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APA Documentation Style

Susan Silverman
Winthrop University
Fall 2009

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This document is based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 6h edition.  Two copies of the Manual are kept at the Dacus Library Reference Desk.)

Parenthetical References

Basic Rules:

  • “References in APA publications are cited in text with an author - date citation system and are listed alphabetically in the reference list.” (174) For examples, refer to pages 174 - 179 in the manual.

  • References cited in the text must appear in the reference list and each entry in the reference list must be cited in the text of the manuscript.

  • Double space all entries in the reference list and use a hanging indent.

  • Author. Last name is always first, then initials, do not use full name. When there are two or more authors use commas to separate authors and to separate last names and initials; use an ampersand before the last author.

  • Title of book. Capitalize the first word of the title, subtitle and proper nouns only. Italicize the title of the book.

  • Title of an article. Capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle only. Do not underline or use quotation marks.

  • Title of journal, magazine, or newspaper. Use both upper and lower case, capitalizing all major words. Include the number for the volume, but not the term “vol.” Italicize the title of the journal and the volume number.

  • For additional information and examples refer to pages 180-224 in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Examples for the Reference List:

Citing books by an individual author:
Miller, R. (2008). The adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Citing books by two or more authors:
Ehrlich, P.R. & Ehrlich, A.H. (2008). The dominant animal, human evolution and the
environment. Washington, DC: Island Press.

Work in an anthology or collection:
Hansberry, L. (1971). A raisin in the sun. In L. Patterson (Ed.), Black theater: A twentieth-
century collection of the works of its best playwrights (pp. 221-276). New York, NY: Dodd Mead.

Article in an encyclopedia or reference work:
Apostolos-Cappadona, D. (2005). Art and religion. In L. Jones (Ed.), Encyclopedia of religion
(2nd ed.). (Vol. 1, pp. 493-506). New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA.

Article in a scholarly journal:
Wells, J. (2008). The greatest sports feats of the twentieth century. Journal of Physical
Education, Recreation and Dance, 25(5), 6-12.

Article in a magazine:
Stein, J. (2009, August 24). Less Vegas. Time, 174, 23-29.


Article in a newspaper:
Rose, A. L. (1997, April 1). John Grisham: Mississippi novelist. The New York Times (late
edition), pp. D1, D4.

Video or film:
Spielberg, S. (Producer & Director). (1998). Saving Private Ryan [Motion picture]. United
States: Paramount Pictures.

For additional information, consult the following Web sites:

Winthrop University Homepage Dacus Library Homepage