ABSTRACT
This chapter has to do with the mechanics of writing in psychology—with the rules for handling headings, references, quotations, and a dozen or so other stylistic issues. There is no single “right” way to do most of these things, and you have undoubtedly encountered a number of different approaches across different books or articles or college courses. Precisely because various possibilities exist, however, it is important for members of a discipline to agree on a common approach. Thus, in psychology there is a right way to handle headings, references, and numerous other stylistic conventions, and this way is spelled out in the APA Manual. In the words of the Manual,
Uniform style helps us to cull articles quickly for key points and findings. Rules of style in scientific writing encourage full disclosure of essential information and allow us to dispense with minor distractions. Style helps us to express the key elements of quantitative results, choose the graphic form that will best suit our analyses, report critical details of our research protocol, and describe individuals with accuracy and respect. It removes the distraction of puzzling over the correct punctuation for a reference or the proper form for numbers in the text. Those elements are codified in the rules we follow for clear communication, allowing us to focus our intellectual energy on the substance of our research. (p. xiii)
