Counseling

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Header

APA Style Guide

 APA style focuses on 3 things: 

  • FORMATTING style, such as titles, headings, page numbers, etc., which organizes the essay for readability. 

  • IN-TEXT CITATIONS, which show where you found the sources that you are  summarizing,  paraphrasing, or quoting,. 

  • REFERENCE LIST, including citations for all the resources you consulted or cited within your paper. 

Guide Body

Computer on desk

FIRST THINGS FIRST

It's time to make a decision. Do you (a) set up a template (or download ours below and under the TEMPLATE tab) before you start drafting your paper or (b) do you go back after you've written and revised your paper and standardized everything according to APA Style? Click below to explore guidelines.  


APA Checklist

What do I need to format for APA?


  • Title Page
  • Section Headings
  • Page Numbers
  • Page Margins
  • Line and Page Breaks
  • Paragraph Line Spacing
  • Alignment
  • Font size and style

Title Page

TITLE PAGE

Title center bold, student name, institution or class, date due

Layout Elements

LAYOUT ELEMENTS

Title centerd, double space, indent each paragraph


Headings

HEADINGS

Headings help organize the flow of information in your paper. Hierarchical headings also help readers identify the parts of your paper. For example, the Level 1 Heading Methodology section will explain what methods you used in your research. This section can have Level 2 Headings to identify your Research Design and Population Sample. Then next Level 1 Heading, Results, section of your paper will discuss your findings. Headings can also represent shifts in thought or theme.

APA uses 5 levels of headings. Most undergraduate papers only use 2 levels of heading. An outline will help you determine how many levels of headings you will need.

Level 1

Centered, Boldface, Title Case Heading

     Text starts a new paragraph after a 1/2 inch indentation. 
Level 2

Flush Left, Boldface, Title Case Heading

     Text starts a new paragraph after a 1/2 inch indentation. 
Level 3

Flush Left, Boldface, Italicized, Title Case Heading

     Text starts a new paragraph after a 1/2 inch indentation. ​
Level 4

     Indented, Boldface, Title Case Heading ending with a period. Paragraph text continues on the same line as the same paragraph.
Level 5      Indented, Boldface, Italicized, Title Case Heading ending with a period. Paragraph text continues on the same line as the same paragraph.

Heading Level 1 Discussion, Heading Level 2 theme in discussion

APA Template


Online Resources

ONLINE RESOURCES

APAStyleGuideHomePage

Visit the APA Style Guide website for more detailed information: HERE

In-Text Citations generally require:

  1. the author(s) or editor(s) name
  2. the year of publication and
  3. a page number.

You can write in-text citations a few different ways:

INTRODUCE YOUR SOURCE:

You can use introduce the author's name as part of the sentence and then place the year in parentheses after the author's name.
Example
According to Smith (2010), graduate students...

INSERT YOUR SOURCE:

Another option is to place both the author's last name and publication year in parentheses.
Example
Graduate students tend to utilize... (Smith, 2010)

QUOTE YOUR SOURCE:

When you are using a direct quotation you must include the page number (for print items) or paragraph number (for electronic/web based items).
Examples
As Smith explained, some of the items are "written in the positive direction and need to be key-reversed before totaling the scores" (2010, p. 313).

On his website Smith describes, "the positive direction and need to be key-reversed before totaling the scores" (2010, para 15)

Remember: Any source cited in the text of your paper must appear in your Reference List and any source included in your Reference List must have an in-text citation in your paper!  

Citing Works with NO AUTHOR

Works with NO AUTHOR

If the author is not identified, the title of the work (ex. webpage, or blog post) replaces the author's name position within the citation.


*Please note, when your citation includes a title instead of an author's name, it is correct to capitalize each word of the title within the in-text citation. Sentence case is used within the reference list.

Examples
Book with no identified author: (What They Don't Tell You About Graduate School, 2020)

Article with no identified author: ("Expert Advice for Thriving Through Graduate School," 2020)

Citing Works with NO PUBLICATION DATE

Works with NO PUBLICATION DATE

To cite works that do not have a publication date or indication of an update, for example, a website, substitute (n.d.) for the date.

Example
Webpage with no date: ("Student Services All Graduate Students Should Utilize," n.d.)

Citing Works with NO PAGE NUMBERS

Works with NO PAGE NUMBERS

To cite material (written or electronic) that does not provide page numbers, the location of the referenced material may be indicated by heading or section name, paragraph number or a combination of the two.

Examples
(Smith, 2020, para. 5).

("Student Services All Graduate Students Should Utilize," 2020, June 15, para 4).


For audiovisual works, a timestamp is documented in substitution of a page number.

Example
Smith highlighted that "time management is the most important skill for graduate students to build" (2020, 4:08).

Citing Works with TWO AUTHORS

Works with TWO AUTHORS

Cite both authors' last names throughout the work. Note that citations inside parentheses should use an ampersand (&), while citations outside of the parentheses, should use the word "and."

Examples
According to the study, 25% of graduate students...(Smith & Jennings, 2020).

The Smith and Jennings (2020) survey found that 25% of graduate students...

Citing Works with THREE OR MORE AUTHORS

Works with THREE OR MORE AUTHORS

To cite sources with more than three authors, the last name of the first author is listed and "et al.," is to be included for each citation. The 7th edition does not require a change between the first use of an in-text citation and subsequent in-text citations. Now, the first use of this citation may include the shortened version as well.

Example
According to a recent study, the average graduate student...(Smith, et al., 2020).

Citing Works with ORGANIZATION as AUTHOR

Works with ORGANIZATION as AUTHOR

When citing a group or organization, the full name is spelled out in the first citation, with the abbreviation in brackets. All subsequent citations may use only the abbreviation. Abbreviating the organization's name is optional.

Example
First citation: (American Association of Colleges & Universities [AACU], 2020).

Subsequent citations: (AACU, 2020).

It is time for everyone's favorite part of the research paper process: formatting your reference list!!

computer coffee and books in low light

Reference List Formatting

Here's how it's done:

Annotated Reference List

Hanging Ident in WORD

The following instructions are straight from Microsoft support, which you can access HERE.

instructions for hanging indent in MS Windows
instructions for hanging indent in Mac
instructions for hanging indent on the web


Hanging Indent in GOOGLE DOCS

Articles

Citing ACADEMIC JOURNALS

  • Author(s): List each author's last name and initial as Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C; use an ampersand (&) before the final author's name.
  • (Year).
  • Title of the article: Only the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized.
  • Title of the Journal: Italicize and capitalize each word in the journal.
  • Volume: Italicize the journal volume. If there is no issue, include a comma before the page range.
  • (Issue): If there is an issue number in addition to a volume number, include it in parentheses.
  • Page range: Articles that are published electronically will still have a page number range.
  • Hyperlinked URL or DOI
Format

Last name, F. M., & Last name, F. M. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Volume(Issue), page numbers. Hyperlinked URL or DOI

Walker S. Y. (2020). Understanding Title IX: Implications for higher education. Teaching and Learning in Nursing: Official Journal of the National Organization for Associate Degree Nursing, 15(4), 284–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2020.06.004

Citing MAGAZINES

Note: The format for this type of source depends on whether your source comes from a website or print magazine.

  • Author(s): List each author's last name and initials as Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C.; use an ampersand (&) before the final author's name.
  • (Year, Month Date): You do not need to abbreviate the month. Some magazines will only have a month and year.
  • Title of the article: Only the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized.
  • Title of the Publication: Italicize and capitalize each word in the publication.
  • Volume: Italicize the magazine volume. Some articles published online will not have a volume number.
  • (Issue): If there is an issue number in addition to a volume number, include it in parentheses. Some articles published online will not have a volume number.
  • Page range: Some articles that are published electronically will not have a page number range.
  • Hyperlinked URL
Format

Last name, F. M., & Last name, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of article. Title of Periodical, Volume(Issue), page numbers. Hyperlinked URL

Sibley, C., Carr, M. M., & Todaro, J. (2015). OPINION: On my mind. Winds of change. American Libraries, 46(11/12), 26–27.

Citing NEWSPAPERS

Note: The format for this type of source depends on whether your source comes from a website associated with a newspaper.

  • Author(s): List each author's last name and initials as Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C.; use an ampersand (&) before the final author's name.
  • (Year, Month Date): You do not need to abbreviate the month.
  • Title of the article: Only the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized.
  • Title of the Publication: Italicize and capitalize each word in the publication.
  • Hyperlinked URL
Format

Last name, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of article. Title of Publication. Hyperlinked URL

Bishari, N. (2022,19 August). They’re in school, they work and they’re homeless. San Francisco barely knows they exist. San Francisco Chronicle. https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/sf-homeless-families-17383046.php

Books

Citing BOOKS & eBOOKS

  • Author(s): List each author's last name and initials as Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C; use an ampersand (&) before the final author's name.
  • (Year).
  • Title of the book: Italicize the title; only capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle and any proper nouns.
  • (Edition): If there is an edition or volume, include it in parentheses and use abbreviations of ed. or vol.
  • Include the name of the publisher, but do not need to include the publisher's location or databases where you retrieved it.
  • eBooks only:Hyperlinked URL
Format

Book: Last name, F. M. (Year of publication). Title of work. Publisher Name.

McPherson, G., & Welch, G. (2012). The Oxford handbook of music education. Oxford University Press.


eBook: Last name, F. M. (Year of publication). Title of work. Publisher Name. Hyperlinked URL

Stryker, S. (2008). Transgender history. Seal Press. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.hnu.idm.oclc.org/lib/hnu-ebooks/detail.action?docID=680024

.

Citing CHAPTERS from EDITED VOLUME

  • Author(s): List each chapter author's last name and initials as Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C; use an ampersand (&) before the final author's name.
  • (Year).
  • Title of the chapter: Only the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns are capitalized.
  • Editor(s): List each editor's last name and initials as A. A. Editor, B. B. Editor, & C. C. Editors, include (Ed.) or (Eds.) in parentheses and end with a comma.
  • Title of the book: Italicize the title. Only capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle and any proper nouns.
  • Page range.
  • Publisher: Include the name of the publisher, but do not need to include the publisher's location.
  • URL: (*if an eBook) Copy and paste the permalink for your eBook.
Format

Last name, F. M. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. A.A. Editor (Ed.), Title of Book. Publisher Name. URL

McClaurin, I., & Waterston, A. (2009). Anthropology off the shelf. In Walking in Zora's Shoes or “Seek[ing] Out De Inside Meanin' of Words”: The Intersections of Anthropology, Ethnography, Identity, and Writing. Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444308822.ch12

Webpages

Citing WEBPAGES

  • Author(s): List each author's last name and initials as Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. If there is no author, spell out the name of the organization or site.
  • (Year, Month Date): Provide as specific a date where available. Some websites may only note the most recent year that the page has been updated. If there is no date use (n.d.).
  • Title of page or section: Italicize the title of the page.
  • Source: The source is usually the official name of the website. If the source or information (organization responsible for the website) would be the same as the author, you can omit the source to avoid repetition.
  • Hyperlinked URL
Format

Last name, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2021). Ventilation in schools and childcare programs. cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/ventilation.html

Citing ONLINE REPORTS

  • Author: List each author's last name and initials as Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. If there is no author, spell out the name of the organization that published the report.
  • (Year, Month Date): Provide as specific a date as is available.
  • Title of the report or document, italicized: Only capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle and any proper nouns.
  • Source. Includes the names of parent agencies or other organizations not listed in the group author name here. If the source or information (organization responsible for the website) would be the same as the author, you can omit the source to avoid repetition.
  • Hyperlinked URL
Format

Author or Group name. (Year, Month Date). Title of report. Site name (if applicable). URL

Helmus, T. C. (2022). Artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and disinformation: A primer. RAND Corporation. https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA1043-1.html

Citing BLOG POSTS

  • Author(s): List each author's last name and initials as Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. If there is no author, spell out the name of the organization or site.
  • (Year, Month Date): Provide as specific a date where available. If there is no date use (n.d.).
  • Title of post: Italicize the title of the page.
  • Source: The source is usually the official name of the blog. If the source or information (organization responsible for the blog) would be the same as the author, you can omit the source to avoid repetition.
  • Hyperlinked URL
Format

Last name, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of post. Site name. URL

Stephens, M. (2020, July 20). Literacies, libraries and collaborative learning. Tame the Web. https://tametheweb.com/2020/07/20/literacies-libraries-and-collaborative-learning/

Media

Citing FILMS & VIDEOS

  • Name of Director, (Director): List the director's last name and initials as Director, A. A.
  • (Year): Provide the date that the work was copyrighted.
  • Title of film or video: Italicize the title of the film followed by [Film].
  • Production company.
Format:

Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture [Film]. Production Company.

Note: Films from a streaming platform (Kanopy) in lieu of the production company, include the streaming platform followed by the URL

Format

Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture [Film]. Streaming Platform. URL

Reiner, R. (1987). The princess bride. [Film]. Disney+. https://www.disneyplus.com/movies/the-princess-bride/6hFucDYzyBdw

Citing EPISODES of TELEVISION (TV)

  • Name of Writer, (Writer) & Name of Director, (Director): List the writer and director's last name and initials as Writer, A.A. & Director, A. A. Include an ampersand (&) between the names of the writer and director of the episode.
  • (Year, Month Date): Provide the date that the episode originally aired.
  • Title of the episode: followed by (season number, episode number) [TV series episode].
  • Title of series: Italicize the title of the television series.
  • Production company.
Format

Writer, W. W. (Writer), & Director, D. D. (Director). (Original air date). Title of episode (Season number, Episode number) [TV series episode]. In P. Executive Producer (Executive Producer), Series title. Production company.

Chatmon, P. (Director). 2022, March 9. Young, gifted and black. (S8, E10) [TV Episode]. In E. Katton (Producer). Blackish. ABC.

Note: Films from a streaming platform (Kanopy) in lieu of the production company, include the streaming platform followed by the URL

Format:

Writer, W. W. (Writer), & Director, D. D. (Director). (Original air date). Title of episode (Season number, Episode number) [TV series episode]. In P. Executive Producer (Executive Producer), Series title. Streaming platform. URL

Levy, D. (Writer), & Cividino, A. (Director). (2020, Feb 4). The premiere. (S6, E5) [TV series episode]. in E. Levy & D. Levy (Executive Producers), Schitt's Creekhttps://www.netflix.com/title/80036165?source=imdb

Citing VIDEOS UPLOADED to the WEB (YouTube)

  • Name of poster: If there is a name associated with the person who uploaded the video content, list the posters name as Poster, A.A. If an organization is responsible for uploading the video content, spell out the organization's full name. Where no name of an individual or organization is provided, instead use the username of the account responsible for uploading the video content.
  • (Year, Month Date): Provide the specific date the content was uploaded.
  • Title of the video: Italicize the title of the video, followed by [Video].
  • Video platform: Provide the name of the website where the video content is hosted.
  • Hyperlinked URL
Format

Person or group who uploaded video. (Date of upload). Title of video [Video]. Website host. URL

Cain, S. (2012, Mar 2). The power of introverts [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/c0KYU2j0TM4

Citing PODCASTS

  • Name of Executive Producer(s), (Executive Producer): List each executive producer's last name and initials as Producer, A. A., Producer, B. B., & Producer, C. C. If there is no executive producer listed, provide the name of the podcast host(s) followed by (Host).
  • (Date of Airing): Provide as specific a date where available. If there is no date use (n.d.).
  • Title of podcast episode.
  • Source: The official name of the podcast italicized. Followed by [Audio Podcast].
  • Production company.
  • Hyperlinked URL
Format

Last name, Initial, (Executive Producer). (Date of airing). Title of podcast episode (No. if provided). In Title of podcast . Production company. URL

Doyle, G. (2022. July 26). Our most embarrassing stories [Audio podcast episode]. In We Can Do Hard Things . Cadence 13. https://open.spotify.com/episode/7HLkIDhTfU03eugSLU0qNn

  • Last Updated: Feb 3, 2025 4:46 PM
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Subjects: Counseling
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