APA punctuation
Serial commas
APA has rules about punctuation. APA uses serial commas (sometimes called an Oxford, Harvard, or series comma). So, if you have a list of three or more items, you put commas between each item, not just the first two. E.g., commerce, religion, and politics.
In a list with items that already have commas, use a semi-colon to separate the list items. The list ends with a full stop. For example:
Participants were categorised by geography, where the Manawatu included Palmerston North, Fielding and Ashhurst; Waikato which included Hamilton, Cambridge, and Te Awamutu; and Taranaki which included New Plymouth, Hāwera, and Stratford.
Lettered lists
The same rule applies for lettered lists where a lowercase letter in parenthesis can be used to draw attention to the items and emphasise separation. Use a semi-colon to separate list items that contain a comma. The list ends with a full stop. In APA, numbers in parenthesis are not used in a list. For example:
Participants were categorised by geography, where (a) the Manawatu included Palmerston North, Fielding and Ashhurst; (b) Waikato which included Hamilton, Cambridge, and Te Awamutu; and (c) Taranaki which included New Plymouth, Hāwera, and Stratford.
Numbered lists
You can use numbered lists when list items are ordered in a series (e.g. steps in an experiment, itemised conclusions). Items in a numbered list are complete sentences or paragraphs (use lettered or bullet point lists for phrases or words).
Use the numbered list function on your word processing software which should automatically indent the list. Choose Arabic numbers followed by a full stop. The number should not be enclosed or followed by parenthesis. For example:
The experiment involved a number of steps:
1. A hypothesis was developed that anticipated participants would replicate the results of the original experiment.
2. Participants were given instructions and asked to read thoroughly.
3. The experiment began and participants completed the tasks within the allocated time.
4. Participants were debriefed and told they would be sent the results and analysis as soon as practicable.
5. Data were collated and analysed.
Bulleted lists
Bulleted lists can be used to draw attention to the items of lists without implying the items go in a certain order.
Use the bullet list function on your word processing software which should automatically indent the list. Other symbols such as squares, dashes and so forth may be used.
If bullet list items are complete sentences, start each item with a capital letter and finish with a full stop (or other appropriate punctuation). For example:
When undertaking statutory interpretation, look to the dictionary, ordinary usage and context within the statute to ascertain the natural and ordinary meaning of the issue word (Penk & Russell, 2009):
- Dictionary involves referring to well-known dictionaries for definitions of the issue word in the same sense and tense.
- Ordinary usage involves creating example sentences of the issue word to support your argument.
- Context involves looking at the issue word in other places in the statute and considering the meaning of the words about it.
If bullet list items are words or phrases (i.e., not complete sentences), begin each item with a lower case letter (unless they are proper nouns).
There are two options for the end of bullet list items. You can simply have no punctuation, including the final bullet point list item. For example:
When undertaking statutory interpretation, look to the dictionary and ordinary usage to ascertain the natural and ordinary meaning of the issue word:
- referring to the dictionary for examples
- ordinary usage examples of the issue word
- context about the issue word (Penk & Russell, 2009)
You can also use a semi-colon at the end of each bullet list item particularly if the list item is long with commas. The final bullet list item ends with a full stop. For example:
When undertaking statutory interpretation, look to the dictionary and ordinary usage to ascertain the natural and ordinary meaning of the issue word:
- dictionary, which refers to the dictionary;
- ordinary usage, with sentences including the issue word;
- context, where other uses in the statute and words about the issue word are considered (Penk & Russell, 2009).
End of sentence spacing
Use one space after a full stop, question mark or any other punctuation mark at the end of a sentence when writing in APA Style.
Double parentheses
APA does not like double sets of parentheses, so you join them together and separate with a semi-colon:
(e.g., England, Scotland) (Codd, 2005).
(e.g., England, Scotland; Codd, 2005).