Chapter 22: Using APA Style

How do I cite sources within the text of my document?

How do I prepare the references list?

image American Psychological Association (APA) style, used primarily in the social sciences and in some of the natural sciences, emphasizes the author(s) and publication date of a source. Writers who use the APA documentation system cite, or formally acknowledge, information within their text using parentheses and provide a list of sources, called a references list, at the end of their document.

To see student essays formatted and documented in APA style, use one of the following examples in Part Two:

Ellen Page, To Spray or Not to Spray: The Issue of DDT Use for Indoor Residual Spraying

Ali Bizzul, Living (and Dying) Large

Dwight Haynes, Making Better Choices: Two Approaches to Reducing College Drinking

For more information about APA style, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition. Information about this publication can be found on the APA Web site at www.apa.org.

CITATIONS WITHIN YOUR TEXT
  1. Basic format for a source named in your text
  2. Basic format for a source not named in your text
  3. Two authors
  4. Three, four, or five authors
  5. Six or more authors
  6. Corporate, group, or government author
  7. Unknown author
  1. Two or more works by the same author in the same year
  2. Two or more authors with the same last name
  3. Two or more works cited together
  4. Source cited in another source
  5. Source with no page numbers
  6. E-mail, letters, and other personal communication
  7. Web site

ENTRIES IN YOUR REFERENCES LIST

image PRINT BOOKS

  1. One author
  2. Two or more authors
  3. Corporate or group author
  4. Unknown author
  5. Two or more books by the same author(s)
  6. Translated book
  7. Edition other than the first
  8. Author with an editor
  9. Work in an edited collection or anthology, including a foreword, introduction, preface, or afterword
  10. Sacred text
  11. Dissertation or thesis
  12. Two or more sources by the same author in the same year

image SOURCES IN PRINT JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, AND NEWSPAPERS

  1. Article in a journal paginated by volume
  2. Article in a journal paginated by issue
  3. Article in a magazine
  4. Article in a newspaper
  5. Unsigned article
  6. Editorial
  7. Letter to the editor
  8. Review

image PRINT REFERENCE WORKS

  1. Entry in an encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, handbook, or almanac
  2. Government publication
  3. Brochure or pamphlet

image FIELD SOURCES

  1. Personal interview
  2. Unpublished survey data
  3. Unpublished letter
  4. Lecture or public address

image MEDIA SOURCES

  1. Film or video recording
  2. Television or radio program
  3. Sound recording

image ELECTRONIC SOURCES

  1. Article with a DOI
  2. Article without a DOI
  3. Online periodical article
  4. Web document
  5. Online book
  6. E-mail message or real-time communication
  7. Message posted to a newsgroup, electronic mailing list, or online discussion forum
  8. Article or page on a wiki
  9. Blog
  10. Podcast
  11. Online video post
  12. Computer software or game

image OTHER SOURCES

  1. General advice about other sources