APA Citation Style Guide

Based on the APA Manual 7th Edition

Parentheticals are in-text citations that are placed in parentheses that you use with paraphrases.
▪ Paraphrase (Surname, year, p. #).
▪ Paraphrase (Roth, 1982, p. 10).

A signal phrase introduces/signals a source in the sentence. Use signal phrases with quotes or
paraphrases.
▪ According to Source (year), “Quote” (p. #).
▪ Complete sentence introducing the information/source (year) before the info: “Quote” (p.
#).
▪ Source (year) verb “Quote” (p. #).

Standard Citation One Author + Publication Date + Page Number

• Signal Phrase: According Smith (2010), “Quote” (p. 23).
• Parenthetical: This sentence contains source information (Smith, 2010, p. 23).

No Date
If a source does not have a publication date, use the abbreviation n.d. in place of the date in the
citation.
• Signal Phrase: Smith (n.d.) explains, “Quote” (p. 23).
• Parenthetical: This sentence contains source information (Smith, n.d., p. 23).

Unknown Author
If the source does not have an author, cite the source by its complete title in the signal phrase or
use the first one or two words of the title in the parentheses when using a parenthetical citation.

Titles of books and reports are italicized; titles of articles, chapters, and webpages are in quotation
marks. APA style uses title case (capitalizing the first word and all major words in titles) when they
are written in the text (but not when they are written in reference lists which uses sentence case
for book, article, and webpage titles).

• Signal Phrase: According to “Using Citations in Academic Research Writing” (2001), a

similar study was done of students learning to format research papers (para. 2).
• Parenthetical: A similar study was done of students learning to format research papers
("Using Citations," 2001, para. 2).
Long or Block Quotes
For any quote with 40+ words, you must use the following block quote format:
▪ Use a complete sentence followed by a colon before the quote to frame or introduce the
information in the quote.
▪ The entire quote is separated from the surrounding paragraph and indented, as a block, ½
inch from the left margin. The paragraph should remain left-aligned. Do not indent the line
following the block unless the line begins a new paragraph.
▪ Do not use quotation marks before or after the quotation.
▪ The ending period is placed before the parenthetical at the end of the quote, not after.
▪ Note: Use of long quotations should be limited in research writing. No more than
approximately 10% of the total essay should be direct quotes. The majority of the research
information in the essay should be integrated as cited paraphrases.

Example Block Quote

The increased chance of dying closely following a spouse’s death is known as the
widowhood effect. Examples of the widowhood effect are frequently reported in the news as
human interest stories:
The Fluties had been married for 56 years, and the story of their death is one you hear from time
to time: longtime couples who are as inseparable in death as they were in life, with one dying
shortly after the other. Perhaps the most famous example is that of Johnny and June Cash,
who died within just four months of each other. But there’s also Bernard and Irene Jordan, an
elderly English couple who died within a week of each other in January, or Ruth and Harold
Knapke, who were married for 65 years and whose deaths were just 11 hours apart in 2013. And
just a few months ago, Jeanette and Alexander Toczko — married for 75 years — died within 24
hours of each other in their home. Alexander passed away first, in Jeanette’s arms. (Dahl, 2015,
para. 2)
Although poignant, elderly couples who die within months, weeks, days, or even hours of each
other is not as phenomenal as it seems.

Indirect Sources
An indirect source happens when the source you’re using has cited another source which means
you got that information indirectly through your source. Whenever possible, it’s best to try to find
the original source instead, though, so you can investigate the information for yourself.
▪ Cite indirect source (your source’s source) in the signal phrase.
▪ Cite direct source (your source) in the parenthetical, using the phrase “as cited in” before
the source name.
▪ Only the direct source is documented on the references list.

Example: Quincy explains “Quote” (as cited in Scott, 1834, p. 34).

Scott, W. (1834). Essays on chivalry, romance, and the drama. Whittaker.

Multiple Authors
▪ Two authors: Name both authors in the signal phrase or in the parentheses each time you
cite the work. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the
ampersand in the parentheses.
 According to Walters and Mason (2019), “Quote” (p. 90).
 Paraphrase (Walters & Mason, 2019, p. 90).
▪ Three or more authors: Use the first author's name followed by et al. in the signal phrase
or in parentheses.
 According to Beadle et al. (2017), “Quote” (p. 42).
 Paraphrase (Beadle et al., 2017, p. 42).

Organization as an Author
▪ If the author is an organization or a government agency, mention the organization in the
signal phrase or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source.
 According to the American Psychological Association [APA] (2000), “Quote” (para.
3).
▪ If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, include the abbreviation in brackets the
first time the source is cited and then use only the abbreviation in later citations.
 First citation: (Mothers Against Drunk Driving [MADD], 2000, para. 2).
 Subsequent citations: (MADD, 2000, para. 2).

No page
If the cited material does not have page numbers (such as may occur with some online
sources) and you need the information for an in-text citation, the following location
information can be used instead.
▪ A paragraph number, if provided; alternatively, you can count paragraphs down from
the beginning of the document.
 Paraphrase (Smith, 2013, para. 3).
 According to Smith (2013), “Quote” (para. 3).
▪ An overarching heading plus a paragraph number within that section.
 Paraphrase (Parsons, 2013, Services section, para. 3).
 According to Parsons (2013), “Quote” (Services section, para. 3).
▪ An abbreviated heading (or the first few words of the heading) in quotation marks, in
cases in which the heading is too long to cite in full, plus a paragraph number within
that section.
 Paraphrase (Zaidel, 2011, “Participatory Action,” para. 3).
  According to Zaidel (2011), “Quote” (“Participatory Action,” para. 3).

Other Need-to-Know Page Info

▪ Page numbers are not required with a paraphrase, but they are encouraged (so include
them anyway). Page numbers are required with a quote.
▪ If your quoted information spans two pages (e.g. starts at the bottom of page 24 and
continues to the top of page 25) use the abbreviation pp. before the range of pages.
 Davidson (2017) claims “Quote” (pp. 24–25). This is rare. Otherwise, you should
identify only the single page where the quoted information was located.

References List

Note: Titles have special capitalization rules used only in the References list. All titles should be
capitalized using title case in the body of the essay.
▪ Article and book titles are capitalized using sentence case. Only the first word of the title,
the first word of the subtitle and any proper nouns are capitalized.
 Big money in American small business: Online advertising
▪ Titles of publications (journals, newspapers, magazines, etc.) are capitalized using title
case. The first word and all major words in the title are capitalized.
 Big Money in American Small Business: Online Advertising

The following rules for handling works by a single author or multiple authors apply to all APA-style
references in your reference list, regardless of the type of work (book, article, electronic resource,
etc.)

Single Author
Last name first, followed by author initials.

Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social development. Current Directions in Psychological
Science, 11, 7–10.

Two Authors
List by their last names and initials. Use the ampersand instead of "and."

Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1994). Mood management across affective states: The hedonic
contingency hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 1034–1048.

Three to Twenty Authors

List by last names and initials; commas separate author names, while the last author name is
preceded again by ampersand.

Kernis, M. H., Cornell, D. P., Sun, C. R., Berry, A., Harlow, T., & Bach, J. S. (1993). There's more to
self-esteem than whether it is high or low: The importance of stability of self-esteem. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 65(4), 1190–1204.

More Than Twenty Authors

List by last names and initials; commas separate author names. After the nineteenth author's
name, use an ellipsis in place of any additional author names. Then provide the final author name.
There should be no more than twenty names.

Miller, T. C., Brown, M. J., Wilson, G. L., Evans, B. B., Kelly, R. S., Turner, S. T., Lewis, F., Lee, L. H.,
Cox, G., Harris, H. L., Martin, P., Gonzalez, W. L., Hughes, W., Carter, D., Campbell, C., Baker, A. B.,
Flores, T., Gray, W. E., Green, G., … Nelson, T. P. (2018). Male and female communication
patterns. Journal of Gender Studies, 42(21), 323–335.

Organization as Author
Begin the documentation with the full name of the organization. Capitalize the organization name
using title case.

American Association of School Librarians. (2020, January 16). 3 reasons to love self-checkout in an
elementary library. Knowledge Quest. https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/3-reasons-to-love-self-
checkout-in-an-elementary-library/

Unknown Author
If the source does not have an author, begin the documentation with the full article title.
• Titles of books and publication titles are italicized. Titles of articles, chapters, and
webpages are not placed in quotation marks in the documentation.
• APA style uses title case rules to capitalize publication titles on reference the list and
sentence case rules to capitalize the titles of books, articles, and webpages.

Using citations in academic research writing. (2001). Purdue Online Writing Lab.
http://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation

Common References Entries

Article in a Print Journal
Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing psychology journal articles. Journal of
Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55(3), 893–896.

Article in a Print Magazine

Henry, W. A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade in today's schools. Time, 135, 28–31.

Article in a Print Newspaper

Unlike other periodicals, p. or pp. precedes page numbers for a newspaper reference in APA style.
Single pages take p. (e.g. p. B2); multiple pages take pp. (e.g. pp. B2, B4 or pp. C1, C3–C4).

Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to strengthen state energy policies. The Country
Today, pp. 1A, 2A.

Basic Format for Books

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

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

Article from an Online Periodical

Online articles follow the same guidelines for printed articles. Include all information the online
host makes available, including an issue number in parentheses.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Online Periodical, volume
number(issue number if available), page range. http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

Bernstein, M. (2002). 10 tips on writing the living Web. A List Apart: For People Who Make
Websites, 149(2), 77–98. http://www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving

Article from an Online Periodical with DOI Assigned

Note: A digital object identifier [DOI] is a combination of letters and numbers assigned to a
publication in electronic (online) format, such as a journal article in a database. There are two
ways to identify a doi:
Old format: Begins with 10 followed by a period (e.g: 10.1078/b0027260)
New format: Begins with http://dx.doi.org/ (e.g.: https://dx.doi.org/10.1078/b0027260)
The new format which presents the DOI as a link is the preferred format for APA 7. If the source
you’re using provides a DOI in the old format, add “https://doi.org/” before the number (e.g. your
source shows the DOI as 10.1080/09647040490885475 which would be written as the following
link: https://doi.org/10.1080/09647040490885475).

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume
number(issue number), page range. http://dx.doi.org/10.0000/0000

Brownlie, D. (2007). Toward effective poster presentations: An annotated bibliography. European

Journal of Marketing, 41, 1245–1283. http://doi.org/10.1108/03090560710821161

Wooldridge, M. B., & Shapka, J. (2012). Playing with technology: Mother-toddler interaction scores
lower during play with electronic toys. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 33(5), 211–
218. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2012.05.005

Article from an Online Periodical with no DOI Assigned

Online scholarly journal articles without a DOI require the URL of the journal home page.
Remember that one goal of citations is to provide your readers with enough information to find
the article; providing the journal home page aids readers in this process.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume
number(issue number), page range. http://www.journalhomepage.com/full/url/

Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the nature of human rights. Journal of Buddhist
Ethics, 8(4), 123–134. http://www.cac.psu.edu/jbe/twocont.html

Online Newspaper Article

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of

Newspaper. http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry handbook linked to drug industry. The New York
Times. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/psychiatry-handbook-linked-to-drug-
industry/?_r=0

Note the special format of dates on the references page: (Year, Month Day).
Non-periodical Web Document or Report (e.g. webpage)

List as much of the following information as possible (you sometimes have to hunt around to find
the information):

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Article title. Title of Website.
http://www.webaddress.com

Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderland, L., & Brizee, A. (2010, May
5). General format. Purdue OWL. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Note: The copyright date is not the same as the publication date. If there isn't a publication or “last
updated” date available for the document, use (n.d.) for no date.