How to Format APA Citations

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Look for your author.

   The author will be on the outside of the book or on the title page.
   
   It’s ok if there is more than one author.
   
   For our example, let’s say your author’s name is Georgia Smith.
2. 2

   Step 2: Find the publication date of your book.

   The publication date should be on the back of the title page.
   
   Use the most recent date.
   
   For the example, let’s say the book’s publication date is
   1995. , You have two basic ways that you can make a citation.
   
   You can name your author at the beginning of the sentence like this, using only the last name: “According to Smith (1995), leaves turn red in the fall.” Notice that in this instance, the date is in parentheses while “Smith” is not.
   
   The other way you can make an in-text citation is to put a citation at the end of the sentence without directly referencing the author in the sentence.
   
   This would look like the example: “Leaves turn red in the fall (Smith, 1995).” In this case, both the author and the date are in parenthesis, divided by a comma.
   
   Always put the author first and then the date. , If you have two authors, you can separate the authors’ last names with an ampersand (&).
   
   If you have more than two authors, you separate them with commas and an ampersand.
   
   Example of in-text citation for two authors: “Leaves turn read in the fall (Smith & Davis, 1995).
   
   Example of in-text citation for three or more authors: “Leaves turn red in the fall (Smith, Davis, & Baxter, 1995).” With three to five authors, you always list all the authors the first time you cite the source.
   
   After that, you’ll use “et al.” in this way: “(Smith et al., 1995).” “Et al.” just means “and others.” If you have six or more authors, you will always use the “et al.” version, even with the first citation you make. , In some instances, you’ll also need the page number to explain where you found the information.
   
   You must have the page number if you are using a direct quote.
   
   Let’s say you found this quote on page 123: “In my experience, leaves change from dark green to red in the fall.” You can cite this information in one of two ways.
   
   Whichever way you choose, always put the page number at the end of the sentence, even if you introduce the author and date at the beginning.
   
   Method 1:
   To use this quote, you would cite your source this way: “Smith (1995) discusses the process this way: ‘In my experience, leaves change from dark green to red in the fall’ (p. 123).” The page number is always last, and you put a “p” followed by period before it.
   
   Method 2:
   You could also write it this way: “Another writer put it this way: ‘In my experience, leaves change from dark green to red in the fall’ (Smith, 1995, p. 123).” Just like before, you put the information in parenthesis at the end of the sentence and separate it with commas. , When making an in-text citation with a direct quote, the end quotation mark will come before the citation, followed by a period, like the sentence from above:
   Example: “Another writer put it this way: “In my experience, leaves change from dark green to red in the fall” (Smith, 1995, p. 123).”
3. 3

   Step 3: Choose how you will create your in-text citation.

4. 4

   Step 4: Cite multiple authors if your book was written by more than one person.

5. 5

   Step 5: Write the page number if you are using a direct quote.

6. 6

   Step 6: Make sure to put the punctuation in the correct places.

Detailed Guide

About the Author