Frequently Asked Questions About APA Style®
APA's Publication Manual, 6th Edition, provides complete style guidelines and should be consulted first in all matters concerning APA Style®, but these FAQs will help clarify frequent areas of confusion.
General APA Style Questions
- What is APA Style®?
- Why is APA Style® needed?
- Why is there a specific APA Style®?
- Can you help with my research for my psychology paper?
- Does APA offer a workbook on APA Style®?
References
- How do you reference a book review?
- How do you cite a newspaper article?
- How do you cite two or more references within the same parentheses?
- How do you cite a reference to a book when there is no author or editor?
- How do you cite e-mail communications from individuals?
- How do you cite Facebook?
- How do you cite Twitter?
- What is a digital object identifier, or DOI?
- When do you include a retrieval date in a citation?
- In referencing periodicals, what's the difference between using p. or pp. for page numbers?
- How do you format a bibliography in APA Style®?
- How do you cite an entire website (but not a specific document on that site)?
- How do you reference a web page that lists no author?
- How do you cite website material that has no author, no year, and no page numbers?
- How do you cite an interview?
- How do you cite a source that you found in another source?
- How do you cite the Bible or other classic works?
- I can't find the example reference I need in the Publication Manual. What should I do?
- Can I continue to use the 2007 APA Style® Guide to Electronic References?
Punctuation
- When is it wrong to use a comma?
- When do you need to use a hyphen for compound words?
- What are the correct ways to use a colon?
- When is it wrong and/or inappropriate to use a slash mark?
- Do you use brackets the same way you use parentheses?
- When should you use a semicolon?
- When do you use double quotation marks?
- What is the correct way to use parentheses?
Grammar and Writing Style
- How can you check the agreement of subjects and verbs?
- How can you avoid dangling modifiers?
- How are verbs used most effectively?
- What are linguistic devices?
- What is the source for preferred spelling in APA Style®?
- How do you avoid redundancy?
Writers often become redundant in an effort to be emphatic. Use no more words than are necessary to convey your meaning.
- When are numbers expressed in words?
- When is it appropriate to use abbreviations?
- What is the difference between the words subjects and participants?