This article explains what an APA style guide is, when and why you need it, when you should consider hiring an APA editor, and what to look for if you choose to hire an editor. This article also compares the APA style guide with other guides you may encounter.

We spend the majority of our academic years consuming the findings and research of others. Your dissertation marks a pivot to becoming an information producer. Your research may impact the decisions of others and future research in your area of expertise. Congratulations on this pivot from consumer to producer.

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What is a “style”?

A style is simply a set of rules for writing. Style rules vary according to audience. Many organizations create their own style guides. For example, the U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual sets standards for government documents. Some professions use style guides created by others. For example, journalists use the Associated Press Stylebook or the BBC News Style Guide. Microsoft and Apple have their own style guides that others can follow when writing about products sold by those respective companies.

Academic style guides show scholars how to write and format their scholarly dissertations, theses, journal articles, and research papers.

Some style guides offer deep and very specific guidance about every nuance of your paper. These guides can define fine details like the title page layout, distance of the header from the margin, placement of page numbers, or rules on hyphenating prefixes. Other style guides focus on just one aspect of writing, such as how to format legal citations.

For example, any copy editor with an English degree can make your writing grammatically correct. But, will they ensure facts are adequately presented to back your analysis? Will they ensure your sources are cited? Will they guarantee your paper follows the dissertation structure: abstract, acknowledgments, table of contents, introduction, discussion, analysis, findings and conclusion, references, and appendices? Will they understand the intent of each section of the paper and make sure your content supports the intent? Will they ensure your document is a pleasure to read and something you can be proud to present?

The purpose of a style guide

Style is a big deal in academia. By the time you get to graduate school, you have most likely written many papers. Odds are, somewhere in your graduate school experience, you have been told your writing needs to follow a particular “style.”

No matter how you feel about rules, scholarly writing is one instance where you absolutely need to uncover the rules for academic writing at your institution and follow them. Most universities choose a style guide for the entire institution. Others leave the choice of style guide up to the school or the department.

Here are a few reasons why you need a style:

Following style guidelines helps your readers understand your argument. Having a uniform style helps readers (and reviewers) find and follow the main points of your paper. Making it easy for readers to follow your argument means you may be more likely to persuade them to take action in your favor (such as approving your proposal or manuscript).

Following style guidelines helps your professors give you credit for your work. Many higher educational institutions require students to follow a specific style. Papers that depart from the prescribed style may be rejected for lack of compliance with style guidelines.

Following style guidelines can help you avoid plagiarism. As scholarly writers, we are expected to give credit to the work of previous authors. Giving credit involves citing the source of each paraphrased idea, quote, table, or figure and providing detailed information about each source in a list of references.

One very important element in any style is the format of in-text citations and list of sources (references). Each style guide may use a slightly different format. By following your university’s style guide, you are communicating to the reader and your dissertation committee about your desire to avoid plagiarism.

Most reputable universities have strict citation policies to motivate students to avoid the risk of plagiarism, which can carry severe academic and professional consequences.

In addition, citing one’s sources allows readers to look up your sources for more information and further reading.

Where do I get a style?

If you are in a graduate school program, most departments will not allow you to choose your preference of style guide. It is your responsibility to find out what style guidelines apply to your particular field at your institution. Do this before you start writing so you can plan your document accordingly.

Just like you, your advisor, chairperson, and committee members are required to follow the institutional style guidelines. However, there is always room for interpretation. If you find that you and your reviewers differ on the interpretation of a style rule, you have two choices: acquiesce to your reviewers or be ready to support your interpretation with page numbers or paragraph numbers from the style guide.

Popular style guides

• APA STYLE. American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychology Association (7th ed.). ISBN: 9781433832161 (paperback). APA style is a set of style guidelines published for scholarly writers by the American Psychology Association. First published in 1929, the APA style manual is commonly applied in the social and behavioral sciences, including the fields of business, education, and psychology.
• BLUEBOOK STYLE. Harvard Law Review Association. (2010). The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (19th ed.). For writers of legal papers. ISBN: 978-0615361161.
• CHICAGO STYLE. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago Manual of Style (CMS; 16th ed.). ISBN: 9780226104201). Publishers often use CMS. For academic writers, CMS is used primarily in non-journalistic subjects such as history and the arts. CMS offers two main formats for citing sources. One version uses footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography. The other version, which uses parenthetical author-date in-text references and a corresponding reference list, is similar to APA citation format.
• HARVARD STYLE. Harvard style is an author-date referencing system similar to the one used by APA. There is no specific style manual and the style is not affiliated with Harvard University. However, Harvard referencing style is often used in universities in the United Kingdom.
• MLA STYLE. Modern Language Association (MLA). MLA Style Manual (3rd ed. ISBN: 9780873522977) and MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed. ISBN: 9781603290241). MLA style is used primarily in language, literature, and the humanities. MLA is similar to APA style. Differences include the format of in-text citations and the format of references. The title of the reference list is usually “Works Cited.”
• TURABIAN STYLE. Turabian, K. L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (8th ed.). University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 9780226816388. Used in non-journalistic subjects, including history and the arts. Turabian simplified Chicago style for students. Turabian is sometimes referred to as “CMS-lite.”