The CSU-Global Writing Center has resources and templates to get you started with APA citation for you research and assignments. Explore this tutorial and others, or see other help options at the CSU-Global Writing Center.
Citing sources might seem tedious, but it's important in academic writing for several reasons. Attributing and documenting your sources:
Helps you avoid plagiarism.
Allows the reader to find your sources. Think of citations as footprints leading the reader through some of the steps you took to reach your conclusions.
Helps you to develop an argument and provide evidence for your claims.
Adds credibility to your work by demonstrating that you’ve sought out and considered a variety of viewpoints.
Is standard practice for scholars and students engaged in written academic conversations. Citing source material demonstrates that you are responding to an author, agreeing with that author, and contributing to the broader academic conversation on a given topic.
Elements of Citation
There are three elements to any citation style:
Formatting: Formatting involves ensuring your font style, heading seriation, page numbering, and header are all standardized according to the APA formatting guidelines
In-Text Citations: In-text citations are required whenever you quote or paraphrase from an author in the body of your assignment. This generally involves putting the author, year, and page number in parentheses after a quotation.
Reference List: A reference list appears at the end of your assignment and details every source used in your assignment. These references are generally created by the type of material the source is.
Reference List Overview
All in-text citations used in the body of the paper must appear in a more detailed format on the References page.
Likewise, every resource in the Reference List must be cited in-text (see the In-Text Citation tab for examples). The only exceptions are classical works, such as the Bible, and personal communications, like an interview.
Keep in mind that no other references should appear in this list, only those that have been cited in the paper. The references start on a separate page after the last page of the body of the paper. Use the page break feature in your word processor to insert a new page.
At the top of the page and centered, type the word References but not in bold. Do not title the page Bibliography or Works Cited since these words are only used in other citation styles.
References are always listed in alphabetical order by the author’s last name or the title of an organization, if the organization is the author. If there is no author, alphabetize the source according to its title.
References are double-spaced with the first line of a reference flush with the left margin. Each additional line is indented half (½) an inch to the right. This is called a hanging indent. Use the hanging indent tool in your word processor (found under paragraph formatting).