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APA Style Guide: Citations & Bibliography

When Writing Your Bibliography: 

Some Helpful Tips:

  • When creating your citation page use References as your header at the top of your page.
  • All references are double-spaced.
  • Indent all lines after the first line,by using a hanging indent. (Ctrl+T in MS Word.)
  • Use initials for first and middle names, even if the entire name is provided.
  • Italicize journal name, volume number, and book title.
  • When referring to books, chapters, articles, or web pages, only capitalize the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns.
  • Capitalize all major words in journal titles.
  • Months are spelled out, not abbreviated.
  • Do not end the citation with a period if it ends in a URL or DOI (digital object identifier).
  • Only use 1 space after commas, colons, semicolons, punctuation marks at the ends of sentences, periods that separate parts of a reference citation, and after the periods of the initials in personal names.

In-Text Citations:

A parenthetical reference follows a quotation or paraphrase used in the text of your paper and leads the reader to the complete citation in the references page. Usually the author, year of publication are sufficient. (Gibaldi, 2007)

For more detailed information and examples, consult:

APA Citation Guide 7th edition

Books

General Format: Author name(s). (year of publication). Title. Name of publisher.

Book

Flippo, Rona F. and David C. Caverly, eds. Handbook of College Reading and Study Strategy Research. New York: Routledge, 2008
Book Chapter

Breneman, D. W. (2008). “Institutional perspectives on student success” In M. S McPherson and M.O. Schapiro (Eds.), College success: What it means and how to make it happen. (pp.35-48). College Board
eBook

Phifer, P. (2009). College majors and careers: A resource guide for effective life planning.  http:web.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebooviewer/ebooknlebk_282977_AN?sid=27bc5a42-4765-46d0-834d-f249f4654586@session mgr14&vid=11

Print Articles

General Format: Author(s). (year). Article title. Name of Journal, volume, pages.

Article

Halawah, I. (2011). Factors influencing college students' motivation to learn from students' perspective. Education 132.2, 379-390.
Magazine article

Ferguson, N. (2011, January). Rich America, poor America. Newsweek, 159 (4), 42-47.
Newspaper Article

Muckenfu, M. (2012, March 11). UCR said near med school goal. Press-Enterprise, pp. A1.

Online Articles (Database or Web)

General Format: Author(s). (year)*. Article title. Name of Journal, volume (Issue) pages. Doi or Link from where the article was retrieved.

*if there is no author, move the publication date to after the article title and before the volume

Article from a database with a doi

Smith, V. C. (2010). Essential tasks and skills for online community college faculty. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2010(150), 43–55. https://doi-org.norcocollege.idm.oclc.org/10.1002/cc.404
Article without a doi  Hanscomb, S. (2020). Shot by Both Sides: Punk Attitude and Existentialism. Existential Analysis: Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis, 31(1), 4–19. https://norcocollege.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=141520732&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Website

General Format: Author or group name (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL.

One page on a website Wessel, M. D. (2023, November 27). What It’s Like To Ride in a Top-Rated Bike City. PeopleForBikes. https://www.peopleforbikes.org/news/what-its-like-to-ride-in-a-top-rated-bike-city
Complete Website, no publication date, no author PeopleForBikes. (n.d.).  Every rider. Every ride.. https://www.peopleforbikes.org/

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources formatted in the manner of a bibliography with a short paragraph after each entry. The paragraph provides a brief summary of the article and its relevancy to the main subject. 

When creating an annotated bibliography, consult with your professor about any questions you have. Assignment requirements may vary according to the subject and professor.