Submitting a manuscript for publication in international journals can be a daunting task, especially for those whose native language is not English. Academic papers must follow specific protocols and author guidelines, and the information must be presented clearly and succinctly. To that end, authors rely on style guides to provide guidance on syntax, formatting, and punctuation. There are several different style guides, with the main differences being the formats for citations and references. The protocols on syntax and punctuation are fairly standard across all of them, with some exceptions.<\/p>\n
The American Psychological Association<\/a> (APA) publishes its Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association<\/em>, a commonly used reference tool for academic writing worldwide and used in the social sciences and engineering disciplines. It was created approximately 80 years ago to \u201cestablish sound standards of communication<\/a>.\u201d APA\u2019s rules help authors ensure that their writing is clear and concise\u00a0and also help them to use proper punctuation with phrases that might otherwise be confusing to the reader.<\/p>\n One area that even authors often find confusing is when to include or omit hyphens in English writing. The material presented here outlines the APA rules for hyphen usage and will help clear up any confusion.<\/p>\nUsing Hyphens with Prefixes<\/h2>\n