APA 7 Citation & Style

APA style includes recommendations for how to cite sources and give credit when you use the ideas or words of others.

When writing in APA style, you will need to provide in text citations within your paper and a list of references you include at the end of your paper. These two components work together to tell the reader when and how you've used other sources within your writing and also point the reader to the original source of information.

Important things to remember:

• Use an in-text citation in your paper so your readers know exactly when you are using information that comes from another source
• Provide a reference entry at the end of your paper so that your readers have all the information they would need to locate the source if they want to
• Different kinds of sources have different standard formats, so you'll need to identify the type of source you are using in order to build an accurate reference entry
• Every in-text citation in your paper should have a corresponding reference entry
• Every source in your list of references should have at least one corresponding in-text citation somewhere in your paper

A quick overview of how APA citations work:

If you consult a source (or multiple sources) while writing your paper, you will construct a Reference page to collect information about the source you used. This list will include key elements such as the source's author, publication date, title, and access information. 

Then when you mention that source in your paper, you'll include an in-text citation to indicate the source of the information. 

The in-text citation includes the source's author (or authors) and publication date, which gives just enough information to find it in your References list. If you are quoting directly from the source, you will also include the page number where the quote may be found.

Looking for more information?