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  1. The Complete Guide to APA Format in 2020
  2. APA Reference Page
  3. How to Cite Sources in APA Format

How to Cite Sources in APA Format

Guide contents
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  1. The Complete Guide to APA Format in 2020
  2. Headings and Subheadings
  3. Title Page
  4. Abstract
  5. Main Body
  6. Discussion Section
  7. Reference Page
    1. Authors
    2. How to Cite Sources
  8. In-text Citations
  9. Footnotes and Endnotes
  10. Using MyBib Responsibly
  11. Miscellaneous Questions
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Written by Daniel Elias on

The most confusing and time-consuming part of writing an APA style paper is formatting each source in the reference list correctly, because the format is different depending on whether the source is a website, book, journal, newspaper, or any other medium.

💡 Our interactive templates automatically update to show how a citation should be formatted if some of the information is missing, or if you can't find it. You can edit, add, or remove parts of the citation data, and immediately see how the correct citation changes.

Our interactive templates follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition, 2nd printing).

Websites and Electronic Sources

Blog Post
Details required:
  • Author
  • Date published (use n.d. if there isn't one)
  • Title of blog post
  • Name of blog or website
  • Article URL
  • Date of access
Template:
Lastname, F. N. (Year Published, Month and Day Published). Post title. Retrieved Month and Day Accessed, Year Accessed, from Blog or website Name website: URL.
Example:
The Tesla Team (2019, April 3) Introducing a more seamless navigate on autopilot. Retrieved April 3, 2019 from Tesla Blog website: https://www.tesla.com/blog/introducing-more-seamless-navigate-autopilot.

If there is no author you should move the title in place of the author instead.

If there is no date published, use n.d. instead.

You should only include the Date of access if the page is likely to change over time. Otherwise this is optional.

Database Article
Details required:
  • Author
  • Date published (use n.d. if there isn't one)
  • Title of article
  • Publication title (if the article is part of a journal or magazine)
  • Volume number (if the article is part of a journal or magazine)
  • Issue number (if the article is part of a journal or magazine)
  • Page (if the article is part of a journal or magazine)
  • Database name
  • URL
  • Date of access
Template:
Lastname, F. N. (Year Published). Title of Article. Publication Title, Volume Number(Issue Number), Page Range. Retrieved from Database Name.
Example
Erisman, F. (1973). The romantic regionalism of Harper Lee. Contemporary Literary Criticism, 60, pp. 122-136. Retrieved from Artemis.
E-Book
Details required:
  • Author
  • Date published (use n.d. if there isn't one)
  • Title of e-book
  • Edition
  • Volume
  • Page range
  • Editor
  • URL
  • Date of access
Template:
Lastname, F. N. (Year Published). E-book title (Edition ed., Vol. Volume, pp. Page range; Editor first name initial. Editor lastname, ed.). Retrieved from URL.
Example:
Gunnis, E. (2018) The girl in the letter (pp. 45-46). Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Letter-gripping-heartwrenching-page-turner-ebook/dp/B079RMFFCJ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=e+book&qid=1554551923&s=gateway&sr=8-3.

If there is no author you should move the title in place of the author instead.

If there is no date published, use n.d. instead.

Online Journal or Periodical Article
Details required:
  • Author
  • Date published (use n.d. if there isn't one)
  • Title of article
  • Name of journal or periodical
  • Volume number
  • Issue number
  • Page number or range
  • Article URL or DOI
  • Date of access (optional)
Template:
Lastname, F. N. (Year published, Month and day published). Title of article. Name of journal or periodical, Volume number(Issue number), Page number or range. Article URL or DOI
Example:
Zyblock, D. M. (2010). Nursing presence in contemporary nursing practice. Nursing Forum, 45(2), 120-124. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6198.2010.00173.x

If there is no author you should move the title in place of the author instead.

If there is no date published, use n.d. instead.

Online Newspaper Article
Details required:
  • Author
  • Date published (use n.d. if there isn't one)
  • Title of article
  • Title of newspaper
  • Page number or range
  • Article URL
  • Date of access (optional)
Template:
Lastname, F. N. (Year published). Title of Article. Name of Source, pp. Page Number or Range. Retrieved from Article URL.
Example:
Schwartz, J. (2019, May 1). In a warming world, evidence of a human ‘fingerprint’ on drought. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/climate/global-warming-drought-human-influence.html
Online Video
Details required:
  • Author
  • Date published (use n.d. if there isn't one)
  • Title of video
  • Publisher (or website name)
  • Video format
  • Video URL
  • Date of access (optional)
Template:
Lastname, F. N. (Year published). Title of video. Retrieved from Video URL.
Example:
Linus Tech Tips. (2018) The FASTEST gaming PC money can buy. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCfmM71NOTo.

If there is no author you should move the title in place of the author instead.

If there is no date published, use n.d. instead.

The Date of access is required if the page is likely to change over time. Otherwise this is optional.

Website / Web Page
Details required:
  • Author
  • Date published (use n.d. if there isn't one)
  • Title of article or page
  • Website or publisher name
  • Article URL
  • Date of access (optional)
Template:
Lastname, F. N. (Year published, Month and day published). Title of article. Retrieved Month and day accessed, Year accessed, from Website or publisher Name website: Article URL.
Example:
Elias, D. A. (2019, April 2) The complete guide to APA format in 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019 from MyBib website: https://www.mybib.com/guides/apa-format.

If there is no author you should move the title in place of the author instead.

If there is no date published, use n.d. instead.

The Date of access is required if the page is likely to change over time. Otherwise this is optional.

Books

Book
Details required:
  • Book Author
  • Date published (use n.d. if there isn't one)
  • Title of book
  • Edition
  • Publisher
  • Publisher location
  • Page number or range
  • URL (if accessible online)
  • Date accessed/viewed (if accessible online)
Template:
Lastname, F. N. (Year published). Title of Book. (Edition ed., pp. Page Number or Range). Publisher Location: Publisher
Example:
Rowling, J. K. (1998). Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets (1st ed., pp. 23–24). New York: Arthur A. Levine Books.

If there is no author you should move the title in place of the author instead.

If there is no date published, use n.d. instead.

Edited Book
Details required:
  • Book Author
  • Book Editors
  • Date published (use n.d. if there isn't one)
  • Title of book
  • Edition
  • Publisher
  • Publisher location
  • Page number or range
  • URL (if accessible online)
  • Date accessed/viewed (if accessible online)
Template:
Lastname, F. N. (Year Published). Title of Book. (Edition ed., pp. Page Number or Range; Editor Lastname, F. N., ed.). Publisher Location: Publisher
Example:
Rowling, J. K. (1998). Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban (2nd ed., p. 38; M. Grandpré & B. Selznick, eds.). New York: Scholastic Inc.

If there is no author you should move the title in place of the author instead.

If there is no date published, use n.d. instead.

Translated Book
Details required:
  • Book Author
  • Book Translators
  • Date published (use n.d. if there isn't one)
  • Title of book
  • Edition
  • Publisher
  • Publisher location
  • Page number or range
  • URL (if accessible online)
  • Date accessed/viewed (if accessible online)
Template:
Lastname, F. N. (Year Published). Title of Book. (Edition ed., pp. Page Number or Range; Translator Lastname, F. N., trans.). Publisher Location: Publisher. (Original work published Year Originally Published)
Example:
Rowling, J. K. (2013). Harry Potter a l’ecole des sorciers. (M. Coulliard, trans.). Paris: Gallimard. (Original work published 1997)

If there is no author you should move the title in place of the author instead.

If there is no date published, use n.d. instead.