Form and Style
APA 7
JANET LYNN M. BALAGTEY
vs APA 6 Benguet State University
Why Citations and Citation Styles?
Unique formats exist for good reason
Styles set standards for scholars
Citations help in avoiding plagiarism
Citations give due credit and respect
Citation styles show that you can follow instructions
Why APA Style?
From its inception as a brief journal article in 1929, the Publication Manual of the
American Psychological Association has been designed to advance scholarship by
setting sound and rigorous standards for scientific communication. The creators of
the 1929 manuscript included psychologists, anthropologists, and business
managers who convened under the sponsorship of the National Research Council.
They sought to establish a simple set of procedures, or style rules, that would codify
the many components of scientific writing to increase the ease of reading
comprehension. This goal was subsequently embraced not only by psychologists
but also by scholars in other social and behavioral sciences who wished to enhance
the dissemination of knowledge in their respective fields.
Why APA Style?
APA Style provides a foundation for effective scholarly communication because it
helps authors present their ideas in a clear, concise, and organized manner.
Uniformity and consistency enable readers to (a) focus on the ideas being presented
rather than formatting and (b) scan works quickly for key points, findings, and
sources. Style guidelines encourage authors to fully disclose essential information
and allow readers to dispense with minor distractions, such as inconsistencies or
omissions in punctuation, capitalization, reference citations, and presentation of
statistics.
Why APA Style
American
Scientific
Psychological 1929
Communication
Association
Psychologists
Increase the ease
Anthropologists
Style Rules of reading
Business
comprehension
Managers
Clear
Focus on ideas
Concise
Scan works clearly
Organized
Why APA 7?
INCLUSIVITY
Why APA Style?
When style works best, ideas flow logically, sources are credited appropriately, and
papers are organized predictably and consistently. People are described using
language that affirms their worth and dignity.
Why APA 7?
The seventh edition of the Publication Manual was created with the practical needs
of users in mind. This edition promotes accessibility for everyone, including users
with disabilities. In consultation with accessibility experts, the authors ensured that
the guidelines support users who read and write works in APA Style through a
variety of modalities, including screen readers and other assistive technologies. For
example, a streamlined format for in-text citations is presented, which intends to
reduce the burden of both writing and reading them. Guidance on how to use
adequate contrast in figures is provided to meet Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines (Web Accessibility Initiative, 2018). The use of a variety of fonts and
default settings in common word-processing programs is also supported, meaning
that users need to make fewer adjustments to their systems to be ready to write in
APA Style.
Why APA 7?
Above all, the aim is to support the many ways in which people communicate.
Authors are encouraged to be conscientious and respectful toward both the people
about whom they are writing and the readers who will benefit from their work.
INCLUSIVITY
What’s New with APA 7?
01
Avoiding Bias
APA 6
Singular Usage
No mention of singular pronouns
of “they” other than the traditional “he” and
“she” and their related forms.
APA 7
4.18. Use singular “they” and related
forms when referring to a person who
uses “they” as their preferred pronoun
and when gender is unknown or
irrelevant.
Each participant turned in their questionnaire.
Jamie shared their experiences as a genderqueer
person.
A child should learn to play by themselves [or
themself] as well as with friends. Rowan, a
transgender person, helped themselves [or themself]
to the free coffee.
Strategies for Gender-Neutral Language
Rephrasing
O When an individual attends psychotherapy, she can improve
emotional regulation.
P When an individual attends psychotherapy, that person can improve
emotional regulation. Therapy can help an individual improve
emotional regulation.
Strategies for Gender-Neutral Language
Using plural nouns or plural pronouns
O A therapist who is too much like his client can lose his objectivity.
P Therapists who are too much like their clients can lose their
objectivity.
Strategies for Gender-Neutral Language
Replacing the pronoun with an article
O A researcher must apply for his grant by September 1.
P A researcher must apply for the grant by September 1.
Strategies for Gender-Neutral Language
Dropping the pronoun
O The researcher must avoid letting her own biases and expectations
influence the interpretation of the result.
P The researcher must avoid letting biases and expectations influence
the interpretation on the results.
Disability
APA 6
Use person-first language
APA 7
5.4. Both person-first and identity-first
language "are fine choices overall."
Okay to use either one until you know
group preference.
Identity First Person-First
Paraplegic Person with paraplegia
Epileptic A youth with epilepsy
Substance abusers People with substance disorders
Mentally retarded People with intellectual
disabilities
Blind person Person who is blind
Autistic person Person with autism
Amputee Person with an amputation
Negative and Condescending Terminology
Don’t write… Write instead
Wheelchair bound Wheelchair user
Confined to a wheelchair
AIDS victim Person with AIDS
Brain damaged Person with traumatic
brain injury
Negative and Condescending Terminology
Negative and Condescending Terminology
Don’t write… Write instead
Cripple, invalid Person with physical disability
Nuts Person with mental illness
Alcoholic Person with alcohol disorder
Meth addict Person with substance disorder
Negative and Condescending Terminology
Genders and
Noun/Pronoun APA 6
Usage No guidance provided.
APA 7
5.5. Use individuals' preferred names
and pronouns even if they differ from
official documents, keeping in mind
concerns about confidentiality.
Gender-Biased Bias-Free
Man, mankind Individuals, people, persons
Policeman Police officer
Housewife Homemaker
He, she Swedish gender-neutral pronouns:
ze, xe, hir, per, ve, ey, hen
Singular “they”
Opposite sex, Another sex
Opposite gender Another gender
Race and
Ethnicity APA 6
No guidance provided.
APA 7
5.7. "Latin@" for Latino and Latina can
be used to avoid "Latino," which is
gendered. "Latinx" can be used to
include all gender identities.
Race and
Ethicity APA 6
No guidance provided.
APA 7
5.7. "Latin@" for Latino and Latina can
be used to avoid "Latino," which is
gendered. "Latinx" can be used to
include all gender identities.
What’s New with APA 7?
02
General Formatting/
Mechanics
Italics vs
Quotation Marks APA 6
Use italics to highlight a letter,
word, phrase, or sentence as a
linguistic example.
APA 7
6.7. Use quotation marks to refer to a
letter, word, phrase, or sentence as a
linguistic example of itself.
Italics vs
Quotation Marks APA 6
Use italics to highlight a letter,
word, phrase, or sentence as a
linguistic example.
APA 7
6.7. Use quotation marks to refer to a
letter, word, phrase, or sentence as a
linguistic example of itself.
APA 6
They clarified the distinction between farther and
further.
APA 7
They clarified the distinction between “farther”
and “further.”
Numbers
APA 6
Numbers in the abstract of a paper
should be expressed as numerals.
APA 7
6.32. Use numerals for numbers 10+
for all sections of the paper including
the abstract (numbers in abstracts now
follow general APA number rules).
When to Use Numerals
● Numbers 10 and above
○ 12 models
○ 15th trial
○ 10th-grade students
● Numbers that immediately precede a unit of measurement
○ A 5-mg dose
○ With 10.5 cm of yellow ribbon
○ 10th grade students
When to Use Numerals
● Numbers that represent time, dates, ages, scores, and
points on a scale, exact sums of money, and numerals as
numerals
○ multiplied by 5
○ 3 times as many
○ The 5th percentile
When to Use Numerals
● Numbers that denote a specific place in a numbered
series and parts of books and tables
○ 5 days
○ was 2 years old
○ received PhP2 in compensation
○ The numeral 7 on the keyboard
When to Use Numbers Expressed in Words
● Numbers zero through nine
○ five participants
○ zero guessing probability
● Any number that begins a sentence, title, or heading
○ Forty-eight percent of the sample showed an increase, 2%
showed no change
○ Twelve students improved, and 15 students did not
improve
When to Use Numbers Expressed in Words
● Common fractions
○ one-fifth of the class
○ Two-thirds majority
● Universally accepted usage
○ Twelve Apostles
○ Five Pillars of Islam
Punctuation for
bulleted lists within APA 7
a sentence 6.52. For bulleted lists within a
sentence, there is the option to either
APA 6 (a) use no punctuation after any of the
list items, including the last, or (b) use
For bulleted lists within a sentence punctuation after each bulleted item in
(i.e., when each list item is a word the same way you would if the
or phrase, not a complete sentence had no bullets (as was the
sentence), use punctuation after case in APA 6). The manual suggests
each list element in the same way that using no punctuation may be more
you would if the sentence had no appropriate for lists of shorter, simpler
bullets (i.e., commas or semicolons items.
as appropriate and a period after
the last item).
APA 6
• learning the rules of the game;
• being aware of who possesses power;
• working doubly hard;
• emphasizing one’s strengths and establishing
some authority; and
• Finding White allies (Lutz et al., Turner et al.,
2011).
APA 7
• learning the rules of the game
• being aware of who possesses power
• working doubly hard
• emphasizing one’s strengths and establishing
some authority
• Finding White allies (Lutz et al., Turner et al.,
2011)
Spacing after
punctuation marks
APA 6 APA 7
Recommendation to space twice 6.1. Insert only one space after periods
after punctuation marks at the end or other punctuation marks that end a
of sentences to aid readers of draft sentence.
manuscripts.
Preferred spellings
of technology terms
APA 6 APA 7
Based on how words were written 6.11. Commonly used technology
in 6th edition manual, not explicit terms are listed and should be spelled
examples of spelling, preferred as follows: "email," "internet," and
spellings were as follows: "e-mail," "webpage."
"Internet," and "web page." Spelling
should conform to standard
American English as in Merriam-
Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
More Technology-Related Terms
● data set ● Database
● Wi-Fi ● intranet
● home page ● The web
● ebook ● Emoji (for the plural, either
● smartphone “emoji” or “emojis”
● username
● login page (but “log in” when
used as a verb)
Use of abbreviations
in headings
APA 6 APA 7
No guidance in manual; On the 6.25 Abbreviations can be used in
archived sixth edition APA Style headings if they were previously
Blog, APA experts recommended defined in the text (but cannot be
not using abbreviations in headings. defined in the heading itself), or if the
abbreviation is exempt from needing
definition because it appears as a term
in the dictionary.
Acceptable Fonts
APA 6 APA 7
The preferred typeface is Times 2.19. A variety of fonts are acceptable,
New Roman, 12-point. with focus on accessibility for readers.
APA accepts sans serif fonts such as
Calibri 11, Arial 11, and Lucida Sans
Unicode 10, as well as serif fonts such
as Times New Roman 12, Georgia 11,
and Computer Modern 10.
Acceptable Fonts
Font Style Font size Sample
Times New Roman 12 Times New Roman
Georgia 11 Georgia 11
Calibri 11 Calibri 11
Arial 11 Arial
Lucida Sans Unicode 10 Lucida Sans Unicode
Paper title length
APA 6 APA 7
Recommended title length is no 2.4. No prescribed limit for title length
more than 12 words. (though recommendation for
conciseness).
Examples
O A Study of the Effect of Depression on the
Decision to Join a Clinical Trial
P Effect of Depression on the Decision to Join a
Clinical Trial
Examples
O Hierarchy and Team Effectiveness
P Why and When Hierarchy Impacts Team
Effectiveness: A Meta-Analytic Integration
Examples
O Closing Your Eyes to Follow Your Heart
P Closing Your Eyes To Follow Your Heart:
Avoiding Information to Protect a Strong
Intuitive Preference
Title Formatting
APA 6 APA 7
Title in regular type (not bold). 2.4. Title in bold type.
Heading levels 3,4,
and 5 formatting
APA 6
Levels 3, 4, and 5 are all indented
and sentence case.
Heading levels 3,4,
and 5 formatting
APA 7
2.27-2.28. Levels 3, 4, and 5 are all
title case. Level 3 is now flush left,
while 4 and 5 remain indented.
What’s New with APA 7?
03
Tables and Figures
Tables
APA 6 APA 7
Table number is plain type, table 7.2 and 7.24. Table number is bold;
title is title case and set in italics. table title is title case and set in italics.
Tables
APA 6 APA 7
Table number is plain type, table 7.2 and 7.24. Table number is bold;
title is title case and set in italics. table title is title case and set in italics.
Figures APA 7
APA 6 7.2 -7.21. Figure number and caption
are on separate lines and are placed
Figure number and caption are on above the figure, and the style matches
same line and are placed below the that for tables: Figure number is bold,
figure. figure caption is title case and set in
italics.
Figures APA 7
APA 6 7.2 -7.21. Figure number and caption
are on separate lines and are placed
Figure number and caption are on above the figure, and the style matches
same line and are placed below the that for tables: Figure number is bold,
figure. figure caption is title case and set in
italics.
What’s New with APA 7?
04
Citations and
References
In-text citation APA 7
format for three or 8.17. In in-text citations, use et al. for
more authors all citations for sources with three or
more authors.
APA 6
In in-text citations of sources with
three to five authors, list all authors
the first time, then use et al. after
that; for sources with six or more
authors, use et al. for all citations.
Direct quotations APA 7
from audiovisual 8.28. To quote directly from an
works audiovisual work, include a time stamp
marking the beginning of the quoted
APA 6 material in place of a page number..
No guidance in the manual itself
(only on the APA Style Blog).
People make “sweeping inferences and
judgments from body language”
(Cuddy, 2012, 2:12).
Dates listed in APA 6
secondary source Secondary source does not include
citations the date of the original source.
APA 7
8.6. Secondary source citation includes
the date of the original source.
(Rabbitt, 1982, as cited in Lyon et al., 2014)
Allport’s diary (as cited in Nicholson, 2003)
Number of author APA 7
names listed in a 9.8. Provide surnames and initials for
reference up to 20 authors in a reference entry. If
there are 21 or more authors, use the
APA 6 ellipsis after the 19th, followed by the
final author name (no ampersand).
Provide surnames and initials for up
to seven authors in a reference
entry. If there are eight or more
authors, use three spaced ellipsis
points after the sixth author,
followed by the final author name
(no ampersand).
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C.
Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, R.,
Collins, W., Deaven, D., Gandin, L., Iredell,
M., Saha, S., White, G., Woollen, J., Zhu, Y.,
Chelliah, M., Ebisuzaki, W., Higgins, W.,
Janowiak, J., Mo, K. C., Ropelewski, C.,
Wang, J., Leetmaa, A., . . . Joseph, D.
Reference format APA 7
when publisher and 9.24. When a work’s publisher and
author are the same author are the same, omit the publisher
in its reference entry.
APA 6
When a work’s publisher and author
are the same, use the word
“Author” as the name of the
publisher in its reference entry.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013).
Diagnostic and statistical manual of
mental disorders (5th ed.).
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780
890425596
Issue numbers for APA 7
journal articles in 9.25. Include issue number for all
references periodicals that have issue numbers.
APA 6
Include issue number when journal
is paginated separately by issue.
Anderson, M. (2018). Getting consistent with
consequences. Educational Leadership,
76(1), 26–33.
Publisher location APA 7
9.29. Do not include publisher location
(city, state, etc.) after publisher name in
a reference.
APA 6
Provide publisher location (city,
state, etc.) before publisher name.
Burgess, R. (2019). Rethinking global health:
Frameworks of power. Routledge.
Reference for online APA 7
work with no DOI 9.34. If an online work (e.g., a journal
article) has no DOI and was found
through an academic research
APA 6 database, generally, no URL is
needed. The reference will look just like
An online work has no DOI, provide the print version.
the home page URL of the journal
or of the book/report publisher.
Anderson, M. (2018). Getting consistent with
consequences. Educational Leadership,
76(1), 26–33.
Hyperlinks in DOI APA 7
and URL formatting 9.35. Both DOIs and URLs should be
presented as hyperlinks (beginning with
"http://" or "https://"). Standardize DOIs
APA 6 as starting with "https://doi.org/". In
documents to be read online, use live
DOI begins with either "doi:" or with links. Blue/underlined or plain black
"https://doi.org/" in references. The text, not underlined, are both
recommendation that URLs should acceptable.
be in plain black text, not
underlined, follows examples from
APA 6 and the APA Style Blog.
McCauley, S. M., & Christiansen, M. H.
(2019). Language learning as language
use: A cross-linguistic model of child
language development. Psychological
Review, 126(1), 1–51.
https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126
URL retrieval APA 7
information in 9.35. The words "Retrieved from" or
references "Accessed from" are no longer
necessary before a URL. The only time
APA 6 the word "Retrieved" (and not
"Retrieved from") is needed is in those
URLs include a retrieval phrase rare cases where a retrieval date is
(e.g., "Retrieved from"). necessary.
Ahmann, E., Tuttle, L. J., Saviet, M., &
Wright, S. D. (2018). A descriptive review
of ADHD coaching research: Implications
for college students. Journal of
Postsecondary Education and Disability,
31(1), 17–39.
https://www.ahead.org/professionalreso
urces/publications/jped/archived-
jped/jped-volume-31
Website name in APA 7
references for online 10.15-10.16. Include the name of the
media website in plain text, followed by a
period, before the URL.
APA 6
List the URL but not the website
name in the publication information.
We created our survey using Qualtrics
(https://www.qualtrics.com).
jl.balagtey@bsu.edu.ph
