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APA Citation Style and Other Citation Styles Explained
In academia and other professional fields, much of the work that goes on is strictly intellectual. In such areas, ideas matter, and copying another’s ideas without acknowledging the source can land the practitioner in trouble. This has happened to many unsuspecting academics.
Sometimes, failure to use citations constitutes academic fraud. The consequences of academic fraud are dire, including academic sanctions, penalties, or worse. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. Citation systems like the APA one or the Chicago style can help you easily bring your papers or professional writings up to standard.
Below, we explore the APA type of citation and other alternatives that you can use to make your work free of plagiarism.
What is APA Citation Style?
The APA citation style is one of three citation styles which are in wide use in universities and other professional communities. These three are:
- APA Style – A type of citations by the American Psychological Association
- Chicago Manual Style – Citation style from the Chicago University Press
- MLA Style – Citation guidelines by the Modern Language Association
APA Style contains guidelines for references to academic works, as well as stylistic idioms for the composition of academic work. The style began in the 1920s, and has since been adopted by leading academics in the social sciences.
Using APA Citations in the Body of a Text
Proper citation begins with in-text citations. These are references to source materials which you have chosen to include in the body of your paper or text.
In APA Style, you must reference the author’s last name and the source material’s publication year when making reference to a secondary source. Such a secondary source could be, for example, a book, guide, newspaper article, published report, or other publication.
References to earlier research, for example from academic journals, must use the past tense. For example, when referring to a work from 1960 by the psychologist Abraham Maslow, we would write:
Maslow (1960) found that “the highest stage of human psychological health occurs in the state of self-actualization” (p. 330).
As you can see, we also need to include a page number if directly quoting the work, otherwise, the author’s name and the work’s publication year suffice.
APA Reference List
At the end of an academic work, journal writing, or other such professional work, it is necessary to include a list of all works that have been referenced in the body.
The reference list must begin on a separate page from the body of your test. You should title it “References” so that it’s clear that the main arguments have ended and you are now listing references.
In the reference list, you should follow APA Style rules, including the following:
- Arrange author listings in alphabetical order
- Invert the authors’ names so that the last name is read first
- Titles for works cited should be given in full, whether books, journals, or other sources
- Specify the publisher and location where the work was published
Observing these rules, we can list a book by the social scientist Carl Jung as follows:
Jung, C. (1933). Modern Man in Search of a Soul . London: Trubner & Co.
Why APA Is Not Always the Right Citation Type
APA Style works well for the following disciplines:
- Linguistics
Other, related, disciplines also use APA Style.
There are, however, disciplines where alternative citation styles are more appropriate. These include the Chicago Manual Style, and MLA Style. The exact citation style you need to use will depend on the field of study for which you are writing. If in doubt, you can check with the publisher or editor of the journal or other publication for which you are writing.
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APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6 th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , (6 th ed., 2 nd printing).
Note: This page reflects APA 6, which is now out of date. It will remain online until 2021, but will not be updated. There is currently no equivalent 7th edition page, but we're working on one. Thank you for your patience. Here is a link to our APA 7 "General Format" page .
Writing in APA is more than simply learning the formula for citations or following a certain page layout. APA also includes the stylistics of your writing, from point of view to word choice.
Point of View and Voice
When writing in APA Style, you can use the first person point of view when discussing your research steps ("I studied ...") and when referring to yourself and your co-authors ("We examined the literature ..."). Use first person to discuss research steps rather than anthropomorphising the work. For example, a study cannot "control" or "interpret"; you and your co-authors, however, can.
In general, you should foreground the research and not the researchers ("The results indicate ... "). Avoid using the editorial "we"; if you use "we" in your writing, be sure that "we" refers to you and your fellow researchers.
It is a common misconception that foregrounding the research requires using the passive voice ("Experiments have been conducted ..."). This is inaccurate. Rather, you would use pronouns in place of "experiments" ("We conducted experiments ...").
APA Style encourages using the active voice ("We interpreted the results ..."). The active voice is particularly important in experimental reports, where the subject performing the action should be clearly identified (e.g. "We interviewed ..." vs. "The participants responded ...").
Consult the OWL handout for more on the distinction between passive and active voice .
Switching verb tenses can cause confusion for your readers, so you should be consistent in the tense you use. When discussing literature reviews and experimental procedures that have already happened, use past tense ("Our study showed" ) or present perfect tense ("studies have proven" ). Also use past tense when discussing results ("students’ concentration increased" ), but use present tense when discussing what your results mean and what conclusions you can draw from them ("Our study illustrates" ).
Clarity and Conciseness
Clarity and conciseness in writing are important when conveying research in APA Style. You don't want to misrepresent the details of a study or confuse your readers with wordiness or unnecessarily complex sentences.
For clarity, be specific rather than vague in descriptions and explanations. Unpack details accurately to provide adequate information to your readers so they can follow the development of your study.
Example: "It was predicted that marital conflict would predict behavior problems in school-aged children."
To clarify this vague hypothesis, use parallel structure to outline specific ideas:
"The first hypothesis stated that marital conflict would predict behavior problems in school-aged children. The second hypothesis stated that the effect would be stronger for girls than for boys. The third hypothesis stated that older girls would be more affected by marital conflict than younger girls."
To be more concise, particularly in introductory material or abstracts, you should eliminate unnecessary words and condense information when you can (see the OWL handout on Conciseness in academic writing for suggestions).
Example: The above list of hypotheses might be rephrased concisely as: "The authors wanted to investigate whether marital conflict would predict behavior problems in children and they wanted to know if the effect was greater for girls than for boys, particularly when they examined two different age groups of girls."
Balancing the need for clarity, which can require unpacking information, and the need for conciseness, which requires condensing information, is a challenge. Study published articles and reports in your field for examples of how to achieve this balance.
Word Choice
You should even be careful in selecting certain words or terms. Within the social sciences, commonly used words take on different meanings and can have a significant effect on how your readers interpret your reported findings or claims. To increase clarity, avoid bias, and control how your readers will receive your information, you should make certain substitutions:
- Use terms like "participants" or "respondents" (rather than "subjects") to indicate how individuals were involved in your research
- Use terms like "children" or "community members" to provide more detail about who was participating in the study
- Use phrases like "The evidence suggests ..." or "Our study indicates ..." rather than referring to "proof" or "proves" because no single study can prove a theory or hypothesis
As with the other stylistic suggestions here, you should study the discourse of your field to see what terminology is most often used.
Avoiding Poetic Language
Writing papers in APA Style is unlike writing in more creative or literary styles that draw on poetic expressions and figurative language. Such linguistic devices can detract from conveying your information clearly and may come across to readers as forced when it is inappropriately used to explain an issue or your findings.
Therefore, you should:
- Minimize the amount of figurative language used in an APA paper, such as metaphors and analogies unless they are helpful in conveying a complex idea,
- Avoid rhyming schemes, alliteration, or other poetic devices typically found in verse
- Use simple, descriptive adjectives and plain language that does not risk confusing your meaning.
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Purdue OWL is an acronym for Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab. Purdue OWL offers a variety of writing resources to the public for free. The online lab contains resources for many different styles of writing, from academic papers to jo...
Writing an outline in APA style involves formatting the lines properly, using 12-point Times New Roman font and creating detailed headings. Each point of the outline starts with a header, which is marked by a Roman numeral.
In academia and other professional fields, much of the work that goes on is strictly intellectual. In such areas, ideas matter, and copying another’s ideas without acknowledging the source can land the practitioner in trouble. This has happ...
Crucially, citation practices do not differ between the two styles of paper. However, for your convenience, we have provided two versions of our APA 7 sample
Your essay should be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11"), with 1" margins on all sides. Include a page header
The equivalent APA 7 page can be found here. Media File: APA Sample Paper. Cite your source automatically in MLA or APA format.
Commented [AWC5]: Note that student papers in APA do ... secondary citation (i.e., we've cited a source that we found.
Each part is optional (i.e., you should omit any parts that do not apply to your manuscript or omit the note entirely if none apply). Format each item as its
There are two common types of papers written in fields using APA Style: the literature review and the experimental report (also known as a "research
Your essay should be typed and double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5" x 11"), with 1" margins on all sides. You should use a clear
APA PowerPoint Slide Presentation · APA Sample Paper · Tables and Figures · Abbreviations
APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 7th
This resource lists all of the sample papers found on the Purdue OWL. Please click on the link to view or download the media file. APA Sample Paper
When writing in APA Style, you can use the first person point of view when discussing your research