APA Citation Help

One of the most frequently confused APA rules involves when to write numbers as words versus numerals. The general rule in APA 7th edition is to use numerals for numbers 10 and above and to spell out numbers below 10. However, there are important exceptions that override this basic rule.

Always use numerals — regardless of size — when reporting statistical or mathematical results (e.g., “a mean of 4.5”), measurements with units (e.g., “3 cm,” “5 kg”), ages (e.g., “children aged 5 years”), time (e.g., “2 weeks,” “4 days”), scores and points on a scale (e.g., “rated 7 on a 10-point scale”), specific places in a sequence (e.g., “Chapter 3,” “Table 2”), and any number in a series when one or more of the numbers is 10 or above. Always spell out numbers that begin a sentence regardless of their value — or better yet, rewrite the sentence so the number doesn’t appear first.

For fractions not in a statistical context, spell them out: “two-thirds of the respondents.” Use the fraction symbol or decimal only when reporting precise statistical data alongside other numerals.

When reporting statistical results in APA format, there are specific conventions for how test statistics, degrees of freedom, p-values, and effect sizes are presented. The general rule is to italicise statistical symbols that are single letters (e.g., M, SD, t, F, r, p) but not abbreviations of multiple letters (e.g., MS, df, ns).

For p-values, report exact values to two or three decimal places (e.g., p = .034) rather than the older convention of p < .05. The only exception is when the p-value is smaller than .001, in which case it is reported as p < .001. Note that APA style does not place a zero before the decimal point for values that cannot exceed 1.0 — so it is p = .034, not p = 0.034.

Always report effect sizes alongside significance tests. APA strongly encourages reporting Cohen’s d, r, η², or equivalent effect size measures to give readers a meaningful sense of the practical significance of your findings — not just whether a result was statistically significant.

APA has specific rules for introducing and using abbreviations. An abbreviation is appropriate when: (1) the full term is long and unwieldy, (2) it appears frequently throughout the paper, and (3) using it improves readability rather than hindering it. A good threshold is five or more uses in the paper — if an abbreviation appears fewer than five times, it is usually clearer to spell out the term each time.

When introducing an abbreviation, spell out the full term first and place the abbreviation in parentheses immediately after: “randomised controlled trial (RCT).” After this introduction, the abbreviation alone can be used throughout the rest of the paper. Do not introduce an abbreviation and then fail to use it — this gives the impression of careless editing. Also avoid introducing abbreviations in titles and headings if possible, since readers may encounter them before the introductory definition in the body text.

Certain abbreviations are used so universally that they do not need introduction in APA papers: common time abbreviations (h, min, s), standard metric units (km, kg, mg, mL), statistical symbols (M, SD, df), and widely understood terms (IQ, HIV, DNA). For any abbreviation you’re uncertain about, the safest approach is to introduce it formally on first use regardless.

One of the most significant expansions in the 7th edition was the bias-free language guidelines — now covering race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. These guidelines are not merely stylistic preferences; they reflect the ethical commitment of APA-standard scholarship to describe participants and communities with accuracy, dignity, and respect.

For racial and ethnic identity, APA 7th recommends capitalising racial and ethnic group names (Black, White, Indigenous, Asian American, Latino/a/e). The decision to capitalise “White” alongside “Black” — a change from the 6th edition — reflects a commitment to treating racial categories with consistency. Avoid using the word “minority” as a default descriptor for non-dominant groups; instead, be specific about which groups you mean.

For gender identity, use the singular “they/them” as a gender-neutral pronoun when referring to a specific person who uses those pronouns, or when a person’s gender is unknown. Avoid gendered language in generic contexts — use “they” rather than “he or she,” and prefer “person-first” or “identity-first” language based on the preferences of the community being discussed. The APA Bias-Free Language Guidelines provide detailed guidance for each category.