APA Style
This guide contains examples of common citation formats in APA (American Psychological Association) Style, based on the sixth edition (2009) of the Publication Manual. APA style is commonly used in the social sciences.
For information on the seventh edition (2020), see the APA Quick Guide to the seventh edition.
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Questions about APA Style? Ask a Librarian!
For more information about APA Style, use the following resources.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 6th Edition by Call Number: BF76.7.P83 2010Publication Date: 2010In addition to providing guidance on grammar, the mechanics of writing, and APA style, this manual offers an authoritative reference and citation system. It also covers the treatment of numbers, statistical and mathematical data, tables and figures.
- Frequently Asked Questions from the APA websiteQuick answers to common questions about using APA style, including questions about formatting, headings, title page, etc.
Articles
Note: Citations with more than one line of text should have a hanging indent of 1/2 inch or 5 spaces.
Important Elements:
- Author (last name, initials only for first & middle names)
- Date of publication of article (year and month for monthly publications; year, month and day for daily or weekly publications)
- Title of article (capitalize only the first word of title and subtitle, and proper nouns)
- Title of publication in italics (i.e., Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Newsweek, New York Times)
- Volume number in italics and issue number, if given
- Page numbers of article
- For articles retrieved online, include URL or DOI, if available
Article in a monthly magazine:
Swedin, E. G. (2006, May/June). Designing babies: A eugenics race with China? The Futurist, 40, 18-21.
Article in an online magazine:
Romm, J. (2008, February 27). The cold truth about climate change. Salon.com. Retrieved from http://www.salon.com/2008/02/27/global_warming_deniers/
Article in a weekly magazine:
Will, G. F. (2004, July 5). Waging war on Wal-Mart. Newsweek, 144, 64.
Article in a daily newspaper:
Dougherty, R. (2006, January 11). Jury convicts man in drunk driving death. Centre Daily Times, p. 1A.
Article in a scholarly journal with DOI:
Blattner, J., & Bacigalupo, A. (2007). Using emotional intelligence to develop executive leadership and team and organizational development. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 59(3), 209-219. doi:10.1037/1065-9293.59.3.209
Book Review:
Rifkind, D. (2005, April 10). Breaking their vows. [Review of the book The mermaid chair, by S.M. Kidd]. Washington Post, p. T6.
Annotated Bibliographies
- Annotated Bibliography Information (Purdue OWL)What are they? How to write an annotation and examples.