how to cite apa

To cite in APA (7th edition), you use an author–date system in the text and give full details on a reference list at the end.

Quick Scoop: The Basics

In-text citations use the author’s last name and year: (Smith,2020)(Smith,2020)(Smith,2020).

Every in-text citation must match a reference list entry, and every reference list entry should be cited in the text.

For direct quotes, add a page or locator: (Smith,2020,p.14)(Smith,2020,p.14)(Smith,2020,p.14).

In‑Text Citations (APA Style)

1. Paraphrasing

Use author + year.

Parenthetical: “Students often struggle with referencing” (Jones,2019)(Jones,2019)(Jones,2019).

Narrative: Jones (2019) argued that students often struggle with referencing.

If there are two authors: (Jones&Lee,2021).

Three or more authors: (Garciaetal.,2022).

2. Direct Quotations

Include author, year, and page (or other locator).

Parenthetical: “Referencing is a learned skill” (Smith,2020,p.170).

Narrative: Smith (2020) wrote that “referencing is a learned skill” (p. 170).

For multiple pages, use “pp.”: (Smith,2020,pp.10–12).

Reference List: Core Rules

Your reference list appears on a new page titled References , centered and in bold, right after the main text.

Key formatting:

Double spaced throughout, including between entries.

Hanging indent of about 0.5 inch for each entry.

Entries in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name.

Use a consistent readable font (e.g., Times New Roman 12, Arial 11).

Common APA Reference Formats

Below is an HTML table so you can reuse it directly if needed.

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Source type</th>
      <th>Basic APA 7 format</th>
      <th>Example</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Journal article (online, no DOI)</td>
      <td>Author, A. A., &amp; Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. <i>Title of the Journal</i>, volume(issue), page–page.</td>
      <td>Smith, J. A., &amp; Lee, R. T. (2020). Referencing practices in higher education. <i>Journal of Academic Writing</i>, 15(2), 45–60.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Book</td>
      <td>Author, A. A. (Year). <i>Title of the book</i>. Publisher.</td>
      <td>Jones, M. K. (2019). <i>Writing for university success</i>. StudyPress.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Chapter in edited book</td>
      <td>Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), <i>Title of the book</i> (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.</td>
      <td>Brown, L. S. (2021). Teaching citation skills. In P. Green (Ed.), <i>Innovations in academic writing</i> (pp. 75–94). Academic Press.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Webpage</td>
      <td>Author, A. A. or Group. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. <i>Website Name</i>. URL</td>
      <td>University Library. (2023, May 5). APA 7th citation guide. <i>University Library Guides</i>. https://www.example.com</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>News or magazine article online</td>
      <td>Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of the article. <i>Title of Newspaper or Magazine</i>. URL</td>
      <td>Dewey, C. (2017, December 1). London plans to ban fast-food outlets near schools. <i>Washington Post</i>. https://www.example.com</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Tweet</td>
      <td>Lastname, F. M. or Group [@username]. (Year, Month Day). <i>Content of the post up to 20 words</i> [Tweet]. Site Name. URL</td>
      <td>World Health Organization [@WHO]. (2020, March 11). <i>We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic</i> [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/WHO/status/example</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Facebook or similar post</td>
      <td>Lastname, F. M. or Group. (Year, Month Day). <i>Content of the post up to 20 words</i> [Type of post]. Site Name. URL</td>
      <td>City Library. (2022, August 15). <i>We are excited to open our new study hub next week</i> [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/example</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

These patterns match widely used APA examples for books, articles, web, and social media.

Step‑by‑Step: Citing a Webpage in APA

Imagine you’re citing an online guide to APA style.

Find the author
- If a personal author is listed, use their last name and initials; otherwise, use the group or organization name.

Find the date
- Use year, month, and day when available; if only the year is available, use that.

Copy the title of the page
- Use sentence case (only the first word and proper nouns capitalized).

Find the site name
- Often the organization or platform (e.g., “Purdue OWL”).

Copy the URL
- Use the full, working URL without a period after it.

Assemble the reference
- Example structure:
  - Organization Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL

Add an in‑text citation
- Parenthetical: (OrganizationName,Year).

 * Narrative: Organization Name (Year) explains that …

In‑Text vs. Reference List (At a Glance)

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Element</th>
      <th>In-text citation</th>
      <th>Reference list entry</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Purpose</td>
      <td>Brief pointer to the source inside your paragraph.</td>
      <td>Full details so readers can locate the source.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Typical content</td>
      <td>Author + year + (page/locator for quotes).</td>
      <td>Author, year, title, source information, URL/DOI where relevant.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Example (article)</td>
      <td>(Smith, 2020, p. 170)</td>
      <td>Smith, J. A. (2020). Referencing practices in higher education. <i>Journal of Academic Writing</i>, 15(2), 45–60.</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

These patterns follow the author–date model described in modern APA 7 resources.

Little Story: A “Night Before Deadline” APA Fix

Picture a student the night before a deadline: they’ve written a solid paper but haven’t cited anything yet. They quickly plug sources into a citation generator, paste the results, and assume they’re done. Next day, the instructor circles multiple references in red—not because the sources are wrong, but because:

The in-text citations don’t match the reference list.
Titles use the wrong capitalization.
Social media posts are cited like simple web pages.

A quick check against a clear APA guide—verifying author, date, title style, and source type—would have fixed these issues in minutes and probably gained a chunk of easy marks.

Where to Double‑Check Yourself

If you want to ensure you’re aligned with up‑to‑date APA 7 practices, you can:

Compare your citations with a university APA quick guide (especially for in‑text rules and examples).

Use an APA‑style tutorial or generator, but always proofread and adjust punctuation, capitalization, and italics.

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