Apostrophes are punctuation marks used to indicate possession. The placement of an apostrophe depends upon the word you are making possessive.
Example: Long's theory (2003) suggested...
Example: The Nurses' Association published a code of ethics...
Example: The Akron Children's Hospital.
There are some common apostrophe errors that are easy to avoid. Do not use an apostrophe:
Incorrect: The studies' of Jones and Barnum... Correct: The studies of Jones and Barnum... or Jones's and Barnum's studies...
Incorrect: CEO's of major corporations in the 1950's... Correct: CEOs of major corporations in the 1950s...
Incorrect: Walden University doesn't recognize Ground Hog Day as an official holiday. Correct: Walden University does not recognize Ground Hog Day as an official holiday.
Note that this video was created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines.
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