Writing Center: APA Style

The first page of your APA paper should include the following information:

Paper Title

Your Name

Your Department, Maria College

Course Title

Prof. Name

Due Date

Any time you use information or ideas from an outside source, it is important to provide credit to the original author. In APA, this takes the form of in-text citations.

At the minimum, an in-text citation should indicate the author of the source and the publication date. In-text citations can be provided in either narrative or parenthetical form:

• According to Dweck (2014), students with a growth mindset are more resilient in the face of challenges.
• Students with fixed mindsets often "run from difficulty" (Dweck, 2014).

When directly quoting from a source, include a page number or paragraph number:

• In one study, students who learned about growth mindset theory showed "higher levels of motivation" (Blackwell et al., 2007, p. 258).

Citing your sources in the body of your text can be done in several ways, depending on whether the author’s name is used in the sentence as a signal phrase introducing a quote or idea.

In-text citations using the author’s name in the sentence (signal phrase) 

If you use the author’s name to introduce a quote or idea in a text, you will need to put the publication date next to the author’s last name as it occurs in the sentence: 

Ex: According to Bell (2023), citing a source with the author’s name in the sentence is easy.  

Note that the comma, which would be required grammatically for the sentence, is placed AFTER the citation. 

If the sentence includes a direct quote, the citation date will go next to the author’s name, and the page or paragraph number will follow the direct quote. In this example, the quote was found on page 2 of the source: 

Ex: As Bell (2023) stated, “Be sure to look up information on APA style if you aren’t sure” (p. 2). 

If there is no page number, then use the paragraph number: 

Ex: As Bell (2023) stated, “Be sure to look up information on APA style if you aren’t sure” (para. 3). 

Again, note that the period for the sentence comes AFTER the cited page or paragraph number. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: The citation comes right after the quoted material, even if the sentence continues afterwards: 

Ex: Bell (2023) argued that “APA style is easier than some others” (para. 6), such as Chicago or MLA styles. 

In-text citations without using the author’s name in the sentence 

If you do not use the author’s name in the sentence, you will cite the source with the author’s last name and the date of publication in the parentheses: 

Ex: Using citations in APA style is easy, once you practice it (Bell, 2023). 

Note that the period of the sentence comes AFTER the citation. 

Be sure to place the citation next to the information that comes from the source, even if it comes in the middle of the sentence: 

Ex: Using APA style is easy once you get used to using it (Bell, 2023); however, you may need to keep looking up specifics on the style as you write. 

Note that the punctuation for the sentence comes AFTER the citation. 

Citing sources with two authors 

When citing sources that have two authors, cite them with last names separated by an ampersand (&), followed by the date of publication: 

Ex: The Maria College Writing Center is a place to go for information on using APA style (Smith & Bell, 2023). 

However, spell out "and" rather than using the ampersand (&) when using the author’s names in the sentence: 

Ex: Smith and Bell (2023) invited all students to use the Writing Center as a resource. 

Citing sources with three or more authors 

When your source has three or more authors, you simply need to cite the last name of the first author, followed by the words “et al.” (the “al.” has a period after it).  

Ex: Bell et al. (2023) stated that APA style is easy to use. 

APA style is easy to use (Bell et al., 2023). 

Note the verb tense in the first example—it's plural because the “et al.” indicates more authors are present. 

Citing sources with no author 

With sources that have no author listed, either the group that has published the material can be used, or a shortened version of the title of the source can be used:

Example of citations using the group name: 

Purdue Owl (n.d.) stated that organization or governmental names can be used if no author name is given in a source. 

If a source does not have an author name given, use the organization’s name as the author's name (Purdue Owl, n.d.) 

Note: if no date of publication is given, use n.d. (no date) as the date of publication. 

If there is no author or organization name, use the title, or a shortened version of it, as the citation. 

Ex: The APA Style, 7th Edition (2022) stated that the title of a work can be used if no author’s name is given. 

The title of a work can be used if no author’s name is given (APA Style, 7th Ed., 2022). 

Note that the title is italicized. This is because it represents an entire written work, such as a book. An article or story title would be placed in quotation marks instead. 

Citing two or more sources in the same citation 

If you are citing two or more sources within a single citation, each citation goes inside one set of parentheses, separated by semicolons. 

Ex: Citing more than two sources in one citation is simple (Bell, 2023; Smith, 2023). 

Citing indirect sources 

If the source of information is cited in another work that you are using, you can cite the original source in a signal phrase in the sentence and cite the source it was found within in parentheses with the words “as cited in” before the name. 

Ex: Bell (2023, as cited in Smith, 2023) argued that APA style is far easier than Chicago style to use. 

Note that the original publishing date for the original source is given in parentheses, followed by the source that the original was found in.) 

If the original source is not signaled in the sentence, then the citation would look as follows: 

Ex: APA style is far easier to use than Chicago style (Bell, 2020, as cited in Smith, 2023). 

Unknown Author and Unknown Date 

If the author of a source is unknown, then use the first word or two of the title in the citation. 

Ex: When using APA style, it is always good to have an information source on using the style handy (“Using APA,” n.d.). 

Note the punctuation in the citation. The quotation marks indicate that this source is an article and therefore requires quotation marks around it. 

Also, when no publication date is given for a source, put “n.d.” as the date (indicating “no date”).

— Jamaine Bell

You should include any sources you cite in the body of your paper on a separate References page at the end of your paper. While in-text citations typically only include the author and the year, entries on the References page include additional source information. A reference is generally made up of four components:

• Author(s): List authors by last name, followed by first initials
• Publication date: In parentheses, include the year, followed by the month and day if available
• Title: Include the title of the source in "sentence case," with only the first letter and any proper nouns capitalized
• Source information: List additional information, such as the journal title or the publisher, along with the web address if available

The goal of the References page is to provide enough information about each source that your readers could locate the source themselves.

Examples of Common References

Journal Article

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume(issue), pages. doi

Lachner, A., Backfisch, I., Hoogerheide, V., van Gog, T., & Renkl, A. (2020). Timing matters! Explaining between study phases enhances students’ learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(4), 841–853. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000396

Webpage

Author, A. A. (year, month day). Title of webpage. Title of Site. URL

Chandler, N. (2020, April 9). What’s the difference between Sasquatch and Bigfoot? HowStuffWorks. https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/strange-creatures/sasquatch-bigfoot-difference.htm

Book

Author, A. A. (year). Title of book. Publisher. URL

Kaufman, K. A., Glass, C. R., & Pineau, T. R. (2018). Mindful sport performance enhancement: Mental training for athletes and coaches. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000048-000

Formatting References in APA 7

Basics: 

• The references page should start on its own page, after the body of your paper and any figures or tables. 

• The word “References” should be bolded, capitalized, and centered at the top of the page. 

• The entire document should be double spaced. There should only be a double space after the word “References” and between each entry. 

• Entries should be alphabetized. 

• Capitalize ONLY the first word of the title, the first word after a colon, and any proper nouns of titles of books, articles, and webpages. 

• Each entry should be set up with a hanging indent of 0.5". 

• Italicize the titles of longer works, such as books, movies, and edited collections. 

• Do not italicize the titles of shorter works, such as journal articles, short stories, poems, or essays. 

• All major words in the titles of journals, webpages, and book publishers are capitalized.  

• If the publication has no date given, give the designation (n.d.) for the date. 

Reference Format

The general format for each citation follows the following formula (F stands for first initial, S stands for second initial). Determining which parts of the citation get italicized will depend on what type of publication the citation was found in. 

Last name, F. S. (date). Title of article/book. Publisher or webpage. URL or DOI 

• Entries start with the name(s) of the author(s), with last name, first initial, middle initial:

• If there are more than one author, then the names are listed out (up to 20 names), with an ampersand before the last name in the list: 

Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185 

Note the ampersand before the last author’s name and that there are commas between the last name and the initials and between each name. Also note that the last author is followed by a period. 

• If the source has no author listed, then list either the group name or the title of the article/book in the author's place. 

Bureau of International Organization Affairs. (2018). U.S. contributions to international organizations, 2017 [Annual report]. U.S. Department of State. https://www.state.gov/u-s-contributions-to-international-organizations/ 

Tuscan white bean pasta. (2018, February 25). Budgetbytes. https://www.budgetbytes.com/tuscan-white-bean-pasta/ 

• Next, put the date of publication in parentheses, followed by a period. Put the month and date if the source is a newspaper: 

Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to strengthen state energy policies. The Country Today, 1A, 2A. 

• After the date of publication, put the name of the article, book, or webpage, followed by a period. If the title is of a book or longer work, or a webpage, then the title will be italicized. If it is from a story, article, poem, or other shorter work, the title will not be italicized 

Smith, R. I., Jones, W., & Abercrombie, F. (2023). Formatting references using APA 7 is easy. Publisher, Inc.

NOTE that the title only has the first word and the anacronym capitalized. In titles for the reference page, only the first word, the first word after a colon, proper nouns, and anacronyms are capitalized. 

• The name of the publisher follows the title. How the publisher is listed will depend on the type of source it is.  

  • If the source is a book, then the book publisher name will be given and NOT italicized. (Note that the title of the book is italicized.) If a DOI or URL is available, then put that after the name of the publisher. 

Ahmed, S. (2012). On being included: Racism and diversity in institutional life. Duke University Press. 

• If the source is a webpage, then the webpage name is given (without the .com/.org designation) and is also NOT italicized. (Note that the title of the webpage is italicized.) 

Toner, K. (2020, September 24). When Covid-19 hit, he turned his newspaper route into a lifeline for senior citizens. CNN.  https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/04/us/coronavirus-newspaper-deliveryman-groceries-senior-citizens-cnnheroes-trnd/index.html 

• If the source is a journal, then the journal title is listed (fully spelled out, with each main word capitalized), followed by the volume and the issue number, which is in parentheses, followed by the page numbers. The title of the journal and the volume are italicized. The issue number of the journal is not italicized. The page numbers are separated with an en-dash and followed by a period. 

Baniya, S., & Weech, S. (2019). Data and experience design: Negotiating community-oriented digital research with service-learning. Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement, 6(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284316979 

• After the publisher information, put the URL or DOI, if there is one. The URL or DOI should not include a period after it, as the period may interfere with the link. If the source does not have a URL or DOI, then a period will go at the end of the last piece of information given. 

— Jamaine Bell