APA Citation Presentation
Prepared for San Jose State University
LIBR 200 Students
With thanks to Stacy Russo,
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Title Page
Page Header
 Includes first 2-3 words from the title and
the page number in the upper right hand
corner.
 There should be 5 spaces between the
words and page number.
 The page header should appear on every
page.
 Do not include your name in the header.
(p. 288, section 5.06)
Title Page
Running Head
The running head is an abbreviated
form of the title that does not exceed
50 characters. It appears flush left at
the top of the page, but below the
header, in all uppercase letters. (p.
296, section 5.15)
Title Page
 Title
The title should be centered. If the title
is two or more lines, be sure to doublespace. (p. 296, section 5.15)
 Byline and Affiliation
This area is also centered and doublespaced. (p. 296, section 5.15)
Abstract
 Begins on p. 2.
 The word “Abstract” appears centered
on the first line.
 1 paragraph in length.
 Paragraph is not indented.
 Abstract should not exceed 120 words.
(See p. 298, section 5.16 for format; p.
12-15, section 1.07 for help writing the
abstract)
First Page of Text
 Begins on p.3 after the title page and
abstract.
 The full title of the paper should be
centered at the beginning of the page.
(p. 298, section 5.17)
References
 The word “References” should appear
centered on the first line.
 The reference page is double-spaced
as the rest of the paper.
 References are listed in alphabetical
order.
 Use the “hanging indent” by keeping
the first line of each reference flushed
to the left and indenting subsequent
lines.
(p. 299, section 5.18)
Helpful APA Tips
Always give the volume number of
journals, magazines, and newsletters.
Only include the issue number if each
issue of a journal begins on p. 1. (p.
227, section 4.11)
Helpful APA Tips
 Do not include personal communication that
cannot be retrieved by others on your
reference page. This may include letters,
interviews, e-mails, and telephone
conversations. Cite this information in your
paper only. Example: (R. Smith, personal
communication, May 2, 2005)
(p. 214, section 3.102)
 Use (n.d.) for works with no available date. (p.
225, section 4.09)
Helpful APA Tips
Be aware that date formats on the
Reference page differ by publication type (p.
225, section 4.09):
Journals/books: (1993)
Example: College & Research Libraries
Monthly magazines, newspapers,
newsletters: (1993, June)
Example: American Libraries
Dailies and weeklies: (1993, June 10)
Example: Los Angeles Times
Helpful APA Tips
More on dates:
“Even if the reference includes month
and year, include only the year in the
text citation” (p. 207, section 3.94).
Example:
Reference Page: (2006, April)
Text/Body of Paper: (2006)
Helpful APA Tips
Quotations of 40 or more words must
display in a “freestanding block” with
each line indented five spaces from
the left margin. Omit quotation marks.
(p. 117, section 3.34)
Helpful APA Tips
APA style requires just one space after
commas, colons, semicolons, periods
at the end of sentences, periods after
the initials in personal names, periods
that separate a reference citation. (p.
290-291, section 5.11)
Helpful APA Tips
Capitalization:
 Capitalize the titles of periodicals.
 Reference Page: Only capitalize the first
word of the title and subtitle of an article
or book, as well as any proper nouns.
 Text of Paper: Capitalize all major words
in titles of books and articles.
Helpful APA Tips
Capitalization:
 Book:
Reference Page: The complete shorter fiction of
Virginia Woolf
Text of Paper: The Complete Shorter Fiction of
Virginia Woolf
 Book with subtitle:
Reference Page: Creating the customer-driven
library: Building on the bookstore model
Text of Paper: Creating the Customer-Driven
Library: Building on the Bookstore Model
APA Citation Websites
 APA Official Site
http://www.apastyle.org/
 Selected Unofficial APA Sites:
Author Diana Hacker’s site
http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/
Bedford/St. Martin’s Publisher’s site
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.ht
ml
APA Citation Websites
 Selected Unofficial APA Sites:
Purdue University Online Writing Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/researc
h/r_apa.html
The Writing Center at University of WisconsinMadison
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocAPA.
html