may take forms as (a) two separate
words, (b) a hyphenated word, or (c) one unbroken,
“solid” word. Ex. follow up, follow-up, followup
Permanent compound – compound words found in the
dictionary (e.g. caregiver, lifestyle, high school, self-
esteem, database)
Do not hyphenate
• a compound including an adverb ending in –ly (e.g.
widely used, randomly assigned)
• a compound including a comparative or superlative
adjective
Ex. less informed, better written, higher order learning
• foreign phrases used as adjectives or adverbs
Ex. a priori, ad hoc, fed ad lib but ad-lib feeding
• common fractions used as nouns
Ex. one third of the participants
Editing Style
Prefixes that do not require hyphens – after, anti, bi, co,
counter, equi, extra, infra, inter, intra, macro, mid, mini, multi,
non, over, post, pre, pro, re, semi, socio, sub, un, under

Prefixed words that require hyphens

• an abbreviation (e.g. pre-WW II), a number (e.g. post-
1960), capitalized (e.g. pro-Arroyo)
• all self- compounds, whether adjectives or nouns
Ex. self-liquidating accounts, the students are self-supporting
• words that could be misunderstood
Ex. re-pair (pair again), re-form (form again), un-ionized
• words in which the prefix ends and the base word
begins with the same vowel.
Ex. co-occur, pre-existing, meta-analysis, anti-
intellectual
 Editing Style
• when two or more compound modifiers have a common base,
this base is sometimes omitted in all except the last modifier,
but the hyphens are retained.
Ex. long- and short-term periods, 1-, 2-, and 3-hr examination
Other cases:
student-centered approach but The approach was student
centered
t-test results but results from t tests

16) Capitalization

In titles and headings, capitalize:

• major words within the body of the paper (excluding
conjunctions, articles and short prepositions); however,
capitalize all words of four letters or more.
Ex. In her study, “Demand Function for the Travel Industry in
Tagaytay City” . . .
 Editing Style
Do not capitalize
• names of laws, theories, models, or hypotheses
Ex. law of supply and demand, Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs, life cycle hypothesis
• nouns that precede a variable (e.g. item y, experiment b)

17) Italicizing Words

• Use italics for titles of books, periodicals, and microfilm
publications
Ex. In the book , “Introduction to Macroeconomics”
• genera, species, and varieties
• introduction of a new, technical, or key term or label (do
not italicize for the next usage)
 Editing Style
• words that could be misread (e.g. the small and big groups
designations not group size)

• letters used as statistical symbols or algebraic variables

• periodical volume numbers in reference lists (e.g. 15, 56-67)
• anchors of a scale
Ex. Self-reliance ratings ranged from 1 (low) to 3 (high)

Do not use italics for

• foreign phrases and abbreviations common in English (main
entries in Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary)
Ex. a priori, et al., ad lib, vis-a-vis, per se

• chemical terms (e.g. Hg, NaCl)

• trigonometric terms (e.g. sin, tan, cos)
Editing Style
18) Abbreviations

• A term to be abbreviated, on its first

appearance, must be spelled out and followed
immediately by its abbreviation in parentheses.
• APA permits the use of the following
abbreviations that do not need explanation in
text (e.g. IQ, AIDS, HIV)
• Latin Abbreviations – used only in parenthetical
material; otherwise, use the English translation
cf. – compare i.e., - that is
e.g., - for example viz., - namely
etc. -, and so forth vs. – versus, against
Editing Style
Scientific Abbreviations
• Use abbreviations and symbols for metric and
nonmetric units of measurement that are
accompanied by numeric values (e.g., 5 in., 3 cm, 12
min, 20 hr, 5 lb) but not for the units of time (e.g., month,
year, day, week)
Plurals of Abbreviations
• add s alone, but not italicized, without an apostrophe
(e.g., IQs, Eds, vols, but pp.)

19) Statistical and Mathematical Copy

Ex., F(2,_10)_=_8.32,_ p_<_.01;
2(4,_n=100)_=_12.60,_p_<_.05
Editing Style
20) Numbers Expressed in Figures

Use figures to express

 all numbers 10 and above (e.g., 10 members, 12 years old)
 all numbers below 10 that are grouped for comparison with
numbers 10 and above (e.g., 3 out of 10, of 10 groups, the
5th group, 6 of the 20 respondents)
 numbers that immediately precede a unit of measurement
(e.g., 5-ft wood, 3-mg dose)
 numbers that represent time; dates; ages; sample,
subsample, or population size; scores and points on a scale;
exact sums of money
Ex: 2 hr 30 min $2 each
3 weeks ago 2:30 a.m.
5 rats October 6, 1955
scored 3 on a 5-point scale
 Editing Style
 numbers that denote a specific place in a numbered series,
parts of books and tables, and each number in a list of four or
more numbers.
Ex: Grade 5 (but fifth grade);Table 2; page 25; chapter 4; row
2; 3, 4, 6, and 10 students, respectively)

21) Numbers Expressed in Words

 numbers below 10 that do not represent precise
measurements and that are grouped for comparison with
numbers below 10 (e.g. nine experiments, five trials, three-
way table, zero-based budgeting, one-line statement)
 any number that begins a sentence (e.g. Forty-five percent of
the respondents . . ., Ten patients improved, and 5 patients
did not improve.)
 common fractions (e.g., one fifth of the class, two-thirds
majority, increased by three fourths)
 Editing Style
22) Combining Figures and Words to Express
Numbers
 rounded large numbers (starting with millions)
Ex: almost 5 million Filipinos
A budget of PhP5.2 billion
 back to back modifiers
Ex. first 5 items, ten 5-year-olds, 2 two-way tables
eleven 7-year-old students, first 10 items (but
first two items)

23) Decimal Fractions

 Use a zero before the decimal point when numbers are less
than 1. (e.g., 0.56 cm, 0.23 in., 0,56 s, 0.9 ft)
 Do not use zero before a decimal fraction when the number
cannot be greater than 1. (e.g., p < .05, r = -.65)
 Editing Style
24) Commas in Numbers
- Use commas between groups of three digits in most figures of 1,000
or more (except serial numbers, degrees of temperature, page
numbers)

25) Plurals of Numbers

- Add s or es alone to form the plurals of numbers whether expressed
as figures or as words (e.g. Threes and sixes, 1990s, 2000s, 10s and
20s)

26) Style for Metric Units

- Use the metric symbol to express a metric unit when it appears with
a numeric value (e.g 2 m), otherwise, spell out the unit in text (e.g.
measured in meters)
- use the metric symbol in column and sub headings of tables
- use lowercase letters when writing out full names of units, unless
used at the beginning of the sentence (e.g. meters, kilograms, giga,
mega, deci)
Editing Style -Tables
Table 1

Volume and Value of Philippine Gold Exports, 1980-2003

_______________________________________________________________
Year Volume Growth rate Value Growth rate
(MT) (%) (US $) (%)
_______________________________________________________________

1980 1,140,352 544,974,421

1981 1,138,628 (0.15) 429,376,458 (21.21)

1982 1,060,405 (6.87) 312,447,026 (27.23)

________________________________________________________________
Average 266,322 (11.79) 90,261,726 (8.24)
_________________________________________________________________
Note. From “Title of Article”, by Author and Author, 2004, Title of Journal, 50,p. 30
Copyright 2005 by the Name of copyright Holder. Reprinted with permission.
 Editing Style
28) Reference List
 References cited in text must appear in the reference list; each
entry in the reference list must be cited in text
 The text citation and reference list entry are identical in spelling
and year
 Entry contains the following: author, year of publication, title,
volume numbers (if journals or periodicals), page numbers and
publishing data
 Acceptable Abbreviations
chap. Chapter p. (pp.) page (pages)
ed. Edition Vol. Volume
(Vol. 3) Rev. ed. revised edition vols.
Volumes 4 vols.)
2nd ed. second edition No. Number
Ed. (Eds.) Editor (Editors) Pt. Part
Trans. Translators Tech. Rep. Technical Report
n. d. no date Suppl. Supplement
Editing Style
29) Reference Citation in Text
 One Work by One Author –author-date method of citation
(do not include Jr.)
Ex. a) As Tan (2000) points out . . . .
b) Both tenants and landless workers in nonrice and
corn lands number about . . . (Ledesma, 2001).
c) In 2001, Ledesma found that . . . .
d) In a study on . . ., Ledesma (2001) emphasized
that . . . Ledesma also found . . . .

 One Work by Multiple Authors

 Two Authors – always cite both names every time
the reference occurs in text
Editing Style
 Three, four or five authors – cite all authors the first time the
reference occurs; in subsequent citations, include only the
surname of the first author followed by et al. and the year if
it is the first citation of the reference within a paragraph
Ex. Sy, Tan, Co, and Dy (2001) found that . . . .
[Use as first citation in text]
Sy et al. (2001) found. . . . [Use as subsequent
first citation per paragraph thereafter].
Sy et al. (Omit year from subsequent citations
after first citation within a paragraph)

If two references with the same year shorten to the same form
(e.g. Sy, Tan, and Co, 2003, and Sy, Co, Tan, and Dy, 2003,
shorten to Sy et al., 2003) cite the surnames of the first authors
to distinguish the two references as:

Sy, Tan, and Co (2003) and Sy, Co et al. (2003)

Editing Style
 Six or more authors – cite only the surname of the first author
followed by et al. and the year for the first and subsequent
citations. In the reference list, provide the initials and surnames of
the first six authors, and shorten any remaining authors to et al.

If two references with six or more authors shorten to the same

form,
Ex. Sy, Tan, Co, Dy, Lee, and Ong (2005)
Sy, Tan, Lim, Ong, Chan, and Cruz (2005)

In text, cite them, respectively as: Sy, Tan, Co, et al. (2005)
and Sy, Tan, Lim, et al. (2005)

In parenthetical material, tables and captions, and reference list,

join the names by an ampersand (&)

Ex. Cruz and Chavez (2002) pointed that . . . .

. . . as has been shown (Cruz & Chavez, 2002)
 Editing Style
 Groups as Authors
The names of groups (e.g., corporations, associations, study groups,
etc.) are spelled out each time they appear in a text citation; the
names of some group authors are spelled out in the first citation and
abbreviated thereafter especially if the name is long and familiar or
readily understandable.

Ex. (Bureau of Forest Development [BFD], BFD), PAGASA,

NEDA, WB, UP, DLSU, IRRI, US, University of Peru,
Central Bank

 Works with No Author or Anonymous Author

 No author – cite in text the first few words of the reference list entry
(usually the title) and the year; use “ ” around the title of an article
or chapter, and italicize the title of a periodical, book, brochure, or
report
Ex. . . . as stressed in the Agribusiness Bulletin (1999)
. . . profitable for private traders (“The Effect of,” 2000)
 Editing Style
 Legal materials - cite materials such as court cases and legislation
by the first few words of the reference and the year.
For cases: Name v. Name, Volume Source Page (Court Date)
Onuh v. Usigan, 234 F. Supp. 345 (March 16, 1995)
 Anonymous - e.g., (Anonymous, 2003)

 Authors With the Same Surname

• include the first author’s initials in all text citations, even if the year
of publication differs.
Ex. A. T. Valerio (2004) and T. A. Valerio (2005) also found. . .
A. C. Cruz and Ilagan (1998) and C. A. Cruz and Sy (2000)

 Two or More Works Within the Same Parentheses

• arrange two or more works by the same authors (in the same
order) by year of publication.; give the author’s surnames once; for
each subsequent work, give only the date.
Ex. (Cruz & Santos, 1995, 1998)
Several studies (Smith, 1995, 1997, 2000; Lim, 1989,1995)
 Editing Style
 Specific Parts of a Source

• indicate the page, chapter, figure, or table at the appropriate point

in text.
Ex. (Boserup & Kim, 2000, p.205); (Nakamura, 1995, chap. 2)
(Kim, 2001, Conclusion section, para. 2)

 Personal Communications
• may be letters, memos, e-mail, personal interviews,, and the like;
cited in text only and not included in the reference list
Ex. T. J. Santos (personal communication, April 3, 1995)
( F. C. Ilagan, personal communication, June 2, 2004)

 Citations in Parenthetical Material

• (see Table 10 of Sy, Tan, & Co, 2004, for complete data)
 Editing Style
30) Order of References in the Reference List
 Alphabetize names
 One-author entries are arranged by year of publication
Ex. Valerio, A. T. (1998)
Valerio, A. T. (2000)

 One-author entries precede multiple-author entries beginning

with the same surname
Ex. Valerio, A. T. (2000)
Valerio, A. T., & Ilagan, F. C. (2001)

31) General Forms (Reference Style)

 Book
Marcos, F. E., & Arroyo, G. M., (2000) Family mediation: Facts,
myths, and future prospects (3rd ed.). Washington DC:
John Wiley and Sons.
Editing Style
 Group author (government agency) as publisher
National Statistics Office. (2002). Census of population and
housing, Sta. Mesa, Manila
 Daily newspaper
Samson, L. A. (2003, April 20). How to fight obesity. Philippine
Daily Inquirer, p. C20.
 Journal article, more than six authors
Chong, S. F., Sy, A. C., Lim, J. G., Tan, L. C., See, K. N., Dy,
J. L., et al., (2000). Population pressure, migration and
markets: Implications for upland development. Quarterly
Journal of Economics, 55, 1040–1049.
 Magazine article
Falcon, W. P. & Capule, A. G. (1995, June 10). Scenarios for
the year 2005. Science, 290, 12-16.
 Periodical published annually
Romero, G. M. (2001). Social cognition and social perception.
Annual Review of Psychology, 44, 155 - 195
 Editing Style
 Edited book
Gonzales, L. A. & Alviar N. A. (Eds.). (1999), Natural resource
economics: Issues, analysis, and policy. New York: John
Wiley and Sons.

 Encyclopedia or dictionary
Santos, D. R. (Eds.). (1990). The new science encyclopedia
(Vols. 1-20), London:Macmillan.

 Proceedings of symposia
Minguez , G. R. (1996). The expanded corn program in the
Philippines. In A. F. Salgado (Ed.), Asian Regional Maize
Workshop (pp. 120-130), University of Bandung Press.
Indonesia.
Editing Style
 Unpublished doctoral dissertation
Cruz, D. D. (1982). Technical and institutional
change in renewable resource development
(with application for traditional fisheries).
Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Madison University of Wisconsin.

 Article in an internet
Environmental sustainability index. (n.d). Retrieved August
24, 2004, from http://www.cc.gatech.environ/fcu/.

Newton, R. T. (2004, July 7). Ten top corporations in

the world. In Business word. Retrieved October 10,
2004, from http://www.corp.net.
Thank
you.