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    Citing Sources in APA 7th Edition: Grammar & Spelling Rules

    Getting Started With APA Style Mechanics of Writing

    APA generally follows the basics of English grammar and writing mechanics. The official dictionary for spelling, including hyphenation and capitalization, is Merriam-Webster.com . 

    Pronouns and Voice:

    APA allows limited use of first person. Use first person when discussing actions taken by you, the writer, directly. Use "I" for actions taken alone, use 'We" when referring to the actions of a group of authors, such as for a group project:

    • I interviewed three currently employed teachers at a local elementary school.
    • We selected the self-care theory of nursing for this project.

    APA uses the singular "they" to refer to those of unknown gender, or those who self-select they as their pronoun.

    • Do not use "he or she" or "s/he." Use "they."
    • Use a plural verb with they, even when singular: They are a current social media personality.

    Punctuation

    Use only one space after punctuation, including end punctuation. Do use a space between initials. Do not use any spaces after periods in abbreviations that use them, or after the colon in a ratio.

    Commas

    • Use a comma after an introductory phrase.
    • Use a comma to set off nonessential clauses.
    • Use a comma between independent clauses.
    • Do not use a comma to separate parts of measurement: 7 years 3 months.
    • Place a comma after the penultimate word in a series. For example: Your books, ball, and bat are under the bed.
      • This is known as an "Oxford" comma.

    The En Dash

    The en dash ( – ) is used in numerical ranges and with compound adjectives of equal weight, for example author–date citation style. In particular, it is an en dash (–), not a hyphen (-), which appears in page number ranges in both in-text citations and references.

    • On PC keyboards with a number pad, the en dash is Ctrl+Number - (the minus sign on the number pad, not the hyphen).
    • On Mac, it is option+hyphen or Alt+hyphen.
    • On PCs without a number pad, such as many laptops, you will need to select the en dash from the Symbol or Special Characters menu. Many word processing programs will allow you to assign the en dash to a keyboard shortcut.
      • Make sure your cursor is in the right place.
      • In Word this menu is on the Insert menu and is called Symbol. It may look slightly different in different versions of Word.

    the Symbol menu has an option for more symbols

    • Select More Symbols to see the full menu. Then select the en dash to insert it.

    the en dash is usually the second option

    • After inserting once, you may find it easier to copy and paste it. You can also copy and paste the one at the start of this section, which is set off with extra spaces to aid in doing so.

    Hyphens

    • Check the Merriam-Webster.com  dictionary for compound words, and use the hyphen or not as it is in the dictionary.
    • If a compound word is not in Merriam-Webster.com , use hyphens for clarity rather than omitting them.
    • Generally use hyphens when compounds appear before a noun, but not after: high-anxiety group vs. group with high anxiety.
    • Hyphenate compound adjectives that precede the noun they modify, except when the first word of the compound is an adverb ending in -ly. For example: role-playing technique, two-way analysis, middle-class families, widely used method.
    • Hyphenate phrases used as adjectives: one-on-one interviews.
    • Do not hyphenate a compound adjective if its meaning is established or it cannot be misread. For example: grade point average, health care management.

    Periods

    • Do not use periods inside abbreviations—FBI not F.B.I—except for standard Latin abbreviations, U.S. or U.K. when used as adjectives, reference abbreviations (n.d. for no date, vol.) or eras (B.C.E. or C.E.).
    • Do use periods for initials in names.
    • Check reference formats carefully for when and how periods appear.
    • Do not use a period after a DOI or URL, as it can prevent using them to locate a source. Set URLs in the text inside parentheses.
      • For example: A survey was conducted through Survey Monkey (https://www.surveymonkey.com / ).

    Abbreviations & Numbers

    Abbreviations

    Abbreviations shorten words, often using the first letters of the words in a name or title (acronyms).

    • Do not use periods inside abbreviations—FBI not F.B.I—except for standard Latin abbreviations, U.S. or U.K. when used as adjectives, or eras (B.C.E. or C.E.).
    • Generally only use the abbreviation after introducing it. Do not go back to spelling it out.

    Some types do not need to be defined, that is spelled out, in text even on the first use:

    • Latin abbreviations
      • Use Latin only in parentheses, otherwise use the meaning. “For example” when in the text, (e.g., when in parentheses). However, use et al. in in-text citations, even outside the parentheses, and use v. in court case titles.
    • Abbreviations that appear as abbreviations in the dictionary, such as IQ, or are otherwise very commonly understood (Eds., DOI, URL).
    • Time measurements, such as hr, min, s
    • Standard units of measurement, such as mm, cm, km, °C
      • Generally these do not have periods after them, except inch, in. so it is not mistaken for the word "in."

    Introducing an Abbreviation or Acronym

    Most abbreviations must be spelled out completely on initial appearance in the text.

    • The abbreviation or acronym should appear in parentheses after that initial spelling out.
      • The American Psychological Association (APA) publishes a manual of style.
    • If the first time appears in the in-text citation, use brackets for the abbreviation. APA does not allow nested parentheses.
      • There were an estimated 810,00 hospitalizations due to flu during the 2017–2018 season (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], n.d.)
      • A citation can follow an abbreviation in the same parentheses: ...role-playing games (RPGs; Copeland et al., 2013).
    • Use only the abbreviation after introducing it. Do not spell it out again in the body. 
      • Do define them again in tables or figures.

    Numbers

    • Use numerals for numbers 10 and above (12 of the subjects); for numbers representing times, dates, measurements, money, and ages (2-year-olds, 2 hr 15 min); for statistics and percentages (multiplied by 5, 5% of the sample).
    • Spell out numbers below 10, any numbers beginning a sentence, title, or heading (Forty-eight people responded. Ten subjects improved.), common fractions (one fifth of the class), and numbers over 10 in common phrases, such as those that form proper nouns (the Twelve Apostles).
    • For numbers denoting a specific place in a series, book, or table, always use the numeral when it comes after the noun (Table 3, Group 3, Step 2, page 32). If it comes before the noun, the usual rules above apply (the sixth grade, the 12th grade, the second chapter, the 23rd chapter).

    Capitalization

    Capitalization

    Capitalize the following:

    • The first word in sentence.
      • Avoid capitalizing brand names that begin with a lowercase letter (such as iPhone and eBay) by rewording the sentence or using a leading article. Do the same for statistical terms such as p value.
    • The first word after a colon, if what follows is a complete sentence.
    • Proper nouns and trade or brand names.
    • Racial and ethnic group names.
    • University or academic departments and courses.
    • Job titles when followed by a name
      • President Truman vs. Truman was president
      • Dr. Doe vs John Doe was a doctor.
    • Personal names that appear in names, such as the names of theories or diseases or disorders. The dictionary can help determine if a capital is needed:
      • Alzheimer's disease
      • Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
      • Euclidean geometry
      • Newtonian fluid

    Title Case

    Title case is used on the title page, and for all titles, subtitles, and headings in the body—including the titles of figures or tables. Title case is also used for the titles of periodicals on the reference page.

    • Capitalize all major words:
      • Words of four letters or more.
      • Nouns.
      • Verbs.
      • Pronouns.
      • Adverbs.
    • Both parts of a hyphenated word.
    • Proper nouns, including trade or brand names, the names of racial and ethnic groups, and the names of university departments and courses.
    • Acronyms, except for Latin abbreviations (such as et al.).
    • The first word of a title.
    • The word after a colon, end punctuation, or em dash (the long dash, —).

    Thus, in title case the only lowercase words should be articles ("a," "an," "the"), or short conjunctions or prepositions (e.g. "and," "but," "for," "if," "as," "to," "at," "by," "in"), unless they start a title or subtitle or if a preposition is used as an adverb or is part of a verb phrase.

    Sentence Case

    Sentence case is used for all titles other than periodical titles in the reference list.

    • Sentence case capitalizes:
      • Proper nouns.
      • Acronyms, except for Latin abbreviations (such as et al.).
      • The first word of a title.
      • The word after a colon or em dash (the long dash, —).
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