Chi Nguyen, Ph.D.

The Present Writer’s video on APA citation

APA CITATION RESOURCES

1. Official APA Guidelines

· The APA Manual (7th Edition): Simplified guidelines are available on the second
cover page.
· The website: https://apastyle.apa.org/: More APA resources

2. Purdue OWL (Perdue Online Writing Lab)

· Main website: https://owl.purdue.edu/
· APA resources:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_g
uide/general_format.html Purdue OWL categorizes major areas within the APA
guidelines and provides example for each citation style. This website is very good for
quick searches on APA.

3. Google
· Google it!: If you have any question about APA, simply Google with the keyword:
“APA style.” For example: “how to cite unpublished dissertation APA style.” Make sure
to use updated resources with the latest APA version.
· Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/): Once you locate a specific article on
Google Scholar, use the quotation mark (“) below the article’s description to find its APA
citation. Be sure to double check before copying the citation.

4. Software/Program
· Microsoft Word: APA citations are available on the “References” tab
· Other citation programs: Mendeley, Zotero, Refworks, Endnote…

5. Recite
· Website: https://reciteworks.com/
· “Recite checks that your in-text citations match the reference list at the end of your
work”
Chi Nguyen, Ph.D. The Present Writer’s video on APA citation

APA CITATION COMMON MISTAKES

1. Capitalize every word in the title in the reference list

· Capitalize only the first word (and proper nouns, initials, acronyms)
· Example:
Correct: Quinn, R., & Nguyen, C. (2017). Immigrant youth organizing as civic
preparation. American Educational Research Journal, 54(5), 972-1005.

Incorrect: Quinn, R., & Nguyen, C. (2017). Immigrant Youth Organizing as Civic
Preparation. American Educational Research Journal, 54(5), 972-1005.

2. Incorrect narrative citation for two authors

· Use “and” in the narrative
· Example:
Correct: Smith and Brown (2020) discussed major equity issues in education

Incorrect: Smith & Brown (2020) discussed major equity issues in education

3. Incorrect citation for three or more authors

· Use “et al.” in both parenthetical citation and narrative citation
· Example:
Correct: Martin et al., 2020

Incorrect: Martin et. al. or Martin et. al

4. Forget to italicize the name of the journal/book and its volume in the reference list

Correct:

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.

Incorrect:

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.

5. Verb tense
Chi Nguyen, Ph.D. The Present Writer’s video on APA citation

APA prefers past tense in literature review (e.g., the author found, the study explored, this issue
was examined…). More detail:
https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/grammar/verb-tense