APA style is the accepted format for writing professional-level publications in Psychology and many other fields. APA style formally started in 1928 when editors and business managers of psychological and anthropological journals met to discuss the form that journal articles should take when submitted for publication. The group also prepared a set of instructions for article preparation that was published in the February 1929 issue of Psychological Bulletin. APA Style has been evolving since then and is now in its fifth version.

The reasons to have a clear and agreed-upon set of rules are that:

• Such rules contribute to clear communication and make papers, articles, and books easy to read.
  
  
• The rules help to produce clear tables and graphs.
  
  
• References are presented in a fashion that is easy to use and facilitates your being able to find that reference, if you want to read it yourself.
  
  
• Statistical terms and results are presented in a common format that can be easily comprehended.