Insert an in-text citation APA (the author’s surname and the date of publication within parentheses) straight after a direct quote Insert an in-text citation at the end of the sentence when the author’s name is not included in the narrative of the sentence
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APA (American Psychological Association) style is most frequently used within the social sciences, in order to cite various sources. This APA Citation Guide provides the general format for in-text citations and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed.
The basic elements needed for an in-text citation are the author’s surname and the publication year. Sometimes, page numbers are also included, especially when quotes are mentioned in the text. In-text citations are mentioned in the text in two ways: as a narrative citation or a parenthetical citation.
Reference list entries are also called full citations. There are four main details that most reference list entries have:
How to cite from social media. As social media posts are usually untitled, use the first 20 words of the post, in italics, as a title. Also include any relevant information about the type of post and any multimedia aspects (e.g. videos, images, sound, links) in square brackets. Last name, Initials.
Websites with no date. When a web page or article does not list a publication or revision date, replace the date with “n.d.” (“no date”) in all citations. If an online source is likely to change over time, it is recommended to include the date on which you accessed it. Format.
When a web page does not list an individual author, it can usually be attributed to an organization or government. If this results in the author name being identical to the site name, omit the site name, as in the example below.
When you quote or paraphrase a specific passage from a source, you need to indicate the location of the passage in your in-text citation . If there are no page numbers (e.g. when citing a website) but the text is long, you can instead use section headings, paragraph numbers, or a combination of the two:
When no individual author name is listed, but the source can clearly be attributed to a specific organization—e.g. a press release by a charity, a report by an agency, or a page from a company’s website—use the organization’s name as the author in the reference entry and in-text citations.
When you refer to a website in your text without quoting or paraphrasing from a specific part of it, you don’t need a formal citation. Instead, you can just include the URL in parentheses after the name of the site:
For this kind of citation, you don’t need to include the website on the reference page. However, if you’re citing a specific page or article from a website, you will need a formal in-text citation and reference list entry.
APA is an author–date referencing system. Whenever you cite a source, then, you should include the author’s surname and the publication date.
Manuals and handbooks are referenced using the following format in APA style:
Hopefully, you’re now ready to cite manuals and handbooks in your academic writing. If you’d like an APA expert to check your reference list, though, our proofreaders can help. Use this link to send us your first 500 words for free.
A professional paper should include the author note beneath the institutional affiliation, in the bottom half of the title page.
APA recommends that your title be focused and succinct and that it should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no purpose. Your title may take up one or two lines. All text on the title page, and throughout your paper, should be double-spaced.
Note: APA 7 provides slightly different directions for formatting the title pages of professional papers (e.g., those intended for scholarly publication) and student papers (e.g., those turned in for credit in a high school or college course).
The 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual requires that the chosen font be accessible (i.e., legible ) to all readers and that it be used consistently throughout the paper. It acknowledges that many font choices are legitimate, and it advises writers to check with their publishers, instructors, or institutions for guidance in cases of uncertainty.
The title page should contain the title of the paper, the author's name, and the institutional affiliation. A professional paper should also include the author note. A student paper should also include the course number and name, instructor name, and assignment due date.
Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here.
In other words, a professional paper's title page will include the title of the paper flush left in all capitals and the page number flush right, while a student paper will only contain the page number flush right.
To cite a TED Talk from the TED site, list the speaker as author, give the date listed on the site, include “Video” in square brackets after the title, list the publisher as “TED Conferences,” and give the URL. Format.
Timestamps are used in place of page numbers when you need your in-text citation to identify a specific moment in the talk —for example, when you quote something the speaker said.