In late 2019, the American Psychological Association (APA) released the 7th edition of its Publication Manual. This new edition, APA7, introduced several changes designed to make scholarly writing more concise, accessible, and inclusive. But what exactly changed? In this blog post, we will break down the key differences between APA7 vs. APA6.
1. Student and Professional Papers
Unlike APA6, which had different formatting for student and professional papers, APA7 provides a single set of guidelines for both. This simplifies things by removing confusion about which rules to follow based on the nature of the paper. The only variations apply to elements like the title page, running head, and abstract.
2. Running Head
APA6 required a running head for all papers. It had to include the phrase "Running head," followed by a shortened version of the paper's title. APA7, however, simplifies this. For student papers, the running head is not required at all. For professional papers, only the paper's shortened title (without "Running head") is needed in the header on each page.
3. Paper Elements
The order of paper elements has changed slightly in APA7. Student papers now align more closely with professional papers. Specifically, the abstract now comes after the title page, and student papers may include an author's note.
4. Citation Style
In-text citations have seen some simplifications in APA7. When a work has three or more authors, you now only need to include the first author’s last name followed by "et al." in all citations, including the first one. This is a change from APA6, which required listing all authors up to five in the first citation.
5. References
APA7 provides clearer guidelines for citing online material. For online articles or webpages, a DOI or URL is required, and the phrase "Retrieved from" is no longer used. Also, the format for citing ebooks and audiobooks now aligns more closely with that for citing print books.
6. Headings
APA7 simplifies the formatting of headings. For example, the fifth-level heading in APA6 was italicized, indented half an inch, and ended with a period, with the text continuing on the same line. Now, in APA7, the fifth-level heading is left-aligned, bolded, and ends with a period, with the text starting on the next line.
7. Use of Singular “They”
In an effort to be more inclusive, APA7 endorses the use of the singular "they" as a gender-neutral pronoun.
8. Tables and Figures
APA7 introduces new guidelines for formatting tables and figures. Each figure and table now begins on a new page after the reference list, and there's more flexibility in font choices for tables.
9. Font
APA7 has expanded the range of acceptable fonts. In addition to Times New Roman 12, you can also use Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans Unicode 10, Georgia 11, or Computer Modern 10.
Transitioning from APA6 to APA7 might feel daunting initially. But remember, these changes aim to simplify and streamline the writing and editing process, and create a more inclusive, accessible form of academic communication. Always refer to the latest APA manual or trusted online resource if you're unsure about specific formatting, and don't hesitate to seek our professional editing help for your academic papers.
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