Statistics have proven that approximately 85% of the dissertations that are submitted for publication, lack compliance with formatting instructions. Writers are generally aware from the initial stage of the writing process that their research work must be in coherence with the formatting guidelines prescribed by the University. This includes paying attention to the layout of page, margins, pagination, TOC, indentation, citation style etc., but they fail to do so.
The APA is the official style of the American Psychological Association. It is used by academicians for citing and paraphrasing documents correctly. We have various other styles such as, AMA, MLA or Chicago but in the field of psychology, education and Social Sciences, APA is widely used. Few of the rules and guidelines that are given by the APA format are related to the heading of the topic, the tone, punctuations and abbreviations used in the content, the layout and presentation of numbers and statistics, referencing guidelines, and construction of tables, to name a few. Further, for citation of references, there are meticulous instructions to be followed for referencing encyclopedia, dictionaries, research papers, books, newspapers, articles, blogs, and interviews and so on. In addition to that, as a researcher you must always be abreast with the revisions in the APA manual so following the latest edition is very important. Currently, the latest edition being followed is the VIth Edition
It is not just important for you to be aware of the APA style, but because it is so technical and requires incorporations at various stages, few being mentioned above, your editor should also be well versed with the formatting style. Failing to stick to the guidelines may actually make you face rejection for the entire project or dissertation and put all your effort at stake. Universities are very strict about their expectations regarding the APA formatting guidelines and consider it as a benchmark before actually approving the content.
You know by now that, despite all the attention that you pay to the writing process, there is a different set of formatting challenges waiting for you to deal with. It is advisable that while you get your dissertation edited, the editor you hire, should have knowledge of APA formatting and compliance. This can help you to save time and effort, as a seasoned editor would bring perfection in the formatting according to APA style and manifold your chances of acceptance of the document for approval or publication.