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Citation Style: APA 6th Edition: Citation Examples

Basic Citation Rules

Basic Citation Rules

 

Authors, Editors, Creators

 

Authors, editors, and creators are listed at the beginning of the citation with the last name first, followed by the first initial and the middle initial. If no middle initial is provided, then leave it out. The first and middle initial should each have a period, and there should be a space between them.

If the name of an author, editor, or creator is listed in the middle of the citation (such as with the "Book with An Editor and an Author" example), then the first and middle initial are first, followed by the last name.

Multiple authors are listed with commas in between them, even if there are only two. The last two authors have an ampersand (&) between them.

There is more information about citing authors on the Purdue OWL APA Guide.

Titles

Titles of books are italicized and in sentence case. Titles of articles are not italicized and in sentence case. Titles of journals (or periodicals) are italicized and in title case.

Subtitles occur after colons or dashes; use whichever one the source uses. The first word of the subtitle is capitalized. Some sources do not have subtitles. 

Locations

Locations should always be listed with the state abbreviation if in the United States. Sometimes multiple locations are listed on a book. If so, use the first location listed or the main location.

Punctuation

Each major portion of the citation should end with a period. The end of the citation should also have a period, unless the citation ends with a URL or a DOI. Use the examples below to guide you in your use of punctuation in your citations.

Books

Where to Find Citation Information

For books, citation information is contained in three main places: the cover, the title page, and the back of the title page.


Citation Examples

Click on the type of source below to see the correct citation example. Plug in the information for your book using the formatting in these examples. Pay special attention to capitalization, punctuation, and italicization.

A Book with One Author

A Book with Two Authors

A Book with Three Authors

A Book with An Editor and No Author

A Book with An Editor and An Author

Edition Other Than the First

A Chapter from a Book

An Ebook

Journal Articles

Basic Rules for Citing Journal Articles

After the title of the journal, use a comma followed by the volume number and the issue number. The volume number is italicized and the issue number with parentheses is not. There is no space between them.

For newspaper articles or any type of publication that is published very frequently, use the month and the day in addition to the year. Spell out the whole month (don't use an abbreviation).

Where to Find Citation Information

For articles, the citation information is usually found on the details page for the article in the database where you found the article. Some articles also list the citation information on the article itself.

For scholarly articles, it is preferred that you use a DOI whenever possible. Almost all scholarly articles have a DOI. If you cannot find it, you can use this website to look up the DOI for your article.

For popular articles (newspapers, magazines, trade journals), use the URL (web address). If you are using an EBSCOhost database, you will have to get a permanent link by using the "permalink" tool. This tool looks like a little chainlink icon on the right side of the details page for the article.

See the Frequently Asked Questions tab for situations in which you cannot find all of the information you need to cite.


Citation Examples

Click on the type of source below to see the correct citation example. Plug in the information for your journal article using the formatting in these examples. Pay special attention to capitalization, punctuation, and italicization.

An Article from a Scholarly Journal Retrieved from a Library Database

An Article from a Newspaper Retrieved from a Library Database

An Article from a Magazine Retrieved from a Library Database

In Print

Web Resources

How to Identify Types of Web Resources

Web resources are really tricky sometimes, but you can usually use the clues provided to determine whether the website is an online magazine, online newspaper, a blog, or just a general website.

  • The first place to look is the "About" section, which almost every website has. On that page, they will usually tell you what it is.
  • Look at the title of the webpage, then Google that title. If it is a newspaper or magazine, it is likely there will be a Wikipedia article about it.
  • Look at the web address and the headings on the webpage. Do you see the word "blog" anywhere? If so, does your article fall under that heading or web address?
  • If all else fails, cite the source as "A Website or Web Document."

For more information about citing sources on the web, visit the Purdue OWL APA Guide.

For more information about citing websites, visit the APA 6 Style Blog

Where to Find the Citation Information

  • The author and date is usually listed near the title of the article or page or at the bottom of the page.
  • If you use a copyright date, check to see if it is the same on every page of the site. If so, don't use it. Use "n.d." for "no date" instead.
  • If no one's name is listed, check to see if you can find an organization name. You may need to visit the "About" or "Contact" page to find this.
  • The URL for the "Retrieved from" portion of your citation can be copied and pasted from the address bar at the top of your browser.

Citation Examples

Click on the type of source below to see the correct citation example. Plug in the information for your web resource using the formatting in these examples. Pay special attention to capitalization, punctuation, and italicization.

Newspaper Article found on the web

Magazine Article found on the web

A Blog Post

A Website or Web Document (Stands Alone)

A Website or Web Document (Part of a Greater Whole)

Reference Librarian

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