Skip to Main Content

Nursing Program Guide

General purpose guide collecting resources and information to support students in the nursing program at Western.

1 Page Overview of APA References, Citations, and Format

Do you...

  • Already have familiarity/experience with APA?

  • Just need a quick guide to help you answer a specific question?

If so, this page is for you!

The downloadable document above and this webpage provide a handy, quick guide to the most common types of sources and rules to be aware of when using APA in Western's nursing program. 

APA Citation Quick Guide for Nursing

APA Citations for Various Source Types
Type of Source Bibliographic Information/Format APA Reference Entry Example In-Text Citation Example
Textbook
  1. Author Last Name, First Initial.
  2. (Date/Year).
  3. Title of book.
  4. Publisher.  
 Bauman, R.W. (2020). Microbiology with diseases by taxonomy (6th Ed.). Pearson.

(Bauman, 2020).
Professional Journal Article from Western Database
  1. Author Last Name, First Initial.
  2. (Date/Year).
  3. Title of article.
  4. Title/Name of Journal,
  5. Vol(Issue),
  6. Page Numbers.
  7. Url/Doi.
 Neaton, J. D., Brancati, F. L., Ford, C. E., Shulman, N. B., & Stamler, J. (1996). Blood pressure and end stage renal disease in men. The New England Journal of Medicine, 334(1), 13–18. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199601043340103

 

 (Neaton et al., 1996).
Government Source Document
  1. Author Last Name, First Initial OR Name of Government Agency/Org.
  2. (Date/Year).
  3. Title of document.
  4. Name of Publisher (often the larger government organization of which the author/agency is part)
  5. Url.
 National Cancer Institute. (2019). Taking time: Support for people with cancer. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/patienteducation/takingtime.pdf (National Cancer Institute, 2019).
Website with Identified Author
  1. Author Last Name, First Initial
  2. (Date/Year).
  3. Title of webpage.
  4. Title of Website
  5. Url.
 Karimi, F., & Croft, J. (2020). Any attempt to get coronavirus herd immunity would lead to massive death tolls, Fauci warns. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/14/health/uscoronavirus-friday/index.html

 

(Karimi & Croft, 2020).
Website without Author Identified
  1. Organization Name
  2. (Date/Year)
  3. Title of Webpage.
  4. Title of Website ONLY if different than author,
  5. Url.
 Reuters. (2025). Trump's attorney general drops fraud case tied to COVID vaccinations. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/trumps-attorney-general-drops-fraud-case-tied-covid-vaccinations-2025-07-12/ (Reuters, 2025).

NOTE: APA has unusual rules for capitalization in titles—article, book, and website titles ONLY. APA follows “sentence case” rules—capitalize words that would be capitalized in a sentence: the first word of the title, first word of the subtitle (if present), proper nouns, and acronyms.  All other words are lower case, regardless of how the original source is formatted.

Citing Sources with One, Two, or Multiple Authors In-Text

Narrative and Parenthetical Citations
Number of Authors Narrative Citation Parenthetical Citation

One

Moyer (2019)

(Moyer, 2019)

Two

Corey and Corey (2015)

(Corey & Corey, 2015)

Three or more

Castillo et al. (2018)

(Castillo et al., 2018)

Formatting the Title Page

  • The title page should include the following elements: Page Number, Title, Your Name, Your Program Name, Your School Name, Class Name, Your Instructor's Name, and the Final Due Date. 
  • The Page Number appears in the top righthand corner.
  • The Title appears centered and bolded.
  • Additional elements appear centered but are not bolded.

Example Title Page:

1

 

 

 

Descriptive Title of Your Paper

 

Your Name

Program Name, School Name

Class Name

Instructor Name

Due Date

 

 

 

Formatting the Reference Page

  • The References page should appear on the next NEW page following the conclusion of your essay, with the word References centered at the top
  • The entire page should be EVENLY double-spaced... No extra spaces between entries.
  • The References page should utilize "hanging indent" format to visually separate entries
  • The entries on the page should appear in ALPHABETICAL ORDER based on the first piece of information in the entry.

Example Reference Page:

1

References

Bauman, R.W. (2020). Microbiology with diseases by taxonomy (6th Ed.). Pearson.

Karimi, F., & Croft, J. (2020). Any attempt to get coronavirus herd immunity would lead to massive death tolls, Fauci warns. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/14/health/uscoronavirus-friday/index.html

National Cancer Institute. (2019). Taking time: Support for people with cancer. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/patienteducation/takingtime.pdf

Neaton, J. D., Brancati, F. L., Ford, C. E., Shulman, N. B., & Stamler, J. (1996). Blood pressure and end stage renal disease in men. The New England Journal of Medicine, 334(1), 13–18. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199601043340103

Reuters. (2025). Trump's attorney general drops fraud case tied to COVID vaccinations. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/trumps-attorney-general-drops-fraud-case-tied-covid-vaccinations-2025-07-12/

 

Additional Information on Citing Nursing Sources

For a more comprehensive list of formatting rules (reference entries and in-text citations) of common sources used in the nursing field, see APA's webpage specific to nursing resources:

Western Technical College

Western Technical College Learning Commons
Student Success Center, Room 201
400 7th Street North
La Crosse, WI 54601
learningcommons@westerntc.edu
State Relay: 711
EEO Statement

Learn more about Western and the Learning Commons.
The Learning Commons provides library and academic support services on campus and online. The Learning Commons will set you up for success!

Creative Commons License
Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For details and exceptions, see the Library Copyright Statement.
©2025, Western Technical College
If you are experiencing disability related accessibility issues with any information on this website, please email AccessServices@westerntc.edu or call 608-785-9524.