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/
Other students also liked, a quick guide to harvard referencing | citation examples, mhra referencing | a quick guide & citation examples, how to avoid plagiarism | tips on citing sources, scribbr apa citation checker.
An innovative new tool that checks your APA citations with AI software. Say goodbye to inaccurate citations!
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.
Available formats, also available from.
Concise Guide to APA Style, Seventh Edition is the official APA Style resource for students.
Written for high school and undergraduate students, instructors, and writers learning APA Style, this easy-to-use pocket guide is adapted from the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . It provides complete guidance for new writers on effective, clear, and inclusive scholarly communication and the essentials of formatting papers and other course assignments.
The seventh edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect best practices in scholarly writing and publishing.
General guidelines for student papers.
2. writing style and grammar, effective scholarly writing.
General guidelines for reducing bias.
Punctuation.
General guidelines for tables and figures.
General guidelines for citation.
Reference categories.
Author variations, date variations, title variations, source variations, textual works.
Ancillary instructional materials are available to instructors for the Concise Guide , including lecture slides.
7th Edition Pub Manual
Undergraduate Writing in Psychology, Third Edition
Study Like a Champ
When should you add in-text citations in your paper .
There are several rules of thumb you can follow to make sure that you are citing your paper correctly in APA 7 format.
In-text citation styles: .
(Forbes, 2020) | Forbes (2020) stated... | |
(Bennet & Miller, 2019) | Bennet and Miller (2019) concluded that... | |
(Jones et al., 2020) | Jones et al. (2020) shared two different... | |
(East Carolina University, 2020) | East Carolina University (2020) found... |
An example with 1 author:
Parenthetical citation: Following American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines will help you to cultivate your own unique academic voice as an expert in your field (Forbes, 2020).
Narrative citation : Forbes (2020) shared that by following American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines, students would learn to find their own voice as experts in the field of nursing.
An example with 2 authors:
Parenthetical citation: Research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the method (Bennett & Miller, 2019).
Narrative citation: As shared by Bennett and Miller (2019), research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the method.
An example with 3 authors:
Parenthetical citation: Guided imagery has also been shown to reduce stress, length of hospital stay, and symptoms related to medical and psychological conditions (Jones et al., 2020).
Narrative citation: Jones et al. (2020) shared that guided imagery has also been shown to reduce stress, length of hospital stay, and symptoms related to medical and psychological conditions.
An example with a group/corporate author:
Parenthetical citation: Dr. Philip G. Rogers, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, was recently elected as the newest chancellor of the university (East Carolina University, 2020).
Narrative citation: Recently shared on the East Carolina University (2020) website, Dr. Philip G. Rogers, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, was elected as the newest chancellor.
Paraphrasing is recreating someone else's ideas into your own words & thoughts, without changing the original meaning (gahan, 2020). .
Here are some best practices when you are paraphrasing:
References :
Gahan, C. (2020, October 15). How to paraphrase sources . Scribbr.com . https://tinyurl.com/y7ssxc6g
When should i use a direct quote in my paper .
Direct quotes should only be used occasionally:
From: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/whaddyamean/
, around the quote, are incorporated into the text of the paper. | (Shayden, 2016, p. 202) | |
(by indenting 0.5" or 1 tab) beneath the text of the paragraph. | (Miller et al., 2016, p. 136) | |
, therefore you need a different way to cite the information for a direct quote. There are two ways to do this: | (Jones, 2014, para. 4) (Scotts, 2019, Resources section) |
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An annotated bibliography is a list of citations for various books, articles, and other sources on a topic. The annotated bibliography looks like a References page but includes an annotation after each source cited. An annotation is a short summary and/or critical evaluation of a source. Annotated bibliographies can be part of a larger research project, or can be a stand-alone report in itself.
Maak, T. (2007). Responsible leadership, stakeholder engagement, and the emergence of social capital. Journal of Business Ethics , 74 , 329-343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9510-5
This article focuses on the role of social capital in responsible leadership. It looks at both the social networks that a leader builds within an organization, and the links that a leader creates with external stakeholders. Maak’s main aim with this article seems to be to persuade people of the importance of continued research into the abilities that a leader requires and how they can be acquired. The focus on the world of multinational business means that for readers outside this world many of the conclusions seem rather obvious (be part of the solution not part of the problem). In spite of this, the article provides useful background information on the topic of responsible leadership and definitions of social capital which are relevant to an analysis of a public servant.
The formatting of annotated bibliographies can vary. The University Libraries recommend the format exhibited in the examples below, but if you are still unsure what format to use, ask your professor.
An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources, each of which is followed by a brief note or “annotation.”
These annotations do one or more of the following:
The process of writing an annotated bibliography provides a structured process to learn about a research topic. It causes you to read the available research (also referred to as "the literature") more closely as you develop a better understanding of the topic, related issues, and current trends.
Source: The University of Wisconsin-Madison: The Writing Center
The hardest part of this assignment is writing the annotation, but knowing what it entails can make this task less daunting.
While not all of these are necessary, an annotation could/will:
Source: UNT Dallas Learning Commons: Annotated Bibliography
General Formatting Rules:
Source: Section 9.51 Annotated Bibliographies in the APA 7th Edition Publication Manual
Excelsior OWL Sample Annotated Bibliography
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Book In Print With One Author
Book in Print More Than One Author
Article in an online reference book (e.g. encyclopedias, dictionaries).
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.
Authors/Editors
An author won't necessarily be a person's name. It may be an organization or company, for example Health Canada. These are called group or corporate authors.
If a book has no author or editor, begin the citation with the book title, followed by the year of publication in round brackets.
If an author is also the publisher, omit the publisher from the reference. This happens most often with corporate or group authors.
When a book has one to 20 authors or editors, all authors' names are cited in the Reference List entry. When a book has 21 or more authors or editors, list the first 19 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).
Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title. If there is a colon (:) in the title, also capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon.
Capitalize the first letter of proper names in titles, such as names of places or people.
Italicize titles of journals, magazines, newspapers, and books. Do not italicize the titles of articles or book chapters.
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.
Place of Publication
Do not include the publisher location in the reference. Only for works associated with a specific location, like conference presentations, include the location. For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country. Examples: Toronto, ON ; Tokyo, Japan
Electronic Books
Don't include the format, platform, or device (e.g. Kindle) in the reference. Include the publisher name. For audiobooks, include the narrator and audiobook notation.
Ebooks from Websites (not from library databases)
If an ebook from a website was originally published in print, give the author, year, title, edition (if given) and the url. If it was never published in print, treat it like a multi-page website.
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publisher Name.
Note: If the named person is an editor, place "(Ed.)." after the name.
Mulholland, K. (2003). Class, gender and the family business . Palgrave McMillan.
In-Text Paraphrase:
(Author's Last Name, Year)
Example: (Mulholland, 2003)
In-Text Quote:
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number)
Example: (Mulholland, 2003, p. 70)
Last Name of First Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given, & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publisher Name.
Note: Authors' names are separated by commas. Put a comma and an ampersand (&) before the name of the last author cited.
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."
Note: If the listed names are editors rather than authors, include "(Eds.)." at the end of the list of names. The below example shows a list of editors.
Reference List Example:
Kaakinen, J., Coehlo, D., Steele, R., Tabacco, L., & Hanson, H. (Eds.). (2015). Family health care nursing: Theory, practice, and research (5th ed.). F.A. Davis Company.
In-text Citation
Two Authors/Editors
(Kaakinen & Coehlo, 2015)
Direct quote: (Kaakinen & Coehlo, 2015, p. 57)
Three or more Authors/Editors
(Kaakinen et al., 2015)
Direct quote: (Kaakinen et al., 2015, p. 57)
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publisher Name. URL
Example from Website:
Rhode, D. L. (2002). Divorce, American style . University of California Press. http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=kt9z09q84w;brand=ucpress
Example: (Rhode, 2002)
Example: (Rhode, 2002, p. 101)
If no author or creator is provided, start the citation with the title/name of the item you are citing instead. Follow the title/name of the item with the date of publication, and the continue with other citation details.
Remember: an author/creator may be an organization or corporation, for example Health Canada. If you don't have a person's name as the author, but do have the name of an organization or corporation, put that organization/corporation's name as the author.
If and only if an item is signed as being created by Anonymous, use "Anonymous" where you'd normally put the author's name.
When you have no author, use a shortened version of the title where you'd normally put the author's name.
If you're citing something which is part of a bigger work, like an article from a magazine, newspaper, journal, encyclopedia, or chapter/short story from a book, put the shortened title in quotation marks in your in-text citation:
Example, paraphrase: ("A few words," 2014)
If you're citing an entire work, like a book, website, video, etc., italicize the shortened title in your in-text citation:
Example, paraphrase: ( A few words , 2014)
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of chapter, article, essay or short story. In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if Given. Editor's Last Name (Ed.), Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition, pp. first page number-last page number). Publisher Name.
Note: If you have more than one editor list their name(s) after the first editor listed in the book, giving their initials and last name. Put an ampersand (&) before the last editor's name.
When you have one editor the short form (Ed.) is used after the editor's name. If you have more than one editor use (Eds.) instead.
O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and women's gender role journeys: A metaphor for healing, transition, and transformation. In B. R. Wainrib (Ed.), Gender issues across the life cycle (pp. 107-123). Springer.
Note: If there is no editor given you may leave out that part of the citation.
(Author's Last Name, Year)
Example (2 authors): (O'Neil & Egan, 1992)
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number)
Example (2 authors): (O'Neil & Egan, 1992, p. 998)
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article. In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if Given. Editor's Last Name (Ed.), Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publisher Name. URL or DOI
Caviness, L. B. (2008). Brain-relevant education. In N. J. Salkind (Ed.), Encyclopedia of educational psychology . Sage Publications. https://login.uportland.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/sageedpsyc/brain_relevant_education/0?institutionId=5407
Example (1 author): (Caviness, 2008)
Example (1 author): (Caviness, 2008, Focus on the brain section, para. 2)
Note: When there are no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers, you may cite the section heading and the number of the paragraph in that section to identify where your quote came from.
Information on Annotated Bibliographies can be found in Section 9.51 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.)
In-text citations, formatting your apa paper.
APA is more than just citation and referencing! It's a whole style of writing designed to refer to people in research with dignity and respect and present research results in a standard style so that others can easily evaluate your work and replicate it.
This guide is a quick introduction to the American Psychological Association (APA) Style for references and citations. Be sure to consult the Publication Manual of the APA or the APA Style website for detailed standards and procedures.
When you reference another source use an in-text citation in the body of your paper.
Basic Format: (Author's Last Name(s) or Organization, Year).
I'm using...
Paraphrasing or summarizing the main findings or takeaways from a research article is the preferred method of citing sources in an APA paper. Always include the last name of the author(s) and the year of the publication, so your reader can find the full citation in the reference list.
According to Shavers (2007), limitations of studying socioeconomic status in research on health disparities include difficulties in collecting data on socioeconomic status and the complications of classifying women, children, and employment status.
If you're quoting the exact words of someone else, introduce the quote with an in-text citation in parentheses. Any sentence punctuation goes after the closing parenthesis.
If you're directly quoting more than 40 words, use a blockquote . Block quotes don't need quotation marks. Instead, indent the text 1/2" as a visual cue that you are citing. The in-text citation in parentheses goes after the punctuation of the quote.
Shavers (2007) study found the following:
While research studies have established that socioeconomic status influences disease incidence, severity and access to healthcare, there has been relatively less study of the specific manner in which low SES influences receipt of quality care and consequent morbidity and mortality among patients with similar disease characteristics, particularly among those who have gained access to the healthcare system. (p. 1021)
Toro Tip: Use direct quotes sparingly! Focus on summarizing the findings from multiple research studies. In the sciences and social sciences, only use the exact phrasing or argument of an individual when necessary.
In-text citations differ depending on the number of authors listed for a work, and if there is a group author .
I'm citing a work with...
You only need the author's last name comma year in parentheses.
(Abrams, 2018)
Connect both authors' last names with & (ampersand) comma and the year.
(Wegener & Petty, 1994)
If there are 3 or more authors use et al., which means "and others," comma and the year.
(Harris et al., 2018)
First time with an abbreviation:
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2019)
Then all subsequent citations: (CDC, 2019)
Include the complete citation at the end of your paper in a references section. References are organized by the author's last name in alphabetic (A-Z) order. Use an hanging indent to separate each list item.
Basic Format: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date). Title of the work. Source where you can retrieve the work . URL or DOI if available
I'm citing a...
Ashing‐Giwa, K. T., Padilla, G., Tejero, J., Kraemer, J., Wright, K., Coscarelli, A., Clayton, S., Williams, I., & Hills, D. (2004). Understanding the breast cancer experience of women: A qualitative study of African American, Asian American, Latina and Caucasian cancer survivors. Psycho‐Oncology , 13 (6), 408-428. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.750
Rogers, O. (2021, July 9). Why naming race is necessary to undo racism. Psychology Today . https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/who-am-i-who-are-we/202107/why-naming-race-is-necessary-undo-racism
Schmidt, N. A., & Brown, J. M. (2017). Evidence-based practice for nurses: Appraisal and application of research (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.
McCormack, B., McCance, T., & Maben, J. (2013). Outcome evaluation in the development of person-centred practice. In B. McCormack, K. Manley, & A. Titchen (Eds.), Practice development in nursing and healthcare (pp. 190-211). John Wiley & Sons.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Preventing HPV-associated cancers . https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/hpv/basic_info/prevention.htm/
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. (2017, January). Key indicators of health by service planning area . http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/
Valentin, E. R. (2019, Summer). Narcissism predicted by Snapchat selfie sharing, filter usage, and editing [Master's thesis, California State University Dominguez Hills]. CSU ScholarWorks. https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/theses/3197xm925?locale=en
Check out more examples for citing dissertations and theses on the APA Style site .
Citing a letter, photograph, text document, graphic material, or ephemera? Consult the Gerth Archives APA Citation Guide for Archival Materials .
APA Style offers sample student and professional paper s, including a free annotated student sample paper .
1. Highlight the citaiton with your cursor.
2. Right click.
3. Select Paragraph .
4. Under Indentation, select Special and Hanging .
Microsoft Word and Google Docs have a Format Painter tool that will copy and apply basic formatting to any text!
1. Highlight the formatting you want to apply.
2. Select Format Painter .
3. Highlight the text you want to change.
Note: If using the Format Painter on the Reference List, you'll need to go back and add italics.
General Information for References Page
Online Sources Examples
An Article with DOI assigned
Nelson, A. M. (2014). Best practice in nursing: A concept analysis. International Journal o f Nursing Studies , 51 (11), 1507-1516 . http://d oi .org/ 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2014.05.003
An Article with no DOI assigned
Urban , E., & Palmer, L. B. (2016). International students' perceptions of the value of U.S. higher e ducation. Journal o f International Students , 6 (1), 153-174.
An Online Journal Article Not in a Database
Gunn , M . A., Koeplin , J. P., Lorton Jr., P. V., Kane, K., & Masterson, N. (20 16 ). The presence of Jesuit values in a selection of University of San Francisco courses: The students’ perspective. Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal , 5 (1), 55-75.
http://epublications.regis.edu/jhe/vol5/iss1/9
An Article from a Newspaper or News Service
Davis, J. H. (20 15 , Dec 10 ). President Obama s igns i nto l aw a r ewrite of No Child Left Behin d . The New York Times . http://www.nytimes.com
Book or eBook
Shi, L. (2014). Introduction to health policy . Health Administration Press.
Web page on a web site with author
Fagan, J. (2019, March 25). Nursing clinical brain. OER Commons. Retrieved September 17, 2019, from https://www.oercommons.org/authoring/53029-nursing-clinical-brain/view
A Web Site with Group Author
American Psychological Association. (20 20 ). APA Style . https://apastyle.apa.org/
Dictionary
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Culture. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved September 9, 2019, from https://www.merriam webster.com/dictionary/culture
Film or video
MacCulloch , D . (Writer /Presenter ) , Bancroft , G . (Director/Producer) , & Salt, S. (Director/Producer) . ( 2010 ). Diarmaid MacCulloch’s a history of Christianity [ Film ]. BBC Productions .
YouTube or streaming media
Harvard University. (2019, August 28). Soft robotic gripper for jellyfish [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch v=guRoWTYfxMs
Books McDonald, G. (2015). Business ethics: A contemporary approach. Cambridge University Press. B ook Chapter Roberts, J. (2015). Mindfulness for all in action. In S. Walker (Ed.), Psychosocial interventions in mental health nursing (pp. 63-80).
Sage Publications. Newspaper Articles Pollack, A. (2016, July 16). New patents aim to delay generics of biologics. The New York Times , B1, B4. Encyclopedias Falola , T. , & Jean-Jacques, D. (Ed s .). ( 2016 ). Africa: An e ncyclopedia of culture and society (Vols. 1 ‐ 3 ). A BC-CLIO .
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Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.)
Call number: BF76.7 .P83 2020
Multiple copies are available in the Dayton Memorial Library. If you need assistance, please contact the Research Help Desk.
The library does not guarantee the citations created by the following services. It is suggested that all citations are thoroughly checked after creation.
EasyBib- Free MLA citation generator.
Mendeley - Free, downloadable "reference manager".
Zotero- Free, open source tool to help you collect, organize, and cite your research sources.
KnightCite - Maintained by the Heckman Library at Calvin College. Cite in APA, MLA, and Chicago.
UCSU Citation Builder - Created and managed by NCSU Libraries. Cite in APA, MLA, and Chicago.
Published on November 4, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on September 30, 2022.
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. 67) or (Johnson, 2017, pp. 39–41) .
Run a quick check to see how many APA citation errors your paper contains before submitting your work.
Apa in-text citations explained in 4 minutes, parenthetical vs. narrative citations, apa in-text citations with multiple authors, no author, date or page number, multiple sources in one parenthesis, avoiding ambiguity in apa in-text citations, citing indirect sources (“as cited in”), citing personal communication, general mentions of websites and software, example paragraph with in-text citations, frequently asked questions.
The in-text citation can be placed in parentheses or naturally integrated into a sentence.
The publication year appears directly after the author’s name when using the narrative format. The parenthetical citation can be placed within or at the end of a sentence, just before the period. Check out a full example paragraph with in-text citations .
If a work has two authors, separate their names with an ampersand (&) in a parenthetical citation or “and” in a narrative citation. If there are three or more authors, only include the first author’s last name followed by “et al.”, meaning “and others”.
Group authors known by their abbreviations (e.g., CDC) are written in full the first time and are abbreviated in subsequent citations.
Author type | Parenthetical | Narrative |
---|---|---|
One author | (Harris, 2020) | Harris (2020) |
Two authors | (Harris & Cook, 2020) | Harris and Cook (2020) |
Three or more authors | (Harris et al., 2020) | Harris et al. (2020) |
Group authors | (Scribbr, 2020) | Scribbr (2020) |
Abbreviated group author | (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2020) (CDC, 2020) | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2020) CDC (2020) |
Unknown element | Solution | In-text citation |
---|---|---|
Author | Use the source title. | ( , 2020) |
Date | Write “n.d.” for “no date”. | (Harris, n.d.) |
Page number | Use an alternative locator or omit the page number. | (Harris, 2020, 03:46) or (Harris, 2020) |
If the author of a source is unknown, try to determine if there is an organization or government responsible for creating the content. If so, include its name in the in-text citation (and reference entry).
Alternatively, use the source title in place of the author. Italicize the title if it’s italicized in the reference entry (except for court cases , which are italicized in the in-text citation but not the reference entry). Otherwise, enclose it in double quotation marks.
Apply title case capitalization, and shorten long titles. The first word of the title should always be included so readers can easily locate the corresponding reference entry.
If the publication date is unknown, write “n.d.” (no date) in the in-text citation.
Page numbers are only required with direct quotes in APA . If you are quoting from a work that does not have page numbers (e.g., webpages or YouTube videos ), you can use an alternative locator, such as:
Note that Bible citations always use chapter and verse numbers, even when page numbers are available:
If a statement is supported by multiple sources, the in-text citations can be combined in one parenthesis. Order the sources alphabetically, and separate them with a semicolon.
When citing multiple works from the same author, list the years of publication separated by a comma.
When in-text citations are ambiguous because they correspond to multiple reference entries, apply the solutions outlined in the table below.
Situation | Solution | In-text citation |
---|---|---|
Multiple works by the same author in the same year. | Add a lowercase letter after the year. | (Cooper, 2018a) (Cooper, 2018b) |
Different authors with the same last name. | Include the authors’ initials. | (H. Taylor, 2019) (B. J. Taylor, 2016) |
Multiple works with 3+ authors that shorten to the same form (i.e., same first author(s) and date). | Include as many names as needed to distinguish the citations. | (Cooper, Lee, et al., 2015) (Cooper, Ross, et al., 2015) |
If you want to refer to a source that you have found in another source, you should always try to access the original or primary source .
However, if you cannot find the original source , you should cite it through the secondary source that led you to it, using the phrase “as cited in”.
If the publication date of the primary source is unknown, include only the year of publication of the secondary source.
Only include a reference entry for the secondary source, not the primary source.
Personal communications , such as phone calls, emails, and interviews, are not included in the reference list because readers can’t access them. The in-text citation is also formatted slightly differently.
Include the initials and last name of the person you communicated with, the words “personal communication,” and the exact date in parentheses.
General mentions of a website or software don’t have to be cited with an in-text citation or entry in the reference list. Instead, incorporate relevant information into the running text.
When citing a webpage or online article , the APA in-text citation consists of the author’s last name and year of publication. For example: (Worland & Williams, 2015). Note that the author can also be an organization. For example: (American Psychological Association, 2019).
If you’re quoting you should also include a locator. Since web pages don’t have page numbers, you can use one of the following options:
Instead of the author’s name, include the first few words of the work’s title in the in-text citation. Enclose the title in double quotation marks when citing an article, web page or book chapter. Italicize the title of periodicals, books, and reports.
If the publication date is unknown , use “n.d.” (no date) instead. For example: (Johnson, n.d.).
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).
Always include page numbers in the APA in-text citation when quoting a source . Don’t include page numbers when referring to a work as a whole – for example, an entire book or journal article.
If your source does not have page numbers, you can use an alternative locator such as a timestamp, chapter heading or paragraph number.
If you cite several sources by the same author or group of authors, you’ll distinguish between them in your APA in-text citations using the year of publication.
If you cite multiple sources by the same author(s) at the same point , you can just write the author name(s) once and separate the different years with commas, e.g., (Smith, 2020, 2021).
To distinguish between sources with the same author(s) and the same publication year, add a different lowercase letter after the year for each source, e.g., (Smith, 2020, 2021a, 2021b). Add the same letters to the corresponding reference entries .
In an APA in-text citation , you use the phrase “ as cited in ” if you want to cite a source indirectly (i.e., if you cannot find the original source).
Parenthetical citation: (Brown, 1829, as cited in Mahone, 2018) Narrative citation: Brown (1829, as cited in Mahone, 2018) states that…
On the reference page , you only include the secondary source (Mahone, 2018).
An APA in-text citation is placed before the final punctuation mark in a sentence.
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.
Streefkerk, R. (2022, September 30). APA In-Text Citations (7th Ed.) | Multiple Authors & Missing Info. Scribbr. Retrieved June 30, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/in-text-citation/
Other students also liked, direct quotes in apa style, setting up the apa reference page | formatting & references (examples), how to paraphrase | step-by-step guide & examples, get unlimited documents corrected.
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Page or section from a website created by a corporate or group author, page or section from a website created by an individual author, page or section from a website with an unknown author, report or document from a website – corporate or group author, government document from a website, in-text citation for two or more authors/editors, on the web but not a website.
Be careful! Just because you found something on the web, it doesn’t mean you are citing a website.
Look at the material closely – is it a journal article? A newspaper article? An encyclopedia? An eBook? Use the format that best describes the item. APA treats a source as a website only when it does not fit another category.
Citing source from websites can be challenging because they are not standardized in the same way as journal articles or books. This video from Valencia East Library walks you through the process with an example from the Centre for Disease Control website.
How to Cite Webpages: APA 7th ed. from Valencia East Library on Vimeo .
It can sometimes be difficult to find out who the author of a website is. Remember that an author can be a corporation or group, not only a specific person. Author information can sometimes be found under an "About" section on a website.
If there is no known author, you can start the citation with the title of the website instead. However, APA tends to reserve this type of citation for a very small set of sources: for example, The Bible and some dictionaries and encyclopedias such as Wikipedia (which should not form a central part of your research).
The best date to use for a website is the date that the content was last updated. Otherwise look for a copyright or original publication date. Unfortunately this information may not be provided or may be hard to find. Often date information is put on the bottom of the pages of a website.
If you do not know the complete date, put as much information as you can find. For example you may have a year but no month or day.
If there is no date provided, put the letters (n.d.) in round brackets where you'd normally put the date.
Titles of websites should be in plain text but use italics for webpages, articles, etc.
Retrieval Date
Most website citations in APA 7th Edition do not require a retrieval date. Unfortunately, however, determining which situations require this date can be challenging. If you use a stable, archived version of a web page, no retrieval date is needed. But if you use a web page that is continually updated, providing a retrieval date can help clarify inconsistencies between the page when you viewed it and when it was viewed by your reader.
If a URL is too long to fit onto one line, try to break it at a slash (/).
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.
Corporation/Group/Organization's Name. (Year webpage was last updated/published, Month Day if given). Title of page: Subtitle (if any) . URL
Example | Canadian Cancer Society. (2013, April 14). . http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-101/cancer-research/?region=on |
In-Text Paraphrase | (Corporation/Group's Name, Year) Example: (Canadian Cancer Society, 2013) |
In-Text Quote | (Corporation/Group's Name, year, Section Name section, para. Paragraph Number if more than one paragraph in section) Example: (Canadian Cancer Society, 2013, Behavioural research section, para. 2) When there are no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers, you may cite the section heading and the paragraph number to identify where your quote came from. |
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year webpage was last updated/published, Month Day if given). Title of page: Subtitle (if any) . Website name. URL
Example | Kmec, J. (2012, March 13). The Society Pages. https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/03/13/wheres-the-boss-and-what-counts-as-work/ |
In-Text Paraphrase | (Author Last Name, Year) Example: (Kmec, 2012) |
In-Text Quote | (Author Last Name, Year, Section Name section, para. Paragraph Number if more than one paragraph in section) Example: (Kmec, 2012, para. 1) Note: When there are no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers, you may cite the section heading and the paragraph number to identify where your quote came from. |
Title of page: Subtitle (if any) . (Year webpage was last updated/published, Month Day if given). Name of Website. URL
Example | (n.d.). The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/timeline/environment , to emphasize that the page could be updated, include a retrieval date: (n.d.). The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 20, 2020, from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/timeline/environment : For further explanation of retrieval dates, see the Tips section on this page. |
In-Text Paraphrase | (Shortened title, Year) Example: (Timeline: Environmental, n.d) |
In-Text Quote | (Shortened title, Year, Section Name section, para. Paragraph Number if more than one paragraph in section) Example: (Timeline: Environmental, n.d, Canadian National Parks Act section) When there are no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers, you may cite the section heading and the number of the paragraph to identify where your quote came from. In this example, there is only one paragraph under the specific heading, so no paragraph number is needed. |
Corporation/Group/Organization's Name. (Year report was last updated/published, Month Day if given). Title of report: Subtitle if given (Pub. No. Publication Number if given). Website Name if different from author. URL
Example | College of Nurses of Ontario. (2009). (Pub. No. 41034). http://www.cno.org/docs/prac/41034_Ethics.pdf : If there was a chapter or section number instead of a publication number, it would be included after the title in the same place as the publication number: (Chapter xx) or (Section xx). |
In-Text Paraphrase | (Corporation/Group's Name, Year) Example: (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2009) |
In-Text Quote | (Corporation/Group's Name, Year, p. Page Number) Example: (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2009, p. 4) |
Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee. (Year of Publication, Month Day). Title of document: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publisher if different from author. URL
Example | Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services. (2010, April 27). . http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/topics/earlychildhood/ speechlanguage/brochure_preschool.aspx |
In-Text Paraphrase | (Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Year) Example: (Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services, 2010) |
In-Text Quote | (Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Year, Section Name section, para. Paragraph Number if more than one paragraph in section) (Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services, 2010, By Age Five section, para. 4) : When there are no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers, you may cite the section heading and the number of the paragraph to identify where your quote came from. |
Author's Last Name, First intial. Second Initial if Given or Username if real name not provided. (Year blog post was published, Month Day). Title of blog post. Title of Blog . URL
Example | Dobbs, D. (2012, June 13). Fun in cities: Feature, not bug. . http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/06/fun-in-cities-feature-not-bug/ : If the blog author's real name is not provided, use their username instead. |
In-Text Paraphrase | (Author's Last Name, Year) Example: (Dobbs, 2012) |
In-Text Quote | (Author's Last Name, Year, Section Heading section if given) Example: (Dobbs, 2012) : This blog post has no page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings so this information is left out of the in-text citation. |
Title of entry. (Year article was edited, Month Day). In Wikipedia . URL
Note : Cite the archived version of the page you used. To access this information on Wikipedia select "View history," choose the version you used, and copy its URL.
Wikipedia may not be considered an acceptable source for a college or university assignment. Be sure to evaluate the content carefully and check your assignment.
Example | Veterinary medicine. (2019, December 22). In . https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Veterinary_medicine&oldid=931891450 |
In-Text Paraphrase | ("Title of Entry," Year) Example: ("Veterinary Medicine," 2019) |
In-Text Quote | ("Title of Entry," Year, Section Name section, para. Paragraph Number) Example: ("Veterinary Medicine," n.d., Paraveterinary Workers section, para. 1) : When used in an in-text citation, the title of the entry should be in quotation marks, with each word starting with a capital letter. When there are no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers, you may cite the section heading and the number of the paragraph in that section to identify where your quote came from. |
Number of Authors/Editors | First Time Paraphrased | Second and Subsequent Times Paraphrased | First Time Quoting | Second and Subsequent Times Quoting |
---|---|---|---|---|
Two | (Case & Daristotle, 2011) | (Case & Daristotle, 2011) | (Case & Daristotle, 2011, p. 57) | (Case & Daristotle, 2011, p. 57) |
Three to Five | (Case, Daristotle, Hayek, Smith, & Raash, 2011) | (Case et al., 2011) | (Case, Daristotle, Hayekm, Smith, & Raash, 2011, p. 57) | (Case et al., 2011, p. 57) |
Six or More | (Case et al., 2011) | (Case et al., 2011) | (Case et al., 2011, p. 57) | (Case et al., 2011, p. 57) |
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Basic guidelines for formatting the reference list at the end of a standard APA research paper Author/Authors Rules for handling works by a single author or multiple authors that apply to all APA-style references in your reference list, regardless of the type of work (book, article, electronic resource, etc.)
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 ...
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.).
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 ...
Generate APA style citations quickly and accurately with our FREE APA citation generator. Enter a website URL, book ISBN, or search with keywords, and we do the rest! Updated with APA 7th Edition!
APA Style Reference Guide for Journal Articles, Books, and Edited Book Chapters, APA Style 7th Edition Author: American Psychological Association Subject: references Keywords: APA Style; 7th edition; reference; journal article; book; chapter in an edited book Created Date: 12/30/2019 10:15:20 AM
The 7th edition of the manual does make distinctions between formatting certain components for academic use over publication. This guide will distinguish student/academic formatting where applicable. This guide is designed as a "quick" reference to common APA citation, reference and formatting criteria.
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 ...
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 ...
Purdue OWL is a great website for getting help on APA 7th edition citations. You can access their "APA Formatting and Style Guide" to find help with citations for all types of resources. Citation Manual & Supplemental Material. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Call Number: BF76.7 .P83 2020 (Reference) ...
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).
Choose one of the links below, or if you would like to use the most recent copy of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 7th Edition, 2020, stop by the Research Help Desk on the 2nd floor of the Knowledge Center. Quick How-Tos of APA Citation - Short and accessible explanation and examples of basic citation.
In October 2019, the American Psychological Association (APA) introduced the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual, which replaces the 6th edition published in 2009.. In that time a lot of things have changed. Citing online material has become more common, the use of inclusive and bias-free language is increasingly important, and the technology used by researchers and students has changed.
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 evolution of this style. The guide below is based on APA style 7th edition, which was released in 2020.
Instructor resources. Concise Guide to APA Style, Seventh Edition is the official APA Style resource for students. Written for high school and undergraduate students, instructors, and writers learning APA Style, this easy-to-use pocket guide is adapted from the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Let's look at these examples if they were written in text: An example with 1 author: Parenthetical citation: Following American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines will help you to cultivate your own unique academic voice as an expert in your field (Forbes, 2020). Narrative citation: Forbes (2020) shared that by following American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines ...
The authority on APA Style and the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual. Find tutorials, the APA Style Blog, how to format papers in APA Style, and other resources to help you improve your writing, master APA Style, and learn the conventions of scholarly publishing.
An annotated bibliography is a list of citations for various books, articles, and other sources on a topic. The annotated bibliography looks like a References page but includes an annotation after each source cited. An annotation is a short summary and/or critical evaluation of a source.
APA 7th Edition Publication Manual - Sample Annotated Bibliography (See Fig. 9.3, p. 308) What is an annotated bibliography? An annotated bibliography is an organized list of sources, each of which is followed by a brief note or "annotation."
Put a comma and an ampersand (&) before the name of the last author cited. 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." Note: If the listed names are editors rather than authors, include " (Eds.)." at the end of the list of names.
Information on Annotated Bibliographies can be found in Section 9.51 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.) The format of your annotated bibliography follow the same format as any APA paper. Title page, page numbers, font style and size, etc. See Format basics. Alphabetical with hanging indents etc.
Separate the names of multiple authors with commas. Before the last author's name, you should also insert an ampersand (&). A reference entry may contain up to 20 authors. If there are more than 20, list the first 19 authors, followed by an ellipsis (. . .) and the last author's name. Andreff, W., & Staudohar, P. D.
About APA 7th ed. This guide is a quick introduction to the American Psychological Association (APA) Style for references and citations. Be sure to consult the Publication Manual of the APA or the APA Style website for detailed standards and procedures. APA Style. Comprehensive style and grammar guidelines from APA.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition (2020). Known for its authoritative, easy-to-use reference and citation system, the Publication Manual also offers guidance on choosing the headings, tables, figures, language, and tone that will result in powerful, concise, and elegant scholarly communication.
APA 7th Edition Citation Examples for Online Sources. General Information for References Page. ... A guide to help you setup your paper in APA 7th edition from APA Style Blog. APA Style Guides & Tutorials. APA Style Instructional Aids. APA Style tutorials, handouts, and samples from the American Psychological Association. ...
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.
Note: When used in an in-text citation, the title of the entry should be in quotation marks, with each word starting with a capital letter. When there are no visible page numbers or paragraph numbers, you may cite the section heading and the number of the paragraph in that section to identify where your quote came from.
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA Publication Manual, Manual) is a challenge for many counselors. The seventh edition (latest edition) of the Manual, published in October, 2019, has several changes. To demystify the changes, this article describes the major changes between the sixth and seventh editions of the Manual. The authors first describe the changes ...
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Indent the first line of every paragraph of text 0.5 in. using the tab key or the paragraph-formatting function of your word-processing program. Page numbers: Put a page number in the top right corner of every page, including the title page or cover page, which is page 1. Student papers do not require a running head on any page.