Style Guidelines for Writing Academic Papers in Psychology 外文文献.doc

Style Guidelines for Writing Academic Papers in Psychology Paul David Antioch University Seattle Writing involves two general components: content and style. Content is what the author says; style is how the author says it. This document is concerned with the writing style most commonly used for writing academic papers in psychology. Style guidelines are established to promote clear written communication. By setting explicit rules governing composition and format, style guidelines minimize problems of inconsistent expression and enable readers to give their full attention to the actual content of a manuscript. This document sets forth the basic style guidelines of the American Psychological Association’s (2001) Publication Manual and discusses the most common style errors students make in writing academic papers. APA Style The style guidelines provided by the American Psychological Association (APA) are drawn from an extensive body of psychological literature, from editors and authors experienced in psychological writing, and from recognized authorities in publication practices in the social sciences. Writing in the APA style, then, puts a document in a format that is both accepted by and familiar to a broad readership in psychology as well as the social sciences. In this sense, writing in the APA style is very much a part of what it means to be a professional in the field of psychology as well as other disciplines in the social sciences. The style guidelines presented here only address the very basics of writing academic papers in psychology. The many other style considerations not addressed in this document can be readily found in the APA’s Publication Manual. In fact, unless otherwise noted, it should be the Publication Manual that serves as the chief reference for these matters. The intent of this document is simply to provide an initial introduction to some of the established style guidelines for format, citations, quotations, and references in academic