APA Style originated in the early 20th century as a way to instruct American Psychological Association authors on proper paper formatting. Since then, APA Style has expanded to inform students and researchers on how to write clearly and concisely. Through tutorials, blog posts, and open feedback, APA Style works with the academic community to keep guidance up-to-date, inclusive, and coherent.

In this four-part series, Chelsea Lee, instructional lead, and Timothy McAdoo, manager, both of APA Style, address major referencing questions—the principles of references, popular myths, and guidance on citing unique sources like ChatGPT. They also discuss expanded guidelines on bias-free language and accessibility standards, such as headings, font type and sizing, and figures. Last, they cover popular questions in the last couple years—how do you cite TikTok anyway?—and how the APA Style team collects and sorts through the hundreds of questions submitted per month.

In this first episode, Tim and Chelsea introduce themselves and their roles at APA Style. They provide an overview of the style guide’s origins and major updates to the seventh edition of the Publication Manual. Last, they explain frequently asked questions from readers, and how the nature of the questions has evolved since the seventh edition’s release in 2019.

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