Information Technology: APA Style

The official word on APA style from the APA style experts. Got a question? Check the blog.

The following is a summary of the basic rules for APA citations.

• use initials for the first name(s), e.g., Public, J. Q. or Public, J., not Public, John Q.
• cite author names in the same order as they're listed on the document
• include up to 7 authors.e.g., Smith, J., Spade, S., & Fudd, E. J.; if there are more than 7 authors, insert an ellipsis (...) after the 6th author and before the last author, e.g., Jones, H. M., McKay, J., Alvarado, F., Plath, E., Jordan, A., Porter, M., ...Johnson, K.

Make sure the date of publication is in the correct format

• for journals and books, give the year only, e.g., (2007)
• for magazines, newspapers, and web sites, include the full date as provided on the publication, e.g. (2007, November 15), (2007, November)
• if there is no date of publication, indicate so with 'n.d.' in place of the date, e.g., (n.d.)

Watch for capitalization:

• journal (periodical) titles should be capitalized and italicized (e.g., Advertising Age; Journal of Contemporary Health Issues; The New York Times)
  • journal volume numbers should also be italicized
• all other titles should be lowercase, except for the first word, the first word after a colon (:), period (.) or question mark (?) and proper nouns, e.g.
  • RIM to announce third quarter results on December 20
  • Donut wars: Can anyone catch Tim?
• do not put titles in quotation marks
• italicize book titles (e.g., Who moved my cheese? An amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life)

The library's research databases will help you format sources you find while searching them, but they will not help you with other sources. These tools can help you format your references in APA style. Select the resource type, enter your data, and get a formatted citation that you can paste into your bibliography.

Caveat: These citation machines are not perfect - they are only as good as the data you feed them. You will still need to proofread your references - use the basic rules above to catch the most common mistakes.

From Newfoundland’s Memorial University