APA Citation Quick Guide
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This guide provides selected examples of how to cite in APA citation style, 7th ed., 2020.
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For complete details, and in cases of discrepancies, please consult the official guide to
APA style (7th edition) in print and the APA style website as the authoritative source of
citation information.
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Please note that each scholarly journal editorial board as well as faculty set standards for
referencing expectations. Always consult them to determine which system to follow, and
any specific referencing and formatting requirements.
General Rules
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APA citation has two parts: an in-text citation for each source used or paraphrased AND a
complete citation in a reference list in alphabetical order at the end of the paper
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In-text citation format: (Author’s last name, publication year)
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Reference list format: entries arranged in alphabetical order and double-spaced (see Purdue
OWL site and APA style for details)
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In-text citation can be parenthetical (placed in parentheses at the end of a sentence), e.g.,
(Robinson, 2015) or narrative (incorporate it into the text as part of a sentence) (see sec. 8.11,
APA Manual, 7th ed. or APA style for details)
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Paraphrasing: Include only the author and date in the citation when you paraphrase a paper.
For example, (Walker, 2001) (See sec. 8.23-24 APA Manual, 7th ed. or APA style for details)
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Quotations: It is best to paraphrase than direct quoting. For short quotations (fewer than 40
words), include a full citation (parenthetical or narrative) in the same sentence as the
quotation, including the page number or paragraph number. For block quotations (40 words
or more), either (a) cite the source in parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation or (b)
cite the author and year in the narrative before the quotation and place only the page number in
parentheses after the quotation’s final punctuation. Do not add a period after the closing
parenthesis in either case (See sec. 8.25-34 APA Manual, 7th ed. or APA style for examples)
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To format your paper, please see Styles and Grammar on APA style and Purdue OWL website
for information and sample papers
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APA Citation Quick Guide
Book, in Print or eBook without DOI, with Three or More Authors
Reference List Format
In-Text Citation
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year of Publication).
Title of book. Name of Publisher.
(Ahuja et al., 1994)
OR
Ahuja, H. N., Dozzi, S. P., & AbouRizk, S. M. (1994). Project management:
Techniques in planning and controlling construction projects. John Wiley.
Ahuja et al. (1994) clarified
that……
Chapter in an Edited eBook with Specific Edition and DOI
Reference List Format
In-Text Citation
Author, A. A. (Year of Publication). Title of chapter. In Editor’s
Name (Ed.), Title of book (edition number ed., chapter page
numbers). Name of Publisher. DOI
(Weaver, 2017, p. 28)
Weaver, W. (2017). The mathematics of communication. In
Mortensen, C. D. (Ed.), Communication Theory (2nd ed., pp. 2738). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315080918
Weaver (2017) stated
that……(p. 28)
OR
Edited Book with Specific Edition and DOI
Reference List Format
In-Text Citation
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Eds.). (Year of Publication). Title
of book (edition number ed.). Name of Publisher. DOI
(Lanza & Atala, 2014)
OR
Lanza, R.P., & Atala, A. (Eds.). (2014). Essentials of stem cell
biology (3rd ed.). Academic Press.
https://doi.org/10.1016/C2012-0-06957-8
Lanza and Atala (2014)
mentioned that……
Tips for author-date citation format (see sec. 8.10-8.36, APA Manual, 7th ed.):
* For two authors, use “&” in reference list, “and” for in-text citation in a sentence. Example, Smith and
Burns (2020) stated that……(see “Author-date citation system”, APA style)
* For multiple authors (3 to 20 authors), list ALL authors up to and including 20 authors in the reference;
include the first author and then, use “et al.” for in-text citations. (see APA style for details)
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APA Citation Quick Guide
Journal Article with DOI
Reference List Format
In-Text Citation
Author, A. A. (Year of Publication). Title of article. Journal Title, Volume
number (Issue number), Page numbers. DOI
(Conboy, 2017)
OR
Conboy, M. (2017). Journalism and the democratic market
society. Journalism Studies, 18(10), 1263–1276.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2017.1336935
Conboy (2017) emphasized
that……
Journal Article, on a Website, without DOI
Reference List Format
In-Text Citation
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of Publication). Title of article. Journal
Title, Volume number (Issue number), Page numbers. URL
(Tamtik & Guenter, 2019)
OR
Tamtik, M. & Guenter, M. (2019). Policy analysis of equity, diversity and
inclusion strategies in Canadian universities – How far have we come?
Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 49(3), 41-56.
https://journals.sfu.ca/cjhe/index.php/cjhe/article/view/188529/186359
Tamtik and Guenter (2019)
demonstrated that……
Journal Article, in Print or in Library Databases, without DOI
Reference List Format
In-Text Citation
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of Publication). Title of article. Journal
Title, Volume number (Issue number), Page numbers.
(Dornstauder & Chorney,
2019)
Dornstauder, D., & Chorney, D. (2019). Shifting the focus for professional
development in health and physical education. Physical & Health
Education Journal, 85(1), 1-14.
OR
Domstauder and Chorney
(2019) demonstrated that……
Tips for journal article format (see sec. 10.1 #1, APA Manual, 7th ed.):
* If the journal does not use volume, issue, and/or article or page numbers, omit the missing element(s) from
the reference.
* If the journal article does not have a DOI and is from an academic research database, end the reference after
the page range. Cite it as is the case for a print journal article.
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APA Citation Quick Guide
Newspaper Article from a Website
Reference List Format
Author, A. A. (Year, month and day of Publication). Title of article.
Newspaper title. URL
In-Text Citation
(Fountain, 2020)
OR
Fountain, H. (2020, June 17). The iciest waters around Antarctica are less icy.
The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/17/climate/
antarctica-sea-ice-climate-change.html
Fountain (2020) stated
that……
Newspaper Article, in Print or in a Library Database
Reference List Format
Author, A. A. (Year, month and day of Publication). Title of article.
Newspaper title, page number(s).
In-Text Citation
(Griffin, 2018)
OR
Griffin, R. (2018, August 28). Tulowitzki is the Jays’ best option. Toronto
Star, S2.
Griffin (2018) mentioned
that……
Tips for newspaper article format (see sec. 10.1 #16, APA Manual, 7th ed.):
* For print version of the newspaper article, provide the page(s) of the article after the newspaper title. Do not
include the abbreviations “p.” or “pp.” before the page(s).
* For newspaper article from an academic research database, do not include database information in the
reference.
Webpage, with an Individual Author
Reference List Format
Author, A. A. (Date of posting/revision). Title of webpage. Title of website.
URL
In-Text Citation
(Price, 2019)
OR
Price, D. (2019, November 8). Getting good at doing things badly. Medium.
https://humanparts.medium.com/getting-good-at-doing-things-badlyd691ec7cf17f
Price (2019) clarified
that……
*See sec. 10.1 APA Manual, 7th ed. for details on citing website references
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APA Citation Quick Guide
Webpage, with an Organizational Group Author
Reference List Format
In-Text Citation
1st citation:
(World Health Organization
[WHO], 2020)
Author, A. A. (Date of posting/revision). Title of webpage. URL
World Health Organization. (2020, June 8). Youth violence.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/youth-violence
Tips for website author format (see sec. 10.16 #111-12, APA Manual, 7th ed.):
*When the author and the title of the website are the same, omit the website
title.
*Use “(n.d.)” if no date is available.
2nd citation:
(WHO, 2020)
OR
1st citation:
World Health Organization
(WHO, 2020) stated that……
2nd citation:
WHO (2020) stated that……
Facebook Post
Reference List Format
Account name. (Year, Day of posting). Content of post up to first 20 words.
[Photo/Status update/Video]. Facebook. URL
In-Text Citation
(BBC Science News, 2020)
OR
BBC Science News. (2020, June 19). A German-Russian space telescope has
just acquired a breakthrough map of the sky that traces the heavens in Xrays. [Photo]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/BBCScienceNews/
photos/a.321872518648/10157801156173649/?type=3&theater
BBC Science News (2020)
announced that……
*See sec. 10.15 APA Manual, 7th ed. for details on citing Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and
TikTok. The format used for Instagram is also used for Twitter and TikTok.
Streaming Video (YouTube, Netflix)
Reference List Format
Uploader. (Year, Day of posting). Title of video [Video]. Site name
(YouTube/Netflix). URL
In-Text Citation
(UTMLibrary, 2020)
OR
UTMLibrary. (2020, March 16). Research help from home or anywhere
[Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/2u8ryQ49lvc
UTMLibrary (2020)
demonstrated that ……
*See sec. 10.12 APA Manual, 7th ed. for details
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APA Citation Quick Guide
Film or Movie
Reference List Format
Name of originator or Primary contributor. (Function of originator or primary
contributor). (Copyright date). Title of film [Film]. Name(s) of
production company(s), separated with a semicolon.
In-Text Citation
(Walker, 2000)
Walker, R. (Director). (2000). Circus [Film]. Columbia Pictures.
Walker (2000) demonstrated
that……
OR
*See sec. 10.12 APA Manual, 7th ed. for details
PowerPoint Slides on Quercus
Reference List Format
Author, A. A. (Year, Date). Title of lecture [PowerPoint slides]. Platform.
URL
In-Text Citation
(Smith, 2019)
OR
Smith, M. C. (2019, October 8). Microeconomics. [PowerPoint slides].
Quercus@UTM. https://q.utoronto.ca
Smith (2019) explained
that……
*Use the login page URL for sites requiring login.
See sec. 10.14 APA Manual, 7th ed. for details
Personal Communications:
Emails, Interviews, Telephone Conversations, Letters, Memos
Reference List Format
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In-Text Citation
Personal communications are not included in the reference list.
Cite them in the text only with the author’s initials and last name, and
specific date.
*See sec. 8.9 APA Manual, 7th ed. for details
(R.A. Scott, personal
communication, June 11,
2018)
OR
R.A. Scott wrote in his email
(personal communication,
June 11, 2018) ……
CY 10/2022
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