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Citation & Style Guides

What is APA Style?

APA 7th edition is the current version of the American Psychological Association's style handbook for formatting research projects, citations, and bibliographies.

Most social sciences classes use this style but it's always a good idea to check your assignment or ask your professor if you're not sure what style to use.

Scroll to the next box for help:

  • with APA Citations

  • more details about creating In-Text Citations

  • setting up References pages

  • with overall APA paper formatting

  • citing generative AI (ChatGPT etc.)

Need to know more about the basics of citation? See more information about How to Cite.

Formatting Citations and Papers in APA Style

Quick Sheet of APA Citation Examples

More APA Citation Examples at OWL Purdue

For even more examples, visit the link above which will bring you to the OWL Purdue site. This includes even more examples of commonly cited sources formatted in APA Style.

APA Manual, 7th Edition

You can also use the APA 7th edition manual in print.

In-Text Citations

If your professor has asked you to cite your work, you will need to include in-text citations throughout your paper, presentation or other written work. These citations are included to point to which source(s) in your Reference list you pulled information from. You should include an in-text citation every time you pull an idea from another source, every time you paraphrase (put in your own words) someone else's work, or when you directly quote someone else.

Questions to Ask

  • Where did we get this from? Is it a book, article or something from the web? 

  • What is the title?

  • Who wrote it?  

Reference Lists

Professors will often ask you to include a Works Cited page at the end of an assignment. This is a formatted list of all the citations you referenced throughout your assignment. Click the link to see how to format an MLA Works Cited page.

NoodleTools Help Guide

Use NoodleTools to store citations and generate a References page automatically. 

APA 7 Paper Template with Reference List

MS Office has a template for an APA 7 Style paper that includes a properly formatted Reference list at the end.

Sample APA Student Paper

The link above will bring you to an example of a student paper in APA 7th edition created by the OWL Purdue. It will show you how to set up an entire paper in APA Style, including formatting, page numbers, and other details.

You can also use the following template created by Microsoft 365 which is already set up in proper APA style. This includes a References page towards the end of the document.

A screenshot of the Microsoft 365 APA 7 student paper template

How to Cite ChatGPT

Visit the link above to learn the basics of how to cite generative AI tools like ChatGPT in your research.

A screenshot of the APA Style website's page about citing ChatGPT