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APA 7th Edition

Purdue's OWL (Online Writing Lab) provides instruction on how to use APA 7th. Below are a few topics covered by the OWL.

• APA Style Introduction APA 7th
• APA Overview and Workshop APA 7th
• General Formatting APA 7th
• In-Text Citation: Authors APA 7th
• Foot Notes and Appendices APA 7th
• Changes in the 7th Edition APA 7th
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• Last Edited: Apr 5, 2024 9:55 AM
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Purdue Owl: APA Formatting & Style Guide

Developed by Purdue's Online Writing Lab. Contains resources on in-text citation and the references page, as well as APA sample papers, slide presentations, and the APA classroom poster.

Author/Editor (By:)

Contributor, corporate author, related organizations, citation type.

APA (7/e) Style Guide

• Style Features & Formatting

A Note on In-Text Citations

In-text citations, paraphrasing, direct quotations, a note on secondary sources, a note on personal communications.

• Formatting Tables & Figures
• Citing Textual Resources
• Citing Audiovisual Resources
• Citing Online Resources
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Citing AI This link opens in a new window

Additional Resources

• Style and Grammar Guidelines (APA 7/e)
• Sample Papers (APA 7/e)
• APA Style Blog
• Purdue OWL APA 7/e Style Guide
• Santa Fe College Lawrence W. Tyree Library APA 7/e Guide
• Brenau University Trustee Library APA 7/e Tutorial

Chapter 8 of the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition  is dedicated to formatting in-text citations, paraphrases, and direct quotations. What is presented here is a brief overview on some of these topics  based on the rules found in the manual. For more details and exceptions to the rules, be sure to  reference the manual .

At the minimum, in-text citations require both the author last name and the publication date. Depending on the type of resource you are citing and whether you're quoting or paraphrasing, you may have to include additional information such as page or chapter numbers. 

You can create in-text citations in one of two ways:

• In a  parenthetical citation , all citation information is found within parentheses. See example below:

Falsely balanced news coverage can distort the public's perception of expert consensus on an issue (Koehler, 2016).

• In a  narrative citation , some or all citation information is incorporated into your text. See example below:

Koehler (2016) noted the dangers of falsely balanced news coverage.

If you're citing more than one source in a parenthetical citation, put the sources in alphabetical order and separate each work with a semicolon.

​Example Citations:

NOTE: For resources that contain authors whose names can be abbreviated - usually group authors - include the full name and abbreviation the first time you cite the resource and subsequently use only the abbreviation.

NOTE: If you have two resources whose abbreviated names are the same (e.g. American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association are both abbreviated to APA), you need to use each author's full name every time you cite them to avoid confusion.

When you paraphrase a source, you are putting the content of that source in your own words.

Some basic rules concerning paraphrasing include:

• Page or paragraph numbers are not required, but you can include them.
• For all subsequent uses of that source, you don't need to include an in-text citation so long as you make it clear that you are still paraphrasing the same source.
• If you switch between multiple sources when paraphrasing, you need to include an in-text citation after each paraphrase to make it clear which source you're referring to.
• Basic Rules
• Short Quotations
• Block Quotations
• Changing Quotations
• Citations Within Quotations

When you quote a source, you reproduce its content word for word.

Some basic rules concerning quoting include: 

• For sources that don't have pages, provide heading or section names, paragraph numbers, times stamps, verse or line numbers, etc. as appropriate for the type of source you're using.
• Page numbers can be designated as p. for a single page or pp. for a page range.
• A quotation is considered a short quotation when it is fewer than 40 words.
• Embed the quote directly into your text and enclose it with double quotation marks (e.g. "quote"). See example:

Effective teams can be difficult to describe because "high performance along one domain does not translate to high performance along another" (Ervin et al., 2018, p.470).

• A quotation is considered a block quotation when it is 40 or more words.
• Place the quote on a new line and indent all lines of the quote 0.5 inch from the left margin.
• Do NOT put block quotes in quotation marks.
• If you want to omit part of a quote, use an ellipsis (...) to designate where the omitted section is. Remember to add a space before and after the ellipsis.
• If you want to insert words into a quote, surround the added words with square brackets []. 
• If you want to emphasize part of a quote, italicize the part you want to emphasize and add [emphasis added] after the emphasized section.
• For short quotes, use single quotation marks in place of any double quotation marks within your quoted text.
• For block quotes, use double quotation marks for any quoted material within the block.

If a source you're using contains direct quotes, it is recommended that you find, read, and quote the original source of those quotes.

If you can't locate the original source, provide a reference list entry for the secondary source, and format your in-text citation as: (primary source as cited in secondary source).

• Parenthetical Example:  (McCoy et al., 2010, as cited in Chekov, 2017)
• Narrative Example:  According to McCoy et al. (2010), Starfleet captains cannot keep out of trouble (as cited in Chekov, 2017).

Personal communications can come in a variety of reference types, but they all share one key characteristic: the work itself cannot be recovered by the reader (e.g. interviews, phone calls, etc.).

Personal communications are only utilized in-text and do not have a reference list counterpart. To format a personal communication, include the author name (including first and middle initials), the words personal communication, and the exact date.

• Parenthetical Example: (G. Wilder, personal communication, December 5, 2018)
• Narrative Example: G. Wilder (personal communication, December 5, 2018)
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• Last Updated: Nov 13, 2023 2:43 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.nymc.edu/APA7

• BTC Library
• APA 7th Edition Citation Guide
• In-text Citation
• Journal Article Citation
• Book Citation
• Chapter in Edited Book Citation
• Citation Examples (PDF Handout)
• Citing Articles
• Citing Books
• Citing Web Pages and Social Media
• Citing Conference Proceedings
• Citing Dissertations and Theses
• Computer-Generated APA Citations
• Creating a Hanging Indent
• Creating a Page Number Header Using MS Word
• More Citation Examples

General Guidelines for In-Text Citations

Reference citation in-text.

The APA citation system uses the Author, Year citation style. Most citations begin with the last names of the authors or the authoring organization, followed by the year of publication. Past tense reporting verbs are generally favored by APA style. The  Purdue OWL   cites the rules and has many examples (The Basics). Or visit the "official" APA website for in-text citations .  Direct quotes and paraphrases should also include the page number to help the reader locate the information. For phrases quoted from websites or other sources page numbers, provide readers with another way to locate the passage, such as paragraph numbers, heading names, or other identifiers. 

Citing Web Pages In-Text

Cite web pages in-text as you would any other source, using the author and year if known (Author, year). If the author is not known, use the title and the date as the in-text citation (for long titles just use the first few words). Your in-text citation should lead your reader to the corresponding entry in the reference list. For sources with no date use n.d. (for no date) in place of the year: (Jones, n.d.).  Examples are found at the  Purdue OWLl site  ("Electronic Sources" and "Sources without Page Numbers") as well as the  APA website .

Multiple Authors

Text and Table from Guide to APA 7th Edition References (TLC: Teaching and Learning Center), University of Washington Tacoma, 2019. See their entire PDF handout in tab 3 of this Guide. Used with permission.

More Information on In-Text Citations

More information on APA 7th edition in-text citation guidelines is found at the Purdue OWL site .

• << Previous: Citation Examples (PDF Handout)
• Next: Citing Articles >>
• Last Updated: May 13, 2024 12:38 PM
• URL: https://btc.ctc.libguides.com/APA

Common Citations and References in APA Style (7th Ed.)

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:

• Smith (2010) recognized that more online learning opportunities are needed to reach marginalized high school students and decrease the dropout rate.

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:

• Smith (2010) stressed, “The importance of dedicated study time for online courses is crucial for student success” (p. 3).
• In his TEDX Talk video, Mulvey (2013) said, “Time is too long. Space is too large” (6:18).

In parenthetical citations, the author-date information goes after the paraphrase in parentheses as in the following example:

• Online learning opportunities are needed to reach marginalized high school students and decrease the dropout rate (Smith, 2010) .

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:

• Many researchers have agreed: “Online education is a viable way to help working adults earn a college degree, but it is not for everyone” (Smith, 2010, p. 4) .

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.

• Individual Author: (Hannah, 2010)
• Multiple Authors: (Hannah & Lay, 2015); (Hannah, Lay, & Sleder, 2010)
• Group Author: (Hannah and Lay Company, 2020)

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:

• Paragraph number: (Mackenzie, 2018, para. 1)
• Heading or section name: (Mackenzie, 2018, Highlands section). In this example, the information being cited can be found on the source website or page under a section named “Highlands.”
• Both section and paragraph: (Mackenzie, 2018, Highlands section, para. 1)
• For audiovisual works, provide the time stamp of when the quoted words begin: (Mulvey, 2013, 6:18).

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:

• Author: Who is responsible for this work?
• Date: When was this work published?
• Title: What is this work called?
• Source: Where can I retrieve this work?

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:

• Label the reference list References in bold font, centered at the top of the page.
• Double-space all reference list entries. Also use double spacing within entries. Do not use additional spacing between entries.
• Reference entries are not numbered or bulleted.
• Use a hanging indent for all references, so the first line of the entry is against the left margin and subsequent lines of the entry are indented 0.5 in.
• Alphabetize the entries according to the author’s last name. If the entry does not include an author, begin the entry with the title followed by the year in parentheses, and alphabetize according to the first significant word of the title. If the title begins with the words “A,” “An,” or “The,” alphabetize using the next word in the title. Example: The title The Whales in the Ocean would be alphabetized using the letter “W” because “Whales” is the first significant word.

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:

• If a source has a DOI, include it in the reference entry. Some print texts also have DOIs. The DOI is often given near the copyright information at the beginning of a text.
• Present DOIs and URLs as hyperlinks in the reference entry. Hyperlinks begin http:// or https:// . DOIs will begin https://doi.org/ . It is acceptable to use the shortDOI® Service to shorten long DOIs and an URL shortening service such as https://bitly.com/ to shorten URLs.
• All hyperlinks should be live and may appear using the automatic formatting of the word processing program (for example in blue font and underlined), or they may appear in standard black font without an underline, but papers read online should have clickable, live links.
• Do not include additional words before the hyperlink such as “Retrieved from” or “DOI.” Exception : If a characteristics of the source is that it is updated regularly, such a reference book with a group author (dictionary, encyclopedia, thesaurus) or a Facebook page, a retrieval date would provide valuable information to a reader who tries to locate your source and sees different content. In the reference, include the date you accessed the source in the following format for the URL element of the reference: Retrieved Month day, Year, from URL.

Common Citations and References (APA 7th Ed.)

Note: Most of the examples in this resource are fictional. Any similarities to real sources or names are coincidental.

In-Text Citation for Articles

• Parenthetical: (Jensen, 2010, p. 5)
• Narrative: Jensen (2010) stated, “The results of this global warming study are skewed to present a problem that has political pull” (p. 5).
• Parenthetical: (Jensen, 2010)
• Narrative: Jensen (2010) believes the results are being misconstrued to support a political agenda.

Reference for a blog article

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

Reference for an editorial article

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

Reference for a journal article with a nondatabase URL

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

Reference for a journal article without a DOI from a database__

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Title, volume (issue), pages.

Shultz, L. (2012). The traveling contractor. Urban Living , 3 (4), 1-15.

Reference for a print journal article with no DOI or URL

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.

Reference for a print or online journal article with a DOI

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

Reference for a magazine from an online research database or in print

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).

Reference for a newspaper article in print

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.

Reference for a newspaper article online

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

In-Text Citations for Audio Works

• Parenthetical: (Clements, 2011, 00:54.)
• Narrative: Clements (2011) said in his podcast, “To be terrific, you must be specific” (00:54).

Note . The citation includes the time stamp where the quoted part of the audio begins.

• Parenthetical: (Clements 2011)
• Narrative: Clements (2011) said in his podcast that precise wording is key to writing well.

Reference for a podcast

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.

Reference for a song or track

Artist, A. A. (Year). Title of song. On Title of album . Label. URL (if available)

Reference for a speech audio recording

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

In-Text Citation for Books

• Parenthetical: (Martinez, 2009, p. 3)
• Narrative: Martinez (2009) said, “The way to learn APA is to use a guide as a cross-reference” (p. 3).
• 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. 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.

Reference for a book with an editor, print or electronic

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

Reference for a chapter in a book with an editor

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.

Reference for an entry in a reference book with a group author (dictionary, encyclopedia, thesaurus)

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.

Reference for a volume in a multivolume work and a book in a series

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

Reference for a Wikipedia entry

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.

In-Text Citation for Discussions and Course Resources

• Parenthetical: (Sullivan, 2011, para. 3)
• Narrative: Sullivan (2011) said, “Discussions help students learn from each other’s professional experience” (para. 3).
• Parenthetical: (Sullivan, 2011)
• Narrative: Sullivan (2011) believes peer-to-peer learning results from discussion forums.

Reference for a classroom discussion

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.

Reference for a course resource

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.

In-Text Citation for Personal Communications

Quotation or paraphrase.

• Parenthetical: (D. L. Martinez, personal communication, March 5, 2011)
• Narrative: D. L. Martinez (personal communication, March 5, 2011) said, . . .

No Reference Entry

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.

In-Text Citation for Reports

• Parenthetical: (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office [EERE], 2019, Supplementary Information, para. 5).
• Parenthetical: (EERE, 2019, Supplementary Information, para. 5).

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.

• Narrative: The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office (EERE, 2019) reported “The cost for propane is derived from its price relative to that of heating oil”(Supplementary Information, para. 5).

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.”

• Parenthetical: (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office [EERE], 2019)
• Narrative: The EERE(2019) based the cost of propane on the cost of oil.

Reference for a government report with an individual author

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.

Reference for a government report with a group or agency author

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.

Reference or an issue brief

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

In-Text Citation for Social Media

• Parenthetical for individual author: (Hughes, 2020)
• Parenthetical for group author: (PG Academic Success Center, n.d.)
• Narrative for individual author: Hughes (2020) posted, “Support local businesses first! #takeouttuesday.”

Note . When quoting, include any emojis or hashtags and use the same spelling as the original post even if the spelling is incorrect.

• Narrative for group author: PG Academic Success Center (n.d.) has on its Twitter profile that “Tutors are available throughout the week to assist and support Purdue Global students with their course work.”

Reference for a post on Facebook and others

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

Reference for a page on Facebook and others

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/

Reference for a post on Twitter and Instagram

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/

Reference for online forums

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/

In-Text Citation for Video Works

• Parenthetical: (Lessard, 2016, as cited in Michigan DNR, 2016, 0:27)

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.

• Narrative: Rebecca Lessard, Founder/Director of Wings of Wonder, (2016, as cited in Michigan DNR, 2016) said, “The mission here is really about education” (0:27).
• Parenthetical: (Lessard, 2016, as cited in Michigan DNR, 2016)
• Narrative: Rebecca Lessard, Founder/Director of Wings of Wonder (2016, as cited in Michigan DNR, 2016) described the mission as one that teaches people to respect and appreciate raptors.

Reference for a film

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.

Reference for a recorded webinar

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 YouTube video or other streaming video

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

In-Text Citation for Visual Works

• Parenthetical: (Park, 2015, slide 9)
• Narrative: During her presentation, Park (2015) stated, “All parties must be equally represented at all meetings” (slide 9).
• Parenthetical: (Park, 2015)
• Narrative: Park (2015) said representation of every member is important at meetings.

Reference for a photograph

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.

Reference for a PowerPoint or presentation slide

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

In-Text Citation for Webpages and Websites

• Parenthetical: (Smith & Jay, 2013, para. 10)
• Narrative: Smith and Jay (2013) are sure that the best way to “preserve nature is to plant native trees” (para. 10).

Note . When page numbers are not given, use the section heading and/or paragraph number.

• Parenthetical: (Smith & Jay, 2013)
• Narrative: Smith and Jay (2013) believe the seeds of native trees are the key to environmental salvation.

Note. Use the title in the in-text citation for a work without an author as shown below.

• Parenthetical: ( Raising Roofs , n.d.)
• Narrative: Following the county’s affordable housing initiative, Raising Roofs (n.d.) reported 100 new homes have been built.

Reference for a website or webpage with an individual author

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

Reference for a website or webpage with a group author such as an organization or company

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.

Reference for a webpage with no individual or group author

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.

In-Text-Citation

• For a paraphrase from an article with no author: (“Whales in the Ocean,” 2020)
• For a quotation from a book with no author: ( Plant-Based Cooking , 2020, para. 9)

Reference Entry

• The reference list entry for an article with no author begins with the title in sentence case (capitalizing the first word only and any proper nouns):

Whales in the ocean. (2020). Ocean Life Magazine . https://www.oceanlife.com

• The reference list entry for a book, webpage, or other whole work without an author begins with the title in sentence case and italics:

Plant-based cooking . (2020). https://www.plant-basedcookingebook.com

• Only use “Anonymous” as the author if the work specifically names the author as “Anonymous”: (Anonymous, n.d.).

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.

In-Text Citation for Primary Sources

• Parenthetical: (Wright, 2012, as cited in Bragdon, 2013, p. 223).
• Narrative: Wright’s report (2012, as cited in Bragdon, 2013) showed that “obesity research indicates people need to drink more water” (p. 223).

Note . Omit the year for the primary source from the citation if the year is unknown.*

• Parenthetical: (Wright, 2012, as cited in Bragdon, 2013).
• Narrative: Wright (2012, as cited in Bragdon, 2013) showed dehydration was a common problem for those with obesity.

Reference for the Secondary Source

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.

Multiple Authors

Two authors.

For in-text citations, cite both names every time:

• (Rios & Sexton, 2010) or Rios and Sexton (2010) contend . . .

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.

Three or More Authors

For in-text citations, cite only the first author followed by et al.:

• (Cairns et al., 2019)
• Cairns et al. (2019) studied . . .

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.

Authors With the Same Surname

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:

• D. Martinez (2001) disagreed with S. Martinez (2003) in the findings . . .

In the reference list, D. Martinez would be alphabetized before S. Martinez.

Same Author and Year

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:

• In the header of the document at the right margin, insert the page number.
• In the upper half of the page, three to four lines down from the header, provide the title of the paper in bold, Title Case.
• Double-space the title page and entire paper, adding an additional double-spaced line between the title and the “byline”—author name.
• Provide the byline and related information in regular font. First provide the author’s name and affiliated university.
• Next, provide the course number and name (Course Number: Name), the professor for the course, and due date.
• Always check with your instructor about additional information required on this page.

Sample Text Page for a Student Paper in APA Style

Notes on this sample text (body) page for student papers:

• The font should be the same throughout the paper. A default word processing font such as 11-point Calibri is recommended. Other acceptable fonts are 11-point Arial, 12-point Times New Roman,10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, 11-point Georgia, or 10-point Computer Modern.
• Use 1-in. (2.54-cm) margins all around.
• The text should align with the left margin and be uneven along the right margin with one space between words and after punctuation.
• Double-space the entire paper without extra spacing between paragraphs.
• Indent the beginning of each paragraph 0.5 in., which is typically one click of the Tab key.

Sample Reference List for Student Papers in APA Style

Notes on this sample reference list for student papers:

• The reference list begins on a new page at the end of the paper before any tables or appendices.
• The right margin of the header provides the page number, continued from the previous page.
• The word References is centered on the first line under the header in bold font.
• The citations are formatted using a “hanging indent” where the second and subsequent lines are indented 0.5 in. under the first line in order to improve readability.
• Double-space the reference list, including within a reference entry.
• Two or more works by the same author are ordered chronologically by publication date.
• References with the same first author and a different second author are alphabetized by the second author.

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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Reference List Format

APA style dictates that authors are listed by last name followed by initials; publication year goes within parentheses, followed by a period. The title of an article or book title is in sentence-case, meaning only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. A periodical title is run in title case, and is followed by the volume number which, with the title, is also italicized.

Periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper) in print

Surname, F. M. (year). Title of article.  Title of Periodical, Vol# (issue#), page-numbers.

*Work, S. (2022). Social workers save lives.  Journal of All Good Things, 1 (1), 1-20.

Articles retrieved from electronic sources

APA style prefers the inclusion of DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers) for online journal articles in reference lists. This is a unique number assigned to each published article. If there is no DOI, include the date retrieved and URL if the article is available on an open website. IF ONLY AVAILABLE THROUGH A DATABASE, do not include a URL (database URLs will not get readers to the article as they are often behind a paywall or the database URL times out). 

Surname, F. M. (year). Title of article.  Title of Periodical, Vol.# (issue#), page numbers. DOI

Mech, T. F., & Brooks, C. I. (1997). Anxiety and confidence in using a library by college freshmen and seniors. Psychological Reports , 81 (3, Pt 1), 929–930. https://doi-org/10.2466/pr0.1997.81.3.929

Surname, F. M. (year). Title of article.  Title of Periodical, Vol.# (issue#), page numbers. Retrieved Month date, Year, from URL

Article From a library database

When referencing material obtained from an online database (such as a database in the library) that does not have a DOI, provide appropriate print citation information (formatted like a  print citation would be for that type of work). This will allow people to retrieve the print version if they do not have access to the database from which you retrieved the article.  

*Smyth, A. M., Parker, A. L., & Pease, D. L. (2002). A study of enjoyment of peas.  Journal of Eating, 8 (3), 120-125.

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work : Capital letter to start subtitle. Location: Publisher.

(Note: For "Location," you should always list the city, but you should also include the state if the city is unfamiliar or if the city could be confused with one in another state or country.)

Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Book chapter :

Surname, F. M. (year). Title of chapter. In A. Editor (Edition #), Title of book (pp. xxx-xxx). Location: Publisher.

*Plum, I. (2021). Eating of fruits from iceboxes. In A. Johnson (Ed.),  Collection of things  (pp. 213-271). Ann Arbor: University of Ann Arbor Press.

Web document or webpage

List as much of the following information as possible (you sometimes have to hunt around to find the information; don't be lazy. If there is a page like http://www.somesite.com/somepage.htm, and somepage.htm doesn't have the information you're looking for, move up the URL to http://www.somesite.com/):

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL

*Thing, O., & Thing, T. (2022, July 26). The Habits of cats. News You Confuse. http://www.nc.co/habitsofcats

In the reference list for federal or state statutes, include the name of the statute, title of the source, section number and publication date in parentheses. The URL is optional. (See section 11.5 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7th edition, for detailed information.)

Every Student Succeeds Act, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 (2015). 

(This Act is codified in Title 20 of the  United States Code . Find keyboard shortcuts for legal symbols -- like the section symbol § -- at Clio.com .)

Policy brief

Surname, F. M. (year).  Title of brief in italics  [Policy brief]. Organization. URL

Harwell, M. (2018). Don't expect too much: The limited usefulness of common SES measures and a prescription for change [Policy brief]. National Education Policy Center. https://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/SES

Additional details and examples can be found on the Citation Help guide  and on the Purdue OWL APA Style guide .

The APA's own Style website  also has examples. Additionally, the APA Style Blog offers citation styles for unusual works, such as music albums  or a canceled conference presentation  as well as general discussions of APA style.

*Totally not a reference to a real thing.

In Text Citations

APA uses the author-date method of citation.

• For a work by a single author, the last name of the author and the year of publication are used in the text: Walker (2000) 
• For a work by two authors always cite both names every time the reference occurs in the text: (Baker and Lightfoot, 1992)  
• When a work has three or more authors, cite only the first author followed by “et al." Wasserstein et al. (1994)...  Omit year from subsequent citations after first citation within a paragraph: Wasserstein et al. ...
• Corporations, associations and government agencies as authors are listed in full in the first citations (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 1991) and as abbreviations in subsequent citations (NIMH, 1999).
• For works with no author, cite the first few words of the title and the year: The book College Bound Seniors (1979).
• For statutes, include the name of the Act and the date: (Civil Rights Act, 1964)

If your resource does not fit these examples, don't be discouraged! Consult the social work librarian, the APA Publication Manual ,  the Style Blog ,   Purdue OWL , or Ask A Librarian!

Loyola University Chicago Libraries

Citing sources.

• Notes & Bibliography Style
• Author-Date Style
• In a Journal
• In a Magazine
• In a Newspaper
• If a DOI is not provided, include "Retrieved by" and the URL/permalink after the page numbers instead.
• APA states that including information about the database in which you found the article is not necessary because databases change over time. However, include it if your professor wants you to include it or if the article is difficult to locate.

(Robbins, 2015, p. 305).

For more examples of citations of other types of journal articles, see the Publication Manual of the APA or  Purdue OWL's APA Guide.

Online Magazine Article:

• Include page numbers after the volume and issue number and before the URL if they are available.

(Clay, 2008).

Article from a Print Magazine:

First citation:

(Chamberlin, Novotney, Packard, & Price, 2008, p. 27).

Subsequent citations:

(Chamberlin, et al., 2008, p. 28).

Article from an Online Newspaper:

(Brody, 2007).

Article from a Print Newspaper:

• Single pages: p. 21
• Multiple pages: pp. 20-23 or pp. 23, 25

(Schwartz, 1993, p. A4).

• Entire Book
• Chapter in a Book
• Edited Book
• Multivolume Works

(Shotten, 1989, p. 2).

(Haybron, 2008, p. 20).

• If the edited book does have an editor besides the editors, include their names (last name, first initial) and the publication year first, before the editor(s) name(s).

(Duncan & Brooks-Gunn, 1997, pp. 28).

(Koch, 1959-1963).

• Entire eBook
• Chapter in an eBook

Entire eBook (Only Available Online):

(Davis, n.d.).

Entire eBook (Electronic Version of a Book that is Available in Print):

(Schiraldi, 2001).

(Strong & Uhrbrock, 1923, p. 145).

• No Author or Date
• Corporate Author
• If the format of the web page is something out of the ordinary, such as a blog post, include a format description in brackets (after the title of the web page and after the URL).

(Buterbaugh, 2016, para. 2).

For more examples of citations of other types of journal articles, see the Publication Manual of the APA,  Purdue OWL's APA Guide , or the APA Style website .

Web Page with No Author:

("Helping the Student," 2015).

For more examples of citations of other types of journal articles, see the Publication Manual of the APA,  Purdue OWL's APA Guide , or the  APA Style website .

Web Page with No Date:

(The College of William & Mary, n.d.).

Web Page with No Author or Date:

("Anxiety disorder symptoms," n.d.).

(Freakonomics, 2010).

• Provide up to the first 40 words.
• If the item contains no words (like a photograph without a caption), provide a description of the item in square brackets.
• If the content may change, provide a date you retrieved the source.

(Gaiman, 2012).

(Gates, 2013).

(McGonigal, 2012).

Image Found Online:

(National Geographic, 2012).

In-text Citations

• Author(s) used in Sentence
• Author(s) in Parentheses
• Multiple In Text Citations

One author:

• In 2015, Mardis has noted that Web Usability Studies are commonly conducted in libraries (p. 5).
• Mardis has noted that Web Usability Studies are commonly conducted in libraries (2015, p. 5).
• Mardis (2015) has noted that Web Usability Studies are commonly conducted in libraries (p.5).

Two authors:

• Mardis and Johnson argue that libraries should adapt rapidly to change (2014, para. 5).

Three to five authors:

Cite all authors the first time the reference occurs:

• Baudino, Mardis, and Johnson (2014) also highlight the importance of the issue (p. 5).

In subsequent citation(s), include the surname of the first author followed by et al.:

• Baudino et al. (2014) highlighted another important issue (p.6).

Six or more authors:

Include the surname of the first author followed by et al.:

• Apparently, Mardis et al. (2013) agree entirely with this point (para 7).

If both authors have the same surname, include the first author's initials in all text citations, even if the year of publication differs:

• (J Smith, 2005; T.A. Smith, 2008).

If both authors have the same surname and first initial, provide the author's full name:

• (Lori Mardis, 2015).
• Web Usability Studies are commonly conducted in libraries (Mardis, 2014, p. 5).

Two authors: 

Cite both author names in every reference:

• Other authors also agreed that libraries should adapt rapidly to change (Mardis & Johnson, 2014, p. 6).
• This is an important issue highlighted by additional authors (Baudino, Johnson, & Mardis, 2013, para. 5).

For subsequent citation(s), include the surname of the first author followed by et al.:

• The other important issues were also highlighted (Baudino et al., 2013, para. 6).

Six or more authors:

• Apparently, other authors agree entirely with this point (Mardis et al., 2014, p. 8).
• Use the first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year. Use double quotation marks around the title or abbreviated title.
• Example : ("All 33 Chile Miners," 2010).
• Use "n.d." for "no date"
• Example:  ("Quick Answers--References," n.d.).
• When multiple studies support an argument, include multiple citations inside the same set of parentheses.
• Within the parentheses, alphabetize the studies as they appear in the reference list and separate with semicolons.
• In running text, address studies in whatever order is wished.
• Example:  Fluency studies for third grade students have produced mixed results (Baudino & Wyatt, 2013, p. 3; Brady, 2010, para. 5; Mardis, Drew, & Johnson, 2012, p. 30).
• Example:  Mardis, Drew, and Johnson (2012) reported an increase in fluency among third grade students, while Brady (2010) reported a decrease. Baudino and Wyatt (2013) found no significant differences in reading fluency.
• Two Authors
• 3-7 Authors
• Multiple by Same Author
• Example:  Johnson, A.-R. for Amelia-Rose Johnson
• Example:  Author, A.A. (Ed.).
• Reference List Example:  Mardis, L. [Lori].

 Mardis, L. [Laura].

• In Text Citation Example:  (Lori Mardis, 2015).

One Author:

• Last name, First initial. (Include middle initial if provided.)
• Example:  Lewey, T. D.
• Example:  Author, A. A., Author B. B., & Author, C. C.
• Example:  Smith, A. K., Jr., & Jameson, P. R.

Two Authors:

• Author A last name, Author A first initial. Middle initial if provided., & Author B last name, Author B first initial. Middle initial if provided.
• Example:  Lewey, T. D., & Moody-Goo, H.

Three to Seven Authors:

• Author A last name, Author A first initial. Middle initial if provided., Author B last name, Author B first initial. Middle initial if provided., & Author C last name, Author C first initial. Middle initial if provided.
• Example:  Lewey, T. D., Moody-Goo, H., & Potter, H. J.

Eight or More Authors:

• Include the first six authors' names followed by an ellipsis (one set of three dots) and then end with the last author's name.
• Example:  Alvarado, A., Annala, G., Ruppman, T., Wardzala, S., Wersching, Y., Artemchik, T., ...Currie, J.

Reference List Example: 

List chronologically in order of publication date.

Ehrenreich,B. (2001).  NIckel and dimed: On (not) getting by in America.  New York: Metropolitan Books.

Ehrenreich, B. (2007).  Dancing in the streets: A history of collective joy . New York: Metropolitan Books.

In Text Example:

List chronologically in order of publication date within the same parentheses.

• (Ehrenreich, 2001, 2007).

Start the entry with the title of the work:

Book Example:

• Maze.  (2011). Maryville, MO: Northwest Missouri State University.

Newspaper Example:

• Sharing reference information. (2012, March 1).  Northwest Missourian,  pp. C1, C2.

Web Page Example: 

• Rechecking security for human safety appropriate for Kansas City Zoo. (2016, June 1). Retrieved from http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials.article81217142.html

The various examples used on this guide come from either Purdue OWL , NWMSU's APA Style Citation Examples guide , or the APA Style Blog .

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Citing Your Sources: APA and MLA

Introduction to apa.

• In-text Citations
• In-text Citation Examples
• Reference List - Basics
• Reference List - Example Citations
• Format your Paper
• Register for Spring 2024 Workshops

Publication Manual of the APA

Information in this research guide is based on the rules in the following official APA 7th edition manual.  

The information below is a brief introduction to APA citation style (7th edition) that highlights how to cite the most common types of sources.  If you find yourself needing more advanced help, please go to the Purdue University Owl Website , or contact a librarian .  

APA Checklist

APA (American Psychological Association) citation style is used widely in the social sciences, natural sciences, nursing and business.  In order to follow APA citation style you will need to do the following:  

If you paraphrase information from a source, quote a source, or use ideas or content from a source, you’ll need to cite that source in-text AND in the reference list at the end of your paper.  Each in-text citation must have an accompanying citation in your reference list and vice versa.  

APA In-text Citations - Basics

You'll need to create in-text citations throughout your paper in APA format.  An in-text citation in APA includes the author(s) last name(s) and the year the source was published in.  In-text citations denote the source where you found the preceding information and they are often in parentheses at the end of a sentence.

Format of an In-text Citation: 

(Author(s) last name(s), year of publication)  

Note: an in-text citation for a direct quote must also list the page number (see examples below) 

APA In-text Citations - Examples

If your source has one author: 

List the author's last name followed by the year the source was published.  

If your source has two authors: 

List both authors’ last names in the order they appear on the source followed by the year the source was published. 

If your source has three or more authors: 

List the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” (et al. is short for “and others” in Latin) followed by the year of publication.

If your source has a Government, Organization or Business as the author:

Your source might have a "group author" meaning that a government agency, business, or organization created the content.  In these cases, you would treat the group responsible for creating the information as the author.   

*Note: “n.d.” in the in-text citation above is short for “no date” and it means that there is no publication date listed.  Often you’ll find that websites do not have dates listed.  

In-text Citations for Quotations: 

For quotations with fewer than 40 words, use double quotation marks around the copied text.  Include the page number(s) where the quotation can be found and use “p.” if your quotation is on one page (ex: p. 15) and “pp.” if your quotation is on a range of pages (ex: pp. 15-16).  The period at the end of the quotation follows the citation. 

*Note: Go to the Purdue University Owl Website to learn how to create in-text citations when  

• Your source has no author listed
• You have a quote longer than 40 words
• You have Multiple sources with the same author

APA Reference List - Basics

Create a Reference List on a new page at the end of your paper that includes a citation for every source you used to write your paper.  After you've created your citations, put them in alphabetical order.  

An APA citation typically includes the following four elements 

• Source where you can retrieve the work

You'll see in the example citations below that these elements are found in citations for books, webpages, audiovisual media and more.  

The author of any citation is written a particular way in APA.  Follow the rules below when you write your authors in your citations. 

APA Reference List - Example Citations

Author(s). (year of publication, month, day). Title of blog post with first word capitalized. Title of blog in italics. Link to blog

Book with author(s) (print or ebook):

Author(s). (year of publication). Title in italics with first word capitalized. Publisher. DOI* link if your ebook has one

Book with editor(s) (print or ebook): 

Editor(s) (Ed.). (year of publication). Title in italics with first word capitalized. Publisher. DOI* link if your ebook has one

Film or Video:

The director (Director). (year film was produced). Title in italics with first word capitalized [Film; version information if unique]. Production company.

Journal Article:

Author(s). (year of publication). Title of the journal article with first word capitalized. Title of the Journal in italics and capitalized, volume number in italics(issue number), page range. DOI* link if available

Note that there was no issue number for the Bamber article below.

Magazine Article:

Author(s). (year of publication, month, day). Title of the article with first word capitalized.  Title of the magazine in italics and capitalized, volume number in italics(issue), page range.  If you have a link to the article accessible to the general public then include that at the end of the citation, but do not include links to library databases.

Note that there is no volume or issue number listed for the Cohen article below.

Newspaper Article:

Author(s). (year of publication, month, day). Title of the article with first word capitalized.  Title of the newspaper in italics and capitalized. If you have a link to the article accessible to the general public then include that at the end of the citation, but do not include links to library databases.

Author(s). (year of publication, month, day). Title of webpage in italics with the first word capitalized. Website name. URL

* A DOI (digital object identifier) is a stable link to an article.  Here is an example:  https://doi.org/10.1080/17441730.2017.1379674

Format Your Paper

Disclaimer:

Your instructor may ask for different formatting.  Follow your instructor’s guidelines for formatting if they differ from what is listed below. 

Title Page:

On the first page of your paper, centered, write the following in order double-spaced:

• Title of Your Paper in bold font
• Your Affiliation (eg. Harper College)
• The course number and title (eg. PSY 101: Introduction to Psychology)  
• The Instructor (eg. Professor Brown)
• The Paper’s Due Date (eg. October 31, 2021)

If your quote is fewer than 40 words, put quotation marks around the quote and then make sure to create your in-text citation including the page number following the quote.  If your quote is 40 words or more, create a block quotation: start the quotation on a new line, indent the whole quotation by .5 inches so that it looks like a block of text and create an in-text citation including the page number.  Go online to the official  APA website  to see examples. 

Page Margins:

1 inch margins on top, bottom, left and right 

Double space your entire paper including the title page, text of your paper, quotes, and reference list. 

The page number should go on the top right of every page as a header (including the title page as page 1)

Reference List:

Start your Reference List on a new page.  Write the words “References” in bold at the top of the page, centered.  Then list your citations alphabetically.  If a citation takes up more than one line on the page, indent all lines after the first line by .5 inches from the left margin (this is called a hanging indent).

How to create a hanging indent in Word: 

1. highlight all of your citations in your reference list

2. right click on the highlighted area

3. a dropdown will appear, click "paragraph" in the dropdown

4.  a box will pop-up; where it says "indentation special" select "hanging" and then make sure it's by .5 inches.

5.  click "okay" 

How to create a hanging indent in Google Docs: 

2. click "format" at the top of your screen

3. click "Align & Indent" 

4. click "Indentation Options" 

5. under indentation left and right it should be 0

6. under special, select "hanging", and it should be by .5 inches

Sample Papers formatted in APA are available on the Purdue University OWL website.   

Helpful Links

• Purdue OWL APA Guide This is a comprehensive guide to APA created by Purdue University.
• Sample Papers
• Missing Information
• APA Style Blog

Ask a Librarian

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Citing sources

• Citation basics

APA Style Examples

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More Information

• APA - Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)

Book: basic form, single author

Book: basic form, two authors

Chapter in Edited work

Journal, magazine, or newspaper article without a DOI, from most academic research databases or print version. If you are referencing an electronic version of a journal article that also appears in print and has page numbers (like in a PDF), use page numbers instead of a URL.

Journal Article with a DOI - if a publication includes a digital object identifier (DOI) use that instead of a URL.  

 Journal Article without a DOI, with a nondatabase URL - if you retrieve online but the article does not have a DOI, use the URL.

For more Reference List examples visit the Purdue OWL web site

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APA Help from the APA Manual Website

• Sample Papers in APA Style
• Style and Grammar Guidelines, APA Format, 7th Ed.
• APA Manual Home page, 7th Edition

APA Help from Purdue OWL

• Purdue OWL APA Overview
• How to Format In-Text Citations in APA Style
• How to Cite Articles in APA Style
• How to Cite Books in APA Style
• How to Cite Audiovisual Media in APA Style
• General Guide to APA Style
• How to Format a Webpage or Website in APA
• Sample Paper from Purdue OWL Website

APA style is a format for  academic documents  such as  journal articles and books . It was developed by the American Psychological Association (APA)  "to assist reading comprehension in the social and behavioral sciences, for clarity of communication".

There is a  copy of the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association at the Lydon reference desk. The library also owns an ebook of  The Concise APA Handbook, 7th ed.

APA Specified Title Page for Student Papers

The student title page includes:

• paper title • author names (the byline) • author affiliation  • course number and name  • instructor name • page number.

APA rule of thumb for citations:  write your titles as if they were sentences .  For the article title, that means that the first letter of the first word is capitalized and the rest are lower case unless they are proper nouns.  Also, if there is a colon (":") in the title, you capitalize the next word.  The whole title should also end in punctuation such as a period or a question mark.

Article in an online journal:

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number (issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy

Article in a print journal:

Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15 (3), 5–13.

Selected Examples of Changes to APA 7th Edition

Content above adapted from Purdue Owl , Scribbr, and APA Style Manual, 7th ed. Instructional Aids

For complete details on updates to APA style in the 7th edition, see this page.

APA Citation Style for Government Publications

APA Citation Style does not have a separate category for government publications. According to APA, government documents can be considered Books, Technical/Research Reports or Brochures.

Helpful Tips:

• Treat a government document as a book, report, or brochure.
• If a person is named on the title page, use her or him as author.
• If no person is named, use the government agency, department, or branch as a group author.
• Give the name of the group author exactly as it appears on the title page. If the branch or agency is not well known, include its higher department first.
• If the group author is also the publisher, just use the word Author after the location.
• If there is a series or report number, include it after the title.
• The APA manual refers to the GPO (U.S. Gov. Printing Office). Canadian equivalents may be: Queen’s Printer, Ministry of Supply and Services, Canadian Government Publishing, etc.

Group Authors

Group authors are often government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and task forces. Follow these guidelines to format the names of group authors in the reference list.

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APA Style: APA Style

• URL: https://library.park.edu/APA
• In-text Citations

Helpful Resources 

• Purdue OWL A free guide to various citation styles (APA, MLA, Chicago), developed by Purdue University's Online Writing Lab.
• APA Style Blog The APA Style blog is the official companion to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition. It’s run by the APA Style team—a group of style experts who work with APA Style every day.
• APA 7th edition changes

• Sample APA 7th Edition Paper

APA 7th edition

Below is a summary of the major changes in the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual.

Essay Format:

• Font  - While you still can use Times New Roman 12, you are free to use other fonts. Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans 10, and Georgia 11 are all acceptable.
• Headers  - No running headers are required for student papers.
• Tables and Figures  - There is a standardized format for both tables and figures.

Style, Grammar, Usage:

• Singular "they" required in two situations: when used by a known person as their personal pronoun or when the gender of a singular person is not known.
• Use only one space after a sentence-ending period.

Citation Style:

• Developed the 'Four Elements of a Reference" (Author, Date, Title, Source) to help writers to create references for source types not explicitly examined in the APA Manual.
• Three or more authors can be abbreviated to First author, et al. on the first citation.
• Up to 20 authors are spelled out in the References List.
• Publisher location is not required for books
• Ebook platform, format, or device is not required for eBooks.  
• Library database names are generally not required
• No "doi:" prefix, simply include the doi.
• All hyperlinks retain the https://
• Links can be "live" in blue with underline or black without underlining

General APA Guidelines (from Purdue OWL)

Your essay should be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11"), with 1" margins on all sides. Include a  page header  (also known as the “ running head ”) at the top of every page. For a professional paper, this includes your paper title and the page number. For a student paper, this only includes the page number. To create a  page header/running head , insert page numbers flush right. Then type "TITLE OF YOUR PAPER" in the header flush left using all capital letters. The  running head  is a shortened version of your paper's title and cannot exceed 50 characters including spacing and punctuation.

Commonly Used Terms

Citing : The process of acknowledging the sources of your information and ideas.

DOI (doi) : Some electronic content, such as online journal articles, is assigned a unique number called a Digital Object Identifier (DOI or doi). Items can be tracked down online using their doi.

In-Text Citation : A brief note at the point where information is used from a source to indicate where the information came from. An in-text citation should always match more detailed information that is available in the Reference List.

Paraphrasing : Taking information that you have read and putting it into your own words.

Plagiarism : Taking, using, and passing off as your own, the ideas or words of another.

Quoting : The copying of words of text originally published elsewhere. Direct quotations generally appear in quotation marks and end with a citation.

Reference : Details about one cited source.

Reference List : Contains details on ALL the sources cited in a text or essay, and supports your research and/or premise.

Retrieval Date : Used for websites where content is likely to change over time (e.g. Wikis), the retrieval date refers to the date you last visited the website.

Bibliography : Is a list of documents consulted but not necessarily referred to in a specific essay or assignment. A bibliography can also be a comprehensive list of works on a specific subject, for example,  The Bibliography of Bioethics . When researching a topic it is a good idea to prepare a bibliography for your own use, even if in your essay you need to cite only some of these items in a works cited or references list.

Descriptive elements : Are the necessary parts of a reference. A few examples of these elements are: author, title, edition, date of publication, internet address, etc.

Electronic : Is a generic term used to describe documents available from the internet or from databases or published in a digitized format.

Introduction to APA 7th ed

Major Paper Sections

Your essay should include  four  major sections: the  Title Page ,  Abstract ,  Main Body , and  References .

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Citing Sources

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APA Quick Guide

• APA Quick Guide Print it and take it with you!

Purdue OWL - APA Formatting and Style Guide

• Purdue OWL - APA Formatting and Style Guide See Purdue OWL's APA  formatting and style guide for more examples.

APA 7th edition

A PA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. 

 APA Style uses the author-date system to cite references in the text. In this system, each work used in a paper has two parts: an in-text citation and a corresponding reference list . 

• How to Cite ChatGPT

APA Style 7th ed. - In-Text Citations

IN-TEXT CITATIONS 

• In-text citations appears within the body of the paper, briefly identifying the cited work at the point it is referenced.

Parenthetical and Narrative Citations 

In-text citations have two formats: parenthetical and narrative.

• Parenthetical example: Falsely balanced news coverage can distort the public's perception (Koehler, 2016).
• Narrative example: Koehler (2016) noted the dangers of falsely balanced news coverage.

     Single Works

• One author: (Luna, 2020)
• Two authors: (Salas & D'Agostino, 2020)
• Three or more authors: (Martin et al., 2020)

Multiple Works

List in alphabetical order by author last name, separating by semicolons.  

• (Adams et al., 2019; Shumway & Shulman, 2015; Westinghouse, 2017)
• (Department of Veteran Affairs, n.d., 2017a, 2017b, 2019)

Short Quotations (Fewer Than 40 Words)

• Effective teams can be difficult to describe because "high performance along one domain does not translate to high performance along another" (Ervin et al., 2018, p.470).
• Biebel et al. (2018) noted that "incorporating the voice of students can increase access and retention" (p.299).

Long Quotations (40 Words or More)

Treat as a block quotation. Do not use quotation marks. Start a block quotation on a new line and indent the whole block 0.5 inches from the left margin.  

APA 7th edition - Reference List

REFERENCE LIST

• The reference list appears at the end of the paper. It provides the information needed to identify and find each work cited in the text.

Four elements of a Reference

• author: Who is responsible for this work?
• date: When was this work published?
• title: What is this work called?
• source: Where can I retrieve this work?   

Authors for most formats

Author, A. A. (Year of publication).  Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle . Publisher Name. DOI (if available)

• All authors' names should be inverted (i.e., last names should be provided first).
• Authors' first and middle names should be written as initials.

One author     

Bickle, M. C. (2011).  Fashion marketing: Theory, principles, & practice.  Fairchild Books.

Two to twenty authors

• Give the last name and first/middle initials for all authors of a particular work up to and including 20 authors

Aguiar, L. M., Tomic, P., & Trumper, R. (2019).  Apparel: Concepts and practical applications.  Fairchild Books.

More than twenty authors

• If there are 21 or more authors, use an ellipsis (but no ampersand) after the 19th author, and then add the final author’s name.

Aguiar, L. M., Tomic, P., Author, A., Author, B., Author, C., Author, D., Author, E., Author, F., Author, G., Author, H., Author, I., Author, J., Author, K., Author, L., Author, M., Author, N., Author, O., Author, P., Author, Q., ... Trumper, R. (2019).  Apparel: Concepts and practical applications.  Fairchild Books.

Frey, C. B. (2019). The technology trap: Capital, labor, and power in the age of automation . Princeton University Press.

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article.  Title of Periodical ,  volume number (issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy

Zhang, H., & Merikangas, K. (2000). A frailty model of segregation analysis: Understanding the familial transmission of alcoholism.  Biometrics ,  56 (3), 815–823. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0006-341x.2000.00815.x

Website vs Webpage When mentioning a website, without mention of a specific page, no reference list entry or in-text citation is needed. Give the name of the website in text and include the URL in parentheses. For example:

We created our survey using Qualtrics (https://www.qualtrics.com).

Article on a Website

Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of article.  Title of Publication . URL

Vogelsong, S. (2020, November 16). On Virginia’s far Atlantic flank, a cherished store of salt marshes is being lost. Virginia Mercury .  https://www.virginiamercury.com/2020/11/16/on-virginias-far-atlantic-flank-a-cherished-store-of-salt-marshes-is-being-lost/

YouTube Video / Streaming Video

Last Name, F. M. [Username]. (Year, Month Date).  Title of video  [Video]. Streaming Service. URL

Lustig, R. H. [UCTV]. (2009, July 30). Sugar: The bitter truth [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/dBnniua6-oM

Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of post.  Publisher . URL

Ross, M. (2020, April 29). Top 10 toddler and kid approved snacks. Blueberries Nutrition and LIfestyle .  https://blueberriesnutritionandlifestyle.com/top-10-toddler-and-kid-approved-snacks/

Host, A. A. (Host). (Year, Month Date). Title of episode (No. if provided) [Audio podcast episode]. In Name of podcast. Publisher. URL

Lutz, A. (Host). (2021, April 26). Weight inclusive wellness with Brit Guerin (No. 27) [Audio podcast episode]. In Sunnyside up nutrition .  https://sunnysideupnutrition.com/episode/ep-27-weight-inclusive-wellness-with-brit-guerin/

APA Resources @ the Library

Online Citation Tools

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