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APA style: Citations

In academic scholarship, researchers have agreed on specific guidelines about how to format their papers and how to cite their sources. This Guide provides an introduction to the APA style.

Definitions and Quick Tips

Citing: The process of acknowledging the sources of your information and ideas.

DOI (doi): Some electronic content, such as online journal articles, is assigned a unique number called a Digital Object Identifier (DOI or doi). Items can be tracked down online using their doi.

In-Text Citation: A brief note at the point where information is used from a source to indicate where the information came from. An in-text citation should always match more detailed information that is available in the Reference List.

Paraphrasing: Taking information that you have read and putting it into your own words.

Plagiarism: Taking, using, and passing off as your own, the ideas or words of another.

Quoting: The copying of words of text originally published elsewhere. Direct quotations generally appear in quotation marks and end with a citation.

Reference: Details about one cited source.

Reference List: Contains details on ALL the sources cited in a text or essay, and supports your research and/or premise.

Retrieval Date: Used for websites where content is likely to change over time (e.g. Wikis), the retrieval date refers to the date you last visited the website.

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APA Style Guide

Here is a summary of the major changes in the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual.

Essay Format:

  • Font - While you still can use Times New Roman 12, you are free to use other fonts. Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans 10, and Georgia 11 are all acceptable.
  • Headers - No running headers are required for student papers.
  • Tables and Figures - There is a standardized format for both tables and figures.

Style, Grammar, Usage:

  • Singular "they" required in two situations: when used by a known person as their personal pronoun or when the gender of a singular person is not known.
  • Use only one space after a sentence-ending period.

Citation Style:

  • Developed the 'Four Elements of a Reference" (Author, Date, Title, Source) to help writers to create references for source types not explicitly examined in the APA Manual.
  • Three or more authors can be abbreviated to First author, et al. on the first citation.
  • Up to 20 authors are spelled out in the References List.
  • Publisher location is not required for books.
  • Ebook platform, format, or device is not required for eBooks.  
  • Library database names are generally not required.
  • Hyperlinks -
    • No "doi:" prefix, simply include the doi.
    • All hyperlinks retain the https://
    • Links can be "live" in blue with underline or black without underlining

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