APA Citation Guide

American Psychological Association (APA) Style is an editorial style, or rules that a publisher uses to ensure consistent presentation of written material. Citing your sources in APA style gives credit to the works of others and helps your readers go back and find the information you present. 

• Basic APA components:  Author. (Year of publication). Title. Publisher.
• APA is typically used for social or behavioral sciences writing. 
• The key attribute of APA is the date of publication is closer to the beginning of the citation, since researchers often publish their work year after year, and there are often several articles attributed to the same author over period of time.

For more in-depth information about APA Style, you can check out the following resources:

• Purdue OWL APA Style Guide 
• APA Manual of Publication (7th Edition) on reserve at the Spalding Library Information Desk
• Citing Sources tab on the Writing Center's homepage

See below for an interactive tutorial on APA citation and a sample paper formatted in APA style.

In academic research, citing sources distinguishes between your original work and the ideas of others. It also makes you a more credible author by supporting your claims with valid evidence and well-researched information. Original ideas are considered intellectual property and require giving credit by law. 

Citation styles and writing conventions are standard methods for documenting your sources. Citations help you and your readers find the same information you are citing to refer back to the source of information.

Use standard citations when you refer to the work of others in the body of your paper with in-text citations when using direct quotes and paraphrasing information. Then, compile full citations for works consulted or referenced in a reference list at the end of your paper. 

Citations also help you avoid plagiarism, which is the misuse of words, media, and ideas that are not your own. Examples of plagiarism include: 

• Outright copying or paraphrasing without attribution
• Misquoting
• Not documenting the source of webpages, images, interviews, etc