Structuring References in APA Style
To format any assignment/ document in APA style, you need to come up with a list of references. The list will incorporate all the resources that are cited in the assignment. There is no need for citing direct communication like interviews, surveys, etc. because they don’t provide recoverable information.
There are no works cited page or bibliography for the presentation of APA formats. Instead, the references are listed on a new page called “Reference.” This title has to be written centrally in regular font, without bolding or underlining. If the list comprises a single reference, the title will be called “Reference.”
Generally, references are dual-space, your teacher will guide for spacing measurement as there are various ways. The references must be listed alphabetically according to the names authors. Format each one of the references by hanging indent, which means that the first line of reference must be in range to the left margin, and the hanging indent should be 1.27 cm / 0.5 inches for the next line.
APA Style Referencing in Different Documents
Citation of Blog Post
If you quote or paraphrase part of a blog post, a reference to that particular post should be generated.
Who: Generally, this indicates one/ two people, but it could be a name for a company or group of authors.
When: Blog posts typically shows the year, month, and date. These should be included in your reference within the parentheses. If you find no detailed information about the blog, just write the year/year and month. The in-text citation will only show the year.
What: That is the blog post title indicated by “[Blog post]” notation.
Where: The URL of the blog post is followed by the “Recovered from.”
The blog name itself is not an element of reference, though it is obvious through URL
Example References
Freakonomics. (2010, October 29). E-ZPass is a life-saver (literally) [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/e-zpass-is-a-life-saver-literally/
Heasman, B., & Corti, K. (2015, August 18). How to build an echoborg: PhD researcher Kevin Corti featured on the BBC [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/psychologylse/2015/08/18/how-to-build-an-echoborg-phd-researcher-kevin-corti-featured-on-the-bbc/
Mathis, T. (2015, August 12). What is human systems integration? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://blog.apabooks.org/2015/08/12/what-is-human-systems-integration/
rjlipton. (2015). A fast graph isomorphism algorithm [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://rjlipton.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/a-fast-graph-isomorphism-algorithm/
Example In-Text Citations
… according to research on the health effects of the E-ZPass (Freakonomics, 2010).
Heasman and Corti (2015) wrote about an echoborg.
Mathis (2015) stated that…
Dr. Lipton noted two problems (rjlipton, 2015).
The following structure must be used to cite a blog in APA format: Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day post was published). Title of post. Title of Blog. URL
Here’s how the above example would be cited in APA:
Kirschenbaum, M. (2017, January 4). 10 ways to spot a fake news article. EasyBib Blog.
Referencing for Court Cases
While referencing for court cases Name of the author is not important to be known. Although, for court cases, you have to take care of 3 major elements for an APA style referencing.
- Case Name: Name v. Name (e.g., the State of Georgia v. Rick Allen)
- Decision reporting source: Volume source page
- Court and judgment date
The court case referencing structure:
Name v. Name, Volume Source Page (Court Date)
For example, Lessard v. Schmidt, 349 F. Supp. 1078 (E.D. Wis. 1972)
In-Text Citation
For in-text citation, you need to write the Name of the case (in italics) with the year. Here’s an example:
Lessard v. Schmidt (1972)
Referencing for Edited Book
The following template must be used for edited book in APA style referencing:
The surname of Author, Author First Initial. (Publication Year). Name (p. Pages Used).
City: Publisher.
The Name should be written in italics.
For instance:
Wu, D. (1994). Romanticism – An Anthology (2nd ed., p. 449). Oxford: Blackwell.
In-Text Citation
The following part should be used just after the reference/quotation to the source in the documentation of an edited book.
(Surname of Author, Publication Year)
E.g. (Wu, 1994)
Referencing for Magazine
For APA style referencing for the magazine the following details should be count:
Surname of author magazines Name
Problem number
Page number
If it has been retrieved from a website, then URL for that website should be written.
Following template must be followed while referencing in APA style of the magazine:
Surname of Author, Author First Initial. (Publication Year). Title. Publication Title, (Problem number), Used Pages. Retrieved from URL
Here is an example:
Allwood, J. (2014). Should we design for deconstruction. Construction Professional, 27-28.
The publication title should be written in italics.
In-Text Citation
The magazine in-text citation, after the reference/quote to the source. The source can be mentioned according to, followed by this template.
(Surname of Author, Publication Year)
(Allwood, 2014)
Citing a Website
The following template must be used to cite a reference of the website in a document in APA style referencing:
Surname of Author, Author’s Initial. (Year, Month Publication Date). Title of Article. Retrieved from URL
Here’s an example:
Cain, K. (2012, June 29). The Negative effects of Facebook on communication. Social Media Today RSS. Retrieved from http://socialmediatoday.com
Italics are used for the title of the article.
In-Text Citation
The surname of the author and the publication year is the part of the first bracket after mentioning the source reference/ quotation in the document.
Referencing for Dissertation
The information listed below must be known to reference a dissertation in APA style referencing.
- Author’s Name
- Publication year
- Dissertation title
- Institution name
Following template must be followed while referencing in APA style of dissertation:
The surname of author. Author’s Initial. (Publication Year). Title (Level). Institution Name.
The dissertation title should be written in italics.
Here’s an example for you:
Mahmudur Rahman, K. (2013). GOVERNING THROUGH COERCION AND CONSENT: THE CASE OF THE READY-MADE GARMENTS INDUSTRY IN BANGLADESH (Ph.D.). The University of Queensland.
If the dissertation is taken from an internet URL should be replaced by the Name of institution.
For instance:
Chooprayoon, V. (2011). A study of factors influencing the adoption of E-Commerce technology in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the kingdom of Thailand. (PhD Thesis, Murdoch University). Retrieved from http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/5802/
Referencing for Book
Following template must be followed while referencing in APA style referencing of book:
Surname of Author, Author’s Initial. (Publication Year). Title (p. Pages Used). City: Publisher.
The title must be written in italics.
Here’s an example:
Finney, J. (1970). Time and again. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
The first letter of the first word of any subtitles and titles must be capital, and any proper noun’s first letter also. Mention the book title and the subtitles complete (if any).
Referencing for Government Publication
Following template must follow APA style referencing of government publication:
Surname of Author, Author’s Initial. (Publication Year). Title (p. Pages Used). City: Publisher
The title should be written in italics.
Here is an example:
Department of Education, Training, and Employment. (2014). Standard of Practice (p. 5). Queensland.
Citing a Newspaper
Following ideal template must be followed while referencing in APA style of the newspaper:
Surname of Author, Author’s Initial. (Publication Year). Title. Publication Title, p. Pages Used. Retrieved from URL
The information below should be known to reference a newspaper in APA style.
- The author’s Name
- Publication date
- News article title
- Newspaper title
- Page number
- URL of the newspaper
Referencing for Book Chapter
To cite a book chapter in the APA style referencing, the following structure should be followed:
Surname of Author, Author’s Initial. (Year). Chapter title. In Editor (Ed.), Name of the book/anthology (pp. Pages). City, State: Publisher
The book title/anthology should be written in italics.
Here’s an example:
Clason, G. S. (2008). The tale of seven remedies for a lean purse. The richest man in Babylon (pp. 23-25). Charleston, SC: B.N. Publishing.
If you selected an electronic version of the book chapter, the URL would be a substitute in place of author and publication.
Here’s the example:
Bellow, S. (1999). A silver dish. In J. Updike & K. Kenison (Eds.), The best American short stories of the century. Retrieved from http://books.google.com
To cite an introduction, preface, afterword, or foreword in APA format, the following structure must be used:
Surname of Author, Author’s Initial. (Year). [Type of Section]. In Editor (Ed.), Name of the anthology/ book (pp. Pages). City, State: Publisher.
Here’s an example:
Doe, J. (1997). Foreward. D. Jones, The sunniest day yet (p. 2). New York: Books International.
Referencing for E-Book
To cite an e-book in the APA style referencing, the following structure should comply:
The surname of Author, Author’s Initial. (Year). Title. Retrieved from URL / DOI
DOI (digital object identifier), an allocated number which enables the material to link to its internet address. That title has to be in italics.
Here is an example for better understanding:
ÖZKAHRAMAN, PhD R.N., Ş., & YILDIRIM, PhD, R.N., B. (2011). An Overview of Critical Thinking in Nursing and Education (1st ed., pp. 192, 193). Retrieved from http://www.aijcrnet.com/journals/Vol_1_No_2_September_2011/25.pdf