Demystifying APA style

Many nursing schools and health care journals have adopted the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA stylebook) as their guide to achieve uniformity and consistency in manuscript preparation as well as in usage and writing style. Published in 2001, the fifth edition of the APA stylebook contains 440 pages and can overwhelm someone who tries to use it for the first time. This article delineates main points in the areas of manuscript preparation, reference lists, in-text citations, and style choices.