This document provides an overview of APA citation style guidelines. It discusses the key elements of APA style including in-text citations, reference lists, author names, publication dates, titles, and sources without page numbers. Examples are provided throughout to illustrate different citation formats for various source types, such as books, journal articles, newspaper articles, interviews and more. The purpose of APA style is to standardize scientific writing and citations in order to give credit to authors and allow readers to find the sources easily.

1. APA Citation Style (6 th Ed.)
Dr. Arlene S. Opina

2. HISTORY
psychologists
APA STYLE
(1929)
anthropolo business
gists leaders

3.  The
Publication
Manual of the
American
Psychological
Association, s
ixth edition.

4. APA concerns uniform use of
the following elements:
 citation of references,
 selection of headings, tone, and length;
 punctuation and abbreviations;
 presentation of numbers and statistics;
 construction of tables and figures; and
 many other elements that are a part of a
manuscript.

5. APA Citation Style
 APA requires that information
be cited in 2 different ways:
1. within the text (no footnotes,
endnotes)
2. in a reference list at the end
of the paper (instead of
Bibliography).

6. Reference Citations in
Text
 In APA style, in-text citations
are placed within sentences
and paragraphs so that it is
clear what information is being
quoted or paraphrased and
whose information is being
cited.

7. Reference Citations in
Text
 APA uses the author-date
method of citation.
 The last name of the author
and the date of publication are
inserted in the text in the
appropriate place.

8. Example
• Provide the author and year, when
referencing or summarizing a source.
 Example:
In one developmental study
(McVea, 2012), children learned...

9. Reference Citations in
Text
 When quoting or summarizing a
particular passage, include the specific
page or paragraph number, as well.
Lopez (2009) overstated the case
when she asserted that "we seem to be
reaching ... from the hands of
philosophers" (p. 218).

10. No page number
If page numbers are not included in
electronic sources (such as Web-
based journals), provide the
paragraph number preceded by the
abbreviation "para." or the heading
and following paragraph.
(Mönnich & Spiering, 2008, para. 9)

11. Reference Citations in
Text
 When quoting in your paper, if a direct
quote is less than 40
words, incorporate it into your text
and use quotation marks. If a direct
quote is more than 40 words, make
the quotation a free-standing
indented block of text and DO NOT
use quotation marks.

12. Works by a single
author
 In one experimental study (Lopez,
2012), students learned... OR
 In the study by Lopez (2012),
critical thinking… OR
 In 2012, Lopez’ study of critical
thinking…

13. Works by two authors
When a work has two authors, always cite both
names every time the reference occurs in the
text. In parenthetical material join the names
with an ampersand (&).
as has been shown (Jambalos & Albano, 2008)
In the narrative text, join the names with the word
"and.”
as Jambalos and Albano (2008) demonstrated

14. With three, four, or five
authors
 Cite all authors the first time the reference occurs.
 In all subsequent citations per paragraph, include
only the surname of the first author followed by
"et al." (Latin for "and others") and the year of
publication.
First Citation: Gabano, Go, Lumpas, Sicat, and
Opina (2010) found…
Subsequent Citation: Gabano et al. (2010) found …

15. 6 or more authors
 Cite only the name of the first
author followed by et al. and
the year.
As mentioned…(Gabano et
al. , 2010).

16. Works by associations, corporations,
government agencies, etc.
The names of groups that serve as
authors (corporate authors) are usually
written out each time they appear in a
text reference.
As found in the study…(National
Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2009).

17. No Author
 Cite the first few words of the reference entry (usually
the title). Use double quotation marks around the title of
an article, chapter, or Web page.
 Italicize the title of a periodical, book, brochure, or
report.
 For example:
The students seemed …(“Medical Miracles,” 2009).
Blended Learning (Education Reform, 2010).
 Treat reference to legal materials such as court cases,
statutes, and legislation like works with no author.

18. Anonymous authors
 should be listed as such followed
by a comma and the date.
on climate change
(Anonymous, 2008).

19. Interviews, Email, and Other
Personal Communication
 Personal communication is not included in the reference list;
only in the text.
 Just cite in your text the communicator's name, and the phrase
"personal communication," enclosed in parenthesis and the date
of the communication.
 Example
(R. S. Lumpas, personal communication, November 6, 2012). Or
A. S. Sicat also claimed that his students enjoyed tv games
shows as part of the activities conducted in his classroom.
(personal communication, November 3, 2012).

20. Citations in
Reference List

21. Reference List
 References cited in the text of a
research paper must appear in
a Reference List . This list
provides the information
necessary to identify and
retrieve each source.

22. Digital object identifier
(DOI)
 DOI - a unique alphanumeric string
assigned to identify content and provide a
persistent link to its location on the
internet.
 The DOI is typically located on the first
page of the electronic journal article near
the copyright notice. When a DOI is used
in your citation, no other retrieval
information is needed.

23. No DOI
 If no DOI has been assigned to the
content, provide the home page URL of the
journal or of the book or report publisher.
 Do not insert a hyphen if you need to break a
URL across lines;
 do not add a period after a URL, to prevent the
impression that the period is part of the URL.
 In general, it is not necessary to include retrieval
dates unless the source material has changed
over time.

24. References
 Listed alphabetically by first author's last name.
 Hanging indented (succeeding lines 5-7 spaces from margin)
 No period after URL
 Double spacing
 Times New Roman point 12
 For example:
Ibrado, V. (2012). Register, genre and style.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

25. Order
Entries should be arranged
in alphabetical order by
authors' last names.
 Sources without authors are
arranged alphabetically by
title within the same list.

26. Example
References
APA formatting and style guide. Owl Purdue Online Writing Lab. Retrieved
from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/
Ballesteros, T. F. (2006). Technical writing. Makati City, Philippines: Mindshapers
Company. Inc.
Calderon, J. F., & Gonzales, E. (2005). Methods of research and thesis writing.
Mandaluyong City: National Book Store.
Campbell, D.T., & Stanley, J.C. (1991). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs
for research. Chicago: Rand McNally.
Comparative study. (2007, March 22).Arteology, the science of products and
professions. Retrieved May 7, 2012 from http://www2.uiah.fi/
projects/metodi/172.htm

27. Authors
 Write out the last name and
initials for all authors of a
particular work.
 Use an ampersand (&) instead of
the word "and" when listing
multiple authors of a single work.
 Example:
(Mangosong, M. & Zabala, D.)

28. Titles
 Capitalize only the first word of a title or
subtitle, and any proper names that are
part of a title.
 Example:
Carter, R., & Nunan, D. eds. (2001). The
Cambridge guide to teaching English to
speakers of the languages. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

29. Pagination
 Use the abbreviation p. or pp. to
designate page numbers of articles from
periodicals. The abbreviation p. or pp.
is used only in magazines and
newspapers, but not in journals.
 These abbreviations are also used to
designate pages in encyclopedia articles
and chapters from edited books.

30. Newspapers & Magazines
Lucero, R. (2009). The role of consciousness in second
language learning. Manila Bulletin 11 (2): pp. 129-158.
Patangan, E. (2010). Hurray for “SIMPSONS” family
values. (2000, January 13). Harper’s Magazine, p.16.

31. Indentation
 The first line of the entry is flushed
with the left margin, and all
subsequent lines are
indented (5 to 7 spaces) to
form a "hanging indent
format“.

32. Underlining vs. Italics
 It is appropriate to use italics instead of
underlining for titles of books and
journals.
 Example
White, R., & Arndt, V. (2000). Process
writing. New York: Longman.

33. With two to seven authors
(list all authors)
 List all authors by their last names and
initials. Use the ampersand “&” instead of
"and" before the last author followed by a
period.
 Example:
Biber, D., Bass, T., Sell, B., Bett, S., West, P.,
Grit, M., & Conrad, S. (2009). Register,
genre and style. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

34. With eight to more authors (List
the first six, … and the last author)
 List the six authors; commas separate author names.
After the sixth author's name, use ellipses; then the
last author’s name. Limit the authors to seven names
only.
 Example
Biber, D., Bass, T., Sell, B., Bett, S., West, P., Grit,
M.,… Conrad, S. (2009). Register, genre and
style. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.

35. With editor only
 Place the abbreviation ed. or eds.
following the author/s name/s marked by
a comma.
 Example:
Reid, I., ed. (2009). The place of genre in
learning: Current debates. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.

36. Reprinted work
 Indicate the original date of publication
within parentheses.
 Example:
White, R., & Arndt, V. (2000). Process
writing. New York: Longman
(original work published 1991).

37. Articles in journals, magazines,
and newspapers.
References to must include the
following elements: author(s), date of
publication, article title, journal
title, volume number, issue number
(if applicable), and page numbers.

38. JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, NEWSP
APERS accessed online
Gatcho, R. (2008). Students’ typology: The
effects of regret in escalation of
commitment. Organizational Behavior and
Human Decision Processes, 105(2), 221-
232. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2007.08.002

39. Article from an
Internet-only journal
Hirtle, P. B. (2008, July-August). Copyright
renewal, copyright restoration, and
the difficulty of determining
copyright status. D-Lib Magazine,
14(7/8). doi:10.1045/july2008-hirtle .

40. Journal article from a
subscription database (no DOI)
Lapuz, A. (2008, July 21). Information
worth billions. Fortune, 158(2), 73-79.
Retrieved from Business Source
Complete, EBSCO. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com

41. For Periodicals
 Same format as for books, except that the italicized
entry is not the title but the name of the periodical.
 The abbreviation p. or pp. is used only in
magazines and newspapers, but not in journals.
 Example:
Villanueva, G. (1990). The role of consciousness in
second language learning. Manila Bulletin 11
(2): pp.129-158.

42. Magazine article, in print
Kluger, J. (2010, January 28).
Why we love. Time,
171(4), pp.54-60.

43. Newspaper article, no
author, in print
 Example:
As prices surge, Thailand
pitches OPEC-style rice
cartel. (2008, May 5). The
Wall Street Journal, p. A9.

44. Journal
The effect of authentic materials on the
motivation of EFL learners. ELT Journal.
51 (2): 144-156.

45. No Author or editor, in
print
Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary
(11th ed.). (2003). Springfield, MA:
Merriam- Webster.
Poverty. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster
dictionary online. Retrieved from
http://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/poverty

46. Dissertations
 References should include the
following elements: author, date of
publication, title, and institution (if
you accessed the manuscript copy
from the university collections).
 If there is a UMI number or a
database accession number, include
it at the end of the citation.

47. Dissertation, accessed
online
Young, R. F. (2011). Crossing boundaries in
urban ecology: Pathways to
sustainable cities (Doctoral dissertation).
Available from ProQuest Dissertations &
Theses database. (UMI No. 327681).
UMI (Universal Management Infrastructure)
UMI is the world's oldest and largest publisher of dissertations.
Virtually all doctoral institutions in the US use UMI to archive
dissertations.

48. Unpublished Dissertation/
Research Paper
Hua, J.K. (2010). Drug abuse in the Philippines:
Implications for a proposed drug-abuse program
for public high schools. (Unpublished
undergraduate thesis). Centro Escolar
University, Makati.

49. Encyclopedias or dictionaries
and entries in an encyclopedia
 References must include the
following elements: author(s) or
editor(s), date of
publication, title, place of
publication, and the name of the
publisher.
 For sources accessed online, include
the retrieval date as the entry may be

50. Encyclopedia set or
dictionary
Aglibot, S., & Mercado, I. (Eds.).
(2010). The new Grove
dictionary of music and
musicians.(2nd ed., Vols.
1-29). New York, NY: Grove.

51. Article from an online
encyclopedia
Containerization. (2008). In
Encyclopædia Britannica.
Retrieved May 6, 2012
from http://search.eb.com

52. Technical and/or research
reports, accessed online
Deming, D., & Dynarski, S. (2008). The
lengthening of childhood (NBER
Working Paper 14124).
Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of
Economic Research. Retrieved July
21, 2008, from http://www.nber.org/
papers/w14124

53. Audio-visual media
 References must include the following
elements: name and function of the
primary contributors
(e.g., producer, director), date, title, th
e medium in brackets, location or
place of production, and name of the
distributor. If the medium is indicated
as part of the retrieval ID, brackets are
not needed.

54. Videocassette/DVD
Achbar, M. (Director/Producer), Abbott, J.
(Director), Bakan, J. (Writer), &
Simpson, B. (Producer) (2004). The
corporation [DVD]. Canada: Big
Picture Media Corporation.

55. Audio
Hanh, T. (Speaker). (2008).
Mindful living: a collection of
teachings on love,
mindfulness, and meditation
[Cassette Recording].
Boulder, CO: Sounds True
Audio.

56. Motion picture
Gilbert, B. (Producer), & Higgins, C.
(Screenwriter/Director). (2008).
Nine to five [Motion Picture].
United States: Twentieth
Century Fox.

57. Television broadcast
Anderson, R., & Morgan, C.
(Producers). (2010, June 20).
60 Minutes [Television
broadcast]. Washington, DC:
CBS News.

58. Music recording
Jackson, M. (2009). Beat it.
Thriller [CD]. New York,
NY: Sony Music.

59. Blog entry
Arrington, M. (2008, August 5).
The viral video guy gets $1
million in funding. Message
posted to http://www.tech
crunch.com

60. Professional Website
National Renewable Energy
Laboratory. (2008).
Biofuels. Retrieved May 6, 2008,
from http://www.nrel.
gov/learning/re_biofuels.
html

61. By Dr. Arlene S. Opina
Contributor
Victoria Grace C. Ibrado