omit the page number.
APA references generally include information about the author , publication date , title , and source . Depending on the type of source, you may have to include extra information that helps your reader locate the source.
Citing a source starts with choosing the correct reference format. Use Scribbr’s Citation Example Generator to learn more about the format for the most common source types. Pay close attention to punctuation, capitalization, and italicization.
Generate APA citations for free
It is not uncommon for certain information to be unknown or missing, especially with sources found online. In these cases, the reference is slightly adjusted.
Missing element | What to do | Reference format |
---|---|---|
Author | Start the reference entry with the source title. | Title. (Date). Source. |
Date | Write “n.d.” for “no date”. | Author. (n.d.). Title. Source. |
Title | Describe the work in square brackets. | Author. (Date). [Description]. Source. |
On the first line of the page, write the section label “References” (in bold and centred). On the second line, start listing your references in alphabetical order .
Apply these formatting guidelines to the APA reference page:
On the reference page, you only include sources that you have cited in the text (with an in-text citation ). You should not include references to personal communications that your reader can’t access (e.g. emails, phone conversations or private online material).
Are you a teacher or professor looking to introduce your students to APA Style? Download our free introductory lecture slides, available for Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint.
Open Google Slides Download PowerPoint
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.
Streefkerk, R. (2024, May 22). APA Referencing (7th Ed.) Quick Guide | In-text Citations & References. Scribbr. Retrieved 24 June 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/apa-style/
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Formatting your paper, headings organize your paper (2.27), video tutorials, reference list format (9.43).
Dois and urls (9.34-9.36), in-text citations.
If you're taking courses in any of these areas, be prepared to use APA style.
For in-depth guidance on using this citation style, refer to Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7th ed. We have several copies available at the MJC Library at the call number BF 76.7 .P83 2020 .
In October 2019, the American Psychological Association made radical changes its style, especially with regard to the format and citation rules for students writing academic papers. Use this guide to learn how to format and cite your papers using APA Style, 7th edition.
You can start by viewing the video tutorial .
For help on all aspects of formatting your paper in APA Style, see The Essentials page on the APA Style website.
Student papers generally include, at a minimum:
Student papers may include additional elements such as tables and figures depending on the assignment. So, please check with your teacher!
Student papers generally DO NOT include the following unless your teacher specifically requests it:
For complete information on the order of pages , see the APA Style website.
Number your pages consecutively starting with page 1. Each section begins on a new page. Put the pages in the following order:
To see what your paper should look like, check out these sample papers with built-in instructions.
APA Style uses five (5) levels of headings to help you organize your paper and allow your audience to identify its key points easily. Levels of headings establish the hierarchy of your sections just like you did in your paper outline.
APA tells us to use "only the number of headings necessary to differentiate distinct section in your paper." Therefore, the number of heading levels you create depends on the length and complexity of your paper.
See the chart below for instructions on formatting your headings:
Placement: The reference list appears at the end of the paper, on its own page(s). If your research paper ends on page 8, your References begin on page 9.
Heading: Place the section label References in bold at the top of the page, centered.
Arrangement: Alphabetize entries by author's last name. If source has no named author, alphabetize by the title, ignoring A, An, or The. (9.44-9.48)
Spacing: Like the rest of the APA paper, the reference list is double-spaced throughout. Be sure NOT to add extra spaces between citations.
Indentation: To make citations easier to scan, add a hanging indent of 0.5 in. to any citation that runs more than one line. Use the paragraph-formatting function of your word processing program to create your hanging indent.
References generally have four elements, each of which has a corresponding question for you to answer:
By using these four elements and answering these four questions, you should be able to create a citation for any type of source.
For complete information on all of these elements, checkout the APA Style website.
This infographic shows the first page of a journal article. The locations of the reference elements are highlighted with different colors and callouts, and the same colors are used in the reference list entry to show how the entry corresponds to the source.
To create your references, you'll simple look for these elements in your source and put them together in your reference list entry.
American Psychological Association. Example of where to find reference information for a journal article [Infographic]. APA Style Center. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/basic-principles
Below you'll find two printable handouts showing APA citation examples. The first is an abbreviated list created by MJC Librarians. The second, which is more comprehensive, is from the APA Style website. Feel free to print these for your convenience or use the links to reference examples below:
Classroom or Intranet Sources
You can view the entire Reference Examples website below and view a helpful guide to finding useful APA style topics easily:
Sometimes you won't be able to find all the elements required for your reference. In that case, see the instructions in Table 9.1 of the APA style manual in section 9.4 or the APA Style website below:
The DOI or URL is the final component of a reference list entry. Because so much scholarship is available and/or retrieved online, most reference list entries end with either a DOI or a URL.
When to Include DOIs and URLs:
Format of DOIs and URLs:
Your DOI should look like this:
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040251
Follow these guidelines from the APA Style website.
APA Style uses the author–date citation system , in which a brief in-text citation points your reader to the full reference list entry at the end of your paper. The in-text citation appears within the body of the paper and briefly identifies the cited work by its author and date of publication. This method enables your reader to locate the corresponding entry in the alphabetical reference list at the end of your paper.
Each work you cite must appear in the reference list, and each work in the reference list must be cited in the text (or in a table, figure, footnote, or appendix) except for the following (See APA, 8.4):
Parenthetical and Narrative Citations: ( See APA Section 8.11)
In APA style you use the author-date citation system for citing references within your paper. You incorporate these references using either a parenthetical or a narrative style.
In narrative citations, the author name or title of your source appears within your text and the publication date appears in parentheses immediately after the author name.
Quotations from Research Participants
Personal Communications
Secondary Sources
NoodleTools can help you create your references and your in-text citations.
Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and CC BY-NC 4.0 Licenses .
References provide the information necessary for readers to identify and retrieve each work cited in the text .
Check each reference carefully against the original publication to ensure information is accurate and complete. Accurately prepared references help establish your credibility as a careful researcher and writer.
Consistency in reference formatting allows readers to focus on the content of your reference list, discerning both the types of works you consulted and the important reference elements (who, when, what, and where) with ease. When you present each reference in a consistent fashion, readers do not need to spend time determining how you organized the information. And when searching the literature yourself, you also save time and effort when reading reference lists in the works of others that are written in APA Style.
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Course Adoption
Teaching APA Style? Become a course adopter of the 7th edition Publication Manual
Instructional Aids
Guides, checklists, webinars, tutorials, and sample papers for anyone looking to improve their knowledge of APA Style
This page contains information on the style and format of papers according to APA 7th edition using the Concise Guide to APA Style: The Official APA Style for Students .
APA Style papers should have the same style and size of font throughout the text of the paper (title page to reference page). APA considers the following fonts acceptable: 11- point Calibri, 11-point Arial, 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, or 10-point Computer Modern. It is recommended that you check with your instructor to see if they have a preferred font style.
(See section 1.18 of the Concise Guide to APA Style )
The first line of every paragraph in the text of your paper and every reference on your reference page is indented (hit the tab key once). The remaining lines are left flush with the left-hand margin of the paper (this is known as a "hanging indent").
Page numbers : Title page through reference pages are numbered using Arabic numerals; place each number in the top right corner of the page.
Running heads: Are NOT required in student papers, but you should still check with your instructor to see if they wish them to be used.
Dashes: APA uses em dashes (long dash) and en dashes (short dash). See section 4.6 of the Concise Guide to APA Style for more information.
APA Style papers should have double-spaced text throughout the entire paper (including quotations and references). To make your paper double-spaced in Microsoft Word, highlight the text you want double-spaced, and then click Layout . Next, click on the arrow to the right of the word Paragraph (a pop-up appears). From the drop-down menu under Line Spacing , select Double (default choice is Multiple ) and click OK .
APA Style papers use 1 inch margins all around (top to bottom and left to right). Margins in Microsoft Word are set to 1 inch by default. If you are unsure, you can check your margins by clicking Layout, and clicking Margins. Once the drop-down menu appears, make sure Normal is selected to ensure you have 1 inch margins all around your paper.
(See sections 1.20 and 1.21 of the Concise Guide to APA Style )
APA Style recommends ONE space after a period when the period ends a sentence, separates parts of a reference list entry, or follows initials in names (J.B. Jones).
Do NOT put a space after a period when the period is part of an internal abbreviations (U.S. or a.m.)
Do NOT use periods for the abbreviation of state, province, or territory names (AZ; KS; BC); capital letter abbreviations and acronyms (APA, AMA, EPA); for abbreviations of academic degrees (PhD, MD, DO); or for abbreviations of metric and nonmetric measurements (cm, hr, kg,). Note: Use a period when abbreviating "inch" or "inches" (in.) or else it could be misread.
(See sections 4.1 and 4.2 of the Concise Guide to APA Style )
Sentence case is where most words in a sentence are going to be lower case.
The EXCEPTIONS are the first word in a title, heading, or sub-title ; proper nouns ; the first word after an em dash, semi-colon, or end punctuation; and any noun followed by a letter or number.
Title case is where major words are capitalized while minor words are lower case.
In APA style, major words are nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, adverbs, or any word that is four letters or longer.
Minor words are articles, short prepositions, and conjunctions that are three letters or less.
(See section 5.7 of the Concise Guide to APA Style )
Refers to restating someone else's ideas or findings into your own words. Paraphrasing allows you to summarize information from one or more sources, compare and contrast information from multiple sources, and focus on the most important information from each source.
It is BEST to paraphrase information whenever possible rather than using direct quotations.
Paraphrased information must be cited in-text with either a parenthetical or narrative citation.
(See sections 8.23 and 8.24 of the Concise Guide to APA Style)
Reproduce words EXACTLY as written from another work (including your own). Quotations are best used in papers for when you want to reproduce an exact definition, when an author of a work has said something memorable, or when you want to respond to the exact wording (something someone said) from an author in your paper.
When not using a quotation for one of the above reasons, it is best to paraphrase information. Additionally, you should check with your instructor to see if they limit the number of quotations you are allowed to use.
Quotations must be cited in-text with either a parenthetical or narrative citation.
Short quotations consist of 40 words or less and should be incorporated into the text of your paper with quotation marks.
Long quotations consists of 40 words or more and do not use quotations marks. Instead, they should be incorporated into your paper as a block quotation. Block quotations begin on a new line, are double-spaced, and are indented 0.5 inches from the left hand margin of your paper.
(See sections 8.25 - 8.33 of the Concise Guide to APA Style)
Heading Levels or "headings" are a way to organize information in APA papers and convey it clearly ( think of headings as "sections" and "subsections"). There are five levels of headings in APA Style, although for undergraduates it is rare to need to go past a Level 2 headings. If you are unsure if you need to use headings, check with your instructor.
Levels | Format | Text |
1 | Text begins as a new paragraph. | |
2 | Text begins as a new paragraph. | |
3 | Text begins as a new paragraph. | |
4 | Text begins on the same line and continues as a regular paragraph. | |
5 | Text begins on the same line and continues as a regular paragraph. |
Note: Do NOT label an introduction as "Introduction" in APA papers. The title of your paper acts as a de facto Level 1 Heading.
(See section 1.26 of the Concise Guide to APA Style)
This handout focuses on how to format in-text citations in APA.
Proper citation of sources is a two-part process . You must first cite each source in the body of your essay; these citations within the essay are called in-text citations . You MUST cite all quoted, paraphrased, or summarized words, ideas, and facts from sources. Without in-text citations, you are technically in danger of plagiarism, even if you have listed your sources at the end of the essay.
In-text citations point the reader to the sources’ information on the references page. The in-text citation typically includes the author's last name and the year of publication. If you use a direct quote, the page number is also provided.
More information can be found on p. 253 of the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Direct quotation with the author named in the text.
Heinze and Lu (2017) stated, “The NFL shifted its responses to institutional change around concussions significantly as the field itself evolved” (p. 509).
Note: The year of publication is listed in parenthesis after the names of the authors, and the page number is listed in parenthesis at the end of the quote.
As the NFL developed as an organization, it “shifted its responses to institutional change around concussions significantly” (Heinze & Lu, 2017, p. 509).
Note: At the end of the quote, the names of the authors, year of publication, and page number are listed in parenthesis.
As the NFL developed as an organization, its reactions toward concussions also transformed (Heinze & Lu, 2017).
Note: For paraphrases, page numbers are encouraged but not required.
To work toward solving the issue of violence in prisons begins with determining aspects that might connect with prisoners' violent conduct (Thomson et al., 2019).
The findings were astonishing "in a recent study of parent and adult child relationships" ("Parents and Their Children," 2007, p. 2).
Note: Since the author of the text is not stated, a shortened version of the title is used instead.
When using secondary sources, use the phrase "as cited in" and cite the secondary source on the References page.
In 1936, Keynes said, “governments should run deficits when the economy is slow to avoid unemployment” (as cited in Richardson, 2008, p. 257).
When using direct quotations of 40 or more words, indent five spaces from the left margin without using quotation marks. The final period should come before the parenthetical citation.
At Meramec, an English department policy states:
To honor and protect their own work and that of others, all students must give credit to proprietary sources that are used for course work. It is assumed that any information that is not documented is either common knowledge in that field or the original work of that student. (St. Louis Community College, 2001, p. 1)
If citing a specific web document without a page number, include the name of the author, date, title of the section, and paragraph number in parentheses:
In America, “Two out of five deaths among U.S. teens are the result of a motor vehicle crash” (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2004, Overview section, para. 1).
Here is a print-friendly version of this content.
Learn more about the APA References page by reviewing this handout .
For information on STLCC's academic integrity policy, check out this webpage .
For additional information on APA, check out STLCC's LibGuide on APA .
A sample APA essay is available at this link .
APA Common Citations & References (7th Ed.) PDF
The American Psychological Association (APA) established writing and documentation guidelines in 1929, so readers could easily understand the major points and findings in scientific research. Today, APA Style is used across the disciplines as a standard style for academic and professional writing. APA Style helps writers think critically, communicate clearly and precisely, and document sources ethically. This tutorial on APA citations and references follows the guidelines of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association seventh edition .
Citations and references are forms of documentation. We must document the ideas, theories, definitions, data, images, and other information in our writing that originated with other authors, researchers, and artists. For example, our work must include documentation when we quote, paraphrase, or summarize another’s ideas or when using data from others’ research. Documentation means including select information about a source “in text” and including additional bibliographic information about that source in a “reference list entry.” In APA Style, for every retrievable source cited in text, there is a corresponding reference list entry with that retrieval information.
Documentation is how we establish our credibility as researchers and writers. It is how we write ethically and with integrity. Writing often involves using the ideas, theories, definitions, data, and images of others in order to support or refute our theses. Documentation is how we give credit to others for their contributions to our work. Documenting sources also differentiates our original ideas from the source contributions and enables readers to locate the original source to learn more about it. Documenting sources with in-text citations and reference list entries also prevents plagiarism, which “is the act of presenting the words, ideas, or images of another as your own” (APA, 2020, p. 254).
APA Style in-text citations use the author-date system. In this APA Style in-text citations use the author-date system. In this system, the citation identifies a source used in the “text” (the body of a piece of writing) by providing the source’s author and the date of publication. Additional rules apply for in-text citations for varying source types and paraphrasing, but there are two primary types of in-text citations: narrative and parenthetical .
In narrative citations, the author’s name is part of a sentence and usually appears in a signal phrase that introduces the quoted, paraphrased, or summarized information. The second part of the citation, the publication year, then appears in parentheses immediately following the author’s name. Here is an example:
When citing a quotation using a narrative citation, the author’s name is used in the sentence, the date is given in parentheses after the author’s name, and the specific part of the source where the quote appears such the page, paragraph, time stamp on a video, or bar on a graph goes in parentheses after the quote and before any punctuation. Here are two examples:
In parenthetical citations, the author-date information goes after the paraphrase in parentheses as in the following example:
For a quotation, the parenthetical citation contains the author and date, and it also contains the specific part of the source such as the page or paragraph number or the timestamp of a video as in this example:
An author may be an individual, multiple people, or a group such as an organization, company, or governmental agency. In an in-text citation, the format is to use the author or authors’ last names or the group author name. See No Author if a source does not specify an author.
The URL, which stands for Uniform Resource Locator and is the web address for a source is not part of an in-text citation except in the rare cases that the URL is also the author’s name such as Drugs.com: (Drugs.com, n.d.).
The in-text citation for a quotation includes the part of the source where the information is found. Page numbers are common in printed books and articles; however, for electronic sources without page numbers, you will need to provide another way for a reader to locate the original passage being quoted. The following options are acceptable:
A reference list entry should be provided for each source cited in text. Reference list entries have four elements: author, date, title, and source. The “source” here is the publication where the information was published such as a website, book, or periodical. Each element of the reference answers a question:
Reference entries and in-text citations correspond: The author or title given in the in-text citation is the first element of the reference entry. Example reference entries are provided in the Common Citations and References section of this resource. The following formatting requirements apply to the reference list:
Resources available online have URLs, which are web links, or DOIs, which are unique strings of numbers that provide persistent and reliable links to resources. Here are some basic guidelines for URLs and DOIs in reference entries:
Note: Most of the examples in this resource are fictional. Any similarities to real sources or names are coincidental.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month day). Title of article. Blog Title . URL
Wayne, J. M. (2010, January 3). Finding balance. Health for Life . http://wayne.blogger.com/longdays
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article [Editorial]. Periodical Title , volume (issue), pages. DOI or URL
Michaels, J. C. (2020). The seeds of change [Editorial]. Nutrition Today , 10 (4). 2-3. https://doi.org/10.1199/001043456787654
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Title , volume(issue), pages. URL
Jones, L. (1990). How to eat and stay slim. Journal of Healthy Living, 4 (3), 120. http://journalofhealthyliving.org
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Title, volume (issue), pages.
Shultz, L. (2012). The traveling contractor. Urban Living , 3 (4), 1-15.
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Title , volume (issue), pages.
Shultz, L. (2012). The life of a traveling contractor. Urban Living , 3 (4), 12-15.
Author, A. A. (date). Title of article. Journal Title, volume (issue), pages. DOI
West, B. I. (2019). A study of decisions. Academics Journal, 5 (10), 152- 155. https://doi.org/12345678910
Author, A. A. (Year, Month day). Title of article. Periodical Title , pages. URL if online
Godwit, F. L. (2008, August 12). Epic journey of the Bar-Tail. Birding Magazine, 8 (1), 11-19. http://bit.ly.bar-tail-journey
Goldfinch, G. B. (2020, January 28). Bird migration: Tracking radar hampered by weather. The New Yorker . 12-13.
Note . Magazines may be published in regular issues and have volume and issue numbers like journals. Include the volume and issue if available in the format Title , Volume Number (Issue).
Author, A. A. (Year, Month day). Article title. Newspaper Title . pages.
Fuller, C. (2009, August 17). Mismanagement of valley waterways causes havoc. The Clovis Herald , A3-A4.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month day). Title of article. Newspaper Title . URL
Brooks, D. (2008, December 27). Mental health issues raise concerns. New Brunswick Times . http://www.newbrunswicktimes.com
Note . The citation includes the time stamp where the quoted part of the audio begins.
Host, H. H. (Host). (Year, Month day). Title of work [Description]. Publisher or Department Name, University Name. URL
Clements, K. (Host). (2020). Understanding documentation [Audio podcast]. Academic Success Center, Purdue Global. https://bit.ly/understandingdocumentation
Note . If an element shown in the template is not available, omit it from the reference entry.
Artist, A. A. (Year). Title of song. On Title of album . Label. URL (if available)
Presenter, P. P. (Year, Month day). Title of speech [Speech audio recording]. Production Company or Site Name. URL
Kennedy, J. F. (1961). Presidential inaugural address [Speech audio recording]. American Rhetoric. https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkinaugural.htm
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work . Publisher. DOI (if it has one) or URL (if it is an e-book without a DOI)
Martinez, D. L. (2009). Writing with humor (2nd ed.). A1 Press. http//doi.org/10.1036/0091393733
Note . Print books may also have DOIs. Include the DOI if available.
Editor, E. E. (Ed.). (Year). Title of work . Publisher. DOI (if it has one) or URL (if it is an e-book without a DOI)
Sexton, A. S. (Ed.). (2017). Transformational webinars. Simon and Schuster. https://doi.org/10.13232323232325
Author, A. A. & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor, F. F. Editor, & G. G. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (X ed., Vol. X, pp. xx-xx). Publisher.
Boone, J. A. & Cairns, C. A. (2008). Writer’s block demystified. In K. Clements, A. Sexton, & L. V. Hanson (Eds.), Writers write right (3rd ed., pp. 23-37). Genius Press.
Note . Omit missing elements from the reference entry, such as the volume number in this example.
Group Author. (Year, Month XX). Entry title. In Title of source . Retrieved Month day, Year, from URL
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Diaspora. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary . Retrieved February 28, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diaspora
Note . Use “n.d.” for “no date” for entries that are continuously updated.
Note . Provide a retrieval date before the URL when the site is continuously updated and does not provide a permanent, archived link (as in a Wikipedia entry reference.
Author, A. A. & Author, B. B. (year). Title of work (Vol. X). Publisher. DOI (if it has one) or URL (if it is an e-book without a DOI)
Breiter, A. L. & Sexton, A. (1999). Writer’s block demystified (Vol. 1). Hachette Book Group. https://doi.org/10.132444463232325 .
Author, A. A. & Author, B. B. (year). Title (X ed.). Publisher. DOI (if it has one) or URL (if it is an e-book without a DOI)
Mason, R. J. & Schram, B. L. (2016). Restaurant management (5th ed.). Randolph Press. https://doi.org/10.13244456782325
Entry title. (Year, Month XX). In Wikipedia . URL
Diaspora. (2020, February 28). In Wikipedia . https://bit.ly/wiki-diaspora
Note . Wikipedia entries have permanent, archived links. On the Wiki page, select “View History” then the time and date of the version you used. The link in the address bar will be an archived link to that version.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month day). Title or content of the post up to the first 20 words . Site Name. Retrieved Date, from https://xxx
Sullivan, M. (2011, January 5). Prewriting feedback reflection. CM107 Unit 3 Discussion 1 . Retrieved January 29, 2020, from https://purdueglobal.brightspace.com/d2l/e/40068/discussions
Note . Use a reference for internal sources only when the reader can access the source. Otherwise, cite internal sources as a personal communication with an in-text citation but no reference entry.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month day). Title of resource . Site Name. Retrieved Date, from https://xxx
Purdue Global. (n.d.) Learning outcomes and assessment UG . Course Resources. Retrieved January 29, 2020, from https://purdueglobal.brightspace.com/d2l/le/content
Note . Include a retrieval date when a source is updated regularly and may appear different to a reader who accesses it on a different date.
Quotation or paraphrase.
Works only accessible to an internal group that are not retrievable by other readers of your paper such as personal interviews, emails, text messages, conversations, memos, and lectures do not appear in a reference entry on the references page. These sources require an in-text citation only.
Note . Use brackets to enclose the abbreviation of a group author name when it is first mentioned in parentheses. Use only the abbreviation of a group author if it is well known or if the full name and abbreviation have already been used in the text.
Note . When page, numbers are not given, use the part of the source that would help a reader locate the quote such as the section heading and paragraph in the above examples. The cited information came from paragraph 5 under the section heading “Supplementary Information.”
Author, A. A. & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of report (Report No. XXX if available). Publisher. DOI or URL
Burrows, M. J. & Peter, E. (2020). What world post-Covid-19? Three scenarios . Atlantic Council. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/what-word-post-covid-19-three-scenarios/
Note . If the report does not include a report number, omit that element from the entry.
Group Author. (Year). Title of report (Report No. XXX if available). Publisher. DOI or URL
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office. (2019). Energy conservation program for consumer products: Representative average unit costs of energy (Report No. 2019-04245). US Department of Energy. https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EERE_FRDOC_0001-1398
Note . If the author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher element from the entry.
Author, A. A. & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of brief [Issue brief] or (Issue Brief No. XXX if available) Publisher. DOI or URL
Salas, R. N., Knappenberger, P., & Hess, J. (2018). 2018 Lancet countdown on health and climate change brief for the United States of America [Issue brief]. Lancet Countdown. https://bit.ly/2018Lancet
Note . When quoting, include any emojis or hashtags and use the same spelling as the original post even if the spelling is incorrect.
Author, A. A. or Name of Group [Username]. (Year, Month day). Content up to the first 20 words [Description of audiovisuals such as Thumbnail with link attached, Video, or Infographic] [Type of post, for example Status update, Poll, Story]. Site Name. URL or Retrieved Month XX, Year from URL if the page (Timeline, Album, Home . . .) is regularly updated
APA Style [APAStyle]. (2020, March 16). For an #APAStyle reference to a webpage, although there may seem to be no individual authors, the author is very [Thumb-nail with link attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/APAStyle/photos/a.419499744742118/4211771922181529/?type=3&theater
Author, A. A. or Name of Group [Username]. (Year, Month day). Page Name such as Home, Timeline, About. . . . Site Name. Retrieved Month XX, Year from URL
Purdue University Global [PurdueGlobal]. (n.d.). Home [Facebook page]. Facebook. Retrieved May 4, 2020 from https://www.facebook.com/PurdueGlobal/
Author, A. A. [@username] or Group [@username]. (Year, Month day). Content up to the first 20 words [Description of audiovisuals such as an Infographic] [Type of Post]. Site Name. URL or Retrieved Month XX, Year from URL if an Instagram Highlight-a story featured on the Instagram profile
PG Academic Success Center [@PurdueGlobalASC]. (2020, March 23). Action plans for online learners: New video series [Thumb-nail with link attached] [Tweet]. Twitter. https://bit.ly/actionplansontwitter
Purdue University Global [@purdueglobal]. (n.d.). Study break [Highlight]. Instagram. Retrieved April 20, 2020 from https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18021688519263190/
Author, A. A. [Username] or Name of Group [Username]. (Year, Month XX). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Type of post]. Site Name. URL or Retrieved Month XX, Year from URL if referencing a page that is regularly updated.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration [nasa]. (2020, March 17). We are the NASA and university scientists who study exoplanets, the weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://reddit.com/r/space/comments/g35wtm/we_are-the-nasa-and_university-scientists_who/
Note . See the Primary Sources sectin of this article for more about the “as cited in format. In this example, Lessard is a primary source speaking in a vido by the Michigan DNR, which is the secondary source. Include the publication date of the primary source when available.
Director, D. D. (Director). (Year). Title of work [Film]. Production Company. URL if film is accessible by an URL
Gondry, M. (Director). (2004). Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind [Film]. Anonymous Content.
Instructor, I. I. (Year, Month day). Title of work [Webinar]. Publisher. URL
Huston, T. (2020, March 17). Critical thinking and writing [Webinar]. Purdue Global Academic Success Center. https://bit.ly/asc-criticalthinking
Note . If the webinar is not retrievable at a link online, cite it as a personal communication.
Reference for a recorded webinar (if the recording is retrievable; otherwise, cite as a personal communication.) Instructor, I. I. (Instructor) (Year, Month XX). Title of work [Webinar]. Publisher. URL
Huston, T. (Instructor). (2020, March 17). Critical thinking and writing [Webinar]. Academic Success Center, Purdue Global. https://bit.ly/asc-criticalthinking
Reference for a YouTube video or other streaming video Artist, A. A. [username]. (year, Month XX). Title [Video]. Production Company, Label, or Site. URL
Michigan Department of Natural Resources [MichiganDNR]. (2016, November 10). Wings of Wonder: Raptor education, rehabilitation and research. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/m4jgfaxfo4k
Artist, A. A. (Year). Title [Photograph]. Publisher or Site Name. URL
Cairns, C. (2015). Lilies after rain. [Photograph]. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/scotlandcairns/19461114229/
Note. Using a photograph in your work that is not yours, is not in the Public Domain, or that does not have a Creative Commons license that permits use, requires permission to use in addition to a copyright note. If you have permission to use the image or the image is licensed for sharing, include a copyright notice underneath or aligned with the image in your text. The example below shows how to cite or quote from a PowerPoint or presentation slide.
Template and Examples for a Copyright Note in Text beginning with the label “ Note. “:
Note . Title and description. From (or “Adapted from” if you changed or cropped the original), Title of Image, by Name of A. Artist, Year. (URL). Copyright by Copyright Holder or Creative Common License abbreviation or In the public domain. Reprinted with permission (if permission was sought and granted).
Note . Tiger lilies holding water droplets. From Lilies After Rain , by C. Cairns, 2015. https://flic.kr/p/vDHife . CC BY 2.0.
Instructor, I. I. (Year, Month XX). Title [PowerPoint Slide]. Production Company or Department Name, University Name. URL
Park, L. (2011). Effective working teams [PowerPoint slides]. Bus Purdue Global. http://www.company.meetings/teams
Note . When page numbers are not given, use the section heading and/or paragraph number.
Note. Use the title in the in-text citation for a work without an author as shown below.
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year or Year, Month day if available). Title of work . Site Name. URL or Retrieved Month XX, Year from URL if website is regularly updated.
Smith, M., & Jay, J. (2013). Growing a better forest . Leelanau Trees. http://www.leelanautrees/plant-native-trees.com
Author. (Year, Month day). Title of page . Site Name. URL or Retrieved Month XX, Year from URL if page is regularly updated.
National Geographic. (2011a). Hybrid Cuban-American crocodiles on the rise . http://bit.ly/24ndK95
National Geographic. (2011b). Iceman’s stomach sampled – filled with goat meat . http://bit.ly/1QAf58E
Note . When using two or more sources with the same author and year, add lowercase letters after the year (2015a, 2015b, etc.). First alphabetize the references by author name and then by title to determine which is “a” and which is “b.” Then also add the letters to the corresponding in-text citations. If the site name is the same as the author, omit the site name element from the reference.
Title of page . (Year, Month XX or n.d. if a date isn’t available). Site Name. URL or Retrieved Month XX, Year from URL if citing a page that is regularly updated.
Raising roofs . (n.d.). http://www.raisingroofs.com
Sometimes there is missing information when formatting in-text citations and references. The following serves as guidance on how to handle those situations.
Missing month and/or day; missing volume and/or issue number; other missing information from template of reference citation : If a reference entry template shows to include information that is not available, omit the missing elements from the entry.
If a work does not specify an author, use the title in place of the author.
Whales in the ocean. (2020). Ocean Life Magazine . https://www.oceanlife.com
Plant-based cooking . (2020). https://www.plant-basedcookingebook.com
If no date is provided on the source, use n.d. in the date spot for both in-text citations and reference list entries. For example, an in-text citation would look like this: (Hendrix, n.d.).
Primary sources are original reports, findings, and research studies. Secondary sources are works that refer to primary sources and other secondary sources. If you are using a secondary source for your research, and it refers to another source or a primary source, whenever possible, locate the original source of the desired quote or paraphrase. If the original source is not available, use this “as cited in” method by citing the secondary source that you have while still attributing the quote in text to the original author or source.
Note . Omit the year for the primary source from the citation if the year is unknown.*
Follow the template for the type of source it is. The example shows the format for a journal article without a URL or DOI.
Bragdon, A. A. (2013). Obesity research. Medical Journal 23 (4), 223-227.
Note . Only list the source named after the “as cited in” phrase on the reference list.
Two authors.
For in-text citations, cite both names every time:
Note . The ampersand (&) is used between two authors when their names are written in parentheses but not when the names are written in the narrative of the sentence.
For reference list entries, cite both authors’ names (with the ampersand [&] between the names):
Rios, C. A. & Sexton, A. (2010). Fun and easy APA . Oxbow River Press.
For in-text citations, cite only the first author followed by et al.:
Note . Et al. is a Latin abbreviation for “and others.”
For a reference list entry, cite the first 20 author names. Use an ampersand (&) before the last author’s name:
Author, A. A., Author B. B., Author, C. C., Author, D. D., Author, E. E., Author, F. F., Author, G. G., Author, H. H., Author, I. I., Author, J. J., Author, K. K., Author, L. L., Author, M. M., Author, N. N., Author, O. O., Author, P. P., Author, Q. Q., Author, R. R., Author, S. S., & Author, T. T.
For 21 or more authors, use three spaced ellipsis points ( . . . ) after the 19th author and then cite the last author’s name without an ampersand (&):
Author, A. A., Author B. B., Author, C. C., Author, D. D., Author, E. E., Author, F. F., Author, G. G., Author, H. H., Author, I. I., Author, J. J., Author, K. K., Author, L. L., Author, M. M., Author, N. N., Author, O. O., Author, P. P., Author, Q. Q., Author, R. R., Author, S. S., . . . Author, W. W.
If you have two or more different sources that have authors with the same surname, include the author’s first name initial in the in-text citation for the source used even if the date is different like this: (D. Martinez, 2001).
A narrative citation would look like this:
In the reference list, D. Martinez would be alphabetized before S. Martinez.
To tell references and in-text citations apart when the author and year are the same, add lowercase letters after the year (2011a, 2011b, etc.). On the references list, first list the references in alphabetical order by the authors’ last names, then alphabetize the references by the title to determine which is “a” and which is “b.”
Hood, R. M. (2011a). Where do I place commas? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/123comma
Hood, R. M. (2011b). The writing process [Video]. YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/abc-thewritingprocess
Then, add the letters to the corresponding in-text citations: (Hood, 2011a) (Hood, 2011b).
Sample Title Page for Student Papers n APA Style
Notes on this sample title page for student papers:
Sample Text Page for a Student Paper in APA Style
Notes on this sample text (body) page for student papers:
Sample Reference List for Student Papers in APA Style
Notes on this sample reference list for student papers:
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: The official guide to APA style (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
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How to reference this resources in APA Style 7th Ed.
Purdue University Global Academic Success Center and Writing Center. (2020). Common citations and references in APA style (7th ed.). Purdue Global Academic Success and Writing Resource Center and Blog. https://purdueglobalwriting.center/common-citations-and-references-in-apa-style/
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Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper, a comprehensive guide to apa citations and format, overview of this guide:.
This page provides you with an overview of APA format, 7th edition. Included is information about referencing, various citation formats with examples for each source type, and other helpful information.
If you’re looking for MLA format , check out the Citation Machine MLA Guide. Also, visit the Citation Machine homepage to use the APA formatter, which is an APA citation generator, and to see more styles .
When you’re writing a research paper or creating a research project, you will probably use another individual’s work to help develop your own assignment. A good researcher or scholar uses another individual’s work in a responsible way. This involves indicating that the work of other individuals is included in your project (i.e., citing), which is one way to prevent plagiarism.
The word plagiarism is derived from the Latin word, plagiare , which means “to kidnap.” The term has evolved over the years to now mean the act of taking another individual’s work and using it as your own, without acknowledging the original author (American Psychological Association, 2020 p. 21). Plagiarism can be illegal and there can be serious ramifications for plagiarizing someone else’s work. Thankfully, plagiarism can be prevented. One way it can be prevented is by including citations and references in your research project. Want to make them quickly and easily? Try the Citation Machine citation generator, which is found on our homepage.
Citations and references should be included anytime you use another individual’s work in your own assignment. When including a quote, paraphrased information, images, or any other piece of information from another’s work, you need to show where you found it by including a citation and a reference. This guide explains how to make them.
APA style citations are added in the body of a research paper or project and references are added to the last page.
Citations , which are called in-text citations, are included when you’re adding information from another individual’s work into your own project. When you add text word-for-word from another source into your project, or take information from another source and place it in your own words and writing style (known as paraphrasing), you create an in-text citation. These citations are short in length and are placed in the main part of your project, directly after the borrowed information.
References are found at the end of your research project, usually on the last page. Included on this reference list page is the full information for any in-text citations found in the body of the project. These references are listed in alphabetical order by the author's last name.
An APA in-text citation includes only three items: the last name(s) of the author(s), the year the source was published, and sometimes the page or location of the information. References include more information such as the name of the author(s), the year the source was published, the full title of the source, and the URL or page range.
Including APA citations and references in your research projects is a very important component of the research process. When you include citations, you’re being a responsible researcher. You’re showing readers that you were able to find valuable, high-quality information from other sources, place them into your project where appropriate, all while acknowledging the original authors and their work.
Believe it or not, there are instances when you could attempt to include in-text and full references in the appropriate places, but still accidentally plagiarize. Here are some common mistakes to be aware of:
Mistake #1 - Misquoting sources: If you plan to use a direct quote, make sure you copy it exactly as is. Sure, you can use part of the full quote or sentence, but if you decide to put quotation marks around any words, those words should match exactly what was found in the original source. Here’s a line from The Little Prince , by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry:
“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.”
Here’s an acceptable option:
“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves,” stated de Saint-Exupéry (1943, p. 3).
Here’s a misquote:
“Grown-ups barely ever understand anything by themselves,” stated de Saint-Exupéry (1943, p. 3).
Notice the slight change in the words. The incorrect phrasing is an instance of accidental plagiarism.
Mistake #2 - Problems with paraphrasing: When we paraphrase, we restate information using our own words and writing style. It’s not acceptable to substitute words from the original source with synonyms.
Let’s use the same sentence from The Little Prince .
A correct paraphrase could be:
de Saint-Exupéry (1943) shares various ways adults frustrate children. One of the biggest being that kids have to explain everything. It’s too bad adults are unable to comprehend anything on their own (p. 3).
An incorrect paraphrase would be:
de Saint-Exupéry (1943) shares that adults never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for kids to be always and forever clarifying things to them (p.3).
Notice how close the incorrect paraphrase is from the original. This is an instance of accidental plagiarism.
Make sure you quote and paraphrase properly in order to prevent accidental plagiarism.
If you’re having a difficult time paraphrasing properly, it is acceptable to paraphrase part of the text AND use a direct quote. Here’s an example:
de Saint-Exupery (1943) shares various ways adults frustrate children. One of the biggest being that kids have to explain everything, and “it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them” (p. 3).
Who created it.
The American Psychological Association is an organization created for individuals in the psychology field. With close to 121,000 members, they provide educational opportunities, funding, guidance, and research information for everything psychology-related. They also have numerous high-quality databases, peer-reviewed journals, and books that revolve around mental health.
The American Psychological Association is also credited with creating their own specific citation and reference style. Today, this format is used by individuals not only in the psychology field, but many other subject areas as well. Education, economics, business, and social sciences also use APA style quite frequently. Click here for more information . This guide covers general information about the style, but is not affiliated with the American Psychological Association.
This format was first developed in 1929 to form a standardized way for researchers in science fields to document their sources. Prior to the inception of these standards and guidelines, individuals were recognizing the work of other authors by including bits and pieces of information in random order. There wasn’t a set way to format citations and references. You can probably imagine how difficult it was to understand the sources that were used for research projects!
Having a standard format for citing sources allows readers to glance at a citation or APA reference and easily locate the title, author, year published, and other critical pieces of information needed to understand a source.
The guide below is based on APA style 7th edition, which was released in 2020. In previous versions of APA format, researchers and scholars were required to include the publisher location for books and the date that an electronic resource was accessed. Both are no longer required to be included.
Details on the differences between the 6th and 7th editions is addressed later in this guide.
The appearance of citations & references.
The format for references varies, but most use this general format:
%%Author’s Last name, First initial. (Date published). Title . URL
Researchers and scholars must look up the proper format for the source that they’re attempting to cite. Books have a certain format, websites have a different format, periodicals have a different format, and so on. Scroll down to find the proper format for the source you’re citing or referencing.
If you would like help citing your sources, CitationMachine.com has a citation generator that will help make the APA citation process much easier for you. To start, simply click on the source type you're citing:
An APA in-text citation is included in research projects in three instances: When using a direct quote, paraphrasing information, or simply referring to a piece of information from another source.
Quite often, researchers and scholars use a small amount of text, word for word, from another source and include it in their own research projects. This is done for many reasons. Sometimes, another author’s words are so eloquently written that there isn’t a better way to rephrase it yourself. Other times, the author’s words can help prove a point or establish an understanding for something in your research project. When using another author’s exact words in your research project, include an APA in-text citation directly following it.
In addition to using the exact words from another source and placing them into your project, these citations are also added anytime you paraphrase information. Paraphrasing is when you take information from another source and rephrase it, in your own words.
When simply referring to another piece of information from another source, also include a citation directly following it.
Citations in the text are found near a direct quote, paraphrased information, or next to a mention of another source. To see examples of some narrative/ parenthetical citations in action, look at the image above, under “All About Citations & References.”
Note: *Only include the page or paragraph number when using a direct quote or paraphrase. Page numbers have a p. before the number, pp. before the page range, and para. before the paragraph number. This information is included to help the reader locate the exact portion of text themselves. It is unnecessary to include this information when you’re simply referring to another source.
Examples of APA in-text citations:
“Well, you’re about to enter the land of the free and the brave. And I don’t know how you got that stamp on your passport. The priest must know someone” (Tóibín, 2009, p. 52).
Student teachers who use technology in their lessons tend to continue using technology tools throughout their teaching careers (Kent & Giles, 2017, p. 12).
If including the author’s name in the sentence, place the year in the parentheses directly next to his or her name. Add the page number at the end, unless it’s a source without any pages or paragraph numbers (See Section 8.10 of the Publication manual for more details).
In-text citation APA example:
According to a study done by Kent and Giles (2017), student teachers who use technology in their lessons tend to continue using technology tools throughout their teaching careers.
The full references, or citations, for these sources can be found on the last part of a research project, titled the “References.”
Here’s how to create in-text citations for specific amounts of authors:
When the source lacks an author’s name, place the title, year, and page number (if available) in the text. The title should be in italics if it sits alone (such as a movie, brochure, or report). If the source is part of a whole (as many web pages and articles are), place the title in quotation marks without italics (See Section 8.14 of the Publication manual ).
Structure of an APA format citation in the text narratively, with the author's name missing:
Title of Source (Year) or “Title of Source” (Year)
Structure of an APA style format citation, in parentheses at the end of the sentence, with the author’s name missing: (Title of Source, Year) or (“Title of Source,” Year)
In the text, narratively: Last name of Author (Year)...(page number).
In parentheses, at the end of the sentence: (Last name of Author, Year, page number).
Place the authors in the order they appear on the source. Only use the ampersand in the parenthetical citations (see Section 8.17 of the Publication manual ). Use ‘and’ to separate the author names if they’re in the text of the sentence.
In the text, narratively: Last name of Author 1 and Last name of Author 2 (Year)....(page number).
In parentheses, at the end of the sentence: (Last name of Author 1 & Last name of Author 2, Year, page number).
Only include the first listed author’s name in the first and any subsequent citations. Follow it with et al.
(Last name Author 1 et al., Year, page number)
(Agbayani et al., 2020, p. 99)
Last name of Author 1 et al. (Year)...(page).
Agbayani et al. (2020)...(p. 99)
What do you do when you want to cite multiple works by an author, and the sources all written in the same year?
Include the letters ‘a’ ‘b’ ‘c’ and so on after the year in the citation.
(Jackson, 2013a)
Jackson (2013a)
Writers can even lump dates together.
Example: Jackson often studied mammals while in Africa (2013a, 2013b).
On the APA reference page, include the same letters in the full references.
Write out the full name of the group or organization in the first citation and place the abbreviation next to it in brackets. If the group or organization is cited again, only include the abbreviation. If it doesn’t have an abbreviation associated with it, write out the entire organization’s name each and every time (see Section 8.21 of the Publication manual ).
First APA citation for an organization with an abbreviation: (World Health Organization [WHO], Year)
World Health Organization (WHO, Year)
Notice in the example directly above, the name of the organization is written out in full in the text of the sentence, and the abbreviation is placed in parentheses next to it.
Subsequent APA citations in the text for an organization with an abbreviation: (WHO, Year) OR WHO (Year)
All citations in the text for an organization without an abbreviation: (Citation Machine, Year) or Citation Machine (Year)
Sometimes you’ll need to cite more than one work within an in-text citation. Follow the same format (author, year) format but place semicolons between works (p. 263).
(Obama, 2016; Monroe et al., 1820; Hoover & Coolidge, 1928)
Reminder: There are many citation tools available on CitationMachine.com. Head to our homepage to learn more, check out our APA citation website, and cite your sources easily! The most useful resource on our website? Our APA citation generator, which doesn’t just create full references, it’s also an APA in-text citation website! It’ll do both for you!
Click here to learn more about crediting work .
References display the full information for all the citations found in the body of a research project.
Some things to keep in mind when it comes to the references:
Learn more about each component of the reference citation and how to format it in the sections that follow. See an APA sample paper reference list at the end of this entire section.
The names of authors are written in reverse order. Include the initials for the first and middle names. End this information with a period (see Section 9.8 of the Publication manual ).
Format: Last name, F. M.
When two or more authors work together on a source, write them in the order in which they appear on the source. You can name up to 20 authors in the reference. For sources with 2 to 20 authors, place an ampersand (&) before the final author. Use this format:
Last name, F. M., & Last name, F. M.
Last name, F. M., Last name, F. M., Last name, F. M., Last name, F. M., & Last name, F. M.
Kent, A. G., Giles, R. M., Thorpe, A., Lukes, R., Bever, D. J., & He, Y.
If there are 21 or more authors listed on a source, only include the first 19 authors, add three ellipses, and then add the last author’s name.
Roberts, A., Johnson, M. C., Klein, J., Cheng, E. V., Sherman, A., Levin, K. K. , ...Lopez, G. S.
If you plan on using a free APA citation tool, like the one at CitationMachine.com, the names of the authors will format properly for you.
###No authors
If the source lacks an author, place the title in the first position in the reference (Section 9.12 of the Publication manual ). When the source’s title begins with a number (Such as 101 Dalmatians ), place the reference alphabetically as if the number was spelled out. 101 Dalmatians would be placed in the spot where ‘One hundred’ would go, but keep the numbers in their place.
Additionally, if the title begins with the words ‘A’, ‘An,’ or ‘The,’ ignore these words and place the title alphabetically according to the next word.
See the “Titles” section below for more information on formatting the title of sources.
###Corporate/Organization authors
On an APA reference page, corporate authors are always written out in full. In the text of your paper, you may have some abbreviations (such as UN for United Nations), but in the full references, always include the full names of the corporation or organization (following Section 9.11 of the official Publication manual ).
%%United Nations. (2019). Libya: $202 million needed to bring life-saving aid to half a million people hit by humanitarian crisis. https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/02/1031981
Directly after the author’s name is the date the source was published. Include the full date for newspapers and magazine articles, and only the year for journals and all other sources. If no date is found on the source, include the initials, n.d. for “no date.”
%% Narducci, M. (2017, May 19). City renames part of 11th Street Ed Snider Way to honor Flyers founder. The Philadelphia Inquirer . http://www.philly.com/
If using our APA Citation Machine, our citation generator will add the correct format for you automatically.
Giving a retrieval date is not needed unless the online content is likely to be frequently updated and changed (e.g., encyclopedia article, dictionary entry, Twitter profile, etc.).
%%Citation Machine [@CiteMachine]. (n.d.). Tweets [Twitter profile]. Twitter. Retrieved October 10, 2019, from https://twitter.com/CiteMachine
When writing out titles for books, articles, chapters, or other non-periodical sources, only capitalize the first word of the title and the first word of the subtitle. Names of people, places, organizations, and other proper nouns also have the first letter capitalized. For books and reports, italicize the title in the APA citation.
Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Roots: The saga of an American family.
For articles and chapters in APA referencing, do not italicize the title.
Wake up the nation: Public libraries, policy making, and political discourse.
For newspapers, magazines, journals, newsletters, and other periodicals, capitalize the first letter in each word and italicize the title.
The Seattle Times.
A common question is whether to underline your title or place it in italics or quotation marks in the reference list. Here’s a good general rule: When a source sits alone and is not part of a larger whole, place the title in italics. If the source does not sit alone and is part of a larger whole, do not place it in italics.
Books, movies, journals, and television shows are placed in italics since they stand alone. Songs on an album, episodes of television shows, chapters in books, and articles in journals are not placed in italics since they are smaller pieces of larger wholes.
The Citation Machine citation generator will format the title in your citations automatically.
If you feel it would be helpful to include additional information about the source type, include a descriptive noun or two in brackets immediately following the title. Capitalize the first letter.
%%Kennedy, K., & Molen, G. R. (Producers), & Spielberg, S. (Director). (1993). Jurassic Park [Film]. USA: Universal.
Besides [Film], other common notations include:
If you are using Citation Machine citing tools, additional information about the title is automatically added for you.
For books and reports, include the publisher name but not the location (see Section 9.29 of the Publication manual ). Older editions of the style required the city, state and/or country, but this hasn't been the case since the 7th edition was released.
It is not necessary to include the entire name of the publisher. It is acceptable to use a brief, intelligible form. However, if Books or Press are part of the publisher’s names, keep these words in the reference. Other common terms, such as Inc., Co., Publishers, and others can be omitted.
For newspapers, journals, magazines, and other periodicals, include the volume and issue number after the title. The volume number is listed first, by itself, in italics. The issue number is in parentheses immediately after it, not italicized. There is no space after the closing parenthesis and before the volume number.
%%Giannoukos, G., Besas, G., Hictour, V., & Georgas, T. (2016). A study on the role of computers in adult education. Educational Research and Reviews , 11 (9), 907-923. https://doi.org/10.5897/ERR2016.2688
After including the publisher information, end this section with a period.
Perseus Books.
For online sources, the URL or DOI (Direct Object Identifier) are included at the end of an APA citation.
DOI numbers are often created by publishers for journal articles and other periodical sources. They were created in response to the problem of broken or outdated links and URLs. When a journal article is assigned a DOI number, it is static and will never change. Because of its permanent characteristic, DOIs are the preferred type of electronic information to include in APA citations. When a DOI number is not available, include the source’s URL (see Section 9.34 in the Publication manual ).
For DOIs, include the number in this format:
http://doi.org/xxxx
For URLs, type them in this format:
http:// or https://
Other information about electronic sources:
If using the Citation Machine APA citation website autocite features, the online publication information will be automatically replaced by the DOI. The Citation Machine APA template will properly cite your online sources for you.
Make sure you run your completed paper through the Citation Machine Plus smart proofreader, which scans for grammar, spelling, and plagiarism. Whether it’s an adjective , verb , or pronoun out-of-place, our technology helps edits your paper for you!
An APA annotated bibliography is a full bibliography that includes a small note for each reference citation. Each note should be short (1-2 paragraphs) and contain a summary or your evaluation about each source. When creating your citations on CitationMachine.net, there is a field at the bottom of each form to add your own annotations.
Follow the publication manual guidelines on paper format and writing style. Let your instructor guide other details about your annotations. Still confused? Read our guide on annotated bibliographies .
These types of projects look different depending on the style you’re using. Use the link at the top of the page to access resources related to the Modern Language Association’s style. Here’s information related to Chicago citation style .
Need help with the design and formatting of your paper? Look no further! This section provides the ins and outs of properly displaying the information in your APA essay.
Arrange your pages in this order:
Keep in mind that the order above is the recommendation for papers being submitted for peer review. If you’re writing an APA style paper for a class, your professor may be more lenient about the requirements. Also, if you’re submitting your paper for a specific journal, check the requirements on the journal’s website. Each journal has different rules and procedures.
Just a little nudge to remind you about the Citation Machine Plus smart proofreader. Whether it’s a conjunction or interjection out of place, a misspelled word, or an out of place citation, we’ll offer suggestions for improvement! Don’t forget to check out our APA citation maker while you’re at it!
In older editions of APA, running heads were required for all papers. Since the 7th edition, that’s changed.
The running head displays the title of the paper and the page number on all pages of the paper. This header is found on every page of a professional paper (not a student paper), even on the title page (sometimes called an APA cover page) and reference list (taken from Section 2.8 of the Publication manual ).
It's displayed all in capital letters at the top of the page. Across from the running head, along the right margin, is the page number.
A title page, sometimes called an APA cover page, graces the cover of an essay or paper. An APA title page should follow rules from Section 2.3 of the official Publication manual and include:
Follow the directions for the running head and page number in the section above. Below the running head, a few lines beneath, and centered in the middle of the page, should be the title. The next line below is the author’s name(s), followed by the name of the school or institution, the class or course name, your instructor’s name, and the paper’s due date.
All components on this page should be written in the same font and size as the rest of your paper. Double space the title, names, name of school or institution, and all other information on the page (except for the running head and page number).
Example - Student Title Page APA:
Example - Professional Title Page APA:
If you’re submitting your paper to a journal for publication, check the journal’s website for exact requirements. Each journal is different and some may request a different type of APA format cover page.
Looking to create an APA format title page? Head to CitationMachine.com’s homepage and choose “Title Page” at the top of the screen.
An abstract briefly but thoroughly summarizes dissertation contents. It’s found in the beginning of a professional paper, right after the title page. Abstracts are meant to help readers determine whether to continue reading the entire document. With that in mind, try to craft the lead sentence to entice the reader to continue reading.
Here are a few tips:
Formatting guidelines:
If your paper includes a lot of numerical information or data, you may want to consider placing it into a table or a figure, rather than typing it all out. A visual figure or simple, organized table filled with numerical data is often easier for readers to digest and comprehend than tons of paragraphs filled with numbers. Chapter 7 of the Publication manual outlines formatting for tables and figures. Let's cover the basics below.
If you’d like to include a table or figure in your paper, here are a few key pieces of information to keep in mind:
The 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association was released in 2009. The current 7th edition came out in the fall of 2019 and was designed to be more student focused, provide more guidance on accessibility, and address changes that have developed over the last 10 years.
Below, we’ve listed what we feel are the most relevant changes related to APA format.
DOI stands for “digital object identifier.” Many journal articles use and have a unique DOI that should be included in a full citation.
When including a DOI in a citation, format it as a URL. Do not label it “DOI.” Articles without DOIs from databases are treated as print works. For example:
6th edition:
%%Gänsicke, B. T., Schreiber, M. R., Toloza, O., Fusillo, N. P. G., Koester, D., & Manser, C. J. (2019). Accretion of a giant planet onto a white dwarf star. Nature, 576 (7785), 61–64. doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1789-8
7th edition:
%%Gänsicke, B. T., Schreiber, M. R., Toloza, O., Fusillo, N. P. G., Koester, D., & Manser, C. J. (2019). Accretion of a giant planet onto a white dwarf star. Nature, 576 (7785), 61–64. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1789-8
There are few new guidelines when you are citing a book. First, the publisher location no longer needs to be indicated.
%%Zack, P. O. (2001). The shoals of time. Bloomington, IN: First Books Library.
%%Zack, P. O. (2001). The shoals of time. First Books Library.
Second, the format of an ebook (e.g., Kindle, etc.) no longer needs to be indicated.
%%Niven, J. (2012). Ada Blackjack: A true story of survival in the Arctic [Kindle].
%%Niven, J. (2012). Ada Blackjack: A true story of survival in the Arctic .
Lastly, books from research databases without DOIs are treated the same as print works.
When using a URL in a citation, you no longer need to include the term “Retrieved from” before URLs (except with retrieval dates). The font should be blue and underlined, or black and not underlined.
6th Edition:
%%Flood, A. (2019, December 6). Britain has closed almost 800 libraries since 2010, figures show. The Guardian . Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/dec/06/britain-has-closed-almost-800-libraries-since-2010-figures-show
7th Edition:
%%Flood, A. (2019, December 6). Britain has closed almost 800 libraries since 2010, figures show. The Guardian . https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/dec/06/britain-has-closed-almost-800-libraries-since-2010-figures-show
Within a full APA citation, you may spell out up to 20 author names. For two to 20 authors, include an ampersand (&) before the name of the last author. For sources with 21 or more authors, structure it as follows:
Structure: First 19 authors’ names, . . . Last author’s name.
7th edition example: Washington, G., Adams, J., Jefferson, T., Madison, J., Monroe, J., Adams, J. Q., Jackson, A., Van Buren, M., Harrison, W. H., Tyler, J., Polk, J. K., Taylor, Z., Filmore, M., Pierce, F., Buchanan, J., Lincoln, A., Johnson, A., Grant, U. S., Hayes, R. B., Garfield, . . . Trump, D.
When creating an in-text citation for a source with 3 or more authors, use “et al.” after the first author’s name. This helps abbreviate the mention.
6th Edition: (Honda, Johnson, Prosser, Rossi, 2019)
7th Edition: (Honda et al., 2019)
Instead of having different formats for tables and figures, both use one standardized format. Now both tables and figures have a number, a title, name of the table/figure, and a note at the bottom.
If you’re still typing into Google “how to cite a website APA” among other related questions and keywords, click here for further reading on the style .
When you’re through with your writing, toss your entire paper into the Citation Machine Plus plagiarism checker , which will scan your paper for grammar edits and give you up to 5 suggestions cards for free! Worry less about a determiner , preposition , or adverb out of place and focus on your research!
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.) (2020). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
Updated March 3, 2020
Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Wendy Ikemoto. Michele Kirschenbaum has been an awesome school librarian since 2006 and is an expert in citing sources. Wendy Ikemoto has a master’s degree in library and information science and has been working for Citation Machine since 2012.
There are many different types of references (e.g. books, journal articles, websites). Click on the type you require below to see the components of the reference with an example.
Thesis or dissertation.
An e-book retrieved from an academic database that does not have a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is referenced as though it were the print version, as above. (A DOI is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies content and provides a persistent link to its location on the internet. DOIs can be found in database records and the reference lists of published works).
Books with a URL or a DOI can be referenced like this:
(Year of publication)
Title of journal (in italics, first letter of each word should be capitalised, except for words such as and, of, the)
Issue information (volume, issue, pages) (volume in italics)
Journal article (online)
Journal articles retrieved from databases without a DOI can be referenced like a print journal, as above.
List the first nineteen authors followed by three spaced ellipsis points (...) and then the last author's name.
“Pre-print”, “In press” and “advanced online publication” usually refer to articles that have been accepted for publication, but may not yet have been assigned to a publication volume/issue. These articles can be cited using the year of online publication and the DOI.
arXiv is a collection facility for scientific 'e-prints'. Some of them have been published and some have not. APA recommends updating your references when you're close to finishing your assignment. If you've cited a preprint that has since been published, cite the published journal article.
In the example below, you will see that the title is in italics. This is because it hasn't yet been accepted in a journal and is, therefore, considered a stand-alone work.
If the journal article has an article number instead of a page range, include the word “Article” and then the article number instead of the page range.
If no date can be established, use n.d. to indicate no date in the citation and the reference.
Author and/or [screen name]
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(Year posted, month day)
Content of the post (up to the first 20 words, in italics)
[Photograph/Video/Story]. (description of post)
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopaedia, created and edited by volunteers around the world. It is not a scholarly source, so your lecturer may not be happy for you to use it as a source in your assignments. Scholarly assignments should generally rely on peer-reviewed and other scholarly work vetted by experts in the field. However, it may be a good starting point for you in your research to find citations to original source materials that you do want to use.
Wikipedia is a constantly changing site, so cite an archived version of the page, if you can (select 'view history' and then the date of the version you used). If it doesn't have a permanent link to an archived version of the page, include a URL for the entry and the retrieval date.
Conference Paper (Journal)
[Paper presentation or Poster presentation or Conference presentation]
If you are citing an illustration, figure, diagram or table, start with the source in which it appeared. For example, i f you are referencing an image printed in a book, you first mention the image in-text, indicating the name and creator of the image, and the book in which it can be found, along with the page details. The reference list entry will be for the whole article or book.
In-text citation:
Reference List:
In the reference list, you list the book in which the image is found:
When you include an image or photo in your text, as well as citing the source, you will also need to include a caption and list it in a Table of Figures ( click here for more information ). Images you created yourself don't have to be cited, but should still be included in the list of figures.
Image, illustration, photo or table (online)
Hosting service (e.g. Instagram, Flickr)
If you viewed an image in person rather than online (e.g. in a museum or gallery), the source information is different. You will need to include the name and location of the institution where you viewed the image.
If you haven't seen the artwork in person and saw it online, add the website URL at the end of your reference.
It can often be hard to find accurate information about images accessed online. However, if you do need to cite an image with no author, date or title listed, there are ways around this. For untitled images, include a description of the image, in square brackets, where the title would usually go. If there is no publication date, add “n.d.” in place of the date, and add the date that you accessed the image.
When the curator is unknown, move the title of the exhibition to the author position of the reference.
Exhibition Catalogue
Only specify how you watched a film (e.g. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HULU, etc.) when it is important to indicate a specific version. Put this information in square brackets following the word, "Film" and a semicolon.
Hosting Website
Executive Producer(s) (Executive Producer(s)).
(Years - it aired, use present if still airing ).
Title (in italics) [TV series].
Production Company;
Broadcaster name
(Series number, episode number) (in round brackets)
Name of announcer
(Year, Month Day of broadcast).
Title of programme (in italics)
[Description i.e. Radio broadcast ].
Name of site that published the broadcast
URL of broadcast
Name of host (Host)
(Dates) Provide the span of years during which the podcast aired here; if ongoing give the year of first broadcast and word “- present”.
Title of podcast (in italics)
[Audio or Video Podcast]
Publisher/production company
For specific ‘ Podcast episodes ’, provide the precise date on which the podcast episode first aired. Supply the episode number after the episode title, if available, in brackets. Indicate the type of podcast episode in square brackets, e.g. [Audio podcast episode] or [Video podcast episode]. Write the word “In” and then the title of the podcast in italics. Give the Publisher or Production company and the URL.
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Notes you took during a lecture or class handouts that are not posted online are not retrievable by someone else, so do not belong in your reference list. Instead, you treat them like personal communication and just refer to them in your text.
Title of item [Class handout or PowerPoint slides]. (in italics).
Platform or Institution (e.g. ATU).
Name of Speaker
(Date) (in round brackets) (Provide as specific a date as possible; in the example, only the year and month are available.)
Title of video (in italics)
TED Conferences
When the TED Talk is on YouTube, list the owner of the YouTube account (here, TED) as the author to aid in retrieval. Credit YouTube as the publisher of the TED Talk and then provide the URL. When the speaker is not listed as the author, integrate their name into the narrative if desired:
Title of course (in italics)
Site that holds the course
A lecture from an online course cites the instructor for the particular lecture in the author part of the reference and the names of all the lecturers in the source element. The URL given should be to the main page of the course.
Vinyl |
Generate citations in APA format quickly and automatically, with MyBib!
An APA citation generator is a software tool that will automatically format academic citations in the American Psychological Association (APA) style.
It will usually request vital details about a source -- like the authors, title, and publish date -- and will output these details with the correct punctuation and layout required by the official APA style guide.
Formatted citations created by a generator can be copied into the bibliography of an academic paper as a way to give credit to the sources referenced in the main body of the paper.
College-level and post-graduate students are most likely to use an APA citation generator, because APA style is the most favored style at these learning levels. Before college, in middle and high school, MLA style is more likely to be used. In other parts of the world styles such as Harvard (UK and Australia) and DIN 1505 (Europe) are used more often.
Like almost every other citation style, APA style can be cryptic and hard to understand when formatting citations. Citations can take an unreasonable amount of time to format manually, and it is easy to accidentally include errors. By using a citation generator to do this work you will:
In academia, bibliographies are graded on their accuracy against the official APA rulebook, so it is important for students to ensure their citations are formatted correctly. Special attention should also be given to ensure the entire document (including main body) is structured according to the APA guidelines. Our complete APA format guide has everything you need know to make sure you get it right (including examples and diagrams).
Our APA generator was built with a focus on simplicity and speed. To generate a formatted reference list or bibliography just follow these steps:
MyBib supports the following for APA style:
⚙️ Styles | APA 6 & APA 7 |
---|---|
📚 Sources | Websites, books, journals, newspapers |
🔎 Autocite | Yes |
📥 Download to | Microsoft Word, Google Docs |
Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.
Thursday, February 23: The Clark Library is closed today.
Journal article from library database with doi - one author, journal article from library database with doi - multiple authors, journal article from a website - one author.
Journal Article- No DOI
Note: All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.
A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.
This Microsoft support page contains instructions about how to format a hanging indent in a paper.
If an item has no author, start the citation with the article title.
When an article has one to twenty authors, all authors' names are cited in the References List entry. When an article has twenty-one or more authors list the first nineteen authors followed by three spaced ellipse points (. . .) , and then the last author's name. Rules are different for in-text citations; please see the examples provided.
Cite author names in the order in which they appear on the source, not in alphabetical order (the first author is usually the person who contributed the most work to the publication).
Italicize titles of journals, magazines and newspapers. Do not italicize or use quotation marks for the titles of articles.
Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the article title. If there is a colon in the article title, also capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon.
If an item has no date, use the short form n.d. where you would normally put the date.
Volume and Issue Numbers
Italicize volume numbers but not issue numbers.
Retrieval Dates
Most articles will not need these in the citation. Only use them for online articles from places where content may change often, like a free website or a wiki.
Page Numbers
If an article doesn't appear on continuous pages, list all the page numbers the article is on, separated by commas. For example (4, 6, 12-14)
Library Database
Do not include the name of a database for works obtained from most academic research databases (e.g. APA PsycInfo, CINAHL) because works in these resources are widely available. Exceptions are Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, ERIC, ProQuest Dissertations, and UpToDate.
Include the DOI (formatted as a URL: https://doi.org/...) if it is available. If you do not have a DOI, include a URL if the full text of the article is available online (not as part of a library database). If the full text is from a library database, do not include a DOI, URL, or database name.
Books, Journals, Reports, Webpages, etc.: When you refer to titles of a “stand-alone work,” as the APA calls them on their APA Style website, such as books, journals, reports, and webpages, you should italicize them. Capitalize words as you would for an article title in a reference, e.g., In the book Crying in H Mart: A memoir , author Michelle Zauner (2021) describes her biracial origin and its impact on her identity.
Article or Chapter: When you refer to the title of a part of a work, such as an article or a chapter, put quotation marks around the title and capitalize it as you would for a journal title in a reference, e.g., In the chapter “Where’s the Wine,” Zauner (2021) describes how she decided to become a musician.
The APA Sample Paper below has more information about formatting your paper.
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), first page number-last page number. https://doi.org/doi number
Smith, K. F. (2022). The public and private dialogue about the American family on television: A second look. Journal of Media Communication, 50 (4), 79-110. https://doi.org/10.1152/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02864.x
Note: The DOI number is formatted as a URL: https://doi.org/10.1152/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02864.xIf
In-Text Paraphrase:
(Author's Last Name, Year)
Example: (Smith, 2000)
In-Text Quote:
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number)
Example: (Smith, 2000, p. 80)
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given., & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), first page number-last page number. https://doi.org/doi number
Note: Separate the authors' names by putting a comma between them. For the final author listed add an ampersand (&) after the comma and before the final author's last name.
Note: In the reference list invert all authors' names; give last names and initials for only up to and including 20 authors. When a source has 21 or more authors, include the first 19 authors’ names, then three ellipses (…), and add the last author’s name. Don't include an ampersand (&) between the ellipsis and final author.
Note : For works with three or more authors, the first in-text citation is shortened to include the first author's surname followed by "et al."
Reference List Examples
Two to 20 Authors
Case, T. A., Daristotle, Y. A., Hayek, S. L., Smith, R. R., & Raash, L. I. (2011). College students' social networking experiences on Facebook. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 3 (2), 227-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.12.010
21 or more authors
Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, R., Collins, W., Deaven, D., Gandin, L., Iredell, M., Saha, J., Mo, K. C., Ropelewski, C., Wang, J., Leetma, A., . . . Joseph, D. (1996). The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society , 77 (3), 437-471. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1996)077<0437:TNYRP>2.0.CO;2
In-Text Citations
Two Authors/Editors
(Case & Daristotle, 2011)
Direct Quote: (Case & Daristotle, 2011, p. 57)
Three or more Authors/Editors
(Case et al., 2011)
Direct Quote: (Case et al., 2011, p. 57)
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number if given). URL
Flachs, A. (2010). Food for thought: The social impact of community gardens in the Greater Cleveland Area. Electronic Green Journal, 1 (30). http://escholarship.org/uc/item/6bh7j4z4
Example: (Flachs, 2010)
Example: (Flachs, 2010, Conclusion section, para. 3)
Note: In this example there were no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers; in this case you can cite the section heading and the number of the paragraph in that section to identify where your quote came from. If there are no page or paragraph numbers and no marked section, leave this information out.
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), first page number-last page number. URL [if article is available online, not as part of a library database]
Full-Text Available Online (Not as Part of a Library Database):
Steinberg, M. P., & Lacoe, J. (2017). What do we know about school discipline reform? Assessing the alternatives to suspensions and expulsions. Education Next, 17 (1), 44–52. https://www.educationnext.org/what-do-we-know-about-school-discipline-reform-suspensions-expulsions/
Example: (Steinberg & Lacoe, 2017)
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page number)
Example: (Steinberg & Lacoe, 2017, p. 47)
Full-Text Available in Library Database:
Jungers, W. L. (2010). Biomechanics: Barefoot running strikes back. Nature, 463 (2), 433-434.
Example: (Jungers, 2010)
Example: (Jungers, 2010, p. 433)
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This resourse, revised according to the 7 th edition APA Publication Manual, offers basic guidelines for formatting the reference list at the end of a standard APA research paper. Most sources follow fairly straightforward rules. However, because sources obtained from academic journals carry special weight in research writing, these sources are subject to special rules . Thus, this page presents basic guidelines for citing academic journals separate from its "ordinary" basic guidelines. This distinction is made clear below.
Note: Because the information on this page pertains to virtually all citations, we've highlighted one important difference between APA 6 and APA 7 with an underlined note written in red. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , (7 th ed.).
Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text.
Your references should begin on a new page separate from the text of the essay; label this page "References" in bold, centered at the top of the page (do NOT underline or use quotation marks for the title). All text should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay.
Please note: While the APA manual provides examples of how to cite common types of sources, it does not cover all conceivable sources. If you must cite a source that APA does not address, the APA suggests finding an example that is similar to your source and using that format. For more information, see page 282 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7 th ed.
References are essential documents that vouch for an individual’s qualifications, character, and experience. A Company Reference Letter is typically used in professional settings to validate an employee’s performance and skills. An Academic Reference Letter supports a student’s application for educational programs by highlighting their academic achievements and potential. Additionally, a Reference Sheet lists multiple contacts who can provide further information about an individual’s background.
A reference is a formal recommendation or validation of a person’s qualifications, character, or experience, provided by someone who knows them well. It can be used in various contexts such as employment, academics, and personal endorsements.
Character references are letters written by someone who knows the subject of the letter well and can speak to their character and abilities. These references are often used for job applications, college admissions, legal proceedings, or other situations where an assessment of a person’s character is needed. Below are several examples of character reference letters tailored for different purposes.
[Your Name] [Your Address] [City, State, ZIP Code] [Email Address] [Phone Number] [Date]
[Recipient Name] [Company Name] [Company Address] [City, State, ZIP Code]
Dear [Recipient Name],
I am writing to recommend [Applicant’s Name] for the [Job Title] position at [Company Name]. I have known [Applicant’s Name] for [number] years as [his/her/their] [friend/mentor/colleague], and I can confidently attest to [his/her/their] excellent character and work ethic.
[Applicant’s Name] is a highly dependable and dedicated individual. In the time I’ve known [him/her/them], [he/she/they] has consistently demonstrated [his/her/their] commitment to excellence. For example, [provide a specific example of the applicant’s reliability, hard work, or other positive traits].
Moreover, [Applicant’s Name] is a person of great integrity and kindness. [He/She/They] always treats others with respect and fairness, which makes [him/her/them] a pleasure to work with. I am certain that [he/she/they] would bring a strong work ethic and positive attitude to your team.
I wholeheartedly recommend [Applicant’s Name] for the [Job Title] position. Please feel free to contact me if you need any further information.
Sincerely, [Your Name]
[Admission Officer’s Name] [College Name] [College Address] [City, State, ZIP Code]
Dear [Admission Officer’s Name],
I am writing to offer my enthusiastic support for [Student’s Name]’s application to [College Name]. I have had the pleasure of knowing [Student’s Name] for [number] years as [his/her/their] [teacher/coach/mentor], and I can confidently speak to [his/her/their] outstanding character and academic potential.
[Student’s Name] is an exceptionally bright and motivated individual. During [his/her/their] time in my [class/club/team], [he/she/they] consistently demonstrated a passion for learning and a willingness to go above and beyond. [He/She/They] often [provide a specific example of the student’s academic achievements or extracurricular involvement].
In addition to [his/her/their] academic prowess, [Student’s Name] is also a person of high moral character. [He/She/They] is compassionate, respectful, and always willing to lend a helping hand to peers. These qualities make [him/her/them] not only an excellent student but also a valued member of our community.
I have no doubt that [Student’s Name] will thrive at [College Name] and contribute positively to the campus community. Please feel free to contact me if you require any further information.
[Judge’s Name] [Court Name] [Court Address] [City, State, ZIP Code]
Dear [Judge’s Name],
I am writing to provide a character reference for [Defendant’s Name], whom I have known for [number] years as [his/her/their] [friend/colleague/neighbor]. I understand the serious nature of the matter before the court, and I wish to offer my perspective on [Defendant’s Name]’s character.
[Defendant’s Name] is a person of integrity and good moral character. Throughout the time I have known [him/her/them], [he/she/they] has always been honest, responsible, and kind. For example, [provide a specific example illustrating the defendant’s positive qualities].
While I am aware of the charges against [Defendant’s Name], I believe that [he/she/they] is genuinely remorseful and committed to making amends. [He/She/They] has always been willing to help others and contribute positively to our community. I am confident that [Defendant’s Name] will use this experience as a catalyst for positive change.
I hope that the court will consider this letter as a testament to [Defendant’s Name]’s character and potential for rehabilitation. Please feel free to contact me if you need any additional information.
APA (American Psychological Association) style is widely used for citing sources in academic writing. Here is a comprehensive guide on how to format different types of references in APA style.
Author, A. A. (Year of Publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher.
Example: Smith, J. A. (2020). The art of writing: A comprehensive guide. Writing Press.
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. DOI
Example: Brown, L. B. (2019). The effects of modern teaching methods. Educational Research Journal, 45 (2), 123-145.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Online Periodical . URL
Example: Doe, J. M. (2021, March 5). Innovations in education technology. Tech Education Today.
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. pages of chapter). Publisher.
Example: Green, P. L. (2018). Understanding language development. In R. B. White (Ed.), Advances in child psychology (pp. 45-67). Academic Press.
Editor, E. E. (Ed.). (Year). Title of work. Publisher.
Example: Johnson, R. T. (Ed.). (2017). Perspectives on learning . Learning Press.
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Name of Institution.
Example: Miller, T. R. (2016). Exploring the impact of digital media on learning [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Education.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of web page. Site Name. URL
Example: National Institute of Education. (2022, April 10). Effective teaching strategies. National Education Portal.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month). Title of paper. In E. E. Chairperson (Chair), Title of symposium. Symposium conducted at the meeting of Organization Name, Location.
Example: Taylor, D. J. (2020, August). Integrating technology in classrooms. In S. P. Roberts (Chair), Future of Education Conference. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the Educational Research Association, New York, NY.
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of report (Report No. xxx). Publisher.
Example: U.S. Department of Education. (2019). Annual report on educational progress (Report No. ED12345). U.S. Government Printing Office.
Structure of a reference letter.
Header : Your Name, Your Title/Position, Your Address, City, State, Zip Code, Email Address, Phone Number, Date.
Recipient’s Information : Recipient’s Name, Recipient’s Title/Position, Recipient’s Organization, Recipient’s Address, City, State, Zip Code.
Salutation : Dear [Recipient’s Name].
Introduction : State your relationship with the applicant and how long you have known them, Mention the purpose of the letter.
Body Paragraphs : Highlight the applicant’s skills, qualifications, and achievements. Provide specific examples to demonstrate the applicant’s strengths, Discuss the applicant’s character and work ethic.
Conclusion : Summarize your recommendation, Offer to provide further information if needed.
Closing : Sincerely, [Your Name]
[Your Name] [Your Title/Position] [Your Address] [City, State, Zip Code] [Email Address] [Phone Number] [Date]
[Recipient’s Name] [Recipient’s Title/Position] [Recipient’s Organization] [Recipient’s Address] [City, State, Zip Code]
Dear [Recipient’s Name],
I am writing to highly recommend [Applicant’s Name] for [position/program/opportunity]. I have had the pleasure of knowing [him/her/them] for [number] years in my capacity as [Your Position] at [Your Organization]. During this time, I have been consistently impressed with [his/her/their] exceptional skills and dedication.
In [his/her/their] role as [Applicant’s Job Title], [Applicant’s Name] has demonstrated outstanding abilities in [specific skill or task]. For instance, [he/she/they] successfully [specific example or project], which resulted in [specific outcome or achievement]. [His/Her/Their] ability to [specific skill] is truly remarkable and sets [him/her/them] apart from [his/her/their] peers.
Moreover, [Applicant’s Name] possesses excellent [character trait], which is evident in [his/her/their] interactions with colleagues and clients. [He/She/They] is a reliable, hardworking, and enthusiastic individual who consistently goes above and beyond to achieve [his/her/their] goals. [His/Her/Their] positive attitude and strong work ethic make [him/her/them] an invaluable asset to any team.
Based on my experience working with [Applicant’s Name], I am confident that [he/she/they] will excel in [position/program/opportunity]. I wholeheartedly recommend [him/her/them] and believe that [he/she/they] will make a significant contribution to your organization.
Please feel free to contact me at [Your Phone Number] or [Your Email Address] if you require any further information.
A brief mention within the text | Full details of the source, usually at the end of the work | |
Directs readers to the full reference | Provides complete information for locating the source | |
Within the text, typically in parentheses or as footnotes | At the end of the document, in a bibliography or reference list | |
Includes author’s last name and publication year (APA) or page number (MLA) | Includes full details such as author, title, publication date, etc. | |
(Smith, 2020) | Smith, J. (2020). . Publisher. | |
(Smith 23) | Smith, John. . Publisher, Year. | |
Briefly attributes ideas or quotes to the original source | Provides complete source information for further reading or verification | |
Appears multiple times within the text | Listed once in the reference list or bibliography |
References ensure credibility, allow verification of sources, and give credit to original authors.
Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of the book . Publisher.
Yes, credible websites can be used as references if they provide reliable information.
A citation is a brief mention within the text, while a reference provides full source details.
A reference list includes full details of all sources cited in a work, placed at the end.
Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical , volume number(issue number), pages. URL
References support arguments, validate research, and attribute ideas to original sources.
Generally, Wikipedia is not considered a reliable academic source due to its open-edit nature.
Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal , volume(issue), pages. DOI or URL
Host’s Last Name, First Initial. (Host). (Year, Month Day). Title of episode (No. episode number) [Audio podcast episode]. In Podcast Name . Production Company. URL
Text prompt
10 Examples of Public speaking
20 Examples of Gas lighting
Published on November 14, 2019 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on January 17, 2024.
A book citation in APA Style always includes the author’s name, the publication year, the book title, and the publisher. Use the interactive tool to see examples, or try the free APA Citation Generator to create your citations automatically.
Table of contents, basic book citation format, ebooks and online books, citing a chapter from an edited book, multivolume books, where to find the information for an apa book citation, frequently asked questions about apa style citations.
The in-text citation for a book includes the author’s last name, the year, and (if relevant) a page number.
In the reference list , start with the author’s last name and initials, followed by the year. The book title is written in sentence case (only capitalize the first word and any proper nouns ). Include any other contributors (e.g. editors and translators) and the edition if specified (e.g. “2nd ed.”).
APA format | Last name, Initials. (Year). (Editor/translator initials, Last name, Ed. or Trans.) (Edition). Publisher. |
---|---|
Anderson, B. (1983). . Verso. | |
(Anderson, 1983, p. 23) |
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A citation of an ebook (i.e. a book accessed on an e-reader) or a book viewed online (e.g. on Google Books or in PDF form ) includes the DOI where available. If there is no DOI, link to the page where you viewed the book, or where the ebook can be purchased or accessed.
Since ebooks sometimes do not include page numbers, APA recommends using other methods of identifying a specific passage in your in-text citations—for example, a chapter or section title, or a paragraph number.
APA format | Last name, Initials. (Year). . Publisher. URL or DOI |
---|---|
Burns, A. (2018). . Faber & Faber. https://amzn.to/2ObKrVf | |
(Burns, 2018, para. 15) |
When citing a particular chapter from a book containing texts by various authors (e.g. a collection of essays), begin the citation with the author of the chapter and mention the book’s editor(s) later in the reference. A page range identifies the chapter’s location in the book.
APA format | Last name, Initials. (Year). Title of chapter. In Editor initials. Last name (Ed. or Eds.), (pp. page range). Publisher. DOI if available |
---|---|
Belsey, C. (2006). Poststructuralism. In S. Malpas & P. Wake (Eds.), (pp. 51–61). Routledge. | |
(Belsey, 2006, p. 55). |
Some books come in multiple volumes. You may want to cite the entire book if you’ve used multiple volumes, or just a single volume if that was all you used.
When citing from one volume of a multivolume book, the format varies slightly depending on whether each volume has a title or just a number.
If the volume has a specific title, this should be written as part of the title in your reference list entry.
Eliot, T. S. (2015). The poems of T. S. Eliot: Vol. 1. Collected and uncollected poems (C. Ricks & J. McCue, Eds.). Faber & Faber.
If the volume is only numbered, not titled, the volume number is not italicized and appears in parentheses after the title.
Dylan, B. (2005). Chronicles (Vol. 1) . Simon & Schuster.
When citing the whole book, mention the volumes in parentheses after the title. Individual volume titles are not included even if they do exist.
Eliot, T. S. (2015). The poems of T. S. Eliot (Vols. 1–2) (C. Ricks & J. McCue, Eds.). Faber & Faber.
All the information you need to cite a book can usually be found on the title and copyright pages.
The APA reference list entry for the book above would look like this:
Butler, C. (2002). Postmodernism: A very short introduction . Oxford University Press.
When a book’s chapters are written by different authors, you should cite the specific chapter you are referring to.
When all the chapters are written by the same author (or group of authors), you should usually cite the entire book, but some styles include exceptions to this.
The abbreviation “ et al. ” (meaning “and others”) is used to shorten APA in-text citations with three or more authors . Here’s how it works:
Only include the first author’s last name, followed by “et al.”, a comma and the year of publication, for example (Taylor et al., 2018).
In the 7th edition of the APA manual, no location information is required for publishers. The 6th edition previously required you to include the city and state where the publisher was located, but this is no longer the case.
If you’re citing from an edition other than the first (e.g. a 2nd edition or revised edition), the edition appears in the reference, abbreviated in parentheses after the book’s title (e.g. 2nd ed. or Rev. ed.).
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
Caulfield, J. (2024, January 17). How to Cite a Book in APA Style | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved June 24, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-examples/book/
Other students also liked, apa 7th edition: the most notable changes, setting up the apa reference page | formatting & references (examples), beginner's guide to apa in-text citation, scribbr apa citation checker.
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General guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay Author/Authors How to refer to authors in-text, including single and multiple authors, unknown authors, organizations, etc. Reference List. Resources on writing an APA style reference list, including citation formats
Throughout your paper, you need to apply the following APA format guidelines: Set page margins to 1 inch on all sides. Double-space all text, including headings. Indent the first line of every paragraph 0.5 inches. Use an accessible font (e.g., Times New Roman 12pt., Arial 11pt., or Georgia 11pt.).
APA Style is widely used by students, researchers, and professionals in the social and behavioral sciences. Scribbr's APA Citation Generator automatically generates accurate references and in-text citations for free.. This citation guide outlines the most important citation guidelines from the 7th edition APA Publication Manual (2020). Scribbr also offers free guides for the older APA 6th ...
When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
This guide contains examples of common types of APA Style references. Section numbers indicate where to find the examples in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). More information on references and reference examples are in Chapters 9 and 10 of the Publication Manual as well as the Concise Guide to APA ...
Crucially, citation practices do not differ between the two styles of paper. However, for your convenience, we have provided two versions of our APA 7 sample paper below: one in student style and one in professional style. Note: For accessibility purposes, we have used "Track Changes" to make comments along the margins of these samples.
APA Style is widely used by students, researchers, and professionals in the social and behavioural sciences. The Scribbr APA Reference Generator automatically generates accurate references and in-text citations for free. This citation guide outlines the most important citation guidelines from the 7th edition APA Publication Manual (2020).
More than 100 reference examples and their corresponding in-text citations are presented in the seventh edition Publication Manual.Examples of the most common works that writers cite are provided on this page; additional examples are available in the Publication Manual.. To find the reference example you need, first select a category (e.g., periodicals) and then choose the appropriate type of ...
A parenthetical citation can appear within or at the end of a sentence. When the parenthetical citation is at the end of the sentence, put the period or other end punctuation after the closing parenthesis. If there is no author, use the first few words of the reference list entry, usually the "Title" of the source: ("Autism," 2008) See APA 8.14
On the APA reference page, you list all the sources that you've cited in your paper. The list starts on a new page right after the body text. Follow these instructions to set up your APA reference page: Place the section label "References" in bold at the top of the page (centered). Order the references alphabetically. Double-space all text.
References provide the information necessary for readers to identify and retrieve each work cited in the text. Check each reference carefully against the original publication to ensure information is accurate and complete. Accurately prepared references help establish your credibility as a careful researcher and writer. Consistency in reference ...
APA Style papers should have the same style and size of font throughout the text of the paper (title page to reference page). APA considers the following fonts acceptable: 11- point Calibri, 11-point Arial, 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, or 10-point Computer Modern. It is recommended that you check with your instructor to see if they have a preferred ...
In-text citations point the reader to the sources' information on the references page. The in-text citation typically includes the author's last name and the year of publication. If you use a direct quote, the page number is also provided. More information can be found on p. 253 of the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American ...
Narrative: Martinez (2009) said, "The way to learn APA is to use a guide as a cross-reference" (p. 3). Paraphrase. Parenthetical: (Martinez, 2009) Narrative: Martinez (2009) said APA does not need to be memorized. Reference for a book with an author, print or electronic. Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. Publisher.
Scroll down to find the proper format for the source you're citing or referencing. If you would like help citing your sources, CitationMachine.com has a citation generator that will help make the APA citation process much easier for you. To start, simply click on the source type you're citing: Website. Books.
Click on the type you require below to see the components of the reference with an example. Books. Journal Articles. Web pages and social media. Newspaper articles. Dictionary or Encyclopaedia. Thesis or Dissertation. Reports and Datasets. Standards.
Revised on January 17, 2024. APA website citations usually include the author, the publication date, the title of the page or article, the website name, and the URL. If there is no author, start the citation with the title of the article. If the page is likely to change over time, add a retrieval date. If you are citing an online version of a ...
An APA citation generator is a software tool that will automatically format academic citations in the American Psychological Association (APA) style. It will usually request vital details about a source -- like the authors, title, and publish date -- and will output these details with the correct punctuation and layout required by the official ...
When a source has 21 or more authors, include the first 19 authors' names, then three ellipses (…), and add the last author's name. Don't include an ampersand (&) between the ellipsis and final author. Note: For works with three or more authors, the first in-text citation is shortened to include the first author's surname followed by "et al."
Reference List: Basic Rules. This resourse, revised according to the 7 th edition APA Publication Manual, offers basic guidelines for formatting the reference list at the end of a standard APA research paper. Most sources follow fairly straightforward rules. However, because sources obtained from academic journals carry special weight in research writing, these sources are subject to special ...
The following essay will provide a discussion of the importance of APA style referencing within psychological literature but also in terms of consistency within academic essays. In addition to this, this essay can be used as a basic guide for students to properly cite and reference an essay using this particular referencing style.
In-text citations briefly identify the source of information in the body text. They correspond to a full reference entry at the end of your paper. APA in-text citations consist of the author's last name and publication year. When citing a specific part of a source, also include a page number or range, for example (Parker, 2020, p.
A reference is a formal validation of a person's qualifications, character, or experience, used in professional, academic, and personal contexts. Discover the importance of references, including Company Reference Letters, Academic Reference Letters, and Reference Sheets, in verifying credentials and achievements.
Fig. 5. The World: The oldest item in the exhibition was an atlas from 1490, which drew in the public with the Blaeu atlas cabinet, as well as Nicolaes Maes' 1657 painting, The Eavesdropper, featuring an imaginary wall map in the background, on loan from the Dordrechts Museum. The maps of continents also attracted a lot of attention: the 'empty' continent of Africa (a map from 1819) in ...
Citation Generator: Automatically generate accurate references and in-text citations using Scribbr's APA Citation Generator, MLA Citation Generator, Harvard Referencing Generator, and Chicago Citation Generator. Plagiarism Checker: Detect plagiarism in your paper using the most accurate Turnitin-powered plagiarism software available to ...
In the reference list, start with the author's last name and initials, followed by the year. The book title is written in sentence case (only capitalize the first word and any proper nouns ). Include any other contributors (e.g. editors and translators) and the edition if specified (e.g. "2nd ed."). APA format. Last name, Initials.