https://hpu.libguides.com/styleguides/apa
The American Psychological Association created APA style. It is a set of rules for publications used by writers in many disciplines around the world for concise and persuasive scholarly communication, including research papers.
The latest version of the style is the 7th edition, published in 2019.
Note. Source Kermit The Frog Reaction [Gif], 2016, (http://gph.is/1xhfQug).
Your essay should include four major sections: the Title Page, Abstract, Text, and References.
In APA 7th edition, there are differences b/w student and professional papers. Make sure to ask your professors the expectations for your assignment; some professors may request elements that are not required in APA.
Note. From Mom Almost Copy [Gif], by A. Okhtenberg, 2018, Giphy (https://giphy.com/3gTiFkr0fgt9K).
APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and publication year for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Smith, 1999).
If the work does not have an author, cite the source by its title in the signal phrase or use the first word or two in the parentheses. ("Mastering Zotero," 2015).
If there is no date, the abbreviation n.d. may be used eg. (Smith, n.d.)
Two ways of doing author-date citation in the text:
Note: If there is no date, the abbreviation n.d. may be used eg. (Smith, n.d.)
Type of Citation | Parenthetical | Narrative |
---|---|---|
No author Use italics if the work title is in italics in reference list (books). If title is not italicised use double quotations and title case, shorten titles If Anonymoused is used in source use it. |
A book with no author: (Escape rooms, 2020) An article with no author: ("Understanding the Gaming in Education," 2018) (Anonymous, 2020) |
A book with no author: In Escape rooms (2020) there is ... An article with no author: In "Understanding the Gaming in Education" (2018) there is a description... Anonymous (2020) examined… |
Group as author with abbreviation | First citation with full name and abbreviation: (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2019) Subsequent citations: (CDC, 2019) |
First citation with full name and abbreviation: Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2019) Subsequent citations: The CDC (2019) provided … |
Citing multiple works | Alphabetical order (Jones, 2020; Ports of Auckland, 2019; Smith et al., 2020) |
Any order Smith et al. (2020), Jones (2020), and Ports of Auckland (2019) examined ... |
Personal communication Not recoverable. Do not include in the reference list. |
(E. Chapman, personal communication, January 20, 2020) | E. Chapman (personal communication, January 20, 2020) informed me of ... |
For directly quoting, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages). For example, you might write (Smith, 1999, p. 32) or (Smith, 1999, pp. 32–52).
Fewer than 40 words, incorporate it into your paragraph and enclose it in double quotation marks. Place the in-text reference before the full stop.
For directly quoting, if it is an online item and no pages are found. Use the abbreviation “para.” (for paragraph) and count the paragraphs to pinpoint the reader to the exact section.
Quotes that have more than 40 words, include it in an indented, freestanding block of text, without quotation marks. At the end of a block quotation, cite the quoted source and the page number in parentheses, after the final punctuation mark.
Generally, writers should read and cite the original sources rather than secondary sources (works that are cited within the sources). If you cannot access the original source.
Parenthetical Citation
Narattive Citation
APA recommends using direct quotes sporadically; you should be paraphrasing mostly.
To include two or more different resources in one citation, use a semicolon to separate them.
Parenthetical Citation
The license associated with the clip art or stock image determines how it should be credited.
A) Sometimes the license indicates no reference or attribution is needed, in which case writers can reproduce the image without any reference, citation, or attribution in an APA Style paper.
B) Other times, the license indicates that credit is required to reproduce the image, in which case writers should write an APA Style copyright attribution and reference list entry.
A) Image with no attribution required
If the license associated with clip art or a stock image states “no attribution required,” then do not provide an APA Style reference, in-text citation, or copyright attribution.
B) Image that requires an attribution
If the license associated with clip art or a stock image says that attribution is required, then provide a copyright attribution in the figure note and a reference list entry for the image in the reference list. Many (but not all) images with Creative Commons licenses require attribution.
B) Image that requires an attribution
To cite clip art or a stock image without reproducing it, provide an in-text citation for the image instead of a copyright attribution. Also provide a reference list entry.
Note. From Adorable Hamsters [Gif], 2019, Giphy
(https://gph.is/2QE4Z8v).
Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the paper's body.
All APA reference list entries contain four main components: author, date, title, and source. Those components are organized as follows:
Do not include database information for works obtained from most academic research databases. This includes journal articles, books, and book chapters from academic research databases.
Note: APA 7 advises writers to include a DOI (if available), even when using the print source.
Note: If no DOI, use stable URLs that function similarly to DOIs. These are preferable to ordinary URLs copied and pasted from the browser's address bar.
Note: APA 7th edition no longer requires “Retrieved” before URLs. Only in websites that content is designed to change over time.
General copyright dates are not sufficient to use as the publication date. If no creation or publication date is given, use n.d. If the author and website are the same, omit the website.
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of page. Website. http://xxxxx
Author no date
Corporate author
Content changes
over time
B) Image that requires an attribution
If the license associated with clip art or a stock image says that attribution is required, then provide a copyright attribution in the figure note and a reference list entry for the image in the reference list. Many (but not all) images with Creative Commons licenses require attribution.
Also provide a reference list entry for the image. The reference list entry for the image consists of its author, year of publication, title, description in brackets, and source (usually the name of the website and the URL).
Class Materials: Only include a full reference to lecture notes or class materials behind a login screen (such as Blackboard) if you are writing for an audience that will retrieve them. Otherwise, cite it as personal communication.
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of presentation [Lecture notes or PowerPoint slides]. Website. http://xxxxx
Audiovisual media refers to media that contain both audio components, visual components, or a combination of both. In general, the citation style for audiovisual media varies depending on whether the piece stands alone or is part of a larger work.
Director, A. A. (Director). (Year). Title of video [Film]. Production Company.
Host, A. A. (Host). (Year, Month Day). Episode title (No. XX) [Audio podcast episode]. In Title of podcast. Production Company. http://xxxxx
Author, A. A. [username]. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. Website. http://xxxxx
Please note: While the APA manual provides many examples of how to cite common types of sources, it does not provide rules on how to cite all types of sources. Therefore, if you have a source that APA does not include, APA suggests that you find the example that is most similar to your source and use that format.
See page 282 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed.
Note. From Dallas Check this Out [Gif], nd, Giphy
(http://gph.is/1Osd6zN).
Note. Source Struggles [Gif], WoofWagers, (https://gph.is/g/ZkRQXgp).