AAA Style Guide
AAA uses The Chicago Manual of Style (14th edition, 1993) and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary (10th edition, 1993; On-Line edition, 2003). This guide is an outline of style rules
basic to AAA style. Where no rule is present on this list, follow Chicago. In Webster’s, use the
first spelling if there is a choice and use American not British spellings. (This guide does not
apply to newsletters, which deviate frequently from these guidelines in the interest of space and
tend to follow many Associated Press style rules.)
Article Titles and Section Heads
Do not put endnote callouts on display type such as titles, section heads, or epigraphs.
Place them after nearest hard punctuation or at the ends of excerpts. Never use endnote
inside excerpts or after soft punctuation (i.e., commas, em-dashes, in lines of poetry,
etc.)
Do not number section heads
Use the following terms for each separate submission:
• paper = conference
• article = journal or newspaper
• chapter = book
• essay = essay in journal, book, etc.
• review = review in journal or newspaper
Capitalization
Follow Webster’s and Chicago
Ethnicity (Chicago 7.33–7.35):
• Capitalize these terms as noted (unless author objects): African American, AfroAmerican,
Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian American, Canadian American,
Euramerican, Euro-American, Euro-Canadian, European American, European
Canadian, Hispanic, Indo-European, Jew, Latina, Mesoamerican, Native (indigenous),
Native American, Pacific Islander, Australian and Canadian Aboriginal and Aborigine
• Lowercase these terms as noted: aboriginal (where not Australian or Canadian);
black; highlander, but Highlander (where referring to Scottish); mestizo; redneck;
white
Events (Chicago 7.68):
• Capitalize historical, quasi-historical, political, economic, and cultural events or
plans: Battle of the Books, Boston Tea Party, Cold War (20th century, USSR vs.
USA), Great Depression, the Holocaust, Industrial Revolution
• Lowercase: California gold rush, civil rights movement, cold war, depression
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Figures, tables, appendixes (exception to Chicago):
• Capitalize in text if they refer to items within the present work, lowercase if they refer
to those in other works:
• In Figure 1
• As you can see in Table 2
• In Johnson’s figure 1
• Evidence in Johnson’s table 1 agrees with my own (Table 2)
Historical or cultural terms (Chicago 7.63–7.73):
• Where capitalized by tradition or to avoid ambiguity, per Chicago and Webster’s use:
Middle Ages, Progressive Era, Restoration, Roaring Twenties, Stone Age,
• Lowercase: ancient Greece, nuclear age, romantic period, U.S. colonial period
Names of organizations, committees, associations, conferences (Chicago 7.50–7.62):
• Capitalize full official names—lowercase “the” preceding a name, even where it is
part of the official title: the Baltimore City Council, Bureau of the Census, Census
Bureau, Circuit Court of Cook County
• Lowercase where they become general: the bureau, city council, congressional,
council, county court, federal
Place-names (Chicago 7.36–7.39):
• Capitalize geographical and popular names of places: Antarctica, Asia, Atlantic, Back
Bay (Boston), Central America, City of Brotherly Love, Foggy Bottom (D.C.), Ivory
Coast, North Pole, Orient, the States, Third World (do not hyphenate as adj.), Upper
Michigan
• Directions should be capitalized where used as a name but not where used as a
direction:
• Caribbean Islands; Far East; North India; North Pole; Pacific Islands;
the South; South India; South Pacific; the Southwest (n.), but
southwestern (adj.); the West; Westernize
• northern Michigan, the south of France, southeastern, western Samoa,
the Western world
• Lowercase: eastern Europe, western Europe, central Europe. Exceptions: use Eastern
and Western Europe in the context of the political divisions of the Cold War; use
Central Europe in the context of the political divisions of World War I
Titles of offices (Chicago 7.16–7.26):
• Capitalize civil, military, religious, and professional titles only where they
immediately precede the name. In formal usage, such as acknowledgments or lists of
contributors, capitalize the title following the name: B.A. in anthropology; Judy
Jones, Smith Professor Emeritus at Yale University; Professor Jones, associate
professor of education studies; a professor emeritus; Henry Trueba, chair of the
Department of Education Studies; the chairman of the department
• For academic degrees or titles, capitalize where formal, lowercase where informal:
Louis Spindler, Ph.D.; a Master of Science degree from University of Virginia; a
master’s degree in education
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Titles of works (Chicago 7.126):
• For titles of works in AAA journals, references cited, and notes: change capitalization
only. Do not change anything else, even spelling or punctuation (exception to
Chicago)
• Capitalize first and last words of titles and subtitles in English. For other languages,
follow Chicago
• Capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound (exception to Chicago)
• Do not capitalize parenthetical translations of titles in references cited
Foreign Words and Foreign Quotations
Diacritics:
• Alert field office and AAA of unusual characters or fonts in advance of submission to
verify they are printable.
Quotations:
• Put foreign sentences and quotations in quotation marks (and do not italicize)
Translations:
• Include translations of foreign words in parentheses immediately following (or vice
versa, but keep consistent throughout the work):
• ellai (borders) and cantippu (crossroads)
• Include translations of foreign-language quotations either in an endnote or in brackets
immediately following the quotation (without italics and without quotation marks):
• “Todas somos amigas de desde chiquitas, casi puras vecinas” [We are
all friends since we were small, and almost all are neighbors].
• See Reference Examples, example X, for translation of foreign titles in references
Words:
• Italicize non-English words that do not appear in the main section of Webster’s.
Italicize them on first use only, unless used as a term (see Italics, Words as words)
Italics
Words as words:
• Italicize words used as words (e.g., as terms) in written context; but where the context
is solely the spoken word, is used for ironic effect, or is a concept, use quotation
marks:
• In Smith 1994 the term subaltern implies
• to keep children on the “right path” academically
• Bourdieu, who utilized notions of “cultural capital” and “habitus”
• Bourdieu defines cultural capital and habitus as
Legal usage (Chicago 7.72):
• Use italics for names of legal cases
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Publication names:
• Italicize publications used as authors in in-text citations, but leave roman in
references cited
[sic] (Chicago 10.7):
• Italicize word, not brackets
• Correct obvious typographical errors rather than use [sic]
Do not italicize: e.g., i.e., or cf.
Numbers
Spell out numbers in the following instances:
• One through ten
• Numbers at the beginning of a sentence
• Numbers where used in the approximate sense:
• The area comprises roughly two hundred viable sites; not 200
• About 15 thousand soldiers were killed; not 15,000 or fifteen thousand
Age:
• 24 years old, 11 months old, a 34-year-old woman, in her thirties
Currency:
• Assume dollar designations are in U.S. currency. Otherwise (e.g., Canada) use:
• US$200 (not U.S.) and CAN$200
• Do not use $ with USD (e.g., $20 USD), as it is redundant
• Refer to the Government Printing Office for pre-Euro designations, or flag for the
production department at AAA
Dates:
• ninth century, 20th century; 1960–65; 1960s (not 60s); the sixties; October 6, 1966;
April 1993 (no comma); C.E. 1200; 1000 B.C.E.; April 18, not April 18th
Fractions:
• Hyphenate as both adjective and noun: a two-thirds majority, two-thirds of those
present
Inclusive numbers:
• Do not elide numbers in a range: 893–897; 1,023–1,045
• Elide year spans (exception to above): 1989–92
“Mid -”:
• Hyphenate numbers or numerals: mid-thirties (age), mid-1800s (years)
• Use an en-dash, rather than hyphen, with an open compound: mid–19th century, mid–
Cold War
Numbered items such as parts of a book, are not capitalized:
• chapter 5 (in reviews ch. 5 or chs. 5–7), part 2
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Ordinals (nd or rd):
• 22nd, rather than 22d; 23rd, rather than 23d
Quantities (Chicago 8.18):
• Use numerals above ten and spell out measurement: 26 millimeters, five miles, 15
kilometers (not km); but in tables, OK to use 26 mm, 5 gm, 10 mph
• Express round numbers above ten million in numerals + words: 20 million
• 20 percent, but in tables, OK to use %
• Use commas in four-digit numbers: 1,409; but not page numbers (p. 1409)
Series:
• Where dealing with more than one series of quantities, use numerals for one of the
series: The first shape had 4 sides, the second had 7 … and the twelfth had 3
• Where small numbers occur in a group with large numbers, set them all in numerals
for consistency
Statistics (Chicago 8.19–8.20; 12.66):
• Decimal fractions: use initial zero only if number can equal or exceed 1
• 0.3–1.5
• according to a Chi-square test yielding a value of 4.2, p < .05
• Kappa = .33, p < .05
• Use N for sample sizes, but use n for subgroups of samples
Times:
• 2:00 p.m., noon
Punctuation:
Binary distinctions, dichotomies, or equal relationships: use en-dash, not solidus or
hyphen
• parent–teacher; us–them; mind–body, not mind-body or mind/body
• Previously published phrases are excepted: Foucault’s power/knowledge
Quotations
All published quotations must be cited with year and page number(s):
• (1992:7–8)
Avoid “cited in” where citing quotes within another work. Use the work listed in
references cited and adjust the language outside parentheses:
• As Johnson notes (Webber 1992)
• Do not use: (Johnson, cited in Webber 1992)
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Format for block extracts:
• If extract takes more than four manuscript lines, make it a block extract
• Use brackets for citation at the end of a block; put sentence period before citation
• If italics have been added, specify:
• [Smith 1993:22, emphasis added]
• Do not use “emphasis in original”
• If multiple paragraphs occur within a continuous block, the first paragraph should
have no indent, but subsequent paragraphs should be marked by indents rather than
extra leading
Initial letter:
• Change case of initial letter of quote to fit sentence without using brackets
Per Chicago 10.28:
When a quotation that is run into the text in the typescript is converted to a block quotation [by
author or editor], the quotation marks enclosing it are dropped, and interior quotation marks are
changed accordingly.
Spelling and punctuation corrections:
• Leave all spellings and punctuation alone in quotes; use [sic] only if necessary, and
give an explanation in text if absolutely necessary
Do not use initial or final ellipses
Do not use quotes for yes or no except in direct discourse (Chicago 10.35)
Running Text
Abbreviations (see Chicago 14.32–14.33):
• Do not use in narrative text in most cases
• Ampersands: replace all “&” with “and”
• Scholarship:
• Only abbreviate in parentheses: (i.e., e.g., etc.)
• Spell out in text: that is, for example, et cetera, and so forth
Articles in titles:
• Drop or romanize articles in titles (a, the) from text:
• In 1998, a New York Times op-ed piece indicated
• The Washington Post article contends
Avoid gender-related language:
• See Casey Miller and Kate Swift’s The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing (New York:
Lippincott and Crowell, 1980)
• Never use “s/h e,” “him/her,” or “his/her”: Use “he or she” or rewrite as plural to
avoid. See The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing (Casey Miller and Kate Swift) for
more on nonsexist language
7
Commas:
• Use serial commas. Use a comma to separate the clauses of a compound sentence but
not a compound subject or a compound predicate unless there are three or more
elements. Use commas around parenthetical elements
Dialogue:
• Spell out names on first occurrence and then use first initial on subsequent
occurrences:
Curly Mustache:
Author:
CM:
A:
Lists:
• Run lists into text with (1), (2), (3), etc. Do not use (a), (b), (c), etc.
• Use pairs of parentheses, not singles
Spaces between initials:
• T. S. Eliot, H. L. Mencken
Spelling:
• Use the first spelling in Webster’s unless otherwise noted
Tables, Figures, and Appendixes
Table and figure widths depend on the size of the journal. Ensure that all text and figures
are sized to fit within the margin limitations of submitting journal or contact AAA
production office for verification
Every table and figure should have a callout in running text: [Place Table 1 here]
Place appendixes at the end of the article, after the references cited
Text Citations and References Cited
All references must be cited in author–date form; all author–date citations must be
referenced
Alphabetization:
• References with the same author and date should be placed in alphabetical order, by
title
Citations:
• Place text citations as near the author’s name as possible, except place quotation
citations after the quote
• Use colon, no space, between year and page number (exception to Chicago):
• Waterman 1990:3–7
• Use “et al.” in text citations of three or more authors , but use all names in references
cited
8
• Use full first names where possible for authors and editors (but do not force if author
goes by initials)
• Where citing an author, put the year in parentheses, but where citing a work, leave the
year (and page numbers, if applicable) in the running text:
• Author: Smith (1990) eloquently describes the material.
• Work: Smith 1990 contains an analysis of the material.
Do not use ibid. for repeated references
Notes:
• Where citing a note or notes, use:
• (Boulifa 1990:10 n. 12, 24 nn. 12–13)
Works in production or near publication:
• Text citations: in press; n.d.
• References cited: In press; N.d.
Reprinted material:
• Where citing reprinted material, use date from work used in text citations and insert
all dates in references cited list:
• Text citations: (Webber 1994)
• References cited: Webber 1994[1849]
Reviews:
• References are handled in text citations, rather than the end of the chapter—provide
title, author, publisher, and year, but omit the city of publication:
• (What Was Socialism, and What Comes Next? Katherine Verdery,
Princeton University Press, 1996)
• (“Ethnography in/of the World System: The Emergence of M ulti-Sited
Ethnography,” Annual Review of Anthropology, 1995:95–117)
States (Chicago 14.17):
• Spell out state names in text
• Do not use state name with city of publication in references unless the city is obscure
or there are several with the same name
• Where state name is used in notes, references cited, tables, or addresses, use two-letter
postal code abbreviations (e.g., AL, TX, DC)
Translations:
• In references where the author also is the translator use: Victor Hugo, ed. and trans.
Volumes:
• If volume is the only one referenced in the article, then include its number in
references cited and omit its number from the text citation
• Cite a specific volume of a referenced work by inserting the volume number after the
year: (Waterman 1990, vol. 2:3–7)
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Various Other Style Rules and Word Treatments
• Acronyms: do not spell out common acronyms: CIA; FBI; IMF; NASA; NATO;
UNICEF; USAID; WTO
• America or American: For clarity use the noun United States and the adjective U.S.
unless a wider region is intended
• and/or: never use
• anti-inflammatory
• archaeology; exception is Archeology section of AAA
• Arctic (n.), arctic (adj.)
• audio-recorded, audio-recording, audiovideo
• basketmakers (artisans), Basket Maker (cultural period)
• besides
• bride-price (per Webster’s)
• bridewealth (per Webster’s)
• Classic Maya
• cross-gender
• coresident, coworker
• database
• de-emphasize
• early-century, late-century
• e-mail, Internet, on-line, website
• fax
• field notes, fieldwork, fieldworker
• full-time, part-time (hyphenate in any position as adj.)
• health care systems; but federal and state health-care systems (hyphenate only for
clarity)
• a historical study (not an historical study), a hotel
• Letters as shapes: Leave normal font—that is, do not use with sans serif typeface—in
cases such as U-shaped, L-shaped
• lifespan, lifestyle, lifeworld
• Ligatures: Do not use except in an Old English language piece
• m.y.a. (million years ago), B.P. (before the present, calibrated), b.p. (before the
present, uncalibrated)
• nation-making, nation-building (exception to Chicago)
• the Netherlands; but The Hague (Webster’s)
• non-kin (hyphenate to avoid confusion)
• participant-observation
• rain forest (per Webster’s)
• re-create (create again)
• semi-independent, semi-indirect (use hyphens for double vowels, except as in
Webster’s)
10
• Split infinitives:
The thirteenth edition of this manual included split infinitives among the examples of “errors and
infelicities” but tempered the inclusion by adding, in parentheses, that they are “debatable ‘error.’ ”
The item has been dropped from the fourteenth edition because the Press now regards the
intelligent and discriminating use of the construction as a legitimate form of expression and
nothing writers or editors need feel uneasy about. Indeed, it seems to us that in many cases clarity
and naturalness of expression are best served by a judicious splitting of infinitives. [Chicago 2.98
n. 9]
• sub-Saharan
• toward (not towards)
• Teotihuacan (Nahuatl, without accent on last a; Spanish, with accent)
• Turn of the Century, for beginning of 20th century; but turn of the 19th century—
avoid the ambiguous “turn of this century”
• underway (adj.); under way (adv.)
• unselfconscious
• worldview
Reference Examples
Where there are two places of publication for a reference, use only the first
A. Single-Author Book
Castles, Stephen
1990 Here for Good. London: Pluto Press.
B. Coauthored Book
Bonacich, Edna, and John Modell
1975 The Economic Basis of Ethnic Solidarity: Small Business in the Japanese American
Community. Berkeley: University of California Press.
C. Author, with Others (cite first author in text citations)
Bonacich, Edna, with Mark Smith and Kathy Hunt
1999 The Economic Basis of Ethnic Solidarity: Small Business in the Japanese American
Community. Berkeley: University of California Press.
D. Multiple References in the Same Year (alphabetize by title)
Gallimore, Ronald
1983a A Christmas Feast. New York: Oxford University Press.
1983b Holiday Gatherings in the Pacific Northwest. Berkeley: University of California Press.
11
E. Work Accepted for Publication
Spindler, George
In press In Pursuit of a Dream: The Experience of Central Americans Recently Arrived in the
United States. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
F. Work Submitted for Publication or Unpublished Work
Smith, John
N.d. Education and Reproduction among Turkish Families in Sydney. Unpublished MS,
Department of Education, University of Sydney.
G. Materials in Archives
Egmont Manuscripts
N.d. Phillips Collection. University of Georgia Library, Athens.
Davidson, William A.
N.d. “On several occasions she would even join in our discussions .” Untitled paper, John P. Gillin
Papers: Box 10.1. Peabody Museum Archives, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
Ambasamudram Taluk
1879 Settlement Register, Tirunleveli District. Archived material, Madras Archives, Chennai
(Madras), Tamilnadu, India.
H. Chapter in Book with Editor(s)
Rohlen, Thomas P.
1993 Education: Policies and Prospects. In Koreans in Japan: Ethnic Conflicts and
Accommodation. Cameron Lee and George De Vos, eds. Pp. 182–222. Berkeley: University
of California Press.
Price, T. Douglas
1984 Issues in Paleolithic and Mesolithic Research. In Hunting and Animal Exploitation in the
Later Paleolithic and Mesolithic of Eurasia. Gail Larsen Peterkin, Harvey M. Bricker, and Paul
Mellars, eds. Pp. 241–244. Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological
Association, 4. Arlington, VA: American Anthropological Association.
I. Editor as Author
Diskin, Martin, ed.
1970 Trouble in Our Backyard: Central America in the Eighties. New York: Pantheon Books.
J. Article in Journal
Moll, Luis C.
2000 Writing as Communication: Creating Strategic Learning Environments for Students. Theory
into Practice 25(3):202–208.
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K. Article in Journal Special or Theme Issue
Heriot, M. Jean
1996 Fetal Rights versus the Female Body: Contested Domains. Theme issue, “The Social
Production of Authoritative Knowledge in Pregnancy and Childbirth,” Medical Anthropology
Quarterly 10(2):176–194.
Heriot, M. Jean, ed.
1996 The Social Production of Authoritative Knowledge in Pregnancy and Childbirth. Theme
issue, Medical Anthropology Quarterly 10(2).
L. Book in Series
Singh, Balwant
1994 Independence and Democracy in Burma, 1945–1952: The Turbulent Years. Michigan
Papers on South and Southeast Asia, 40. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
M. One Volume in Multivolume Work
Clutton-Brock, Juliet, and Caroline Grigson, eds.
1986 Animals and Archaeology, vol. 1: Hunters and Their Prey. BAR International Series, 163.
Oxford: British Archaeological Reports.
1998 The Practice of Everyday Life, vol. 2: Living and Cooking. Rev. edition. Luce Giard, ed.
Timothy J. Tomasik, trans. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
N. Review
Trueba, Henry T.
1999 Review of Beyond Language: Social and Cultural Factors in Schooling Language Minority
Students. Anthropology and Education Quarterly 17(2):255–259.
Barret, Rusty
2001 Review of Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity. In Journal of Linguistic
Anthropology 12(2). Electronic document, http://www.aaanet.org/
sla/jla/toc/toc12_2.htm, accessed December 3, 2002.
O. Report
Kamehameha Schools
1977 Results of the Minimum Objective System, 1975–1976. Technical Report, 77. Honolulu:
Kamehameha Schools, Kamehameha Elementary Education Program.
P. Ph.D. Dissertation or M.A. Thesis
D’Amato, John
1989 “We Cool, Tha’s Why”: A Study of Personhood and Plac e in a Class of Hawaiian Second
Graders. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Education, University of Hawai‘i.
13
Q. Paper
Shimahara, Nobuo K.
1998 Mobility and Education of Buraku: The Case of a Japanese Minority. Paper presented at the
Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Chicago, November 18.
Poveda, David
2000 Paths to Participation in Classroom Conversations. Paper presented at the 7th International
Pragmatics Conference, Budapest, July 9–14.
R. Reprint or Translation
van Gennep, Arnold
1960[1908] The Rites of Passage. Michaela Vizedom and Mari Caffee, trans. Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
Bakhtin, Mikhail
1981 The Dialogic Imagination. Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist, trans. Austin: University
of Texas Press.
S. Subsequent or Revised Edition
Gallimore, Ronald
1960 Qualitative Methods in Research on Teaching. In Handbook of Research on Teaching. 3rd
edition. Margaret C. Wittrock, ed. Pp. 119–162. New York: Macmillan.
Gallimore, Ronald
1962[1960] Qualitative Methods in Research on Teaching. In Handbook of Research on
Teaching. Rev. edition. Margaret C. Wittrock, ed. Pp. 119–162. New York: Macmillan.
T. Article in Newspaper or Popular Magazine
Reinhold, Robert
2000 Illegal Aliens Hoping to Claim Their Dreams. New York Times, November 3: A1, A10.
Editorial
1992 Washington Post, February 14: B2.
Letter to the Editor
1994 Newsweek, August 27: 4, 11.
Boston Globe
1983 How Can I Become a Self-Starter? Boston Globe, May 10: A23–A24.
Trinidad Guardian
1994 Trinidad Guardian, July 11.
U. Personal Communication (including e-mail, listserv, and newsgroup messages)
Should be cited in text citations, with specific date, but not in references cited:
Horace Smith claims (letter to author, July 12, 1993)
14
V. Court Case
Should be cited in text citations but not in references cited (see Chicago 16.174):
(Doe v. U. Mich., 721 F. Supplement 852 [1989])
W. Internet Document
Use this format for public Internet documents with URLs. Use example U, above, for
private documents sent via the World Wide Web:
Rheingold, Howard
2000 A Slice of Life in My Virtual Community. Electronic document,
http://well.sf.ca.us/serv/ftp.htm, accessed July 5.
American Anthropological Association
2000[1992] Planning for the Future: Current Long-Range Plan for the American Anthropological
Association. Electronic document, http://www.aaanet.org/committees/lrp/lrplan.htm, accessed
January 18, 2001.
X. Foreign Publication with Title Translation or Foreign Name (last name first name—no
comma)
Ma Xueliang
1996 Minzu yanjiu wenji (Collected works on nationalities research). Beijing: Minzu Chubanshe.
Y. Film, Video, Television, and Music Recordings (Chicago 7.148 [titles], 15:418)
Carvajal, Carmela, and David C. Kim, dirs.
1998 High School Parody. 120 min. Paramount Pictures. Hollywood.
High School Parody
1998 Carmela Carvajal and David C. Kim, dirs. 120 min. Paramount Pictures. Hollywood.
Bush, George, Jr.
2000 Interview by Jim Lehrer. The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. PBS, May 18.
Shakur, Tupac
1997 I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto. From R U Still Down? (remember me). New York:
Interscope Records.
Z. Authors of Forewords, Afterwords, or Introductions (see Chicago 16:51)
Comaroff, Jean, and John Comaroff
1993 Introduction. In Modernity and Its Malcontents: Ritual and Power in Postcolonial Africa.
Jean Comaroff and John Comaroff, eds. Pp. xi–xxxvii. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Sources consulted: The Chicago Manual of Style (14th edition, 1993); The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing (New
York: Lippincott and Crowell, 1980); Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (10th edition, 1993; On-Line
edition, 2003); MLA Style Manual (2nd edition, 1998); and United States Government Printing Office.
Copyright ©2003, American Anthropological Association (January)