American Psychological Association (APA) style is used in various fields of study, including social sciences and medicine. Like most citation systems, APA requires the use of both in-text and full reference citations. In-text citations help readers distinguish between the work of the writer and work pulled from other sources, and corresponding reference citations help readers locate those sources. Properly citing sources helps writers establish credibility and avoid plagiarism. While this handout covers APA citation concepts, writers should customize their work for their specific audience and assignment. Note that section numbers provided in this handout refer to the APA Manual (7th ed).
When a writer uses someone else’s words or ideas (by summarizing, paraphrasing, directly quoting), the writer must credit the original source or author(s) using in-text citations. In-text citations include the last name(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication. When directly quoting a source, the quote should be contained in quotation marks, and the in-text citation must also include a page number with p. indicating the information comes from a single page, and pp. when sourced material covers multiple pages. When using sources, writers should note that APA discourages extensive quoting.
Example: “The sun is a star” (Moon, 2022, pp. 7–9).
A narrative citation mentions the author within the sentence, so their name is excluded from the parentheses. In a parenthetical citation, the author is not mentioned in the sentence, so their name appears in the parentheses. End-of-sentence punctuation comes after the parentheses.
Narrative Example: Moon (2022) said, “The sky is blue” (p. 14).
Parenthetical Example: “The sun is a star” (Moon, 2022, pp. 7–9).
| Narrative Citations | Parenthetical Citations | |
|---|---|---|
| One Author | Moon (2022) | (Moon, 2022) |
| Two Authors | Baker and Lee (2018) | (Baker & Lee, 2018) |
| Three or More Authors | Jones et al. (2021) | (Jones et al., 2021) |
| Abbreviated Groups, First Citation | Veterans Affairs (VA, 2009) | (Veterans Affairs [VA], 2009) |
| Abbreviated Groups, Additional Citations | VA (2009) | (VA, 2009) |
| Non-abbreviated Groups | Mayo Clinic (2020) | (Mayo Clinic, 2020) |
If a source does not have information about the author or the author is unknown, include the title in place of the missing author(s). Italicize the title if it is italicized on the reference page. Otherwise, put quotation marks around the title. Titles may be shortened for the in-text citation.
Example: (“Light Pollution in Space,” 2018)
If a source does not have a date, use “n.d.”, which is short for no date, in place of the date.
Example: (Lopez, n.d.)
When directly quoting a source without page numbers, provide another way to locate the quoted information (e.g., a section heading or a paragraph number). If the source does not provide a section heading or paragraph number, count the paragraphs manually.
Example: (Billings, 2018, para. 14)
Example: (Billings, 2018, “Symptoms” section)
When citing multiple sources in the same section of a paper, list sources in alphabetical order, and separate them using semicolons. This format is commonly used when synthesizing sources.
Example: (Bozzelli, 2021; Gonzales, 2019; Pierce, 2020)
A direct quote of 40 words or more is formatted as a block quote. Block quotes do not use quotation marks and place final punctuation before the in-text citation. Block quotes are indented .5 inches from the left margin. APA recommends that writers use block quotes sparingly.
Example: Rausch et al. (2006) concluded the following:
A mere 20 min of these group interventions was effective in reducing anxiety to
normal levels . . . merely 10 min of the interventions allowed [the high-anxiety group]
to recover from the stressor. Thus, brief interventions of meditation and progressive
muscle relaxation may be effective for those with clinical levels of anxiety and for
stress recovery when exposed to brief, transitory stressors. (p. 287)
When using information shared in a class or received via personal communication with someone in a conversation, email, interview, etc., only provide an in-text citation for the source since the communication cannot be accessed by others.
Example: (N. Feng, personal communication, September 24, 2022)
While in-text citations indicate when information is borrowed from a source, citations on the reference page provide readers with all the information needed to locate sources.
Dates are formatted in the following order: year, month day. Omit missing months and/or days. If the year is missing, use n.d., meaning no date.
Example: (2019, May 1)
Author information is formatted with each author’s last name listed first, followed by a comma, and then the author’s first initial(s), followed by a period. Subsequent authors follow the same format with an ampersand (&) before the final author. Note that organizations or corporations can function as authors.
Example (one author): Baron, A. J.
Example (two authors): Baron, A. J., & Keller, B. N.
Example (three authors): Baron, A. J., Keller, B. N., & Cliff, K. S.
Example (21+ authors): List the first 19 authors’ names, insert an ellipsis (. . .), omit the ampersand, then add the final author’s name.
When referring to sources that can stand alone (e.g., books, websites, films), italicize the title and capitalize using sentence case, meaning only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized. For sources that are part of a larger source (e.g., an article in a journal or a chapter in a book), list the source title using sentence case, then capitalize and italicize the title of the larger source using title case, meaning all words are capitalized, except short conjunctions, prepositions, and articles. If there is no title, describe the work in brackets.
Example (book): Publication manual of the American Psychological Association
Example (journal article): The war on cities. The New Yorker.
When citing periodicals (e.g., journals, magazines, newspapers, etc.), italicize volume numbers, place issue numbers in parentheses directly after the volume without a space, and list a page range or article number last.
Example (journal article): 40(1), 5–26
To cite editors of a collection, add their names after the first title. Start with the word in, give the editor(s)’ name(s), then a comma and the title of the work. Use Ed. for one editor and Eds. for multiple editors.
Example (edited collection): Of conversation. In P. Bizzell & B. Herzberg (Eds.), The Rhetorical Tradition.
For editions or volumes of a book, add (# ed., Vol. #) in parentheses after the title.
Example (edited collection): Explanation of social action (2 ed.)
For sources that are updated frequently (e.g., social media websites or online maps), provide an access date. After the word Retrieved, add the date (Month Day, Year), a comma, the word from, and the URL or DOI.
Example: Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://xxxxx
A UniformResource Locator (URL) is a website address that may change. A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is a stable repository for sources. DOIs are preferred over URLs, and if text will be published or read online, links should be live, so readers can easily access the referenced source.
Example (DOI): https://doi.org/10.7771/2832-9414.1009
Author Last Name, Initials. (Description of Role). (Year, Month Day). Title of work [Format]. Publisher. URL
Howard, R. (Director). (2001). A beautiful mind [Film]. Universal Pictures.
Author Last Name, Initials. (Year). Book title (edition, Volume). Publisher. DOI
Craib, I. (2015). Modern social theory (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Author Last Name, Initials. (Publication Year). Title of chapter. In Initials Last Name of Editor & Initials Last Name of Editor (Eds.), Title of book (edition, Volume, pp. pages of section). Publisher. DOI
Arad, G., & Bar-Haim, Y. (2021). Cognitive bias interventions. In A. B. Adler & D. Forbes (Eds.), Anger at work: Prevention, intervention, and treatment in high-risk occupations (pp. 275–301). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000244-010
Author Last Name, Initials., & Author Last Name, Initials. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume#(issue#), pages. DOI
Lazebna, N. & Prykhodko, A. (2021). Digital discourse of English language acquisition. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 17(2), 971–982. https://doi.org/10.52462/jlls.67
Author Last Name, Initials. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper or Magazine, volume#(issue#), pages. DOI
Timiraos, N. (2023, July 30). Why the drivers of lower inflation matter. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-the-drivers-of-lower-
inflation-matter-fe3f165d
Author Last Name, Initials. [@username]. (Year, Month Day). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Image/Link attached] [Type of post]. Site Name. URL
National Park Service [@nationalparkservice]. (2020, March 23). Another satisfied visitor [Image attached] [Post]. Instagram. www.instragram.com/p/Cst0yTUuKKl/?igshid=MzRIODBiNWFIZA
Author Last Name, Initials. (Year). Title of work (Translator Initials, Last Name, Trans.; edition, Volume). Publisher. DOI (Original work published date if known—use ca. [“circa”] for approximate dates)
The Bhagavad Gita (E. Easwaran, Trans.; 2nd ed.). (2019). Nilgiri Press.
Author Last Name, Initials. (Year, Month Day). Webpage title. Site Name. URL
National Institute of Mental Health. (2023, June). Technology and the future of mental health treatment. National Institute of Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/technology-and-the-future-of-mental-health-treatment
