APA References Format
Basic Rules

Your cited bibliography in APA format is referred to as “References.” Label the page
References (do not italicize the word Reference or put it in quotation marks) and center
the word References at the top of the page.

Begin your Reference page on a separate page at the end of your research paper. It should
have the same one-inch margins and last name, page number header as the rest of your
paper.

Double space all citations.

Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations five spaces so that you create a
hanging indent.

Alphabetize citations. If you have multiple citations by the same author, alphabetize them
by title.

Number each page, continuing the number of text numbering.
Books
When you gather book sources, be sure to make note of the following bibliographic items:
author name(s), date of publication, book title, place of publication (name of city), publisher
name, (sometimes) page number(s).
Basic Format
Author’s Last Name, First Initial of Author’s First Name. (Publication Date). Book Title. City
of Publication: Publisher Name. Only capitalize the first word of the title (and if given, the
subtitle) or any other proper nouns. The publisher name should be written as briefly as
possible. Omit terms like Co., Corp., Inc., Ltd., Publishers, but retain the words “Books” or
“Press”.
1.
Book with one author
Gleick, J. (1987). Chaos: making of a new science. New York: Penguin.
2.
Book with more than one author
Gillespie, P. & Lerner, N. (2000). The Allyn and Bacon guide to peer tutoring. Boston:
Allyn.
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APA References Format
If there are three to six authors, separate them by comma and use an ampersand. If more than
six authors are cited, abbreviate the seventh author and any others that follow with the phrase
et al. (Latin for “and others”).
Johnson, L., Lewis, K., Peters, M., Harris, Y., Moreton, G., Morgan, B. et al. (2005).
How far Is far? London: McMillan.
3.
Citing a specific chapter from a book
Place page numbers of the Chapter in parentheses between the book title and the period that
follows it. Also, include the abbreviation “pp” before the page numbers.
Smith, J. (2008). The first chapter. The sample book (pp. 12-20). Pittsburgh: BibMe.
4.
Citing a specific edition of a book
Revised edition should be abbreviated “Rev. ed.” Abridged editions should be abbreviated
“Abr. ed.” The edition can usually be found on the title page.
Smith, J. (2008). The sample book (2nd ed.) Pittsburgh: BibMe. (Original work published
1920)
5.
Reference to book or report with a corporate author
United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. (1986). Record of decision:
Final environmental impact statement, land and resource management plan, Superior
National Forest. (USDA Publication No. 641-110/20043). Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office.
Reference Books, Encyclopedias, Dictionaries
1.
Basic encyclopedia reference
Perez, Jr., L. (2005). Cuba. In The world book encyclopedia. (Vol. 4, pp. 1168-1179).
Chicago: World Book.
2.
Reference to an unsigned article in a reference work
Culture change. (1976). Encyclopedia of anthropology (pp. 97-98).
3.
Basic dictionary reference
Fine arts. (1993). In E. D. Hirsch, Jr., J. F. Lett, & J. Trefil (Eds.), Dictionary of cultural
literacy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. INSO Corp. America Online. Reference
Desk/Dictionaries/Dictionary of Cultural Literacy (20 May 1966).
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APA References Format
4.
Diagnostic manual
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental
disorders (4th ed. Text revision [DSM-IV-TR]). Washington, DC: American
Psychiatric Association Press.
Periodicals (Magazines, Newspapers, Journals, etc.)
Basic Format
Author(s)’ Last Name, First Initial, (Publication Date). Name of Article. Magazine Title,
Volume or Issue Number, Page Numbers of Article. The complete date of the magazine
article should be given as it appears on the publication, with the year listed first, comma, then
the month and day. Do not include abbreviation for page numbers for journals and
magazines. Do include abbreviation for page numbers in newspapers. Italicize the magazine
name and the volume/issue number. Page numbers are not italicized. Include all pages on
which the article appears. If the article appears on non-consecutive pages, separate the pages
by commas.
Smith, J. (2009, January 21). Obama inaugurated as President. Time, 171, 21-23.
Smith, J. (2009, February 2). Steelers win SuperBowl XLIII. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, pp.
A4-A6.
1.
Article with no author given
Puzzling out man’s ascent. (1977, November 7). Time, 64-69.
2.
Article written by two or more authors
If more than six authors are cited, abbreviate the additional author(s) with “et al.”
Smith, J., & Doe, J. (2009, January 21). Obama inaugurated as President. Time, 171, 2123.
Smith, J., & Doe, J. (2009, February 2). Steelers win SuperBowl XLIII. Pittsburgh PostGazette, pp. A4-A6.
3.
Article reprinted in a collection of works by different authors
Carneiro, R. L. (1974). A theory of origin of the state. In Y. A. Cohen (Ed.), Man in
adaption (2nd ed., pp. 417-426). Chicago: Aldine. (Reprinted from Science, 1970,
169, 733-738)
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APA References Format
4.
Letter to the editor
Levy, M. M. (1979, September 24). [Letter to the editor]. Minnesota Daily, Sec. 1, p. 6.
5.
Article(s) published online
Include the word “Retrieved”, followed by the date the website was accessed (written in the
format of “month day, year). Do not follow by a period to avoid website confusion.
Smith, J. (2009, January 21). Obama inaugurated as President. Time, 171, 21-23.
Retrieved February 21, 2009, from
http://www.time.com/news/obama_inaugurated.html
Smith, J. (2009, February 2). Steelers win SuperBowl XLIII. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, pp.
A4-A6. Retrieved February 21, 2009, from http://www.postgazette.com/news/super_bowl_xliii.html
6.
Article found in a database
Include the word “Retrieved”, followed by the date the database was accessed. Use the word
“database”, and a period.
Smith, J. (2009, January 21). Obama inaugurated as President. Time, 171, 21-23.
Retrieved February 21, 2009, from LexisNexis database.
Smith, J. (2009, February 2). Steelers win SuperBowl XLIII. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, pp.
A4-A6. Retrieved February 21, 2009, from LexisNexis database.
Websites
Citation is to include Author’s Last Name, Initial(s). (Date of Document). Title of document.
Title of complete work.[if applicable] Version or File number [if applicable] (Edition or
revision). [if applicable] Protocol and address, access path or directories. (date of access).
1.
Named WebSite
Burka, L. P. (1993). A hypertext history of multi-user dimensions. MUD history.
http://www.utopia.com/talent/lpb/muddex/essay (2 Aug. 1996).
2.
WebSite by a Corporate Author
Classical myth: The ancient sources. Dept. of Greek and Roman Studies, U of Victoria.
28 Mar. 1998 http://www.wesleyan.edu/~cbays/homepage.html.
3.
Unnamed WebSite
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APA References Format
Kim, A. Home page. 9 Oct. 1997. http.//www.cohums.ohiostate.edu/English/people/kim.1
TV or Radio Program
Downs, H. (Narrator). (1968, Marsh 21). The first Americans [TV Video]. New York:
NBC News.
Film
Basic format includes Producer’s Last Name, First Initial. (Producer), & Director’s Last Name,
First Initial (Director). (Year). Film title. [Motion picture/DVD/VHS]. County of Origin: Name
of Movie Studio.
Bregeman, M. & Elfand, M. (Producers), & Lumet, S. (Director). (2006). Dog day
afternoon [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Home Video.
Harrison-Hansley, M. & Sussman, A. (Producers). (2005). Living with ADHD [DVD].
Available from http://www.films.com
Other
Images (not supported by BibMe)
Electronic Image
Basic information needed - Artist name, Title of the work, Date created,
Repository/museum/owner, City or Country of origin, Material or medium such as oil
on canvas/marble/photograph/etc Format is Author (Role of Author). (Year image
was created). Title of work [Type of work], Retrieved Month Day, Year, from: URL
(addresses of website)
Kulbis, M. (Photographer). (2006). Men pray [Photograph], Retrieved April 12, 2006,
from: http://accuweather.ap.org/cgi-bin/aplaunch.pl
No author, No Title, No Date
[Untitled photograph of a baby chimpanzee]. Retrieved April 12, 2006, from:
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jdtr/struc/shimp3.htm
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APA References Format
Wyeth, A. (1948). Christina’s world [Painting]. Retrieved from
http://www.moma.org/explore/collection/index
Interviews
Basic information needed – Name of person interviewed, type of interview (personal,
phone, email, etc.), location of interview, date interviewed.
Stedmann, J.K. (1989, September 9). Professor of Economics, Washington State
University. Interview.
Software Programs
ID Software. (1993). The ultimate doom. New York: GT Interactive Software.
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