How to Format Lists in APA. Tomas Elliott (Ph.D.) Published on 03/01/2024; When drafting an APA paper, effectively formatting lists is essential to maintain clarity and readability. Lists can range from simple bulleted points to more complex, lettered or numbered lists. Here’s a breakdown of how to format lists in accordance with APA guidelines:
APA allows for three types of seriated lists: (a) lettered lists, (b) numbered lists, and (c) bulleted lists. In general, when a list is in a sentence use commas to separate items but if any item already contains a comma use semicolons. Lettered Lists: Use a lettered list when you want to present a series within a sentence or paragraph. Each ...
Bulleted Lists: APA uses bulleted lists to avoid the perception of importance/priority connotated in numbered lists. Bulleted lists may be comprised of complete sentences or phrases. If a bulleted list contains phrases, each bullet should begin with a lowercase letter. APA allows the use of bulleted lists with or without punctuation. Example 1:
APA has rules on how to present lists to help the reader see the organization of key elements within sections, paragraphs and/or sentences in a paper. When using seriated lists, choose terms or phrases that are similar or in parallel throughout the list. APA allows for three types of seriated lists: Lettered lists; Numbered lists; Bulleted lists
APA style is used by psychologists and professionals in the social sciences. Lists are useful for structuring ideas, and have special treatment in APA style depending on whether they are numbered, lettered or bulleted.
If you have a series of elements in the body of a paragraph, separate each element with lowercase letters enclosed in parentheses. Although only necessary for more complex elements, here is a simple example: (a) lions, (b) tigers, and (c) bears. APA 7 indicates that vertical, numbered lists are used with complete sentences or paragraphs.
Abbreviations are shortened forms of words or phrases. An abbreviation can be an acronym, which is when the first letter of each major word of a phrase or name is used. For example, an acronym for the Justice Institute of British Columbia is JIBC. Abbreviations can be useful to reduce repetition and maintain smooth flow of ideas in academic papers.
If two works have the same publication date, organize them in the reference list alphabetically by the title of the article or chapter. If references with the same date are identified as parts of a series (e.g. Part 1 and Part 2), list them in order of their place in the series. Then assign letter suffixes to the year.
You can use a lettered list to improve the readability of the sentence w hen you have three or more complex items in a list. In APA style, separate the items using lowercase letters in parentheses: The researchers examined relationships between (a) employee satisfaction, (b) personality types, (c) levels of anxiety, and (d) workplace policies ...
Typical Uses for Lists in APA Style . ... Lettered : Numbered : Bulleted : Clarify the elements without drawing overmuch ... Show how items have relative importance (e.g., increasing or decreasing in importance) Show a general list, with no implied chronology, procedure, order, or differences in importance ...
Numbers in parentheses refer to sections in the APA Manual, Seventh Edition. What to Title Your Reference List (2.12) ... For references with the same author and the same date, use letters after the date to order the entries. References should be alphabetized by title, disregarding the words "A," "An," and "The." ...
APA 7 Headings. If you are adding an appendix to your paper there are a few rules to follow that comply with APA guidelines: ... reports, poems, essays, chapters, etc), capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, and all proper nouns (names of people, places, organizations, nationalities).
Use a lettered list or bulleted list rather than a numbered list if the items are phrases. To create a numbered list, use the numbered list function of your word-processing program. ... Numbered lists are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 6.51 and the Concise Guide Section 4.13.
APA lists the following options (p. 44): Sans serif fonts such as 11-point Calibri, 11 point-Arial, 10-point Lucida, Serif fonts such as 12-point Times new Roman, 11-point Georgia or 10-point Computer Modern. ... you refer to the appendix by its label and capitalise the letters that are capitalised in the label:
Based on APA Publication Manual, 7th Edition (2020). The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is the APA's official citation guide and provides a more detailed explanation of how to use APA style. The Manual is not freely available online, but the American Psychological Association does have Style and Grammar Guidelines on the APA Style website.