APA Punctuation

7/30/2019 APA Punctuation

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!LThe Mechanics of Style

hen editors refer to style, they mean the rules or guidelines a publisher observesto ensure clear, consistent presentation in scholarly articles . Authors writing fora publication must follow the style rules established by the publisher to avoid

inconsistencies among journal articles or book chapters. For example, without rules ofstyle, three different manuscripts might use sub-test, subtest, and Subtest in one issue of ajournal or in one book. Although the meaning of the word is the same and the choice ofone style over the other may seem arbitrary ( in this case, subtest is APA Style), such variations in style may distract or confuse the reader.

This cha p ter descr ibes the s ty le for APA journa ls rega rding the most ba s ic tools forconveying mea ningp unctua t ion, sp el l ing , ca p i ta l iz a t ion, i ta l i cs , a bbrevia t ions , numbers, metr ica t ion, a nd s ta t i s t i cs . I t omits genera l ru les ex p la ined in widely a va i la b les ty le ma nua ls a nd ex a mp les of usa ge with l i t t le re leva nce to APA journa ls . S ty le ma nua ls a gree more of ten tha n they disa gree ; where they disa gree , the Publication Manualta kes p recedence for APA p ubl ica t ions .

U J I n t j d m o i lPunctua t ion es ta b l i shes the ca dence of a sentence , te l l ing the rea der where to p a use(comma , semicolon, a nd colon) , s top (p er iod a nd quest ion ma rk) , or ta ke a detour(da sh, p a rentheses , a nd bra ckets ) . Punctua t ion of a sentence usua l ly denotes a p a use inthought ; d i f f erent k inds of p unctua t ion indica te d i f f erent k inds a nd lengths of p a uses .4 . 0 1 S p a c i n g A f t e r P u n c t u a t i o n M a r k sInsert one space af ter c o m m a s , c o l o n s , a n d s e m i c o l o n s ; p er iods tha t sep a ra te p a rts of a re ference c i ta t ion; a nd

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P U N C T U A T I O N

periods of the init ia ls in personal names (e.g. , J . R. Zhang).Exception: Do not inser t a sp a ce a f ter interna l p er iods in a bbrevia t ions (e.g., a.m., i.e.,U.S.), inc luding ident i ty -concea l ing la bels for s tudy p a rt ic ip a nts (F.I.M.), o r a r o u n dcolons in ra t ios . Sp a ce twice a f ter p unctua t ion ma rks a t the end of a sentence .

4 . 0 2 P e r i o dUse a p er iod to end a comp lete senten ce . Per iods a re used with a bbrevia t ion s a s fo l low s :Use p er iods with init ia ls of names (J . R. Smith). abbreviation for United States when it is used as an adjective (U.S. Navy). identity-concealing labels for study participants (F.I.M.). (See section 4 .01 on spacing.) La t in a bbrevia t ions (a.m., cf., i.e., vs.). reference a bbrevia t ions (Vol. 1, 2nd ed ., p. 6, F. S upp.).Do not use p er iods with a bbrevia t ions of s ta te na mes (NY; OH; Washington, DC) in reference l ist entries or in

vendor loca t ions ( e .g . , for drugs a nd a p p a ra tus descr ibed in the Method sect ion) . ca p i ta l le t ter a bbrevia t ions a nd a cronyms (APA, NDA, NIMH, IQ). a bbrevia t ions for routes of a dminis tra t ion ( i cv , im, ip, iv, s c ) . web addresses in text or in the reference l ist (http://www.apa.org) . In tex t , inc lude

these in parentheses when possible or revise the sentence to avoid ending a sentencew i t h a U R L a n d n o p u n c t u a t i o n .

m e t r i c a n d n o n m e t r i c m e a s u r e m e n t a b b r e v i a t i o n s (cd, cm, ft, hr, kg, lb, min, ml, s).Exception: The a bbrevia t ion for inch (in.) ta kes a p er iod beca use without the p er iod i tcou ld be misrea d.

4 . 0 3 C o m m aU s e a c o m m a between e lements ( inc luding before an d a n d or) in a series of three or more i tems.

Correct:the height, width, or depthin a study by Stacy, Newcomb, and Bentler (1991)

Incorrect:in a study by Stacy, Newcomb and Bentler (1991)

to set off a nonessentia l or nonrestrictive clause, that is , a clause that embell ishes asentence but i f removed would lea ve the gra mma tica l s t ructure a nd mea ning of thesentence inta ct .

Switch A, which was on a panel, controlled the recording device.
http://www.apa.org/http://www.apa.org/


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T H E M E C H A N I C S O F S T Y L E

Statistically significant differences were found for both ratings of controllabilityby self, F(3, 132) = 19.58, p < .001 , est r\ 2 = .31, 95% CI [.17, .43], and ratingsof controllability by others, F(3, 96) = 3.21, p = .026, est n, 2 = .09, [.00, .20],

to sep a ra te two indep endent c la uses jo ined by a conjunct ion.Cedar shavings covered the floor, and paper was available for shredding andnest building.

to set off the year in exact dates.April 18, 1992, was the correct date.

bu tApril 1992 was the correct month.

to set of f the yea r in p a renthet ica l re ference c i ta t ions .(P atrick, 1993)(Kelsey, 1993, discovered . . .)

to sep a ra te group s of three d ig i ts in mos t num bers of 1,000 or more (see section 4.37f o r e x c e p t i o n s ) .

D o n o t u s e a c o m m a before an essentia l or restrictive clause, that is , a clause that l imits or def ines thema ter ia l i t modif ies . Remova l of such a c la use f rom the sentence would a l ter the

intended mea ning .The switch that stops the recording device also controls the light.

between the two p a rts of a comp ound p redica te .Correct:

All subjects completed the first phase of the experiment and returned the following week for Phase 2.

Incorrect:All subjects completed the first phase of the experiment, and returned the following week for Phase 2.

to sep a ra te p a rts of mea surement .8 years 2 months 3 min 40 s

4 . 0 4 S e m i c o l o nUse a semicolon to sep a ra te two indep endent c la uses tha t a re not jo ined by a conjunct ion.


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The participants in the first study were paid; those in the second were unpaid. to sep a ra te e lements in a ser ies tha t a l rea dy conta in comma s. (See sec t ion 3 .0 4 forthe use of semicolons in numbered or lettered series. )

The co\or order was red, yellow, blue; blue, yellow, red; or yellow, red, blue.(Davis & Hueter, 1994; Pettigrew, 1993)age, M = 34.5 years, 95% CI [29.4, 39.6]; years of education, M = 10.4 [8.7,12.1]; and weekly income, M = 612 [522, 702];

4 . 0 5 C o l o nUse a colon between a gra mma tica l ly comp lete introductory c la use (one tha t cou ld s ta nd a s a

sentence) and a f inal phrase or clause that i l lustrates, extends, or amplif ies the preceding thought . I f the c la use fo l lowing the colon i s a comp lete sentence , i t beg inswith a capital letter.

For example, Freud (1930/1961) wrote of two urges: an urge toward union withothers and an egoistic urge toward happiness.They have agreed on the outcome: Informed participants perform better than douninformed participants.

in ra t ios a nd p rop ort ions .The proportion (saltwater) was 1:8. in references between p la ce of p ubl ica t ion a nd p ubl isher .

N ew York: Wiley. St. Louis, M O : Mo sby.Do not use a colon a f ter a n introduct ion tha t i s not a n indep endent c la use or comp lete sentence .

The formula is r, = a, + e.The instructions for the task were

Your group's task is to rank the 15 items in terms of their importance for thecrew's survival.

4 . 0 6 D a s hUse a da sh to indica te only a sudden interrup t ion in the cont inu i ty of a sentence . O veruse wea kens the f low of ma ter ia l . (See a lso sec t ion 4 .1 5 for ca p i ta l iz a t ion fo l lowingdashes in t i t les . )

Thes e two participants one fro m the first group and one from the sec ondwere tested separately.


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4 . 0 7 Q u o t a t i o n M a r k sO bserve the fo l lowing guidel ines for uses of double quota t ion ma rks other tha n inma ter ia l quoted direct ly f rom a source .U se d o u b l e q u o t a t i o n m a r k s* to introd uce a word o r phrase used as an iron ic com me nt, as s lang, or as an invented

or coined ex p ress ion. Use quota t ion ma rks the f i rs t t ime the word or p hra se i s used;therea f ter , do not use quota t ion ma rks .

Correct:considered "normal" behaviorthe "good- outc ome" variable . . . the good-outcome variable [no quota t ionmarks af ter the init ia l usage]Incorrect:considered 'normal' behaviorthe "good-outcome" variable . . . the "good-outcome" variable

to set off the t i t le of an article or chapter in a periodical or book when the t i t le isment ioned in tex t .

R iger's (1992) article, "Epistemolo gical D ebates, F eminist Vo ices: Science,Social Values, and the Study of W o me n"

to rep roduce ma ter ia l f rom a tes t i tem or verba t im ins truct ions to p a rt ic ip a nts .The first fill-in item was "could be expe cted to ."

I f ins truct ions a re long , se t them of f f rom tex t in a b lock forma t wi thout quota t ionma rks . (See sec t ions 4 .0 8 a nd 6 .0 3 for d iscuss ion of b lock forma t . )Do not use double quota t ion ma rks to ident i fy the a nchors of a sca le . Ins tea d, i ta l i c iz e them.

We ranked the items on a scale ranging from 1 (all of the time) to5 (never).

to cite a letter, wo rd, phra se, or sentence as a l inguistic exam ple . Inste ad, i ta l icize thet e r m .

He clarified the distinction between farther and further. to introduce a technica l or key term. Ins tea d, i ta l i c iz e the term.

The term zero-base budgeting appeared frequently in the speech.She compared it with meta-analysis, which is described in the next section.


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to hedge. D o not use a ny p unctua t ion with such ex p ress ions .Correct:

The teacher rewarded the class with tokens.Incorrect:

The teacher "rewarded" the class with tokens.

4 . 0 8 D o u b l e o r S i n g l e Q u o t a t i o n M a r k sIn t e x t . Use double quota t ion ma rks to enc lose quota t ions in tex t . Use s ing le quota t ionma rks within double quota t ion ma rks to set of f ma ter ia l tha t in the or ig ina l source wa senclosed in double quota t ion ma rks .

Correct:Miele (1993) found that "the 'placebo effect,' which had been verified in previous studies, disappeared when [only the first group's] behaviors were studied inthis manner" (p. 276).

Incorrect:Miele (1993) found that "the "placebo effect," which had been verified in previous studies, disappeared when [only the first group's] behaviors were studied inthis manner" (p. 276).

In b l o c k q u o t a t i o n s ( a n y q u o t a t i o n s o f 4 0 o r m o r e w o r d s ) . D o not use quota t ion ma rksto enc lose b lock quota t ions . D o use double quota t ion ma rks to enc lose a ny quotedma ter ia l wi thin a b lock quota t ion.

Correct:Miele (1993) found the following:

The "placebo effect," which had been verified in previous studies,disappeared when behaviors were studied in this manner.Furthermore, the behaviors were never exhibited again [emphasisadded], even when reel [sic] drugs were administered. Earlier studies(e.g., Abdullah, 1984; Fox, 1979) were clearly premature in attributingthe results to a placebo effect, (p. 276)

Incorrect:Miele (1993) found the following:

"The 'placebo effect,' which had been verified in previous studies,disappeared when behaviors were studied in this manner.Furthermore, the behaviors were never exhibited again [emphasisadded], even when reel [sic] drugs were administered. Earlier studies(e.g., Abdullah, 1984; Fox, 1979) were clearly premature in attributingthe results to a placebo effect (p. 276)."

W i t h o t h er p u n c t u a t i o n . Pla ce p er iods a nd comma s within c los ing s ing le or double quota t ion ma rks . P la ce other p unctua t ion ma rks ins ide quota t ion ma rks only when theya re p a rt of the quoted ma ter ia l .


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T H E M E C H A N I C S OF S T Y L E

4 . 0 9 P a r e n t h e s e sUse parentheses to set of f s t ructura l ly indep endent e lements .

The patterns were statistically significant (see Figure 5).(When a complete sentence is enclosed in parentheses, place punctuation inthe sentence inside the parentheses, like this.) If only part of a sentence isenclosed in parentheses (like this), place punctuation outside the parentheses(like this).

to set off reference citations in text (see sections 6.09-6.19 a n d A p p e n d i x 7.1 for further d iscuss ion of re ference c i ta t ions in t e x t ) .

Dumas and Dore (1991) reportedis fully described elsewhere (Hong & O'Neil, 1992) in the Diagnostic andStatistical M anual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR; AmericanP sychiatric Ass ocia tion, 2000)

to introduce a n a bbrevia t ion.effect on the galvanic skin response (GSR)

to set off letters that identify i tems in a series within a sentence or paragraph (seealso section 3.04 o n s e r i a t i o n ) .

The subject areas included (a) synonyms associated with cultural interactions,(b) descriptors for ethnic group membership, and (c) psychological symptomsand outcomes associated with bicultural adaptation.

to group ma thema t ica l ex p ress ions ( see a lso sec t ions 4.10 a n d 4.47).(k - 1 )/(g - 2)

to enc lose the c i ta t ion or p a ge number of a d irec t quota t ion ( see a lso sec t ion 6.03).The author stated, "The effect disappeared within minutes" (Lopez, 1993, p.311), but she did not say which effect.Lopez (1993) found that "the effect disappeared within minutes" (p. 311), butshe did not say which effect.

to enc lose numbers tha t ident i fy d isp la yed formula s a nd equa t ions .M : = CUM,., + f, + g, * g r (1)

to enclose statist ical values.was statistically significant (p = .031)


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to enc lose degrees of f reedom.f(75) = 2.19F(2, 116) =3.71

Do not use p a rentheses to enc lose ma ter ia l wi thin other p a rentheses .

(the Beck Depression Inventory [BDI]) [Use brackets to avoid nested parentheses. ]were statistically different, F(4, 132) = 13.62, p < .001 . [Use a com m a be fore thes ta t i s t i cs to a void nes ted p a rentheses . ]

ba ck to ba ck .Correct:

(e.g., defensive pessimism; Norem & Cantor, 1986)Incorrect:

(e.g., defensive pessimism) (Norem & Cantor, 1986)

4 . 1 0 B r a c k e t sUse bra ckets to enc lose the va lues tha t a re the l imits of a conf idence interva l .

95% CIs [-7.2, 4.3], [9.2, 12.4], and [-1.2, -0.5] to enc lose ma ter ia l inser ted in a quota t ion by some p erson other tha n the or ig ina l

writer."when [his own and others'] behaviors were studied" (Hanisch, 1992, p. 24)

to enc lose p a renthet ica l ma ter ia l tha t i s a l rea dy within p a rentheses .(The results for the control group In = 8] are also presented in Figure 2.)

Exception 1: Do not use bra ckets i f the ma ter ia l ca n be set of f ea s i ly wi th comma sw i t h o u t c o n f o u n d i n g m e a n i n g .

(as Imai, 1990, later concluded)no t

(as Imai [1990] later concluded)Exception 2: In ma thema t ica l ma ter ia l , the p la cement of bra ckets a nd p a rentheses i sreversed; tha t i s , p a rentheses a p p ea r wi thin bra ckets . (See sec t ion 4.47 for further discuss ion of bra ckets in equa t ions . )


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Do not use bra ckets to set off statist ics that a lready include parentheses.

Correct:was statistically significant, F{\, 32) = 4.37, p = .045.

Incorrect:was statistically significant (F[\, 32] = 4.37, p= .045).

Incorrect:wa s s tatistically sign ificant [F (l, 32) = 4.37, p = .045).

4 . 1 1 S l a s hUse a slash (a lso called a uirgule, solidus, o r skill) to c la r i fy a re la t ionship in which a hyp hena ted comp ound is used.

the classification/similarity-judgment conditionhits/false-alarms comparison

to sep a ra te numera tor f rom denomina tor .X/Y

to indica te per to sep a ra te uni ts of mea surement a ccomp a nied by a numerica l va lue(see section 4.27).

0.5 deg/s 7.4 mg/kgbu t

luminance is measured in candelas per square meter* to set of f Engl ish p honemes .

lo l to c i te a rep ubl ished work in tex t .

Freud (1923/1961)Do not use a slash when a p hra se would be c lea rer .

Each child handed the ball to her mother or guardian.no t

Each child handed the ball to her mother/guardian.


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96 S P E L L I N G for s imp le comp a risons . Use a hyp hen or short da sh (en da sh) ins tea d.

test-retest reliabilityno t

test/retest reliability more tha n once to ex p ress comp ound uni ts . Use centered dots a nd p a rentheses a s

needed to p revent a mbigui ty .nmol hr _ 1 mg- 1

no tnmol/hr/mg

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APA Punctuation