How to Cite in APA Format

Guide Note: Follow the examples on this page for information on How to Cite in APA Format. Also see Mahalo's guides for How to Cite in MLA Format and How to Cite in Chicago Manual of Style Format.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Parenthetical Citations
• Reference Page
• General Rules

• Also try: How to Cite
  

Introduction

• Academics and scholars that work in the social sciences are usually required to use the APA Style of citation when giving credit to their source material in research papers. Compiled by the American Psychological Association, the APA publication manual sets out guidelines for how to properly reference outside works that have been used in the writing of a paper.

APA Citation Parts

• As with the MLA style, the APA style is comprised of two separate parts, although with slightly different names:
  1. Parenthetical Citations
  2. Reference Page

Parenthetical Citations

• Parenthetical citations are similar to the In-Text citations that are used in the MLA style in that they are featured directly within the text of the paper, although there are some slight differences as to how they are written. Here are a few guidelines for parenthetical citations in the APA style:
  1. Always use parentheses () around your citation information.
  2. The basic information that you need to include in your citation is the author's name, the date the work was published, and the pages that are being referenced.
  3. For direct quotes, all of this information should be included together at the end of the quote.
  4. When paraphrasing, include the publication date next to the author's name - and the page reference at the end of the sentence.
  5. When a work has more than one author, use an ampersand (&) between their surnames.

• Examples:
  • When quoting directly from an author's work:
    • Patients who consider themselves happy are "20% more likely to respond well to chemotherapy" (Johnson, 1998, p. 28).
  • When a work has multiple authors:
    • Overall, studies found a direct correlation between the two groups (Brown & Smith, 1988, p. 26).
  • When paraphrasing an author's work:
    • Johnson (1998) concludes that a happy patient is a healthy patient (p. 28).
  • When citing an electronic source without a page number:
    • "Patients have shown a surprising amount of resiliency" (Kelly, 2004, ¶ 3)

Reference Page

Creative Commons photo by Happy Bushra

• The references page is similar to the Works Cited List in the MLA format in that it is basically a list of all of the sources you've used in the writing of your paper, although with a few variations in formatting and style. Each entry in the references section should include the following:
  1. The author(s) or editor(s) - with surname first
  2. The date of publication
  3. The complete title of the work (italicized)
  4. The edition (if applicable)
  5. The publication title (for articles and periodicals only)
  6. The volume number (for articles and periodicals only)
  7. The specific pages referenced (if applicable)
  8. The place where it was published (for books)
  9. The publisher (for books)

• Examples:
  • When a work has one author:
    • Johnson, F. (1992). The plight of the working class. New York: Oxford UP.
  • When a work has two authors:
    • Smith, S., & Brown, B. (1978). A complete guide to Shakespeare (3rd ed.) Denver: Bantam.
  • When a work has more than six authors:
    • Brown, C., Johnson, M., Smith, B., Fredricks, J., Harris, B., Kaufman, J., Lassen, B., et al. (2000). How many authors does it take? San Francisco: Putnam.
  • When citing multiple works by one author:
    • Johnson, A. (1967) Alphabet soup. New York: Viking.
    • Johnson, A. (1963) Basic writing lessons. New York: Oxford UP.
  • When citing a magazine or journal article:
    • Chung, J. (1999). Round and round: An annotated history of the wheel. Popular Mechanics, 26, 36-38.
  • More examples

General Rules for APA Citations

• Here are the basic guidelines for compiling your references page:
  1. The reference page should be located on a separate page at the end of your paper.
  2. The title References should be centered at the top of the page.
  3. The entire references page should be double-spaced.
  4. The entries should be arranged in alphabetical order (using the author's last name).
  5. If one of the entries is longer than one line, the second line should have a hanging indent.
  6. The authors should written with their last name followed by their first initial.
  7. Titles should be italicized.

Resources

• Official Site: American Psychological Association | Style Guide
• Wikipedia: APA Style | Social Sciences
• University of N.C.: APA Citation
• CSBSJU: Examples of APA Citation Style
• Bedford St. Martin: APA Citation Style

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