apa paper bullet points

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Q. Are bulleted lists allowed in APA Style? How do I format a bulleted or numbered list?

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Answered By: Jonathan Faerber (he/him/his) Last Updated: Nov 04, 2021     Views: 168473

APA Style (7th ed.)

Bulleted and numbered lists are permitted by the APA Style rules; however, if you're unsure if your instructor will permit them in your assignment, please check with your instructor. Keep in mind that because bulleted or numbered lists only provide surface-level information rather than include analysis, and because the focus of academic writing is to demonstrate your critical thinking, these lists are used sparingly in formal academic writing in favor of communicating your ideas in complete sentences and paragraphs. See below for information regarding formatting lists.

Bulleted lists

The capitalization and punctuation for each bulleted item depends on whether the items form sentences or sentence parts. If the bulleted text is a full sentence, capitalize the first letter of the first word and end the paragraph with a period. For example:

• This is a sentence.
• This is another sentence.
• This is the last sentence of the bulleted list.

When a bulleted list separates three or more elements within a sentence, “begin each bulleted item with a lowercase letter” and either punctuate each item in the list as parts of a sentence (e.g., inserting commas), or exclude punctuation after each item (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020, pp. 190-191). For example:

In December 2018, British Columbia had an extreme storm that caused:

• massive damage due to high winds,
• widespread power outages that lasted many days, and
• flooded roads.

This storm affected multiple areas on Vancouver Island, including:

For other examples of bulleted lists, see Bulleted Lists in the APA Style Blog. For an explanation of the difference between a complete sentence and its parts, please see Sentences  and Sentence Elements  on the Writing Centre website.

Numbered lists

Numbered lists are helpful to identify the organization of information, such as "itemized conclusions” or “steps in a procedure" (APA, 2020, p. 190). Keep the following steps when creating a number list:

• Create the numbered list using the numbered list function on Microsoft Word or similar program.
• Set off Arabic numerals at the beginning of each item with a period rather than parentheses (i.e., “2.” rather than “(2)” or “2)”)
• Begin each item in the numbered list with a capital letter, and follow appropriate sentence punctuation throughout the list, using end marks like periods, exclamation, or question marks where required.

Please keep in mind that "the use of 'numbered lists' may connote an unwanted or unwarranted ordinal position (e.g. chronology, importance, priority) among the items" (APA, 2020, p. 190). To avoid this suggestion of position, use a bulleted list instead. For more information on numbered lists, see Numbered Lists in the APA Style Blog.

Lettered lists within a sentence

Lettered lists within a sentence are a good way to identify elements in a series within a paragraph or sentence without breaking the elements into a numbered or bulleted list. To indicate the list, use lowercase letters in parentheses (American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 189). For example, "students were asked to choose between completing (a) a formal research essay, (b) a documentary-style video, (c) a multi-media experience that involves participants". To punctuate a lettered list within a sentence, use commas between each of three or more items, or use semicolons when separating items that include commas, such as a series of phrases (APA, 2020, p.189). See Lettered Lists from the APA Style Blog for more information and examples.

American Psychological Association. (2020).  Publication manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed.).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

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Capstone Form and Style

More apa style guidelines: lists.

When listing three or more items, include a serial comma (also known as an Oxford comma) before the last item and the conjunction “and” or “or.” If one or more clauses contains commas in them, use a semicolon instead of a comma to separate the clauses. (Note that the term "seriation" used in APA 6 does not appear in APA 7 and has been replaced by "lists.”)

You may also list items in three other formats: lettered, numbered, and bulleted.

Lettered Lists (APA 7, Section 6.50)

If you have a series of elements in the body of a paragraph, separate each element with lowercase letters enclosed in parentheses. Although only necessary for more complex elements, here is a simple example: (a) lions, (b) tigers, and (c) bears. Items and phrasing should be parallel.

Numbered Lists (APA 7, Section 6.51)

When ordinal position is important, list items vertically.

The organization’s emergency management protocol consists of seven sequential steps:

• Step 1 involves ...
• Step 2 consists of …
• Step 3 has five components: ...

This would be appropriate when you need to show a specific order of elements, such as in steps in a procedure or conclusions.

List items should be complete sentences or paragraphs in a series (not phrases).

Use Microsoft Word’s numbered list function to create the list; select the option with Arabic numerals (not enclosed within parentheses) followed by a period. Capitalize the first word after the number and the first word of any subsequent sentence. End each sentence with appropriate final punctuation. List items should be double-spaced and indented .5 inch.

Bulleted Lists (APA 7, Section 6.52)

Bulleted lists are appropriate when presenting a list of items in no particular order. Bulleted list items can be complete sentences or phrases or sentence fragments. Use Word’s bulleted list function to create the list. List items should be double-spaced and indented .5 inch.

If complete sentences, begin each list item with a capital letter as you would a regular sentence and insert final punctuation (usually a period) at the end of each list item.

Recommendations for improving patient safety at the facility include the following:

• Install adequate lighting and ventilation in wards, patient rooms, and other areas.
• Incorporate regular training and drills to promote staff awareness of safety procedures.
• Regularly solicit staff and patient and family feedback using an outside firm.

If phrases or sentence fragments, begin each list item with a lowercase letter.

In APA 7, you have two options for punctuating bulleted phrases: to include no punctuation after each list item and after the last list item or to include commas or semicolons, as appropriate, after each list item and final punctuation at the end of the list. (Note that APA 6 only recommended the option to punctuate lists with commas or semicolons.)

The first option may be better for shorter, less complex lists.

• installing adequate lighting and ventilation
• incorporating regular training and drills
• regularly soliciting staff and patient and family feedback

The second option may be better for longer, more complex lists.

• installing adequate lighting and ventilation in wards, patient rooms, and other areas;
• incorporating regular training and drills to promote staff awareness of safety procedures; and
• regularly soliciting staff and patient and family feedback using an outside firm.

Seriation Video

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How to do a seriation in an APA paper? Bulleted lists, numbered lists, etc.?

How do you include a list or a series of points in your paper? 

APA has rules on how to present lists to help the reader see the organization of key elements within sections, paragraphs and/or sentences in a paper. When using seriated lists, choose terms or phrases that are similar or in parallel throughout the list.

APA allows for three types of seriated lists:

• Lettered lists
• Numbered lists
• Bulleted lists

 Each is identified and given in the examples below:

Lettered Lists

Use a lettered list when you want to present a series within a sentence.  Each item is preceded with a letter within parentheses.  Note that this form or seriation may not draw as much of the reader's attention as a bulleted or numbered list.  

The study tested three groups of students: (a) children who attended a publicly funded pre-K program, (b) children who attended a privately funded pre-K program, and (c) children who did not attend a pre-K program.

Numbered Lists

Use numbered lists to display complete sentences or paragraphs in a series. 

The survey included the following questions:

1. What pre-reading strategies were covered in the session before the assessment?

2. Did the pre-reading strategy training improve performance on the assessment?

3. What outcomes were achieved through the pre-reading strategy training?

NOTE : Some may interpret items in a numbered list to be presented in order of importance.

Bulleted Lists

In some situations, a numbered list may give the impression that one item in the list is more important than another; a bulleted list may be preferable.  

Note: If you are reproducing, quoting, or paraphrasing a list taken from a source, the citation would appear at the end of the last item.  (APA 6th edition rules included a semicolon after each item in the list and a period following the last item listed.  APA 7th edition has removed all punctuation in the list.) Two variations on how that type of citation might look are below:

Example of a bulleted list presented as phrases:

Elisabeth Kulber-Ross is widely credited with identifying five stages of grief that many people go through when facing a terminal illness:

• acceptance (Hebert, Moore & Rooney, 2011, para. 9)

Hebert, Moore, and Rooney (2011) indicate that Elisabeth Kulber-Ross is widely credited with identifying five stages of grief that many people go through when facing a terminal illness:

• acceptance (para. 9)

Example of a bulleted list presented as sentences

Follow these steps to successfully search a library database:

• Develop a list of terms that describe the concepts you want expressed in an article.
• Combine the search terms with Boolean connectors by using the OR connector to link synonyms and the AND connector to connect concepts.
• Perform a search and modify the search statement to find desired results.

Example of a bulleted list that contains both phrases and sentences

SMART is a popular method for setting personal goals because well-written goals:

• Specific:  have a clear and high-specific end point.
• Measurable:  can be tracked.
• Attainable:  are realistic.
• Relevant: are in agreement with the organizational goals.
• Time-Bound: have a specific timeframe.

Here is a chart from APA that will help you pick which type of seriation to use:

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Hebert, K., Moore, H., & Rooney, J. (2011). The nurse advocate in end-of-life care.  The Ochsner Journal, (11) 4, 325-329.

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APA Citation Style, Seventh Edition: Formatting Guidelines

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APA dictates more than just the reference list. Your instructor may want you to format your entire paper using APA format. This page outlines those general guidelines for how to format your title page, abstract, the fonts and spacing to use, and how to deal with numbered and bulleted lists.

General APA Guidelines: Student Papers*

Your essay should be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11"), with 1" margins on all sides. You should use a font consistently throughout the paper. APA recommends using either a sans serif font such as 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, or 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, or a serif font such as 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, or 10-point Computer Modern.

Include a page header (also known as the “ running head ”) at the top of every page. For a student paper, this only includes the page number. To create a page header/running head , insert page numbers flush right.  

Major Paper Sections

Your essay should include four major sections: the Title Page , Abstract , Main Body , and References .

Note: APA 7 provides slightly different directions for formatting the title pages of professional papers (e.g., those intended for scholarly publication) and student papers (e.g., those turned in for credit in a high school or college course).

The title page should contain the title of the paper, the author's name , and the institutional affiliation . A student paper should also include the course number and name , instructor name , and assignment due date . Include the page header (described above) flush left with the page number flush right at the top of the page.

Type your title in upper and lowercase letters centered in the upper half of the page. The title should be centered and written in boldface. APA recommends that your title be focused and succinct and that it should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no purpose. Your title may take up one or two lines. All text on the title page, and throughout your paper, should be double-spaced.

Beneath the title, type the author's name : first name, middle initial(s), and last name. Do not use titles (Dr.) or degrees (PhD).

Beneath the author's name, type the institutional affiliation , which should indicate the location where the author(s) conducted the research.

Student APA title page

Main Body Considerations

APA Style uses a unique headings system to separate and classify paper sections. Headings are used to help guide the reader through a document. The levels are organized by levels of subordination, and each section of the paper should start with the highest level of heading. There are 5  heading levels  in APA. Regardless of the number of levels, always use the headings in order, beginning with level 1. The format of each level is illustrated below:

Thus, if the article has four sections, some of which have subsections and some of which don’t, use headings depending on the level of subordination. Section headings receive level one format. Subsections receive level two format. Subsections of subsections receive level three format. For example:

Method  (Level 1)

Site of Study  (Level 2)

Participant Population  (Level 2)

Teachers  (Level 3)

Students  (Level 3)

Results  (Level 1)

Spatial Ability  (Level 2)

Test One  (Level 3)

     Teachers With Experience.  (Level 4)

     Teachers in Training.  (Level 4)

     Teaching Assistants .  (Level 5)

Test Two  (Level 3)

Kinesthetic Ability  (Level 2)

In APA Style, the Introduction section never gets a heading and headings are not indicated by letters or numbers. For subsections in the beginning of a paper (introduction section), the first level of subsection will use Level 2 headings — the title of the paper counts as the Level 1 heading. Levels of headings will depend upon the length and organization of your paper. Regardless, always begin with level one headings and proceed to level two, etc.

Special headings called section labels are used for certain sections of a paper which always start on a new page.

• Paper title
• Appendix A (and so on for subsequent appendices)

These labels should be positioned on their own line at the top of the page where the section starts, in bold and centered.   

APA also allows for seriation in the body text to help authors organize and present key ideas. For lists where a specific order or numbered procedure is necessary, use an Arabic numeral directly followed by a period, such as:

On the basis of four generations of usability testing on the Purdue OWL, the Purdue OWL Usability Team recommended the following:

• Move the navigation bar from the right to the left side of the OWL pages.
• Integrate branded graphics (the Writing Lab and OWL logos) into the text on the OWL homepage.
• Add a search box to every page of the OWL.
• Develop an OWL site map.
• Develop a three-tiered navigation system.

Numbered lists should contain full sentences or paragraphs rather than phrases. The first word after each number should be capitalized, as well as the first word in any following sentence; each sentence should end with a period or other punctuation.

For lists that do not communicate hierarchical order or chronology, use bullets:

In general, participants found the user-centered OWL mock up to be easier to use. What follows are samples of participants' responses:

• "This version is easier to use."
• "Version two seems better organized."
• "It took me a few minutes to learn how to use this version, but after that, I felt more comfortable with it."

Authors may also use seriation for paragraph length text.

For seriation within sentences, authors may use letters:

On the basis of research conducted by the usability team, OWL staff have completed (a) the OWL site map; (b) integrating graphics with text on the OWL homepage; (c) search boxes on all OWL pages except the orange OWL resources (that is pending; we do have a search page); (d) moving the navigation bar to the left side of pages on all OWL resources except in the orange area (that is pending); (e) piloting the first phase of the three-tiered navigation system, as illustrated in the new Engagement section.

Authors may also separate points with bullet lists:

On the basis of the research conducted by the usability team, OWL staff have completed

• the OWL site map;
• integrating graphics with text on the OWL homepage;
• search boxes on all OWL pages except the orange OWL resources (that is pending; we do have a search page);
• moving the navigation bar to the left side of pages on all OWL resources except in the orange area (that is pending);
• piloting the first phase of the three-tiered navigation system, as illustrated in the new Engagement section.

If your bulleted list is part of the sentence and is not preceded by a colon, treat the bullets like a part of the sentence, adhering to standard capitalization and punctuation. This option is helpful for complex or longer bulleted sentences that may be more difficult to read without the aid of punctuation. For items in a bulleted list that are phrases rather than sentences, no punctuation is necessary.

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Sample Papers.  https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/sample-papers Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). APA Headings and Seriation . Purdue Online Writing Lab. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_headings_and_seriation.html

*Note: these guidelines are specifically for STUDENT papers. For Professional papers (those being submitted for scholarly publication), additional instructions apply - please consult https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html

Tables and Figures - General guidelines

The purpose of tables (any graphic that uses a row and column structure to organize information) and figures (any illustration or image other than a table) in documents is to enhance your readers' understanding of the information in the document; usually, large amounts of information can be communicated more efficiently in tables or figures. However, visuals must be used to assist communication, not to use up space, or disguise marginally significant results behind a screen of complicated statistics. Ask yourself if the table or figure is necessary. For example, it is better to present simple descriptive statistics in the text, not in a table.

Relation of Tables or Figures and Text

Because tables and figures supplement the text, refer in the text to all tables and figures used and explain what the reader should look for when using the table or figure. Focus only on the important point the reader should draw from them, and leave the details for the reader to examine on their own.

Documentation

If you are using figures, tables and/or data from other sources, be sure to gather all the information you will need to properly document your sources.

Integrity and Independence

Each table and figure must be intelligible without reference to the text, so be sure to include an explanation of every abbreviation (except the standard statistical symbols and abbreviations).

Organization, Consistency, and Coherence

Number all tables sequentially as you refer to them in the text (Table 1, Table 2, etc.), likewise for figures (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.). Abbreviations, terminology, and probability level values must be consistent across tables and figures in the same article. Likewise, formats, titles, and headings must be consistent. Do not repeat the same data in different tables.

Data in a table that would require only two or fewer columns and rows should be presented in the text. More complex data is better presented in tabular format. In order for quantitative data to be presented clearly and efficiently, it must be arranged logically, e.g. data to be compared must be presented next to one another (before/after, young/old, male/female, etc.), and statistical information (means, standard deviations, N values) must be presented in separate parts of the table. If possible, use canonical forms (such as ANOVA, regression, or correlation) to communicate your data effectively.

A generic example of a table with multiple notes formatted in APA 7 style.

Elements of Tables

Number all tables with Arabic numerals sequentially. Do not use suffix letters (e.g. Table 3a, 3b, 3c); instead, combine the related tables. If the manuscript includes an appendix with tables, identify them with capital letters and Arabic numerals (e.g. Table A1, Table B2).

Like the title of the paper itself, each table must have a clear and concise title. Titles should be written in italicized title case below the table number, with a blank line between the number and the title. When appropriate, you may use the title to explain an abbreviation parenthetically.

Comparison of Median Income of Adopted Children (AC) v. Foster Children (FC)

Keep headings clear and brief. The heading should not be much wider than the widest entry in the column. Use of standard abbreviations can aid in achieving that goal. There are several types of headings:

• Stub headings describe the left hand column, or stub column , which usually lists major independent variables.
• Column headings describe entries below them, applying to just one column.
• Column spanners are headings that describe entries below them, applying to two or more columns which each have their own column heading. Column spanners are often stacked on top of column headings and together are called decked heads .
• Table Spanners cover the entire width of the table, allowing for more divisions or combining tables with identical column headings. They are the only type of heading that may be plural.

All columns must have headings, written in sentence case and using singular language (Item rather than Items) unless referring to a group (Men, Women). Each column’s items should be parallel (i.e., every item in a column labeled “%” should be a percentage and does not require the % symbol, since it’s already indicated in the heading). Subsections within the stub column can be shown by indenting headings rather than creating new columns:

Chemical Bonds

     Ionic

     Covalent

     Metallic

The body is the main part of the table, which includes all the reported information organized in cells (intersections of rows and columns). Entries should be centred unless left aligning them would make them easier to read (longer entries, usually). Word entries in the body should use sentence case. Leave cells blank if the element is not applicable or if data were not obtained; use a dash in cells and a general note if it is necessary to explain why cells are blank. In reporting the data, consistency is key: Numerals should be expressed to a consistent number of decimal places that is determined by the precision of measurement. Never change the unit of measurement or the number of decimal places in the same column.

There are three types of notes for tables: general, specific, and probability notes. All of them must be placed below the table in that order.

General  notes explain, qualify or provide information about the table as a whole. Put explanations of abbreviations, symbols, etc. here.

Example:  Note . The racial categories used by the US Census (African-American, Asian American, Latinos/-as, Native-American, and Pacific Islander) have been collapsed into the category “non-White.” E = excludes respondents who self-identified as “White” and at least one other “non-White” race.

Specific  notes explain, qualify or provide information about a particular column, row, or individual entry. To indicate specific notes, use superscript lowercase letters (e.g.  a ,  b ,  c ), and order the superscripts from left to right, top to bottom. Each table’s first footnote must be the superscript  a .

a  n = 823.  b  One participant in this group was diagnosed with schizophrenia during the survey.

Probability  notes provide the reader with the results of the tests for statistical significance. Asterisks indicate the values for which the null hypothesis is rejected, with the probability ( p value) specified in the probability note. Such notes are required only when relevant to the data in the table. Consistently use the same number of asterisks for a given alpha level throughout your paper.

* p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001

If you need to distinguish between two-tailed and one-tailed tests in the same table, use asterisks for two-tailed p values and an alternate symbol (such as daggers) for one-tailed p values.

* p < .05, two-tailed. ** p < .01, two-tailed. † p <.05, one-tailed. †† p < .01, one-tailed.

Borders 

Tables should only include borders and lines that are needed for clarity (i.e., between elements of a decked head, above column spanners, separating total rows, etc.). Do not use vertical borders, and do not use borders around each cell. Spacing and strict alignment is typically enough to clarify relationships between elements.

Example of a table in the text of an APA 7 paper. Note the lack of vertical borders.

Tables from Other Sources

If using tables from an external source, copy the structure of the original exactly, and cite the source in accordance with  APA style .

Table Checklist

(Taken from the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7th ed., Section 7.20)

• Is the table necessary?
• Does it belong in the print and electronic versions of the article, or can it go in an online supplemental file?
• Are all comparable tables presented consistently?
• Are all tables numbered with Arabic numerals in the order they are mentioned in the text? Is the table number bold and left-aligned?
• Are all tables referred to in the text?
• Is the title brief but explanatory? Is it presented in italicized title case and left-aligned?
• Does every column have a column heading? Are column headings centred?
• Are all abbreviations; special use of italics, parentheses, and dashes; and special symbols explained?
• Are the notes organized according to the convention of general, specific, probability?
• Are table borders correctly used (top and bottom of table, beneath column headings, above table spanners)?
• Does the table use correct line spacing (double for the table number, title, and notes; single, one and a half, or double for the body)?
• Are entries in the left column left-aligned beneath the centred stub heading? Are all other column headings and cell entries centred?
• Are confidence intervals reported for all major point estimates?
• Are all probability level values correctly identified, and are asterisks attached to the appropriate table entries? Is a probability level assigned the same number of asterisks in all the tables in the same document?
• If the table or its data are from another source, is the source properly cited? Is permission necessary to reproduce the table?

Figures include all graphical displays of information that are not tables. Common types include graphs, charts, drawings, maps, plots, and photos. Just like tables, figures should supplement the text and should be both understandable on their own and referenced fully in the text.

Preparing Figures

In preparing figures, communication and readability must be the ultimate criteria. Simplicity is key; special effects and poor design can distract from and distort the data, and make the reader doubt your credibility.

Parts of a Figure

All figures that are part of the main text require a number using Arabic numerals (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.). Numbers are assigned based on the order in which figures appear in the text and are bolded and left aligned.

Under the number, write the title of the figure in italicized title case. The title should be brief, clear, and explanatory, and both the title and number should be double spaced.

The image of the figure is the body, and it is positioned underneath the number and title. The image should be legible in both size and resolution; fonts should be sans serif, consistently sized, and between 8-14 pt. Title case should be used for axis labels and other headings; descriptions within figures should be in sentence case. Shading and colour should be limited for clarity; use patterns along with colour and check contrast between colours with free online checkers to ensure all users (people with colour vision deficiencies or readers printing in grayscale, for instance) can access the content. Gridlines and 3-D effects should be avoided unless they are necessary for clarity or essential content information.

Legends, or keys, explain symbols, styles, patterns, shading, or colours in the image. Words in the legend should be in title case; legends should go within or underneath the image rather than to the side. Not all figures will require a legend.

Notes clarify the content of the figure; like tables, notes can be general, specific, or probability. General notes explain units of measurement, symbols, and abbreviations, or provide citation information. Specific notes identify specific elements using superscripts; probability notes explain statistical significance of certain values.

A generic example of a figure formatted in APA 7 style.

Figure Checklist 

(Taken from the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7 th ed., Section 7.35)

• Is the figure necessary?
• Does the figure belong in the print and electronic versions of the article, or is it supplemental?
• Is the figure simple, clean, and free of extraneous detail?
• Is the figure title descriptive of the content of the figure? Is it written in italic title case and left aligned?
• Are all elements of the figure clearly labeled?
• Are the magnitude, scale, and direction of grid elements clearly labeled?
• Are parallel figures or equally important figures prepared according to the same scale?
• Are the figures numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals? Is the figure number bold and left aligned?
• Has the figure been formatted properly? Is the font sans serif in the image portion of the figure and between sizes 8 and 14?
• Are all abbreviations and special symbols explained?
• If the figure has a legend, does it appear within or below the image? Are the legend’s words written in title case?
• Are the figure notes in general, specific, and probability order? Are they double-spaced, left aligned, and in the same font as the paper?
• Are all figures mentioned in the text?
• Has written permission for print and electronic reuse been obtained? Is proper credit given in the figure caption?
• Have all substantive modifications to photographic images been disclosed?
• Are the figures being submitted in a file format acceptable to the publisher?
• Have the files been produced at a sufficiently high resolution to allow for accurate reproduction?

Source: Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). APA Tables and Figures . Purdue Online Writing Lab. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/apa_tables_and_figures.html

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Lists of Items Using Bullet Points

• Using Abbreviations
• Capitalization
• Lists of Items Within a Sentence
• Key Terms and Invented Phrases
• Mentioning Titles in Your Writing
• Numbers Format

Writing Details

If you want to list three or more items, you can use bullet points to make them clear to your reader. Making these lists parallel also helps with clarity (see our Parallelism document). Here are two ways to use bullet points:

Bullets Points that are Part of, but Listed Below, the Main Sentence

To use bullet points for items that are all part of a main sentence, punctuate and capitalize just as you would without the bullet points.

There are many things to consider when preparing for exams:

• knowing what material will be covered,
• planning your study time,
• eating healthy food, and
• getting enough rest.

Bullet Points that are Each a Sentence Giving More Information About the Main Sentence

When the items in a bulleted list are separate sentences, put a capital letter on the first word of each one, and end each one with a period or with the appropriate punctuation for that sentence.

• Find out what course material will be covered.
• Plan your study time.
• Eat healthy food and get enough sleep.
• Use active learning strategies.
• Parallelism
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• APA Style 7th edition
• Writing in APA Style: Language guidelines

APA Writing Style | Language & Punctuation Guidelines

Published on January 3, 2022 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on October 3, 2023.

The American Psychological Association (APA) published the 7th edition of its style manual in 2019. As well as rules for citation and paper formatting, the manual provides various language guidelines to help you present your ideas in a clear, concise, and inclusive manner.

Key issues include active vs. passive voice, use of pronouns, anthropomorphism, inclusive language, punctuation, abbreviations and acronyms, and numbers.

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Table of contents

Active vs. passive voice, personal pronouns, anthropomorphism, inclusive language, punctuation, abbreviations and acronyms, numbers: words vs. numerals, hyphenation of prefixes and suffixes, other style issues, frequently asked questions about apa language guidelines.

The passive voice , which places the focus on the object of an action rather than on who or what is carrying it out (the agent ), is often overused in academic writing. It can be long-winded, and it sometimes obscures your meaning if you don’t specify the agent.

• The test was completed. [passive voice, agent unclear]
• The test was completed by the participants. [passive voice, long-winded]
• The participants completed the test. [active voice]

APA therefore recommends using the active voice by default. However, that doesn’t mean you can never use the passive voice. When it’s unimportant who carried out a particular action, the passive voice is a better choice.

• James and I mounted the projector on the wall.
• The projector was mounted on the wall.

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Appropriate use of personal pronouns is key to maintaining an academic tone in your writing.

First-person pronouns (I, we) should be used when referring to your own actions and thoughts. Don’t refer to yourself in the third person.

• The researcher(s) administered the test.
• I/we administered the test.

However, avoid the editorial “we,” which involves using “we” to make a generalization about the world or about a group of people.

• We are social creatures.
• Humans are social creatures.

Second-person pronouns (you) should be avoided entirely unless you’re quoting someone else. If you need to make a generalization, use the impersonal pronoun “one” instead, or (usually the better option) rephrase.

• As a teacher, you should be patient with your students.
• As a teacher, one should be patient with one’s students.
• Teachers should be patient with their students.

Use the third-person pronoun “they” to refer to an individual who uses “they” as their chosen pronoun. Also use “they,” not “he or she,” to refer to a generic individual whose gender is unknown or irrelevant in the context.

• When a student agrees to participate, he or she is provided with the necessary materials.
• When a student agrees to participate, they are provided with the necessary materials.
• When students agree to participate, they are provided with the necessary materials.

Anthropomorphism means attributing actions to objects that cannot literally take those actions. Avoid doing this where it confuses your meaning, but feel free to do so when your point remains clear.

• The study wondered whether an algorithm could predict student engagement.
• The researcher wondered whether an algorithm could predict student engagement.
• The table presents the algorithm’s predictions and their accuracy.
• The results suggest that software can help schools improve student well-being.

APA also provides guidance on ensuring your language is inclusive and respectful. Some key points are summarized below.

• Replace terms that are unnecessarily gendered or that have sexist connotations with more inclusive alternatives (e.g., change “fireman” to “firefighter”).
• As mentioned above, use “they” to refer to a person who uses “they” as their chosen pronoun and to refer to a generic individual of unknown gender.
• Capitalize “Black” and “White” when used in the racial sense. Don’t use colors to refer to other racial groups. Also capitalize terms like “Native American,” “Hispanic,” “Indigenous,” and “Aboriginal.”
• Don’t hyphenate terms such as “Asian American” or “African American” in any position.
• Generally, avoid using adjectives as nouns to label groups of people. For example, prefer “people living in poverty” over “the poor.” This emphasizes that poverty is a circumstance in people’s lives, not an essential quality of their existence.

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Besides following general punctuation rules , pay attention to these points when writing in APA Style.

• Always use a comma after the Latin abbreviations “e.g.” and “i.e.”
• Similarly, use a comma after an introductory phrase , even if it’s only a single word. For example, “Conversely, the results of …”
• For proper hyphenation of words, follow Merriam-Webster or, for psychological terms, the APA Dictionary of Psychology .
• Hyphenate fractions only when they are used as adjectives (e.g., “two thirds of the participants,” but “a two-thirds majority”).
• Always use the serial comma (aka Oxford comma ), which means placing a comma before the “and” preceding the final item in a list of three or more items. For example, “grammar, usage, and style.”
• Use double quotation marks, and place a comma or period following a quote inside the quotation marks .

Proper use of abbreviations and acronyms is important, since they help keep your writing concise but can be confusing if used inconsistently or without proper explanation.

• Define an acronym when you first mention it, and use it consistently after that point. You don’t need to define very well-known acronyms like “TV” and “DNA” or abbreviations for standard units of measurement (e.g., “min” for “minute”).
• Redefine an abbreviation in each figure and table in which it appears. The purpose of defining abbreviations in the table or figure is that if other authors reuse the work in a future paper, then the definitions of the terms will be attached.
• Avoid using an acronym in your paper title, except in cases where the acronym is used more commonly than the full term (e.g., “DNA” or “HIV”). You can use acronyms in headings only if they are similarly common or have been defined in the text before that heading.
• It’s fine to begin a sentence with an acronym or abbreviation. However, never begin a sentence with a lowercase abbreviation or a standalone symbol.
• Use periods in the terms “U.S.” and “U.K.” only when they are used as adjectives, not when they are used as nouns. Do not use periods in abbreviations of state, province, or territory names (e.g., “NY”).
• Use the Latin abbreviations “e.g.,” “i.e.,” and “etc.” only in parentheses or within bullet-point lists. APA considers them too informal for the main text.

As a general rule, spell out numbers for zero through nine and use numerals for 10 and above . However, note the following exceptions.

Always use numerals:

• When a number directly precedes a unit of measurement (e.g., 5 cm)
• When referring to statistics, equations, fractions, decimals, percentages, or ratios
• When a number represents time, dates, ages, scores, points on a scale, exact sums of money, or numerals as numerals (but use words for approximations of numbers of days, weeks, months, or years)
• When referring to a specific place in a numbered series
• In the abstract of a paper (this allows you to save space in the character limit)

Always use words:

• For any number that begins a sentence, title or heading (but where possible, rephrase to avoid the issue)
• For common fractions (e.g., “one fifth”)
• For universally accepted usage (e.g., “Twelve Apostles,” “Five Pillars of Islam”)

Use a combination of numerals and words to express back-to-back modifiers (e.g. “2 two-way interactions” or “ten 7-point scales”). In such situations, a combination of numerals and words increases the clarity and readability of the phrase.

Note that when referring to a numbered element of your text, you should use a numeral and capitalize the word preceding it (e.g., “Chapter 2,” “Table 4”).

Prefixes and suffixes are added to words to alter their meaning—prefixes to the start of the word, suffixes to the end. For example, by adding the prefix “post-” to the adjective “natal,” you get another adjective, “postnatal.”

It’s often not clear whether such terms should be hyphenated or written as one solid word. APA helpfully provides a list of prefixes and suffixes that don’t require hyphenation according to their guidelines.

But do hyphenate:

• The prefix “self-” (e.g., “self-deprecating”)
• The word “quasi-experimental”
• Prefixes that end with “a,” “i,” or “o” when the following word starts with the same letter (e.g., “meta-analysis,” “anti-intellectual”)
• When attaching to a number, abbreviation, or capitalized word (e.g., “pre-1914,” “post-Napoleonic”)
• To avoid ambiguity (e.g., “re-form” to mean “form again” as opposed to the usual meaning of “reform”)

APA’s guidelines are extensive. Read more about other style issues not covered in this article by following the links below:

• APA Style citation
• Paper formatting and layout
• Headings and subheadings
• Tables and figures
• Reporting statistics
• Block quoting

Yes, APA language guidelines encourage you to use the first-person pronouns “I” or “we” when referring to yourself or a group including yourself in your writing.

In APA Style, you should not refer to yourself in the third person. For example, do not refer to yourself as “the researcher” or “the author” but simply as “I” or “me.” Referring to yourself in the third person is still common practice in some academic fields, but APA Style rejects this convention.

Yes, it’s perfectly valid to write sentences in the passive voice . The APA language guidelines do caution against overusing the passive voice, because it can obscure your meaning or be needlessly long-winded. For this reason, default to the active voice in most cases.

The passive voice is most useful when the point of the sentence is just to state what was done, not to emphasize who did it. For example, “The projector was mounted on the wall” is better than “James and I mounted the projector on the wall” if it’s not particularly important who mounted the projector.

Yes, APA language guidelines state that you should always use the serial comma (aka Oxford comma ) in your writing.

This means including a comma before the word “and” at the end of a list of three or more items: “spelling, grammar, and punctuation.” Doing this consistently tends to make your lists less ambiguous.

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Clear Guide to APA Bulleted List Format

Table of Contents

Bullet points in APA format have certain rules that you need to follow properly to maintain the sequence of the items in the list. Whether you use a bulleted or numbered list, they are excellent for drawing visual attention to listed items and emphasizing items in a series.

Each of these lists is used to communicate your ideas better and make your writing more readable to the audience. This article will teach you about the rules and design elements of different APA style lists.

Why Are Bullet Points Important in Writing?

Bullets are a great way to break up a long paragraph on a complicated topic where the reader might get confused or stop reading. Consolidating information into a bulleted list saves the reader time and requires less white space for better formatting.

Moreover, bullets are easier for us to see and comprehend. They are also easy for us to scan for important snippets of text. Finally, bullet points or numbered lists break up large amounts of text into manageable chunks to improve the readability of a text.

Rules of Bullet Points in APA Format

You can list items in three different formats: lettered, numbered, and bulleted. The rules of bullet points are laid out in detail in the following:

Lettered List

Lettered lists are great for identifying elements in a series within a sentence or paragraph without breaking them into a bullet or numbered list. APA style format demands each element in a series be separated with a lowercase letter within parentheses. Also, there should be commas or semicolons between each item in the list.

Example of a lettered list:

People who have diabetes are suggested to (a) follow a healthy eating plan, (b) refrain from eating sweet beverages, and (c) go for a morning walk regularly.

Numbered List

For numbered lists, the APA style format calls for whole sentences, not phrases. You must list things vertically when an ordinal position is important. Numbered lists are helpful when you need to organize information such as the steps in a procedure.

Example of a numbered list:

We need to attend the meeting for three primary reasons:

• Attendance is made mandatory by the authority.
• Each department will be assigned new tasks.
• Participation in office activities plays a role in the final evaluation.

Bulleted List

Bulleted lists are appropriate when presenting a list of elements in no particular sequence . Items in a bulleted list can be full sentences, phrases, or sentence fragments.

Use Word’s bulleted list feature to generate a list with bullets. The bullets may be represented by various symbols, including small circles, squares, dashes, and so forth. The list will also be automatically indented.

APA ruling for complete sentences, phrases, or words are as follows:

Items that are complete sentences

If the bulleted items are whole sentences, capitalize the first letter of each one and end it with a period or other suitable punctuation.

General diabetes patients must follow the advice below:

• Check your blood sugar level every day before and after exercise.
• Refrain from sugar-sweetened beverages which are high in calories.
• Keep a regular exercise schedule as per your doctor’s suggestions.

Items that are words or phrases

When using words or phrases as bulleted items, start each one with a lowercase letter except for words that are proper nouns. When the items in a bulleted list are words or phrases, there are two ways to punctuate them.

Option 1: Don’t use any punctuation after the bulleted items, including the final item in the list. This way is preferable for short and simple items.

General advice for diabetes patients includes the following:

• checking your blood sugar level every day
• refraining from sugar-sweetened beverages
• keeping a regular exercise schedule

Options 2: Insert punctuation after the bulleted items as if the bullets were not present. This option is better for longer and more complicated items.

• checking your blood sugar level every day before and after exercise
• refraining from sugar-sweetened beverages which are high in calories
• keeping a regular exercise schedule as per the doctor’s suggestions.

This article is intended for English composition students and educators in need of an overview of bullet points in APA format. It covers why bullet points are important and the rules that apply in an APA paper.

It also provides an overview of the different types of lists you could use in an APA format. Hope you find this article helpful!

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Tables and Figures

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resources for the older APA 6 style  can be found at this page  as well as at this page (our old resources covered the material on this page on two separate pages).

The purpose of tables and figures in documents is to enhance your readers' understanding of the information in the document; usually, large amounts of information can be communicated more efficiently in tables or figures. Tables are any graphic that uses a row and column structure to organize information, whereas figures include any illustration or image other than a table.

General guidelines

Visual material such as tables and figures can be used quickly and efficiently to present a large amount of information to an audience, but visuals must be used to assist communication, not to use up space, or disguise marginally significant results behind a screen of complicated statistics. Ask yourself this question first: Is the table or figure necessary? For example, it is better to present simple descriptive statistics in the text, not in a table.

Relation of Tables or Figures and Text

Because tables and figures supplement the text, refer in the text to all tables and figures used and explain what the reader should look for when using the table or figure. Focus only on the important point the reader should draw from them, and leave the details for the reader to examine on their own.

Documentation

If you are using figures, tables and/or data from other sources, be sure to gather all the information you will need to properly document your sources.

Integrity and Independence

Each table and figure must be intelligible without reference to the text, so be sure to include an explanation of every abbreviation (except the standard statistical symbols and abbreviations).

Organization, Consistency, and Coherence

Number all tables sequentially as you refer to them in the text (Table 1, Table 2, etc.), likewise for figures (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.). Abbreviations, terminology, and probability level values must be consistent across tables and figures in the same article. Likewise, formats, titles, and headings must be consistent. Do not repeat the same data in different tables.

Data in a table that would require only two or fewer columns and rows should be presented in the text. More complex data is better presented in tabular format. In order for quantitative data to be presented clearly and efficiently, it must be arranged logically, e.g. data to be compared must be presented next to one another (before/after, young/old, male/female, etc.), and statistical information (means, standard deviations, N values) must be presented in separate parts of the table. If possible, use canonical forms (such as ANOVA, regression, or correlation) to communicate your data effectively.

A generic example of a table with multiple notes formatted in APA 7 style.

Elements of Tables

Number all tables with Arabic numerals sequentially. Do not use suffix letters (e.g. Table 3a, 3b, 3c); instead, combine the related tables. If the manuscript includes an appendix with tables, identify them with capital letters and Arabic numerals (e.g. Table A1, Table B2).

Like the title of the paper itself, each table must have a clear and concise title. Titles should be written in italicized title case below the table number, with a blank line between the number and the title. When appropriate, you may use the title to explain an abbreviation parenthetically.

Comparison of Median Income of Adopted Children (AC) v. Foster Children (FC)

Keep headings clear and brief. The heading should not be much wider than the widest entry in the column. Use of standard abbreviations can aid in achieving that goal. There are several types of headings:

• Stub headings describe the lefthand column, or stub column , which usually lists major independent variables.
• Column headings describe entries below them, applying to just one column.
• Column spanners are headings that describe entries below them, applying to two or more columns which each have their own column heading. Column spanners are often stacked on top of column headings and together are called decked heads .
• Table Spanners cover the entire width of the table, allowing for more divisions or combining tables with identical column headings. They are the only type of heading that may be plural.

All columns must have headings, written in sentence case and using singular language (Item rather than Items) unless referring to a group (Men, Women). Each column’s items should be parallel (i.e., every item in a column labeled “%” should be a percentage and does not require the % symbol, since it’s already indicated in the heading). Subsections within the stub column can be shown by indenting headings rather than creating new columns:

Chemical Bonds

     Ionic

     Covalent

     Metallic

The body is the main part of the table, which includes all the reported information organized in cells (intersections of rows and columns). Entries should be center aligned unless left aligning them would make them easier to read (longer entries, usually). Word entries in the body should use sentence case. Leave cells blank if the element is not applicable or if data were not obtained; use a dash in cells and a general note if it is necessary to explain why cells are blank.   In reporting the data, consistency is key: Numerals should be expressed to a consistent number of decimal places that is determined by the precision of measurement. Never change the unit of measurement or the number of decimal places in the same column.

There are three types of notes for tables: general, specific, and probability notes. All of them must be placed below the table in that order.

General  notes explain, qualify or provide information about the table as a whole. Put explanations of abbreviations, symbols, etc. here.

Example:  Note . The racial categories used by the US Census (African-American, Asian American, Latinos/-as, Native-American, and Pacific Islander) have been collapsed into the category “non-White.” E = excludes respondents who self-identified as “White” and at least one other “non-White” race.

Specific  notes explain, qualify or provide information about a particular column, row, or individual entry. To indicate specific notes, use superscript lowercase letters (e.g.  a ,  b ,  c ), and order the superscripts from left to right, top to bottom. Each table’s first footnote must be the superscript  a .

a  n = 823.  b  One participant in this group was diagnosed with schizophrenia during the survey.

Probability  notes provide the reader with the results of the tests for statistical significance. Asterisks indicate the values for which the null hypothesis is rejected, with the probability ( p value) specified in the probability note. Such notes are required only when relevant to the data in the table. Consistently use the same number of asterisks for a given alpha level throughout your paper.

* p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001

If you need to distinguish between two-tailed and one-tailed tests in the same table, use asterisks for two-tailed p values and an alternate symbol (such as daggers) for one-tailed p values.

* p < .05, two-tailed. ** p < .01, two-tailed. † p <.05, one-tailed. †† p < .01, one-tailed.

Borders 

Tables should only include borders and lines that are needed for clarity (i.e., between elements of a decked head, above column spanners, separating total rows, etc.). Do not use vertical borders, and do not use borders around each cell. Spacing and strict alignment is typically enough to clarify relationships between elements.

Example of a table in the text of an APA 7 paper. Note the lack of vertical borders.

Tables from Other Sources

If using tables from an external source, copy the structure of the original exactly, and cite the source in accordance with  APA style .

Table Checklist

(Taken from the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7th ed., Section 7.20)

• Is the table necessary?
• Does it belong in the print and electronic versions of the article, or can it go in an online supplemental file?
• Are all comparable tables presented consistently?
• Are all tables numbered with Arabic numerals in the order they are mentioned in the text? Is the table number bold and left-aligned?
• Are all tables referred to in the text?
• Is the title brief but explanatory? Is it presented in italicized title case and left-aligned?
• Does every column have a column heading? Are column headings centered?
• Are all abbreviations; special use of italics, parentheses, and dashes; and special symbols explained?
• Are the notes organized according to the convention of general, specific, probability?
• Are table borders correctly used (top and bottom of table, beneath column headings, above table spanners)?
• Does the table use correct line spacing (double for the table number, title, and notes; single, one and a half, or double for the body)?
• Are entries in the left column left-aligned beneath the centered stub heading? Are all other column headings and cell entries centered?
• Are confidence intervals reported for all major point estimates?
• Are all probability level values correctly identified, and are asterisks attached to the appropriate table entries? Is a probability level assigned the same number of asterisks in all the tables in the same document?
• If the table or its data are from another source, is the source properly cited? Is permission necessary to reproduce the table?

Figures include all graphical displays of information that are not tables. Common types include graphs, charts, drawings, maps, plots, and photos. Just like tables, figures should supplement the text and should be both understandable on their own and referenced fully in the text. This section details elements of formatting writers must use when including a figure in an APA document, gives an example of a figure formatted in APA style, and includes a checklist for formatting figures.

Preparing Figures

In preparing figures, communication and readability must be the ultimate criteria. Avoid the temptation to use the special effects available in most advanced software packages. While three-dimensional effects, shading, and layered text may look interesting to the author, overuse, inconsistent use, and misuse may distort the data, and distract or even annoy readers. Design properly done is inconspicuous, almost invisible, because it supports communication. Design improperly, or amateurishly, done draws the reader’s attention from the data, and makes him or her question the author’s credibility. Line drawings are usually a good option for readability and simplicity; for photographs, high contrast between background and focal point is important, as well as cropping out extraneous detail to help the reader focus on the important aspects of the photo.

Parts of a Figure

All figures that are part of the main text require a number using Arabic numerals (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.). Numbers are assigned based on the order in which figures appear in the text and are bolded and left aligned.

Under the number, write the title of the figure in italicized title case. The title should be brief, clear, and explanatory, and both the title and number should be double spaced.

The image of the figure is the body, and it is positioned underneath the number and title. The image should be legible in both size and resolution; fonts should be sans serif, consistently sized, and between 8-14 pt. Title case should be used for axis labels and other headings; descriptions within figures should be in sentence case. Shading and color should be limited for clarity; use patterns along with color and check contrast between colors with free online checkers to ensure all users (people with color vision deficiencies or readers printing in grayscale, for instance) can access the content. Gridlines and 3-D effects should be avoided unless they are necessary for clarity or essential content information.

Legends, or keys, explain symbols, styles, patterns, shading, or colors in the image. Words in the legend should be in title case; legends should go within or underneath the image rather than to the side. Not all figures will require a legend.

Notes clarify the content of the figure; like tables, notes can be general, specific, or probability. General notes explain units of measurement, symbols, and abbreviations, or provide citation information. Specific notes identify specific elements using superscripts; probability notes explain statistical significance of certain values.

A generic example of a figure formatted in APA 7 style.

Figure Checklist 

(Taken from the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7 th ed., Section 7.35)

• Is the figure necessary?
• Does the figure belong in the print and electronic versions of the article, or is it supplemental?
• Is the figure simple, clean, and free of extraneous detail?
• Is the figure title descriptive of the content of the figure? Is it written in italic title case and left aligned?
• Are all elements of the figure clearly labeled?
• Are the magnitude, scale, and direction of grid elements clearly labeled?
• Are parallel figures or equally important figures prepared according to the same scale?
• Are the figures numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals? Is the figure number bold and left aligned?
• Has the figure been formatted properly? Is the font sans serif in the image portion of the figure and between sizes 8 and 14?
• Are all abbreviations and special symbols explained?
• If the figure has a legend, does it appear within or below the image? Are the legend’s words written in title case?
• Are the figure notes in general, specific, and probability order? Are they double-spaced, left aligned, and in the same font as the paper?
• Are all figures mentioned in the text?
• Has written permission for print and electronic reuse been obtained? Is proper credit given in the figure caption?
• Have all substantive modifications to photographic images been disclosed?
• Are the figures being submitted in a file format acceptable to the publisher?
• Have the files been produced at a sufficiently high resolution to allow for accurate reproduction?