APA Citation Styles

APA Citation Styles or American Psychology Association Citation Styles: is one of the commonly used methods in research. To give you a better understanding we have explained in detail what is APA citation and given various examples of how you can use this referencing method.

APA Citation Styles

In referencing there are two parts as indicated below:

1. citations within the text of your paper
2. The reference list at the end of your paper. 

1. Citations within the text of your paper

APA referencing style is an “author-date” style. The citation in the text of your paper consists of the author(s) and the year of publication written fully or partially within brackets.

For the first part of the citation, write the author’s surname followed by a comma then the year of publication. In some cases, for example, where you are quoting or summarizing certain work, you can include a page, chapter, or a section number so as to be more specific

In APA citation no distinction is made between, journal articles, books, internet documents, or other formats except for electronic documents. The Electronic documents do not provide page numbers, however, in some cases, you can use the paragraph number, when it is available, with the abbreviation para.

2. The reference list at the end of your paper.

The complete details of the sources are written in a reference list at the end of the document or research.

The reference list section comprises all the information that is required to follow up on your source. Always keep in mind that in APA Reference lists, the authors are arranged alphabetically using their surnames.

APA Citation of a Print Journal

i) Citations within the text

(Author’s name, Year of publication).

(Westley, 2010)

ii) The reference list at the end

Author’s name. (Year of publication). Article title. Journal title, volume number(issue), pages

Westley, J. (2010). “The Economy in Recession.” The Hard Economy, 10(3), 439-458)

APA Citation of a Book

i) Citations within the text (Paraphrasing)

(Author Surname, Year)

(Cooper & Hastings, 2013)

ii) In-Text Citation (Quotation):

(Author Surname, Year, page number)

(Cooper & Hastings, 2013, p.529)

iii) The reference list at the end (Quotation):

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial., (Year). Article or chapter title. In Editor First Initial. Second Initial. Surname (Ed.), Book title: Subtitle (pp. page range of article or chapter). Publisher.

Cooper, J. A., & Hastings, A. E. (2003). Physical Development in Children. In J. Balsik & K. Bonnlly (Eds.), Handbook of developmental Child psychology (pp. 526-530). Sage Publications.

APA Citation of a webpage

i) Citations within the text (Paraphrasing):

(Author Surname, Year)

(Ahmed, 2019)

ii) Citations within the text(Quotation):

(Author Surname, Year, page or paragraph number [if available])

(Ahmed, 2019, para. 4)

iii) The reference list at the end (Quotation):

Individual or Corporate Author. (Last update or copyright date; if not known, put n.d.). Title of a specific document. Site name (if needed). URL of a specific document

Ahmed, S. (2019). Lesson plan: Filter bubbles. Digital Writing & Research Lab.  https://www.dwrl.utexas.edu/2018/01/02/lesson-plan-filter-bubbles/

APA Citation of a Newspaper

i) Citations within the text (Paraphrasing)

(Author Surname, Year)

(Wallace, 2007)

ii) Citations within the text(Quotation):

(Author Surname, Year, page number)

(Wallace, 2007, p. A8)

iii) The reference list at the end

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year, Month Day). Article title: Subtitle. Newspaper Title, page range. URL [if viewed online]

Wallace, K. (2007, December 4). Passport applicant finds massive privacy breach. The Globe and Mail, pp. A1, A8.

APA Citation of a social media post (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc)

i) Citations within the text (Paraphrasing)

(Post Author Surname, Year)

(U.S. Department of the Education, 2019)

ii) Citations within the text(Quotation):

(Post Author Surname, Year, page number)

(U.S. Department of the Education, 2019)

iii) The reference list at the end

Post Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. or Name of Group. (Year, Month Date). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Attached media, if applicable] [Type of post]. Site Name. URL

U.S. Department of the Interior. (2019, February 10). Snow coats at Grand Canyon National Park in Utah [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/USInterior/photos/a.15514537384/2586475406120/?type=3&theater

Conclusion: APA Citation Styles

APA Citation Styles are easy to use. Citation within the test requires you to write the author’s surname and then the year of publication. In the referencing list, the format may vary depending on the type of material but the author’s name starts the referencing.