APA CITATION STYLE
A Seminar on the Basics
Presented by Dr. Bob Bagley
Helpful Tools
• APA Template –
www.apastyle.info
• Bedford Bibliographer –
http://bcs.bedfordstmartins
.com/bbibliographer
• Citation Machine –
http://citationmachine.net
Reference Sources
• APA Documentation Guide –
http://library.stmarytx.edu/aca
dlib/subject/misc/apastyle.pdf
• APA Research Style Crib Sheet http://www.docstyles.com/apa
crib.htm
• APA Formatting and Style
Guide –
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
owl/resource/560/01/
Parts of an APA-style Paper
•
•
•
•
•
Title Page
Abstract
Text
Reference List
Appendices
In-Text Citations – The Basics
• Quotes
• Paraphrases
• Facts (not general
knowledge)
• Ideas / concepts
• Allusions
In-Text Citations – The Basics
• No footnotes
• Author & date system
• Parenthesis used, if
information is not in the text
e.g. A study (Bagley, 2008) said . . .
In a study, Bagley (2008) said . . .
In a 2008 study, Bagley said . . .
• Page numbers for quotes or
references to specific
material
In-Text Citations – Special Cases
• No author:
First few words of the title
e.g. (Vennard Students, 2008) when
citing “Vennard Students Voice Their
Opinions”
• Multiple authors:
2 – (Mathias and Van Kuiken, 2007)
3-5 (Mathias, Penn, & Van Kuiken, 2007)
2nd time (Mathias et al, 2007)
6+ (Mathias et al, 2007)
Short Quotations
• < 40 words – use “ . . . “
• Cite, author, date, page
e.g. He stated that “Vennard students
believe that heavy loads of
homework help increase the value of
a course” (Bagley, 2008, p. 132).
• Final punctuation follows
the parenthesis
Long Quotations
• > 40 words – block indent
½ inch
• Parenthetical citation
follows final punctuation.
e.g. Vennard students believe that heavy
loads of homework help increase the
value of a course. For that reason we will
be asking all professors to double present
assignments in all courses that they teach.
This will ensure that Vennard graduates
will feel confident in the value of their
educational experience. (Bagley, 2008, p.
132)
Reference List – The Basics
• Contains all/only works
cited in the body of the
paper
• Alphabetized by the
author’s last name
• Capitalize only the first
word of titles, but all major
words in journal titles
• Italicize titles of books and
journals, but not of articles
Reference List – Basic Form
• Author(s) + Date + Title +
Publication Data
• Authors: list surnames and
initials
• Date: set in parenthesis
Reference List - Books
Basic form:
Author, I. (Year). Title of work:
Subtitle. Location: Publisher.
e.g.
Bagley, R. W. (2008) What college
students really want: Creating
high quality courses. University
Park, IA: Vennard College.
Reference List – Books (2 authors)
Basic form:
Author, I., & Author2, I. (Year). Title
of work: Subtitle. Location:
Publisher.
e.g.
Bagley, R. W., & Behrens, J. (2008)
What college students really
want: Creating high quality
courses. University Park, IA:
Vennard College.
Reference List – Books (no author)
Basic form:
Title of work: Subtitle. (Year).
Location: Publisher.
e.g.
What college students really
want: Creating high quality
courses. (2008) University
Park, IA: Vennard College.
Reference List – Books (editor)
Basic form:
Author, I. (Ed.). (Year). Title of
work: Subtitle. Location:
Publisher.
e.g.
Bagley, R. W. (Ed.). (2008) What
college students really want:
Creating high quality courses.
University Park, IA: Vennard
College.
Reference List - Periodicals
Basic form:
Author, I. (Year, Month Day). Title
of article. Title of Periodical,
volume number(issue number),
pages.
e.g.
Bagley, R. W. (2008, January).
College students are crazy.
Journal of Abnormal
Psychology, 52(1), 78-93.
Reference List – Newspaper
Articles
Basic form:
Author, I. (Year, Month Day). Title
of article. Title of Periodical,
pp.pages.
e.g.
Bagley, R. W. (2008, January 20).
College students are crazy.
Oskaloosa Herald, p.5.
Reference List – Electronic Sources
• Follow the rules for print as much
as possible
• Add date retrieved and source
• Don’t underline URL
• Omit final punctuation if reference
ends with a URL
• Divide URLs before a “.” or after a
“/”
• For exact reproductions of print
sources include [Electronic
version] after the title
Reference List - Webpage
Basic form:
Author, I. (Date). Title of
webpage. Retrieved Month
day, year from URL
Grant, L. (2005). College students
expected to load up on
gadgets. Retrieved January 30,
2008 from http://www.usatoday
.com/tech/products/gear/2005
-08-16-college-gadgets_x.htm
Reference List – Online Journal
Basic form:
Author, I. (Date). Title of article. Title
of Journal, volume(issue).
Retrieved Month day, year from
URL
Chowdhury, M. (2006, Summer).
Students’ personality traits and
academic performance: A fivefactor model perspective. College
Quarterly 9(3). Retrieved January
30, 2008 from http://www.senecac
.on.ca/quarterly/2006-vol09num03-summer/chowdhury.html
Reference List – Online Database
Basic form:
Author, I. (Date). Title of article. Title of
Journal, volume(issue), pages. Retrieved
Month day, year from Database.
Wyatt, G., Saunders, D., & Selmer D. (2005,
December). Academic preparation,
effort and success: A comparison of
student and faculty perceptions
[Electronic version]. Educational
Research Quarterly 29(2), 29-36.
Retrieved January 30, 2008 from
EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier
database.