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APA Style

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, or APA, is a style guide created by the American Psychological Association to establish formatting rules and bring consistency to their publications. Academic disciplines such as psychology, sociology, economics, business, and nursing, typically use APA style. The most recent publication, the 6th edition, was published in 2009 and updated in 2016.

APA Guidelines for Formatting Papers

• The essay should be typed, double spaced in 12-point font size, easy-to-read font (such as Times New Roman) on 8.5-inch by 11-inch paper, with 1-inch margins on all sides.
• Include a title page, with the title (in title case—upper- and lowercase letters) centered in the upper half of the page, with the author’s name and any other relevant information centered below the title.
• Paginate the essay in a header in the right corner of the page, beginning with the title page.
• In a running header in the left corner of the page, include the essay title in all capital letters, beginning with the title page.
• Change underlining to italics. However, some underlining may need to be preserved, depending on the original material.
• Fix commas and periods relative to quotation marks (commas and periods go inside the quotation marks, not outside: “Chapter 1,” rather than “Chapter 1”, for example).
• Use em dashes (—) and ellipses (…) where appropriate, and make consistent.
• Replace hyphens (-) with en dashes (–) where appropriate.
• The second printing of the 6th edition of the APA style guide recommends, but does not require, using two spaces after the end punctuation of a sentence, for ease of readability.
• The reference page should begin on a new page, separate from the essay.

APA General In-Text Citation Rules

It is important to provide a lead-in to source quotations, summaries, or paraphrases in the text, especially the first time the source is used. Lead-ins introduce the sources to the audience and provide a smooth transition from the author’s writing to quotes, summaries, and paraphrases within the text.

When referencing the title of a source in the text, capitalize all words that are four letters long or more in length: Pride and Prejudice. Short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs are exceptions to this rule: Everything Is Illuminated, Brave New World.

Italicize the titles of longer works such as books, movies, anthologies, television series, or albums: American Idol; Anchorman. Put quotation marks around the titles of shorter works within a text, such as journal articles, essays in anthologies, and song titles: “Red”; “Inventing the University.”

In titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word: “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Also capitalize the first word after a colon or dash: The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century.

A Work by a Single Author

If quoting directly from a work, include the author, year of publication, and the page number (preceded by “p.”).

Sedaris (1994) recalls, “We rode round and round the block on our pony, who groaned beneath the collective weight of our rich and overwhelming capacity for love and understanding” (p. 9–10).

“We rode round and round the block on our pony, who groaned beneath the collective weight of our rich and overwhelming capacity for love and understanding” (Sedaris, 1994, p. 9–10).

Block Quotations

Begin quotations longer than 40 words on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin. Place the whole quote, double spaced, in the new margin. The parenthetical citation follows the end punctuation. Do not use quotation marks.

As a builder, Lubbers was tasked to determine the most effective method for ensuring the safety and integrity of structures in a variety of climates. Lubbers’s (2013) study found the following:

The prevailing wind being forecast for January 2 will be from the southwest, and will reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. This wind has the potential to cause significant damage to the current construction. The building should be braced heavily to avoid collapse. (p. 202)

Print Sources

Two Authors

List both authors whenever the work is cited. In the signal phrase, “and” should be used between the authors’ names, while an ampersand should be used in the parentheses.

Research by Collins and Blum (2000) outlines the way socioeconomics and politics outside the university also play a role in instigating the division between “basic” and “normal” writers (p. 14).

Researcher scholars outline the way socioeconomics and politics outside the university also play a role in instigating the division between “basic” and “normal” writers (Collins & Blum, 2000, p. 14).

Three to Five Authors

List all the authors by last name the first time the source is cited. In later citations, use the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” The et in et al. should not be followed by a period.

Ward, Burns, and Baker (1996) note, “The game varied from state to state, town to town, but town ball was the most popular” (p. 4).

(Ward et al., 1996, p. 4)

Six or More Authors

Use the first author’s last name, followed by et al.

Cincotta et al. (1994) assert that the launch of Sputnik expanded the competitive arena between the U.S. and the Soviet Union (p. 68).

Unknown Author

If the author of a source is unknown, cite it using the title in the lead-in, or include an abbreviated version of the title in the parenthetical citation.

A similar study determined that subjects lose time when switching from task to task (“Is Multitasking,” 2001).

Authors with the Same Last Name

Include first initials with the last names to distinguish between the authors.

(R. Jones, 2012; A. Jones, 2003)

Anthology

According to David Bartholomae (1985), students who were less successful at this “invention” were considered basic writers; those who were more successful were not (p. 136).

Encyclopedia/Dictionary Entry

A citation is a “quotation from or reference to a book, paper, or author.” (Citation, 2002).

Indirect Sources

It may be necessary to use a work that has been cited in another source. For such indirect or secondary sources, use “as cited in” to indicate the primary source

According to Harvey Graff, “We do not know what we mean by literacy” (as cited in Lunsford, p. 252).

Electronic Sources

Web Sources

When possible, cite a web document the same as any other document.

Bianchi (2007) suggests […]

If no author or date is given, cite the source using the title in the lead-in, or an abbreviated version of the title in the parenthetical citation, and use the abbreviation “n.d.” (“no date”).

A similar study determined that subjects lost more time when switching from a familiar task to an unfamiliar task (“Is Multitasking,” n.d.).

If no page number is available, include information that will help readers find the material being cited. If the paragraphs are numbered, use “para.” and follow with the paragraph number.

(Hubbard, 2014, para. 3).

Video/Film

Big Fish, directed by Tim Burton, details the extraordinary life of Edward Bloom (2003).

Television

In Criminal Minds, a suspect awakens from a coma with no memory of having committed the crimes of which he is accused (“Tabula Rasa”).

 

APA Reference Page

The reference list, including all sources cited in the text, should appear on a separate page at the end of the text. The reference page should include the title References centered at the top of the page, with no bolding, underlining, italicizing, or quotation marks. All text in the reference section should be double spaced, with no additional spaces between entries.

• Entries should have a hanging indent—all lines after the first line of each entry should be indented 1/2 inch from the left margin.
• Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work.
• For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order, list the entries in chronological order, from earliest to most recent.
• Include the complete journal title, maintaining the capitalization and punctuation used in the original title.
• When referring to books, chapters, articles, or web pages, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns. Do not capitalize the first letter of the second word in a hyphenated compound word.
• Italicize titles of longer works (books, films); do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works (articles, songs).

Single Author

Use the last name, initials format.

Shor, I. (1997). Our Apartheid: Writing instruction and inequality. Journal of Basic Writing, 16(1), 91–104.

Two Authors

List using the last name, initials format and use the ampersand (&) instead of “and.”

Collins, T., & Blum, M. (2000). Meanness and failure: Sanctioning basic writers. Journal of Basic Writing, 19(1), 13–21.

Three to Seven Authors

Use the last name, initials format, separate authors’ names using commas, and precede the final author name with an ampersand.

Rubenstein, J., Meyer, D., & Evans, J. (2001). Executive control of cognitive processes in task switching. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 27(4), 763–797.

More Than Seven Authors

Follow the same rules as a source with three to seven authors, but after the sixth author’s name, use an ellipsis rather than listing authors’ names. Then list the final author name. In other words, there should not be more than seven names listed in the citation.

Barnes, S., Buchanan, W., Chenn, H., Elrick, H., Graham, J. A., King, D., . . . Law, K. (2008). Web site usability for the blind and low-vision user. Image Power: Top Image Experts Share What to Know to Look Your Best. San Francisco, CA: PowerDynamics Publishing.

Two or More Works by the Same Author

Use the last name, initials format for all entries and list the entries by the year, earliest first.

Child, L. (2007).

Child, L. (2010).

Unknown Author

When a source does not include an author’s name, use the source’s title (abbreviated, if the title is long) rather than an author’s name.

Beowulf. (2000). New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Books

For the publication location information, include the city and the two-letter state abbreviation (New York, NY).

Basic Format

Sedaris, D. (1994). Barrel fever. New York, NY: Little, Brown.

Author with an Editor

Fielding, H. (1973). Tom Jones. S. Baker (Ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Editor as Author

Hart, J. (Ed.). (2003). Che: The life, death, and afterlife of a revolutionary. New York, NY: Thunder’s Mouth Press.

Author with a Translator

Gide, A. (1953). Lafcadio’s adventures. (D. Bussy, Trans.). New York, NY: Vintage Books. (Original work published 1914).

Work in an Anthology

Bartholomae, D. (1985). Inventing the university. In M. Rose (Ed.), When a writer can’t write (pp. 134–165). New York, NY: Guilford.

Encyclopedia/Dictionary Entry

Citation. (2002). In The shorter Oxford English dictionary (5th ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

 

Periodicals

Authors are listed in last name, initial format, followed by the publication year in parentheses. The title of the article is in sentence case (only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized, with the exception of any proper nouns in the title). The title of the periodical is in title case and is followed by the volume number, both of which are in italics.

Article in a Magazine

Miller, J. (2008, September 2). The tyranny of the test: One year as a Kaplan coach in the public schools. Harper’s Magazine, 35–46.

Article in a Newspaper

Precede page numbers with p. (for a single page) or pp. (for more than one page).

Timson, J. (2001, August 7). Stop all that multitasking, study suggests. The Toronto Star, p. E2.

Article in Journal Paginated by Issue

Because journals paginated by issue, begin with page one for each issue, and include the issue number in the citation. The parentheses and issue number are not italicized or underlined.

Collins. T., & Blum, M. (2000). Meanness and failure: Sanctioning basic writers. Journal of Basic Writing, 19(1), 13–21.

Article in Journal Paginated by Volume

Journals paginated by volume begin with page one in issue one, and page numbers continue in issue two where issue one left off. Therefore, it is not necessary to include an issue number.

Sledd, A. (1998). Readin’ not riotin’: The politics of literacy. College English, 50, 495–508.

Electronic Sources

Follow the same guidelines for printed articles, and include all available relevant information. Because websites are often updated and the same information may not be available later, the DOI should be used rather than the URL whenever possible.

Website

National Public Radio. (2014, January). Morning edition. Retrieved from NPR website http://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/

Web Page

Abdullah, M. H. (2004, October). The impact of electronic communication on writing. ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication. Retrieved from http://www.ericdigests.org/2004-1/impact.htm

Online Book

Austen, J. (1813). Pride and prejudice. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=3381939

Article from an Online Magazine

Remnick, D. (2014, April 28). Putin and the exile. New Yorker. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2014/04/28/140428taco_talk_remnick

Article from an Online Periodical

Soliday, M. (1996). From the margins to the mainstream: Reconceiving remediation. College Composition and Communication, 47(1). Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/358275

Video/Film

Cohen, B., Zanuck, R., & Jinks, D. (Producers), & Burton, T. (Director). (2003). Big fish [Motion picture]. USA: Sony Home Pictures Entertainment.

Broadcast Program

Goor, D. & Schur, M. (Writers), & Whittingham, K. (Director). (2014, March 19). Unsolvable. Brooklyn nine-nine. [Television series]. In D. Goor & M. Schur (Producers). Los Angeles, CA: NBCUniversal Television Distribution.

Television Episode

Davis, J., Sworkin, D., & Beattie, J. (Writers), & Boyum, S. (Director). (2008).  Tabula rasa [Television series episode]. In E. A. Bernero (Producer), Criminal minds. Los Angeles, CA: Paramount.

Music or Sound Recording

Howard, T., Lambert, M., & Monroe, A. (2009). Heart like mine [Recorded by Miranda   Lambert]. On Revolution [CD]. Nashville, TN: Columbia Nashville.