APA 7 th

Edition
APA citation
guidelines
APA Style citations consist of two parts:
In-text citation:
A brief citation in parentheses when you mention a source, citing the
author ’s last name and the year of publication, e.g. (Smith, 2019). It
identifies the full source in the reference list.

Reference list entry:

Full publication details listed on the reference page, which appears at the
end of your paper. The reference provides all the information needed to
find the source, e.g. Smith, P. (2019, April 18). Citing Sources in APA
Format. Retrieved April 21, 2019, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-
style/
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APA citation
guidelines
In-text citations
An in-text citation is a concise way to show the reader where the original
idea came from and to give credit to the original author.
Use one every time you quote or paraphrase a source.

Include the author ’s last name and the year of publication. When quoting a
source, it ’s also necessary to include the page number(s) of the quote.
Ex. Parapharsing
An earlier study in which X and Y were compared revealed that … (Smith,
2017).
Smith (2017) shows how, in the past, research into X was mainly concerned
with …
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APA citation
guidelines

2 authors
When there are two authors, separate their last names with an ampersand
(&), or with the word ‘and’ when they appear in the running text.

• Research shows that there is a great need for … (Kularatne &

Suraweera, 2014).
• Kularatne and Suraweera (2014) write that there is a great need for …

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APA citation guidelines

More than two authors

For in-text (parenthetical) citations, if there are more than two

authors,
you mention the first author and then include et al.
“et al.” (meaning “and others”).

Ex (Suraweera et al.,2001)

list all authors up to 20 in the references list

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APA citation
guidelines

Organization as author
When a source does not list an individual author, it can often be attributed
to an organization instead.
According to new research … (Microsoft, 2014).

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APA citation
guidelines

Quotes
When you quote a source, you also have to add the page number to the in-
text citation.
According to the company ’s business plan, “making an APA Citation
Generator is a lot of work, but many students benefit from it” (Swan, 2014,
p. 5).

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APA citation
guidelines
Multiple sources in one citation

Sometimes, it ’s necessary to cite multiple sources in one sentence. You can

combine them into one set of parentheses, separated by semicolons.
Various studies show that … (Docker & Vagrant, 2002; Porter, 1997; Lima,
Swan, & Corrieri, 2012).

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Author type First in-text citation Subsequent in-text
citations
No author (“Title of the Work,” 2018) (“Title of the Work,”
2018)
1 author (Taylor, 2018) (Taylor, 2018)
2 authors (Taylor & Kotler, 2018) (Taylor & Kotler, 2018)
3 or more authors (Taylor et al., 2018) (Taylor et al., 2018)

Organization (identified (Centers for Disease Control (CDC,

2018)
through abbreviation)
Organization (no and Prevention
(Apple, 2018) [CDC], 2018) (Apple, 2018)
abbreviation) 9
When to include page numbers

Including the page number(s) in the in-text citation is required when quoting a
source.

It is encouraged, but not required, when paraphrasing a source.

Don’t include page numbers when referring to a work as a whole, e.g. “the
study shows…”.

If the quote or paraphrase covers just one page, use “p. 16.” If it covers two or
more pages, use a double ‘p’ followed by a page range (e.g. pp. 16-18).

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When to include page numbers
The in-text citation can be included in three different ways:

•This is also confirmed by the business plan: “creating an APA Citation

Generator is a lot of work but many students benefit from it” (Smith, 2014, pp.
14-15).
•Smith (2014) states: “making an APA Citation Generator is a lot of work but
many students benefit from it” (pp. 14-15).

•In 2014, Smith wrote: “making an APA Citation Generator is a lot of work but
many students benefit from it” (pp. 14-15).

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Citations with lists

If the cited list originates from one source, put the in-text citation after the last
list item.
If the list comes from several different sources, add the in-text citations after
each list item.

List from one source

Ex
The following factors are identified:
• Wired lifestyle
• Time pressure
• Risk aversion
• Internet experience
• Social interaction (Johnson, 2016, p. 18).
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Citations with lists

List from several sources

The following two basic characteristics were found in the literature:

• Consumers experience greater risk for online purchases (Writers et al., 2016,
p. 47).
• Young consumers experience no risk for online purchases (Porter, 2016, pp.
63-64).

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Exceptions and missing
information
The basic APA guidelines are not applicable to every source. Information can be
missing, confusing for the reader or simply different.

The most common exceptions are;

No author
If the author is unknown, cite the first few words of the reference list entry
instead (usually the title).

Enclose the title in double quotation marks when citing an article, web page or
book chapter. Italicize the title of periodicals, books, reports and brochures.
(“U.S. Flood Risk Could Be Worse Than We Thought,” 2015)
(Thinking, Fast and Slow, 2017)
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Exceptions and missing
information

No date
For sources without a year of publication, use “n.d.” (no date) instead:
(Johnson, n.d.).

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Multiple sources in the same parentheses

If you’re using multiple sources to support a statement, you can combine the
in-text citations and separate them using semicolons. Order the sources
alphabetically.

If you’re using multiple sources from the same author, you don’t have to repeat
the author.
Just add the other years and separate them with a comma.

Several studies show that … (Brown & Brody, 2009; Porter, 2004; Swaen, 2015,
2017a, 2017b).
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Multiple publications from the same author(s) in the same
year

To differentiate between two publications from the same author published in

the same year, add a suffix after the publication year.
Research by Swaen (2014a) shows that …

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Repeated use of the same source

For citing the same source multiple times in a paragraph there are specific APA
guidelines.
• The first mention should include the author and publication year.
• For subsequent mentions in the running text, you only have to include the
author ’s last name, not the year.
• However, citations in parentheses should always include the year.
Example.
Research by Swaen (2016) shows that students think the APA Citation
Generator is a useful tool. Swaen also states that universities are increasingly
using the generator. Scribbr is therefore continuing to develop the APA Citation
Generator (Swaen, 2016).
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Different authors with the same last name

To differentiate between two (or more) authors with the same last name,
include the initials.

This rule applies even if the year of publication is different.

B. Swaen (2017) states that … , as does G. H. Swaen (2008).Therefore continuing

to develop the APA Citation Generator (Swaen, 2016).

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Personal communication

• Personal communication such as phone calls, emails and conversations are

not cited in the reference list because they can’t be found anywhere.
However, you should still cite them using an in-text citation.

• Give the initials and the last name of the person you communicated with
and provide as exact a date as possible.

• Sales are declining in the second quarter (P. G. Brown, personal

communication, June 13, 2018).

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 Reference list
Every source cited in the text must also appear in your reference list.

The format differs depending on the source type, but every reference begins in
the same way: with the author ’s last name and initials, the publication year or
date, and the title of the source.

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Book citations

Book titles should be italicized.

Format

Last Name, Initials. (Year). Book title (edition). City, State/Country: Publisher.
Example

Porter, M. E. (1998). Competitive strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries

and competitors (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Free Press

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Journal article
citations

The journal title and volume number should be italicized.

Format
Last Name, Initials., & Last Name, Initials. (Year). Article title.
Journal
Name, Volume(Issue), Page Number(s).
Example
Andreff, W., & Staudohar, P. D. (2000). The evolving European model of
professional sports finance. Journal of Sports Economics, 1(3), 257–276.

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Online Journal
When creating a citation for a journal article, if the volume, issue, and page
Articles
numbers are known, then it is not necessary to include the URL or the DOI
number. However, if the volume, issue, or page numbers are missing, then the
URL or DOI needs to be included as active hyperlinks.
Example

Grubb, J. M., Scott, P. H., & Good, D. W. (2017). The answer is yes: Dual
enrollment benefits students at the community college. Community College
Review, 45(2), 79–98.

Thorndike,. (1929). Elementary principles of education. The Macmillan

Company. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015066413991&view=1up&seq=9
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 Publisher location

Do not include publisher location (city, state, etc.)

after publisher name in a reference.

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 If an online work (e.g., a journal article) has no DOI and
was found through an academic research database,
generally, no URL is needed. The reference will look just
like the print version.

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Website name in references for online media

Include the name of the website in plain text, followed by a

period, before the URL.

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Table number is bold; table title is
title case and set in italics.

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 Secondary Source
Citation

.
Secondary source citation includes the date of the original
source.

Pereira (2005) as cited in Dias 2007

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 Report citations

The title should be italicized.

Format

Organization Name or Author Last Name, Initials. (Year). Report title. Retrieved
from http://webaddress

Example
Royal Bank of Scotland. (2015). Annual report and accounts 2014.
://investors.rbs.com/~/media/Files/R/RBS-IR/2014-reports/annual-report-
2014.pd

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31
Headings

Throughout your paper you use different heading levels. The levels ranging from one to five help
structure the document.

Major headings, or heading 1, are used for the titles of chapters such as “Methods” or “Results”.
Heading levels two to five are used for subheadings. Each heading level is formatted differently.

These are the APA heading guidelines:

Title case capitalization: Capitalize the first, last, and principal
words.

Sentence case capitalization: Capitalize only the first word and any proper nouns.

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Heading level APA format
Heading 1 Centered, Bold, Title Case
Heading 2 Capitalization
Left-Aligned, Bold, Title Case
Capitalization
Heading 3 Indented, bold, Sentence case capitalization, a
final
period. The body text begins immediately after the
Heading 4 period.
Indented, bold, italics, sentence case capitalization,
a final period. The body text begins immediately after
Heading 5 theIndented,
period. italics, sentence case capitalization, a final
period. The body text begins immediately after the
point. 33
How to present tables and figures in APA Style
• APA Style has specific guidelines for formatting tables and figures and
referring to them in the text.

• A table concisely presents information (usually numbers) in rows and

columns.
• A figure is any other image or illustration you include in your text –
anything from a bar chart to a photograph.

• You can create tables and figures yourself or adapt them from other
sources.

• In both cases the format is the same, but if they come from another source
you must acknowledge this and include the source in your reference list.
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Tables in APA
Style
To correctly format an APA table, follow these rules:
Table number (in plain text) above the table.
Brief title (in italics and title case) below the table number.
Use no vertical lines and as few horizontal lines as possible.
Notes below the table when necessary.

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Tables in APA
Style
Table number and title

Tables are numbered in the order they are referred to in your

text. The title should clearly and straightforwardly describe the
table’s content.

Omit articles to keep it concise.

The table number appears on its own line, in plain text, followed
by the table title on the following line, in italics and title case.
For example:
Table 4
Literacy Rates in European Countries
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Figures in APA
Style
Any images used within your text are called figures. Figures include
data visualization graphics – graphs, diagrams, flow-charts, etc. – as
well as things like photographs and artworks.

To correctly format an APA figure, follow these rules:

Labels and legends within the image in the same font and size as the
main text.

Figure number below the image, in italics and followed by a period.

Figure caption on the same line, in plain text and followed by a period.
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38
Referring to tables and figures in the
text
Avoid making redundant statements about your tables and figures in
your text. When you write about data from tables and figures, it should
be to highlight or analyze a particular data point or trend, not simply to
restate what is already clearly shown in the table or figure:

•As Table 1 shows, there are 115 boys in Grade 4, 130 in Grade 5, and
117 in Grade 6 …

•Table 1 indicates a notable preponderance of boys in Grade 5. It is

important to take this into account because …

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Additionally, even if you have embedded your tables and
figures in your text, refer to them by their numbers, not by
their position relative to the text or by description:

•The table below shows…

•Table 1 shows…
•As can be seen in the image on page 4…
•As can be seen in figure 3…
•The photograph of a bald eagle is an example of…
•Figure 1 is an example of…

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Quoting according to the APA
rules
Date published November 28, 2014 by Bas Swaen.
Date
updated: February 7, 2020
Whenever you literally copy text from a source, it ’s called
a quote. Copying a definition of a concept from a certain
source is an example of a quote.

The APA Style has established a number of rules for the layout
of quotations. For example, you must use double quotation
marks when writing a quote with fewer than 40 words.

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Quoting according to the APA
rules
Date published November 28, 2014 by Bas Swaen.
Date
updated: February 7, 2020
Whenever you literally copy text from a source, it ’s called
a quote. Copying a definition of a concept from a certain
source is an example of a quote.

The APA Style has established a number of rules for the layout
of quotations. For example, you must use double quotation
marks when writing a quote with fewer than 40 words.

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Quote of fewer than 40 words
When citing a section of text fewer than 40 words, you use
double quotation marks directly before and directly after the
quote.
Example: Quote of fewer than 40 words
The definition of soccer is, according to Van Persie (2014),
“running back and forth with each other and whoever scores
the most, wins” (p.15).

A famous soccer player always said, “playing soccer with each

other on a beautiful Sunday afternoon is the greatest thing
there is” (Sneijder, 2013, pp. 2-3). 43
Quote of 40 words or more

If the quote contains 40 words or more, then place the quote

in a separate block that begins on a new line and is indented in
its entirety. This is called a block quote.

When you have a quote with multiple paragraphs, further

indent the first line of every paragraph after the first
paragraph.
If the quote ends with a period, then you note the source
reference only after the period.
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Example: Quote of more than 40
words
The second anniversary of Scribbr was widely reported in the
press:
Scribbr is now two years old and that is being celebrated with the
introduction of a new version of the APA Generator. Now that more and
more students make grateful use of the APA Generator, it is high time
for a new version, according to the founders.

The APA Generator is very popular because the APA Style has many
exceptions. As a result, it is difficult for many students to really get the
hang of the APA Style. In addition, the APA Generator saves many
students a great deal of time. (Schlagers, 2014, p. 3) 45
Removing or shortening text in a quote

When you omit parts of text from a quote, you are then obligated to
write the following in its place: “ . . . ”. This is called the ellipsis
sign. When you remove a few words in a sentence, write three dots.
Between each of the dots, put a space.
When you remove an entire sentence from the quote, write four dots,
again with spaces between the dots. Note that the first dot is a period.
See the example below.

Example: Removing text from a

According
quote to Koeman (1996), shooting a free kick is not difficult:
“Shooting at a . . . goal is simple: you only have to aim well. . . . If you
haven’t trained to shoot at the goal then it ’s more difficult, of course”
(p. 7). 46
 What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is a common problem, primarily among students. Merriam-Webster

Dictionary defines plagiarism as follows:

Definition “To steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own: to
use (another ’s production) without crediting the source”
The two highlighted snippets require further explanation:

1.Many people think plagiarism is stealing someone else’s words, but it also
means stealing someone else’s ideas.

2.In other words, even if you paraphrase a text, the idea still needs to be cited.

3.The phrase “without crediting the source” means that it ’s okay to use the
words and ideas of others, but you have to cite the source to avoid committing
plagiarism. 47
Writing numbers: words and
numerals

Numbers can be written either as words (e.g., one hundred) or numerals

(e.g., 100). In this article we follow the guidelines of APA Style, one of the
most common style guides used in academic writing.

In general, words should be used for numbers from zero through nine,
and numerals should be used from 10 onwards. This is true for both
cardinal numbers (e.g., two, 11) and ordinal numbers (e.g., second, 11th).
However, there are some important exceptions to this rule.

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Exceptions

Use numerals for numbers from zero to nine that are followed by a
precise unit of measurement.

Examples:
The samples measured 7 cm in diameter. (“cm” is a unit of measurement)
But: These three samples were subjected to further testing.

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Exceptions

Use words for any number that is used to start a sentence, with the
exception of years.

Examples:
Seventy-two thousand ink cartridges are sold every d ay.
Nineteenth-century novels often feature complicated plot lines.
But: 2008 saw record olive crops throughout the Mediterranean.

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Writing percentages

With percentages, the standard is to use numerals and “%” (not “percent”).

Example:
According to the report, 45% of the workforce is employed in the service
sector. Only 6% currently work in agriculture.

The main exception is if you are using a percentage to begin a sentence. In

this case, use words to express the entire percentage.

Example:
Thirteen percent of the patients reported that their symptoms improved
after taking the experimental drug.
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Reporting statistical results that include
numbers

If your paper includes quantitative research, you probably have data to

report.

Statistics, mathematical functions, ratios, and percentages are all written

using numerals.

This is true regardless of whether they are included within a table or as part
of the actual text. Keep the following guidelines in mind:

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• Report most statistics to two decimal places (such as M = 5.44).
• Report statistics that could never exceed 1.0 to three decimal places
(such as p < .001).
• If a value has the potential to exceed 1.0, use the leading zero. If a value
can never exceed 1.0, do not use the leading zero.
• Italicize values that are not Greek letters (such as M, SD, p, and F).
• Include spaces before and after =, >, and <.

Examples:
The average IQ of the participants was relatively high (M = 137.33, SD =
4.54).
The results of the second test were statistically significant, t(12) = 4.11, p <
.05.
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Writing numbers that are accompanied by measurements
If a number comes immediately before a unit of measurement, use
numerals.
Examples:
Each patient received 5 mg of the experimental drug.
The tallest participant was 2.03 m.
Also use numerals for precise ages, times, dates, scores, points on a scale,
and amounts of money.
Examples:
The final score of Ghana 2, Brazil 1 did not represent a decisive victory.
Children under 8 years receive a $50 discount.
But: Most girls start reading when they are about five years old. (“about”
makes the number imprecise)
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Writing long
numbers
Longer numbers follow specific rules:
Use a period to indicate a decimal point.

Starting with 1,000, use commas to separate every three digits.

Starting with a million, use a combination of numerals and words.

Examples:
The region has an average of 43.75 doctors for every 10,000 people.
Some predict that the number of users will reach 2 billion by 2020.

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Writing long
numbers
Longer numbers follow specific rules:
Use a period to indicate a decimal point.

Starting with 1,000, use commas to separate every three digits.

Starting with a million, use a combination of numerals and words.

Examples:
The region has an average of 43.75 doctors for every 10,000 people.
Some predict that the number of users will reach 2 billion by 2020.

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Latin abbreviations
There are some Latin abbreviations that are common in academic writing.
Abbreviation Meaning Usage Example
e.g. (exempli gratia) for example Used to give examples in parentheses Many species of primates
(e.g., orangutans) are
endangered.
i.e. (id est) that is Used to clarify, specify or restate something in Many endangered species
parentheses (i.e., species that are very
likely to become extinct) are
primates.
etc. (et cetera) and so on Used at the end of a list in parentheses to There are many species of
indicate more unstated items on the list primates that are
endangered (gorillas,
orangutans, gibbons, etc.).
et al. (et alia) and other Used after the first author when citing Consumers experience
people publications with multiple authors greater risk with online
purchases (Writers et al.,
2016, p. 47).
ibid. (ibidem) in the same Used in footnote and endnote citations when 1. Porter, 63-64.
place citing the same source and page twice in a row 2. 57