How to Cite Using APA Style References 300x214 How to Cite Using APA Style References?

What is APA Style Referencing?

 APA Style referencing can be defined as,

“A referencing style in which it is really important to list down all sources in alphabetical order which the scholar consults in order to craft his research paper or essay.”

Guidelines for APA Styling

Following are guidelines which will help you prepare your list of references in APA format:

Alphabetically Arrange List of Sources w.r.t Author’s Surname

First of all you need to alphabetically arrange the list of sources according to the surname of the author. If the authors are more than one, then arrange these names in alphabetical order separated by a comma. Use one space after using comma(s). In case the authors are more than six, then only use the surname of first author followed by “et al”.

Date of Publication

After writing the name of author(s), give a single space and then enclose the date of publication in parentheses. If your source is a book or journal, then list only the year and if it is some newspaper or magazine then write the month and date after the year. After the parentheses, add a period. Consult text citation for APA style to format your papers.

Title of Source(s)

Now its time to write the title of the source. Capitalize the first word of proper nouns in the title and also italicize the entire title. It is strictly prohibited to add quotation marks or inverted commas around the title.

If the citation is of a journal, then write its volume number in italics right next to the title and if it is of a book, then give its edition in parentheses—use abbreviation “ed” for edition in parentheses. Add a period after title and volume number.

Name of Publisher and Place of Publication

Then include the name of the publisher and place of publication separated by a colon sign. If the name of the publisher is long then you can also use its official abbreviation, if any.

You may also like to include the page number(s) to make your reference more specific and relevant. Irrespective of the type of source used, write p. or pp. before giving the page number(s).

In case your source is an e-document, then you need to mention only the name of author, date, title and complete URL.

Examples of APA Style References

Look at the examples below to a build a more clear understanding of these guidelines:

  • Rovin, J. (1979). The fantasy almanac. New York: Dutton.
  • Camhi, L. (1999, June 15). Art of the city [Review of the book New York modern: The arts and the city]. Village Voice, p. 154.
  • Sadie, S. (Ed.). (1980). The new Grove dictionary of music and musicians. (6th ed., vols. 1-20). London: Macmillan.
  • Needham,C. L. (2000). Exploring the deep ocean floor. Oceanographic Journal.