AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL

ASSOCIATION (APA) STYLE

ALICE T. VALERIO, Ph.D.

DLSU-D
 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.
Types of Manuscripts

• Final manuscript – produced by the author

of a thesis, dissertation or student paper

• Copy manuscript – produced by the author

of a journal article
General Instructions in Manuscript
Preparation
1. Paper
• 8 ½ X 11, heavy white bond paper
2. Typeface
• 12-pt Times New Roman
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)
General Instructions in
Manuscript Preparation
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. T. Romero); 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.”
Editing Style
2) Comma

• used between elements in a series of three or more

items; before and and or
Ex: Cavite, Laguna, or Batangas
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. Coconut, the tree of life, is considered as a major
dollar earner of the country.
 Editing Style
3) Semicolon

• to separate two independent clauses that are not

joined by a conjunction
Ex. The households in the urban area incurred higher
expenditures; those from the rural area incurred lower
expenditures.

• to separate elements in a series that already contain

commas
Ex. The China markets are Philippines, US, and
Thailand.
Editing Style
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

source and nonpoint sources.
Editing Style

• Do not use comma

• 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

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

kidney transplant capital in the world.

Do not use a colon after an introduction that is not a complete

sentence.

Ex. The formula is Y = a + bX

Editing Style
5) Dash
• to indicate only a sudden interruption in the
continuity of a sentence.
Ex. The respondents—50 middle-level managers and
40 top managers—were considered separately.
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.
 Editing Style
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. The Philippines is considered as the “texting capital”
in the world.

• to enclose quotations in text

Ex. According to Dizon (2003) “demographic and
psychographic factors influence buying behavior”.
Editing Style
• to set off the title of an article or chapter in a periodical
when it is mentioned in the text.
Ex. In a study conducted by Dizon (2004), entitled
“Impact of the Exchange Rate on Export Volumes”
revealed that . . . .

• to reproduce material from a test item or verbatim

instructions to participants.
Ex. The performance was categorized as “high”,
“average”, and “low”.
Editing Style
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)
Editing Style
9) Slash

• to separate numerator from the denominator ( e.g. X/Y)

• to cite a republished work in text .
Ex. Reyes (1996/2000)
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”.
Editing Style

• 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.
Editing Style

• 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).
Editing Style
• 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).
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.
Editing Style
• 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
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
Editing Style
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-2000), capitalized (e.g. pro-Arroyo)
• all self- compounds, whether adjectives or nouns
Ex. self-liquidating accounts, the students are self-
supporting
 Editing Style
• 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
• 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
Editing Style
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;
χ2(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)
Editing Style
• 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
• 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)
 Editing Style
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)
 Editing Style

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)
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)
Editing Style
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
Editing Style
• 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)
Editing Style
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)

❖ 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.
 Editing Style
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
 Editing Style
• 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)
 Editing Style
• 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)
• 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)
Editing Style
• 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)
Editing Style
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.
• 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.
Editing Style
• 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.