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APA Citation Basics: Nothing Left To Lose

This document provides guidance on citing sources in APA format, including in-text citations and references. It states that in-text citations require the author's last name and date, and the reference list includes all cited sources. For paraphrases, only the author and year are required, while quotations also need the page number. It describes how to format short and long quotations, including using introduction phrases and free-standing blocks. Capitalization and punctuation rules are provided for titles within the text or references.

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109 views2 pages

APA Citation Basics: Nothing Left To Lose

This document provides guidance on citing sources in APA format, including in-text citations and references. It states that in-text citations require the author's last name and date, and the reference list includes all cited sources. For paraphrases, only the author and year are required, while quotations also need the page number. It describes how to format short and long quotations, including using introduction phrases and free-standing blocks. Capitalization and punctuation rules are provided for titles within the text or references.

Uploaded by

LBH
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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APA citation basics

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the
author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, for example,
(Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
If you are referring to an idea from another work but NOT directly quoting the material, or making
reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and
year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference. All sources that are cited in the
text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and


italics/underlining
● Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones.
● If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are four letters
long or greater within the title of a source: Permanence and Change. Exceptions apply to short
words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs: Writing New Media, There Is
Nothing Left to Lose.
(Note: in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized: Writing new media.)
● When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word: Natural-Born
Cyborgs.
● Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's
Vertigo."
● Italicize or underline the titles of longer works such as books, edited collections, movies,
television series, documentaries, or albums: The Closing of the American Mind; The Wizard of
Oz; Friends.
● Put quotation marks around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles, articles from
edited collections, television series episodes, and song titles: "Multimedia Narration:
Constructing Possible Worlds"; "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."

Short quotations
If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and
the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase
that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.
According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially

when it was their first time" (p. 199).

Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what

implications does this have for teachers?

If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication,
and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.
She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but

she did not offer an explanation as to why.

Long quotations
Place direct quotations that are 40 words, or longer, in a free-standing block of typewritten lines, and
omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e.,
in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin,
and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new
margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing
punctuation mark.
Jones's (1998) study found the following:

Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time

citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students

failed to purchase a style manual or to ask their teacher for help. (p. 199)

Summary or paraphrase
If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author
and year of publication in your in-text reference, but APA guidelines encourage you to also provide the
page number (although it is not required.)
According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time

learners.

APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p.

199).

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