APA Citation Guide
APA (American Psychological Association) style is most frequently used within the
social sciences, in order to cite various sources. This APA Citation Guide, revised
according to the 6th edition of the APA manual, provides the general format for in-text
citations and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6th ed.).
How to Cite a Book in APA
Use the following template to cite a book using the APA citation format. We also provide
style guides for the MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles. To have your bibliography or
works cited list automatically made for you, check out our free APA citation generator.
Once you’re finished with your citations, we can also help you with creating an APA title
page.
Citing a book in print
APA format structure:
Author, A. (Year of Publication). Title of work. Publisher City, State: Publisher.
APA format example:
Finney, J. (1970). Time and again. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
Notes: When citing a book in APA, keep in mind:
Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title and any subtitles, as well as
the first letter of any proper nouns.
The full title of the book, including any subtitles, should be stated and italicized.
Citing an e-book from an e-reader
E-book is short for “electronic book.” It is a digital version of a book that can be read on
a computer, e-reader (Kindle, Nook, etc.), or other electronic device.
APA format structure:
Author, A. (Year of Publication). Title of work [E-Reader Version]. Retrieved from
http://xxxx or DOI:xxxx
APA format example:
Eggers, D. (2008). The circle [Kindle Version]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/
Citing a book found in a database
APA format structure:
Author, A. (Year of Publication). Title of work. Retrieved from http://xxxx or
DOI:xxxx
APA format example:
Sayre, Rebecca K., Devercelli, A.E., Neuman, M.J., & Wodon, Q. (2015). Investment in
early childhood development: Review of the world bank’s recent experience. DOI:
10.1596/978-1-4648-0403-8
Notes: When citing an online book or e-book in APA, keep in mind:
A DOI (digital object identifier) is an assigned number that helps link content to
its location on the Internet. It is therefore important, if one is provided, to use it
when creating a citation. All DOI numbers begin with a 10 and are separated by a
slash.
How to Reference a Magazine in APA
Use the following template to cite a magazine using the APA citation format. We also
provide style guides for the MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles. To have your
bibliography or works cited list automatically made for you, check out our free APA
citation maker.
Once you’re finished with your citations, we can also help you with creating an APA title
page.
Citing a magazine article in print
APA format structure:
Author, A. (Year, month of Publication). Article title. Magazine Title, Volume(Issue),
pp.-pp.
APA format example:
Tumulty, K. (2006, April). Should they stay or should they go? Time, 167(15), 3-40.
Notes: When citing a magazine in APA, keep in mind:
You can find the volume number with the other publication information of the
magazine.
You can typically find page numbers at the bottom corners of a magazine article.
If you cannot locate an issue number, simply don’t include it in the citation.
Citing a magazine article found online
APA format structure:
Author, A.A.. (Year, Month of Publication). Article title. Magazine
Title,Volume(Issue), Retrieved from http://xxxx
APA format example:
Tumulty, K. (2006, April). Should they stay or should they go? Time, 167(15) Retrieved
from http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1179361,00.html
Notes: When creating an online magazine citation, keep in mind:
The volume and issue number aren’t always on the same page as the article.
Check out the other parts of the website before leaving it out of the citation.
How to Reference a Newspaper in APA
Use the following template to cite a newspaper using the APA citation format. We also
provide style guides for the MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles. To have your
bibliography or works cited list automatically made for you, check out our free APA
citation generator.
Once you’re finished with your citations, we can also help you with creating an APA title
page.
Citing a newspaper article in print
APA format structure:
Author, A. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Article title. Newspaper Title, pp. xx-xx.
APA format example:
Rosenberg, G. (1997, March 31). Electronic discovery proves an effective legal
weapon.The New York Times, p. D5.
Notes: When creating you newspaper citation, keep in mind:
Precede page numbers for newspaper articles with p. (for a single page) or pp. (for
multiple pages).
If an article appears on discontinuous pages, give all page numbers, and separate
the numbers with a comma (e.g., pp. B1, B3, B5-B7).
Citing a newspaper article found online
APA format structure:
Author, A. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Article title. Newspaper Title,
Retrieved from newspaper homepage URL
APA format example:
Rosenberg, G. (1997, March 31). Electronic discovery proves an effective legal
weapon.The New York Times, Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
Notes: When citing a newspaper in APA, keep in mind:
APA does NOT require you to include the date of access for electronic sources. If
you discovered a newspaper article via an online database, that information is
NOT required for the citation either.
Multiple lines: If the URL runs onto a second line, only break URL before
punctuation (except for http://).
How to Cite a Website in APA
Citing a general website article with an author
APA format structure:
Author, A. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Article title. Retrieved from URL
APA format example:
Simmons, B. (2015, January 9). The tale of two Flaccos. Retrieved from
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-tale-of-two-flaccos/
APA Journal Article Citation
Citing a general website article without an author
APA format structure:
Article title. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Retrieved from URL
APA format example:
Teen posed as doctor at West Palm Beach hospital: police. (2015, January 16). Retrieved
from http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Teen-Posed-as-Doctor-at-West-Palm-Beach-
Hospital-Police-288810831.html
Citing a journal article in print
APA format structure:
Author, A. (Publication Year). Article title. Periodical Title, Volume(Issue), pp.-pp.
APA format example:
Nevin, A. (1990). The changing of teacher education special education. Teacher
Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the
Council for Exceptional Children, 13(3-4), 147-148.
Citing a journal article found online
APA format structure:
Author, A. (Publication Year). Article title. Periodical Title, Volume(Issue), pp.-pp.
DOI:XX.XXXXX or Retrieved from journal URL
APA format example:
Jameson, J. (2013). E-Leadership in higher education: The fifth “age” of educational
technology research.British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(6), 889-915. DOI:
10.1111/bjet.12103
Notes: When creating your online journal article citation, keep in mind:
APA does NOT require you to include the date of access/retrieval date or
database information for electronic sources.
You can use the URL of the journal homepage if there is no DOI assigned and the
reference was retrieved online.
Example: Retrieved from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1467-
8535;jsessionid=956132F3DE76EEB120577E99EE74CE9C.f04t01
A DOI (digital object identifier) is an assigned number that helps link content to
its location on the Internet. It is therefore important, if one is provided, to use it
when creating a citation. All DOI numbers begin with a 10 and are separated by a
slash.
APA Film Citation
Citing a film/Citing a movie
APA format structure:
Producer, A. (Producer), & Director, A. (Director). (Release Year). Title of motion
picture [Motion Picture]. Country of Origin: Studio.
APA format example:
Bender, L. (Producer), & Tarantino, Q. (Director). (1994). Pulp fiction [Motion Picture].
United States: Miramax.
Citing a film from YouTube
APA format structure:
Author, A. [screename]. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Title of video [Video
file]. Retrieved from URL
APA format example:
Smith, Rick. (2013, September 20). Favre to Moss!. [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOP_L6hBjn8
Notes: When citing a video from YouTube, keep in mind:
Screen names are more prominent that actual names on YouTube. If you come
across a user whose real name isn’t available, use only their screen name without
brackets.
APA Interview Citation
How to Reference an Interview in APA
Use the following template to cite an interview using the APA citation format. We also
provide style guides for the MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles. To have your
bibliography or works cited list automatically made for you, check out our free APA
citation maker.
Once you’re finished with your citations, we can also help you with creating an APA title
page.
Important Note on Personal Interviews:
A personal interview should NOT be included in a reference list in APA. They are
not considered recoverable data (they cannot be found by a researcher). You
should reference personal interviews as in-text citations instead.
Example: (J. Doe, personal communication, December 12, 2004)
That being said, there is a general structure if you want to cite a personal interview as part
of your APA works cited list:
Author, A. (Year, Month Date). Interview type.
APA format example:
Marino, B. (2014, October 18). Personal Interview.
APA Lecture Citation
How to Reference a Lecture in APA
Citing online lecture notes or presentation slides
APA format structure:
Author, A. (Publication Year). Name or title of lecture [file format]. Retrieved from
URL
APA format example:
Saito, T. (2012). Technology and me: A personal timeline of educational technology
[Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/Bclari25/educational-
technology-ppt
Tip: If you want to cite information from your own personal notes from a lecture as
personal communication and refer to it only in the body of your essay, you can follow the
style guide for personal communication available in the Interview section.
APA TV/Radio Broadcast Citation
How to Cite a TV/Radio Broadcast in APA
Use the following template to cite a TV/Radio broadcast using the APA citation format.
We also provide style guides for the MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles. To have your
bibliography or works cited list automatically made for you, check out our free APA
citation maker for TV and Radio.
Once you’re finished with your citations, we can also help you with creating an APA title
page.
Citing an episode from TV or radio show
APA format structure:
Writer, A. (Writer), & Director, A. (Director). (Year of Airing). Episode title
[Television series episode]. In Executive Producer, A. (Executive Producer), TV
series name. City, State of original channel: Channel.
APA format example:
Kang, K. (Writer), & Fryman, P. (Director). (2006). Slap bet [Television series episode].
In Bays, C. (Executive Producer), How I met your mother. Los Angeles, CA: Columbia
Broadcasting System.
Note: When citing a TV show or episode, keep in mind:
IMDB is a great resource for finding the information needed for your citation
(Director, Writer, Executive Producer, etc.) This information can also be found in
the opening and closing credits of the show.
APA Encyclopedia Entry Citation
How to reference an Encyclopedia Entry in APA
Use the following template to cite an encyclopedia using the APA citation format. We
also provide style guides for the MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles. To have your
bibliography or works cited list automatically made for you, check out our free APA
citation generator.
Once you’re finished with your citations, we can also help you with creating an APA title
page.
Citing an encyclopedia entry in print
APA format structure:
Author, A. (Publication Year). Entry title. In Encyclopedia title, (Vol. XX, pp. XX).
City, State of publication: Publisher.
APA format example:
Kammen, C., & Wilson, A.H. (2012). Monuments. In Encyclopedia of local history. (pp.
363-364). Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
APA Photograph Citation
How to Reference a Photograph in APA
Use the following template to cite a photograph using the APA citation format. This
style guide should work for both digital and analog photographs. We also provide style
guides for the MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles. To have your bibliography or works
cited list automatically made for you, check out our free APA citation generator.
Once you’re finished with your citations, we can also help you with creating an APA title
page.
For instructions on how to site a motion picture, please see our APA Film section.
Citing a photograph
APA format structure:
Photographer, A.. (Photographer). (Year, Month Date of Publication). Title of
photograph[photograph]. City, State of publication: Publisher/museum.
APA format example:
Roege, W.J. (Photographer). (1938). St. Patrick’s cathedral, fifth avenue from 50th street
to 51st street[photograph]. New York, NY: New-York Historical Society.
Citing a photograph retrieved online
APA format structure:
Photographer, A. (Photographer). (Year, Month Date of Publication). Title of
photograph [digital image]. Retrieved from URL
APA format example:
Ferraro, A. (Photographer). (2014, April 28). Liberty enlightening the world [digital
image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/afer92/14278571753/in/set-
72157644617030616
Use the following template to cite a photograph using the APA citation format. This
style gHow to Reference a Photograph in APA
Use the following template to cite a photograph using the APA citation format. This
style guide should work for both digital and analog photographs. We also provide style
guides for the MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles. To have your bibliography or works
cited list automatically made for you, check out our free APA citation generator.
Once you’re finished with your citations, we can also help you with creating an APA title
page.
For instructions on how to site a motion picture, please see our APA Film section.
Citing a photograph
APA format structure:
Photographer, A.. (Photographer). (Year, Month Date of Publication). Title of
photograph[photograph]. City, State of publication: Publisher/museum.
APA format example:
Roege, W.J. (Photographer). (1938). St. Patrick’s cathedral, fifth avenue from 50th street
to 51st street[photograph]. New York, NY: New-York Historical Society.
Citing a photograph retrieved online
APA format structure:
Photographer, A. (Photographer). (Year, Month Date of Publication). Title of
photograph [digital image]. Retrieved from URL
APA format example:
Ferraro, A. (Photographer). (2014, April 28). Liberty enlightening the world [digital
image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/afer92/14278571753/in/set-
72157644617030616
