NOTE: The RIT Citation Guides are out of date. If you need to use the latest edition for APA style, refer to the most current edition of the style manual.
APA provides examples of their most frequently used citation formats for free on their site. Free access may change without notice. Check the library catalog to see which manuals are available in print. APA's manual is titled Publication manual of the American Psychological Association : the official guide to APA style.
The APA citation style is the official citation style of the American Psychological Association. The style provides guidance on how to format and place in-text citation and how to style the reference citations. Though created to support psychology, this author-date format is a great style for any social science subject. The APA citation style formatting is updated from time to time; this site currently supports APA 6th edition.
Here are some important characteristics of APA to keep in mind as you get started:
- References contain four main parts: Author, Date, Title of work, and Source
- The author's last name comes first; Use initials only for first and middle names
- Italicize titles of whole works, but not chapter or article titles
- In-text citations include an author/date combination and must also appear in the reference list
- The Reference list is organized alphabetically by author
To view all APA citations click here
