The Touching Parentheses Rule: A Little-Known APA 7 Guideline

Are you an academic writer who prides yourself on mastering every nuance of APA formatting? Well, here's a lesser-known rule that might surprise you: according to APA 7, parentheses should never touch!

That's right. The APA 7th edition manual states that back-to-back parentheses should not be used. Instead, they should be combined, with the contents separated by a colon or semicolon.

Here's what it looks like in practice:

❌Incorrect: (Smith, 2020)(p. 15)

✅Correct: (Smith, 2020, p. 15)

This rule applies to all instances where you might be tempted to use consecutive parentheses, not just citations. For example:

❌Incorrect: The results were significant (p < .05)(see Figure 1).

✅Correct: The results were significant (p < .05; see Figure 1).

Why does this matter? Beyond just following the rules, this guideline helps create cleaner, more readable text. It reduces visual clutter and makes your writing flow more smoothly.

So next time you're crafting that perfect academic paper, remember: don’t let those parentheses touch! It's a small detail, but attention to these fine points is what separates good academic writing from great academic writing.

Have you encountered any other surprising APA 7 rules? Share in the comments below!

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