1. American
Psychological
Association
(APA)

2. APA (American Psychological
Association) style format
The is the preferred citation style for social
science research papers. APA style is a set of
guidelines for writing and formatting research papers
in psychology and related fields. APA is frequently
used in the fields of economics, criminology, political
science, sociology, business, and pedagogy. When
we talk about APA style in research, we are talking
about the rules for what a research paper must
contain and how it should be written. APA provides
specific guidelines for nearly all aspects of
manuscript formatting, from font choice to margins
and punctuation.
2

3. An APA style research paper should be written
formally. Your intended audience is other
academics, your colleagues, and you want to
communicate with them very clearly and
professionally. This means:
• No slang
• No pop culture references
• No humor
• Minimize literary devices (metaphors, irony,
imagery, etc.)
• Be direct and straightforward
• Use technical terms, but only where appropriate
• Avoid biased language
3