The late Lee Sigelman of George Washington University was the editor of the American Political Science Review from 2001 to 2007. During his tenure as editor, he spearheaded the 2006 revision and update of APSA’s Style Manual for Political Science. After the Manual’s 2006 release, the APSA style guidelines outlined within were adopted by political scientists around the world.
Since 2006, however, the landscape of APSA journals has changed significantly. Many innovations and developments have occurred in the journal submission and review process. Consequently, APSA decided to undertake a comprehensive revision of the 2006 Manual to reflect the standards of today’s authors and manuscripts. Importantly, the revised 2018 edition of the APSA Style Manual for Political Science expands and updates previous information to incorporate APSA’s four member-wide journals: the American Political Science Review, PS: Political Science & Politics, Perspectives on Politics, and the Journal of Political Science Education, as well as its numerous organized section journals. The Manual is available in both print and online at www.apsanet.org/stylemanual.
The Manual itself walks authors through an easy-to-follow, step-by-step process: from manuscript preparation to submission. The sections include: manuscript preparation, manuscript writing (including punctuation and style), parenthetical citations, notes, tables and figures, and additional resources.
The Manual acts as an umbrella submission guide; it is an excellent resource for authors writing without a journal in mind. The Manual contrasts with journal-specific style guidelines, which authors must still ultimately follow, but that have specifications not reflected in the larger Manual.
APSA and its journals have already begun adjusting their current editorial practices to match this revision of the APSA Style Manual for Political Science.
If you have a question regarding a specific style rule or need an example of one in use, please use the website’s contact page to send an email directly to APSA Publications. Style updates will appear on the Manual’s website on an as-needed basis. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. The APSA Publication’s team email is publications@apsanet.org.