APA

There are several common styles for page formatting, citations and references. This page provides information about the 7th Edition of APA (American Psychological Association) style. Another popular style you might encounter is MLA (Modern Language Association). High schools, universities, and academic journals typically require one one of these styles, and after you’re comfortable using one style, it’s easy to switch to another when needed.

Templates

Many instructors provide an APA template for writing assignments. Google Docs and Microsoft Word also have APA templates, which you may want to use in the future. Templates are great because then you don't have to remember conventions for line spacing, page numbering, margins, and other such tedious things.

Date

1. Write the month using letters and the year in four digits. For example, May 20, 2024 or 20 May 2024. This avoids ambiguity.

2. The date should be either either when you submitted the assignment or the submission deadline for the assignment.

3. Don’t write the weekday.

Paragraphs

1. Start each new paragraph with a TAB. If the document is set to English, the default tab size should already be correct (1.27 cm, 0.5 inches).

2. Don’t put a blank line between paragraphs.

Pages

1. Put the page number in the top right corner.

2. Start the references section on a new page. In most word processors, CTRL + ENTER creates a page break.

Word Count

Official APA guidelines state that the word count includes everything in the document, but many instructors do not follow this. One common alternative is to only count the words from the title to the end of the conclusion (and not the reference section). Check your course documentation to be sure.

Referencing

When you’re writing a paper that references other journals, websites, books, or other materials, it is important to provide clear information about where your data comes from, for several reasons. First, people deserve credit for their work. Second, the reader might want to do further research. Third, schools have rules about plagiarism.

Reference List Examples

This goes at the end of your paper. APA guidelines state that the references section should begin on a new page.

Google Docs

If you write your paper in Google Docs and use the built-in features, it’s easy to create a proper reference list. Microsoft Word has similar capabilities. You could do all of the reference formatting manually, but that takes a long time and mistakes are likely, so the following method is recommended.

1. Create the document

• If the teacher gives you a template, use the template. Or do the following…

• Open Google Docs. Click File → New → Template gallery → Report APA 7th Ed.

• Write.

2. Add sources

• Click Tools → Citations. Select APA (7th ed.). Click + Add citation source. Fill in the details. This is quick if you have a URL (for a website) or ISBN (for a book).

• Do this for each source.

3. Citations and quotations

• In the text, place your cursor where the citation should appear.

• In the Citations sidebar, hover over the source.

• Click Cite. The source will appear in the text.

• If necessary, write in the page number or numbers.

4. Insert a bibliography

• Go to the end of the text. Press CTRL + ENTER to start a new page.

• Click Tools → Citations.

• In the sidebar, click Insert bibliography.

• If necessary, make small changes.

References

• APA Citation Generator. (n.d.) Scribblr. Retrieved 2024.

• Forrester, S. APA Style. (2024) Lasell University. CC BY-SA 4.0. Some of the above content was copy/pasted from here.

• Reference Examples. (2020). APA Style.

• Sexton J. & Soles D. (2019). Composition and Literature. B.C. Open Textbook Collection.

• ▶️ Google Docs: How to Create Citations & a Bibliography. (2021). Howtech, YouTube.