What is APA format and why is it important?
Many publishers of academic books and journals, as well as grant reviewers and others, require that manuscripts they consider for publication be prepared in APA (American Psychological Association) format. This is true across many disciplines, by no means limited to psychology or even the broader social sciences. What is APA format? Why is it used in areas outside of psychology? And what do writers need to do to get their manuscripts into this format?
APA format is a standard set of conventions for formatting manuscripts. Contains detailed instructions for in-text citation references, reference lists, pagination, margins, subheading hierarchy, headings, etc. It has been adapted to a large number of disciplines (particularly not including medical texts and journals, which have their own set of standardized conventions) for two reasons. First, there is a recognized need to standardize these formatting parameters to make it as easy and efficient for readers to understand scholarly texts as possible. Second, given this need, the APA has developed an extremely thorough and comprehensive manual to accomplish this, and editors from other disciplines need not spend time reinventing the wheel by developing alternative parallel formats. In addition, the APA is mindful of periodically updating its formatting manual, for example, to incorporate references to material found on the world wide web, which did not exist when the first version of the manual was published.
The APA format manual is long and complex, but it is well indexed and very explicit. It can be purchased online from a variety of sources and is available at most university bookstores. Short guides can also be purchased and found online through your favorite search engine using the keywords ‘APA format’.
Investing in your future by hiring an editor who is an expert in APA formatting as well as the correct use of the English language can turn an average thesis into an excellent thesis. It pays to make sure that what many people consider to be one of the most important writings of their lives is of the highest possible quality.