The following guidelines are based on information found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Ed. Paper Format Always check with your instructor to see if he or she has any different requirements or specifications for your paper. - Margins should be at minimum of 1" (one inch) on all sides.
- Preferred typefaces: Times New Roman, 12pt; Courier, 12pt; all serif typeface.
- Pages are numbered 1, 2, 3... starting with the title page, and including the reference page.
- Each page must have a header consisting of one or two words of your title and the page number in the top right-hand corner.
- All lines including titles and subtitles must be double spaced.
- The only time a triple space is used is directly after the running head.
- In-text citations of more than 40 words should be indented 10 spaces without quotation marks.
- Do not give the first line an additional indent.
- Order of the paper should be: title page, text (body), and references.
- For more complicated paper, please visit English Works! for further assistance.
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In-Text Citations Citations for Most Written Sources APA guidelines require that the writer give credit for ALL information whether it be a direct quote or a paraphrase. Generally, you are required to give the following information: author, year of publication, and page number for any direct quote. For paraphrases, you are only required to give the author and year of publication, though it is suggested that you also provide the page number. You should use p. (or pp. for multiple pages) before the page numbers in in-text citations. | Direct Quote | "Apes can gesture, but do not understand the grammatical structure of American Sign Language" (Smith, 1994, p. 345). | | Paraphrase | It has been shown that apes do not actually understand the syntax and structure of ASL (Smith, 1994, p. 345). |
If there is no publication date, cite the author’s last name followed by a comma and n.d. (for no date). | Direct Quote from a source with no publication date | "Doctors have been prescribing a new drug to treat social anxiety" (Geraldi, n.d., p. 24). |
If you include the author's name as part of the sentence, just give the year in parenthesis directly after the author's name, and put the page number in parenthesis after the quote. | Direct Quote with author's name in the sentence | According to Jack Gannon (1988), "The protest provided a wonderful opportunity for those interpreters to assist the deaf community" (p. 94). | | Paraphrase with author's name in the sentence | Jack Gannon (1988) explained that the DPN protest gave interpreters a chance to help Gallaudet's deaf community (p. 94). |
If you include the author's name and date of publication as part of the sentence in which you use a direct quote, you should put the page number in parenthesis after the quote. If you include the author's name and date as part of a paraphrased sentence, you don't have to put anything additional in parenthesis. You can, if you chose to, provide the page number after the paraphrased information, but the page number is not required. | Direct Quote with author's name and date in the sentence | In 1988, Jack Gannon explained that "the protest provided a wonderful opportunity for those interpreters to assist the deaf community" (p. 94). | | Paraphrase with author's name and date in the sentence | In 1988, Jack Gannon explained that the DPN protest gave interpreters a chance to help Gallaudet's deaf community (p. 94). |
If you refer to the same text more than once within one paragraph, give the author's name, date, and page number only the first time you cite the source. After the first time, just give the author's name and page number (if it is different from the prior page number). If you cite the same text in two different paragraphs, you need to include the full reference information in both paragraphs. | First reference to a source | "Gallaudet's Deaf community earned the respect of deaf communities around the world during their 1988 DPN Protest" (Harding, 1988, p. 86) | | Later reference to the same source (in the same paragraph) | "Deaf people deserve the right to determine their own leaders, just as hearing people have the right to chose theirs" (Harding, p. 87). |
If you are using several different works to illustrate one point, you may find it necessary to cite two or more works written by different authors with different dates. In that situation, organize the information alphabetically by the authors' last names, and separate each block of information with a semicolon. Put all the names inside one set of parenthesis. | Citing several different works by different authors at one time | Several studies (Burna, 1980; Geraldi, 1988; Kesser & Morals, 1990) indicate that the cure for the common cold is just around the corner. |
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Multiple Authors When a source has two authors, you should give both last names. Within the parenthetical citation, use & between the authors' names. If you use their names in the sentence, just write out and between their names. | Source with two authors | The Oxford English Dictionary was written "specifically for learners of English as a foreign or second language" (Hornby & Ruse, 1976, p. 82). | | Source with two authors -- with authors' names in the sentence | Hornby and Ruse (1976) explain that the Oxford English Dictionary was designed to be used mostly by new English users (p. 82). |
When a source has three, four or five authors, cite all the authors’ last names and the year the first time the reference occurs. For later references to the same source in the same paragraph, cite only the first author’s last name followed by et al. You do not need the year if it is in the same paragraph as the prior reference. If it is a repeated reference in a separate paragraph, cite the first author's last name followed by et al. and the year | Source with 3-5 authors, a first reference | "Scientists are tying to find a cure for the common cold" (Juneston, Craig, & Carter, 1993, p. 220). | | Same source, a later reference, same paragraph | "There are thousands of different viruses that cause what we refer to as 'the common cold'" (Juneston, et al., p. 223). | | Same source, a later reference, different paragraph | "Most of these viruses are not treatable with current antibiotic medications" (Juneston, et al., 1993, p. 223). |
If a source has 6 or more authors, use the first author's name, et al., the date and page number. | Source with 6 or more authors | "U.S. Congressmen are obsessed with getting re-elected and not concerned enough with making a real difference for their constituents" (Harris, et al., 1997, p. 76). | | Source with 6 or more authors -- with the author's name in sentence | Harris, et al. (1997) argue that the United State Congress is too focused on getting re-elected and not focused enough on meeting their constituents' needs (p. 76). |
To cite a group author (e.g. association, organization, or government agency) you should spell out the full name for the first reference, give the abbreviation that you will use in brackets ([ ]), then use the abbreviation for later references. | Group author -- first reference | "Some people have adverse reactions to the flu shot, such as vomiting, fever, and rashes" (National Institute of Health [NIH], 1999). | | Group author -- later reference | "The flu shots can only protect people against last year's strand of flu viruses" (NIH, 1999). |
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Citations for Interviews and Personal Communication Personal interviews and personal communications (email, group discussions, electronic bulletin boards, telephone conversations) are NOT mentioned at the end of the paper on the list of references. However, they are cited in-text throughout the paper. For personal communication, you should give the author's full name (first and middle initials followed by last name), the kind of communication, followed by the date of communication. | Personal Communication 1 | Survivors of the accident gave credit to the team of trained dogs for their rescue (K.L. Myers, personal interview, April 18, 1994). | | Personal Communication 2 | "Parental involvement in a child's education is invaluable" (J. Meyers, TTY conversation, June 14, 1989). | | Personal Communication 3 | "Parents should always know what their child's homework assignments are" (T. Geoffreys, personal email, September 18, 2000). |
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Citations for Works with No Authors If there is a work with no author named, cite the first few words of the title. Use quotation marks around the title of an article or chapter; italicize the title of a book, brochure, or report. | Unsigned Article | Many students become sick their first year of college, as they are introduced to entirely different germs ("Test Results," 1982, p. 63). | | Unsigned Book | "Students will hopefully be able to form a bond with their first year roommate, as this can be a friendship that lasts them through life" (College Bound Seniors, 1979, p. 47). |
If the author is listed as "Anonymous," cite the word Anonymous followed by a comma and the date. | Source by Anonymous | Many people who are affected by stress are not even aware of the impact it has on their life (Anonymous, 2000). |
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Secondary Sources If you are reading one source, and it refers to something from another source, you need to reflect that in your in-text citations. For example, if you read a book by Greenwood, and Greenwood referred to a study by Breen (but you did not read Breen's study yourself), then you need to cite your source as follows: | Work discussed in a secondary source | Breen's study of early childhood language acquisition (as cited in Greenwood, 1998) shows that important language learning happens before the age of five. |
(Note: On your reference page, you only need to reference the work that you actually read). back to top
Electronic Source Citations For in text web citations, follow the author/year format, if the author and date are available. For quotations, give page numbers or paragraph numbers (where there are no page numbers). Use either ¶ or para. as an abbreviation for paragraph. If page or paragraph numbers are not available, they can be omitted from the in-text citation. | Electronic Sources -- direct quote (1) | "Allergies may be caused by dust, dust mites, pollen, or mold" (Kendal, 2000, ¶ 4). | | Electronic Sources -- direct quote (2) | "Allergies may be caused by dust, dust mites, pollen, or mold" (Kendal, 2000, para. 4). | | Electronic Sources -- paraphrase | People with allergies are usually affected by dust, pollen, or mold (Kendal, 2000). |
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Quotes of 40 Words or More If your quote is more than 40 words, indent 5 spaces on a separate line and then begin the quote. Continue the double space rule. Do not use quotation marks. Gallaudet University received a lot of publicity during the 1988 DPN Rallies. It was a time when deaf people learned about the strength of their community. According to Jack Gannon (1989):
| The student protest that shut down Gallaudet University the week of March 6-13, 1988, accomplished far more than just the selection of the world's first deaf university president. It proved, convincingly, that deaf people could band together effectively for a common cause and succeed. The protest experiences taught deaf people about the needs and values of being more assertive. (p. 15) |
It also reaffirmed that the deaf population has a voice worth listening to, and that they will fight to be heard by Gallaudet's Board of Trustees. |
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Reference Format You can check for more information about listing references on pages 215-282 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Fifth Edition, 2001). To see an example of an APA style reference page, visit our APA Style Sample References. Placement of the List: - Your reference list should be on a separate page, numbered sequentially with the rest of the paper. It should come after Notes pages, if there are any.
- You should title the reference list page, References.
Spacing and Organization: - Each entry should start on a new line.
- The references must be listed in alphabetical order, by author's last name, or by first significant word of the article title (if no author).
- Do not indent the first line, but the second line, and thereafter must be indented five spaces. (In a word-processing software such as Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect, you can use what is commonly called a "hanging indent" under 'Format, Paragraph'.)
- Use one space after a colon, comma, semicolon or period. Use one space after any sentence-ending punctuation.
Information and Punctuation: - When writing authors' names, use the author's last name, first initial, and middle initial, if any.
- If there is more than one author, use an ampersand (&) before the last author's name.
- Place date of publication in parenthesis after the name information (If there is no available date, put n.d. in parenthesis after the name information).
- For book and article titles, capitalize only the first word of the title, and the first word after a colon.
- Italicize the title of longer works, like books, magazines, newspapers, periodicals or journals that contain the cited articles.
- Include volume numbers as part of the title. (If you cannot italicize, use underlines.)
- Do not underline, italicize, or put quotes around titles of shorter works, like article titles.
- Do not abbreviate publication months; write out the full month name.
- Use the abbreviation p. or pp. before newspaper page numbers only. Do not use p. or pp. before page numbers for magazines, journals, or books.
- List all pages used, even if they are not continuous (32, 46-47).
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References for Books For books, there are four main parts to the reference: - author
- (year of publication)
- title of the book
- publication information (place of publication: publisher).
Each of the four parts ends with a period followed by a space. The second line (and subsequent lines) of each entry is indented 5 spaces. (Also you can use the "hanging indent" feature in your word-processing software.) | Book, one (1) author | Clone, J.E. (1991). Learner’s grammar review. Washington, DC: American Educational System. | | Book, two (2) authors | Carrey, A., & Hollis, F. (1989). Fish and underwater life. Boston: Big Press. | | Book, three (3) authors | Carrey, A., Hollis, F., & Katerdunk, S. (1990). Early water experience. New York: Howard Press. | | Book, more than 3 authors | Elliot, C., Harvey, K., Silverman, E., & Mudd, J. (2000). Fighting the winter blues. Philadelphia: Made-Up Press. | | Book, no author named | Writing strategies for first time writers (6th ed.). (1998). Springfield, IL: Writers Association. | | Edited book | Giblets, K.N., & Homey, J.N. (Eds.). (1993). Children behaviors: Behavior modifications and interventions. San Francisco: Jonessy-Blithum. |
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References for Articles Citations for periodical articles have four main parts: - author.
- (date of publication). -- most magazine and newspaper articles, you should use the year followed by a comma and the month. If it is a daily publication, you should also include the day.
- title of the article.
- publication information. -- (generally the periodical title, volume number, and page number). The volume number should be a part of the periodical title. Use pp. or p. before the page numbers for newspaper and encyclopedia articles only.
| Journal Article | Buman, J.A. (1993). Finding ways to overcome college stress. Stress Reliever, 24, 12-16. | | Magazine Article | Posher, N.I. (1992, October 24). How to budget your finances wisely. Money Wise, 432, 13-17. | | Newspaper Article | Celtan, B. E. (1996, Spring). Gas prices expected to increase. Washington Outlook, 14, pp. 4-5. | | Newspaper Article, no author | Diet rites. (1997, August/September). Health Wise Editor, 3, pp. 1-2. | | Encyclopedia or Dictionary Entry | Statton. B. (Ed.). (1983). Idioms. The dictionary of deaf culture (4th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 142-156). Washington: Deaf Press. |
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Electronic Sources The rules surrounding electronic media are still developing. You should check with your professor to be sure he/she will accept the following format. APA format currently requires that you make a "retrieval statement" that identifies the date of retrieval and the source (DIALOG, WESTLAW, Electric Library), followed by the name of the specific database used and any other information that is necessary to find the article. For World Wide Web sites, you should give the current URL address that points to the website. For most articles from electronic sources, there are six main parts to the reference: - author -- write the last name followed by a comma, then the first and middle initials each followed by a period
- (date of publication) -- for most electronic sources, this should be the date it was made available on the internet, including year, month and day (if available)
- title of the article.
- title of book, magazine, newspaper, periodical or journal (if applicable)
- publication information -- this generally includes the city of publication and publisher
- If there is a city of publication, but no publisher, simply write "Author" for the publisher name.
- retrieval information -- (date of retrieval, world wide web or database address)
| Internet article, one author, with city of publication and publisher | Harris, P.K. (1998, July 14). The young generation. Seattle: Coastal University. Retrieved June 5, 2000, from http://www.coastaluniversity.edu/younggen | | Internet article, one author, with city of publication, no publisher | Pruzzles, T. P. (1999, October 12). Farewell J.F.K., Jr. Washington, DC: Author. Retreived October 1, 2000, from http://www.inmemory.com/~pruzzles/jfkjr.html | | Internet article, no author, with city of publication and publisher | Juror’s perceptions of the justice system. (1999, November 19). Washington, DC: American Justice. Retrieved June 9, 2000, from http://www.armericanjustice.org | | Internet article, group author, with city of publication, no publisher | Central Intelligence Agency. (2000, March 14). Keeping our computers safe. Cryptology. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved June 10, 2000, from http://www.cia.com/cryptology | | Internet article, group author, no city of publication, no publisher | The International Cooking School. (2000, April 5). High protein meals, 13, 1202-1273. Retrieved September 14, 2000, from EFTWORK database. | | Internet article, one author, no publication date, no city of publication, no publisher. | Fisher, H. (n.d.). The best way to entertain your cat. Cats are fun. Retrieved August 4, 2000, from http://www.catsarefun.com/entertain |
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Nonprint Media Sources For most nonprint media, there are six main parts to the reference: - writer/director/producer's last name followed by a comma, then the first initial followed by a period.
- in parenthesis, write the person's title (producer, director, writer) followed by a period.
- (date of publication). -- this should be the year it was produced and released to the public.
- title of media [type of media].
- publication information. -- this generally includes the city of publication and publisher.
| Film (Motion Picture) | Redford, R. (Director). (1980). Ordinary people [Motion Picture]. Los Angeles: Paramount. | | Television Broadcast | Holdt, D. (Executive Producer). (1997, October 11). A River at High Summer: The St. Lawrence [Televison broadcast]. Boston: Public Broadcasing Service. | | Cassette | Lake, F.L. (Author and speaker). (1989). Bias and organizational decision making [Cassette]. Gainesville: Edwards. | | Musical recording | Barber, S. (1995). Cello Sonata. On Barber [CD]. New York: EMI Records Ltd. |
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You can visit the following links for more information:
Web Extension to American Psychological Association Style (WEAPAS)
APA Style.org |
