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How to Gite in APA Format bu**l*,l-r
APA in-text citations
The besics
ln-text citations are brief references in the running text that direct readers to
the reference entry at the end of the paper. You include them every time
you quote or paraphrase sorneone else's ideas or words to avoid plagiarisrn.
Our plagiarism checker can help ensure your paper contains appropriate author
attributions.

An nPA in-text citation consists oi tlte author's iast name and the year of
publication (also known as the author-date system). lf you're citing a specific part
of a source, you should also include a locator such aa a page number or
timestamp. For cxample: (Smith, 2429, p. {70}"

Parenthetical vs. narrative citation

The in-text eitation ea-n take ttuo forms: parenthetieal and narrativo.

. Parenthetical citation: According to new research ... (Smith, 2A2A\.

. Narrative citation: Smith (2020) notes that ...

Multiple authors and corporate authors

The in-text citation changes slightly when a source has multiple authors or an
organization as an author. Pay affention to punetuatian and the use of the ampersand
(&) symbol.

Author type Parenthetical citation Narrative citation

One author (Smith,202A) Smith (2020)

Two authors (Smith & Jones, 2020) Smith and Jones (202A)

?L*^^ *,.+L---- (Smith et al., 2020)

I lltrtg \rt rllt rE GlufrturJ Smith et al. (2020)

Organization (Scribbr,2AZA) Sribbr (2020)

I
Missing information
When the author, publication tlate- or locator is unknown, take the steps outlined below.

Missihg element Whatto do Parentheticalcitation

Author Use the souree title.* ($ource Title,2O2Al

Date Write "n.d." for *no date" (Smith, n.d.)

Page number Either use an alternative locator or (Smith, 2A20, Chapter 3) or

omit the page number. (Smith,2020i

*Format the title in the same way as in the corresponding reference entry (either italicized
or, if the title in the ref,erence eutry is not italieized, placed in quotation marksl. Use title
case capitalization. For court cases, use italics in the in-text citation but not in the reference
entry.

Direct quotes in APA Style

Published on November 12,2A2O by Shona McGombes. Revlsed on June 16,2A22.

A direct quote is a piece of text copied word-for-word from a source. You may qrote a
word, phrase, sentenee, or entire pas$sge.

There are three main rules for quoting in APA Style:

". If the qu+te is e*der 40 words, placs it i:r dauble quot*tion marks.
If the quote is 40 words or more, format it as a i:{q:r:*a";g*"rgrtr.
. Cite the author, year, and page numberwith an APA in-text citation.
Example: APA direct quotc

According to a recent paper,'(quofes can be useful in academic writing" (Singh et al., 2019,
p.2s).

Citing a direct quote

To cite a quote in APA, you always include the the author'g last name, the year
the eource ures published, and the page on which the quote can be found, The
page numher is preceded by "p," (for a single page) or "pp.n' (for a page range).

q
 There are two types of APA inltext citation: parenthetical and narrative.

ln a parenthetical citation, you place the entire citation in parentheaes directly

after the quote and before the period (or other punetuation mark).

Example: APA parenthetical citation

A recent study of student plagiarism found that "plrgiarism is often a matter of eonfusion
rather thau deception" (Horvdth & Kovr{cs, 2020rp.4).
ln a narrative citation, the author(s) appear as part of your sentence. Place the
year in parentheses directly after the author's name, and place the page number
in parenthe$es directly after the quote.

Example: APA narrative eitation

tr{oryfth and Kovdcs (2$2$} argue that ftlagiarism is often a matter of confusion rather
than deception" tp.4).
Remember that every in-text citation must correspond to a full APA reference at
tfte end of the text. You can easily create your reference list wi*r our free APA
Citation Generator,

Quoting 40 words or more (APA block guotes)

lf the quote contains 40 words or more, it must be formatted as a block quote. To
format a block quote in APA Style:

'. Do not use quotation marks.

Start the quote on a new line.
. lndent the entire quob 0.5 inches.
. Double-$pace the entire quote.

Like regular quotes, block quotes can be cited with a parenthetical or narrative
citation. Howevern if the block quote ends with a period, place the
citation after the period.

a Parenthetieal
Example: Block quote with parenthetical citation.
$ometimes it is neceosary to quote a Bource at length:
Block quoting is particularly useful when you want to eomment on an author's
language or present an argument that you will then critique. By setting the quote
on a new line and indenting it the passage is clearly marked apart from your own
worde. Therefore, no quohtion marks are neceagary. (O'Connorn 2019, p. 33)

o Narrative:
O'Connor (2019) explains the purpose and format of block quotes:
Block quoting is particularly useful when you want to comment on an author's
language or pnesent an argument that you will then critique. By setring the quote
 ?

on a new line and indenting it, the passage is clearly marked apart from your own
words. Therefore, no quotation marks are necessary. (p. 38)

THE APA REFERENCES

The four components of an APA reference
Although the reference format differs depending on the type of soure (e.9., a book,
webpage, or video), they're built from the same four components:

{. Authgt: who is responsible for creating the work?

2, Date: when wae the work published?
3. Title: what is the work called?
4. Source: where can the work be resieved?
APA TBook2nd editionl author No locator
Reference list entry
INEAF Business School. (n.d.). Formacihn Fiscal, Laboral, Contabilidad y Mercantill
INEAF. lneaf Business School. https:/lwww.ineaf.es/glosario-juridicoffactura-comercial
Parenthetical ( Smith, ZAZ0)
Narrative Smith (2020)
Citq a .hgolrshow formatf

The Al-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

. Missing commas and periods

. lncorrect usage of "et al."
. Ampersands (&) in nanative citations
. Missing reference entries

Author
The author is responsible for creating the work. This can be an individual, multiple
people, an organization (such as a company, govemment agency, or workgroup), or a
combination of them. The author can be the writer of a text, but also the host of
a podcasJ or the director of a movie.

Basic format
ln an APA reference, the authot's name is inverted: start with the last name, followed by
a comma and the initials, separated by a period and space.

[,I
 I

Treat infixes, such as 'Van" or tee", as part of the last name. Don't include personal
titles such as Ph.D. or Dr., but do include suffixes.

. Smith, T. H. J.
". Van der Molen" R.
Brown, A. T. W., Jr.
r T ^^ rr 1/
LUU^ I).-ir.

Multiple authors
Separate the names of multiple authors with commas. Before the last author's name,
you should also insert an ampersand (&).

A reference entry may contain up to 20 authors. If there are more than 20, list the first
19 authors, followed by an ellipsis (. . .) and the last author's name.

. Andreff, W., & Staudohar, P. f).

* Andrcfl W.- StauCohar. P. D.. & LaBrodc. l\4.
. Miller. T. C.. Brown, M. J., Wilson, G. L., Evans, B. 8., Kelly" R. S., Tumer. S. T..
Lewis. F., Nelson. T. P., Cox, G., Ilarris, H. L., Mafiin, P., Gonzalez,W.L., Hughes, W.,
Carter- D,. Camphel!. C.. Llaker. A-. B.- Flores. T.. Cra-r," w. E.- Green- C.. . . . I-ee. | . 11.

Organizations or groups as author

\Alhen an organization or group is listed as the author of a source (e.g.,
a reoort or brochure), list the name in fulL-don't use abbreviations. lf multiple
organizations or groups are responsible for creating the work, include them all in the
reference entry. Do not use a comma to separate two group authors.

. Centers for f)isease Control and Prevention (not CDC)

. Microsoft & Apple

Usernames
An author's name can also be a username (for example, a Twitter handle). lf you don't
know the authot's real name, you only provide the username. lf you do know the
author's real name, include the username in brackets after the authols real name.
Retain the @ symbol.

o r'r]rner-r-,riienie
<:?r - ' *^ -r- -
r Trurp, D. .f. [@RealDonaldTrump].

lndication of roles
lf contributors have a different role than "authof, a description of their role is sometimes
(but not always) included in parentheses. Check the table below to learn when to
provide a role description.
 E

Author roles in APA references

Source typeRole ln the reference entry

Book Author Last name, A. A.

Editor" Last name, A. A. (Ed.)

Film Director Last name, A. A. (Directo$

TVsqries Executive producerLast name, A. A. (Executive producer)

Podcepj l'lost Last name, A. A. (Host)
Webinar lnstructor Last name, A. A.
Afirork Artist Last name, A. A.
Photooraph Photographer Last name, A. A.
*
Abbreviate the editor role to "Ed.' (one editor) or "Eds." (multiple editors).

Unknown author
The author may not ah,vays he mentfoned explicitly, but you can often infer it from
the context For example, an "About us" page on a website is usually written by
the organization behind the website.

when you rcally cannot determine the author, you may omit the "author"
component from the reference. The reference then begine with the source title, as
in this Bible citation.

Blog pcst (unknown author)r(izg James Bible. Q0l7). King James Bibte Online.
https : //www. kin gj amesbibleonline.orgl
Note that legal eitations (e.9. q.ourt cases, laws) generally don't have an author
element.

Date
The "date" component appears after the "author" component. Use the following
guidelines to determine the publication date:

. For books, always take the copyright date.

. For journal articles, take the year in which lfie volume was published.
. For web pages, you may use the "Last updated" date if it applies to the
content you're citing. Don't take the copyright dab ftom ttre footer of a
website.

Basic format
The date of publication appears in parcntheses and can take the following forme:

{-
 . (2020i
. {2420, January)
- /1n1n I^^,,,,.,, 'l ( r
. (1997-1999)

ln most cases, you only include the year of publication in the reference entry. Sources
published more frequently (e.9., newspeJlers, hlgqg, YouTube videos) or events taking
place on specific dates (e.9., conferences, speeches) usually include the fulldate.

Retrieval date
Only provide the retrieval date (i.e., the date you consulted the information) if a work is
designed to change over time. Examples include:

. Online dictionarv entries

Social media profiles (not posts)
'. Dashboards with statistics (like this world population counter)

The retrieval date appears after the source title and before the URL, Write the word
"Retrieved" followed by the month, day, and year.

Webpage (changing over time) Worldometer. (n.d.). Warld papulation clock. Retrieved October
20, 2AZA, from https://www.worldometers.infolworld-popul atton/
You do not need to include a retrievaldate for an online newspaper article or blog post
(like this one), even though the content might change a little over time. A retrieval date
is also not needed if versions are archived, as is the case with Wikipedia articles.

Same author, same date

When citing multiple works from the same author, published in the same year, you need
to add a lowercase letter after the year to distinguish between them. These lowercase
letters are also included in the APA in-text citation.

. Cole, A. J. (2016a). Adoption of contactless payment solutions.

. Cole, A. J. (2016b). Trust differences between payment providers.

Assign the letters using the following rules:

. References with only a year precede those with more specific dates.
. References with specific dates are ordered chronologically.
. References with identical dates are ordered by their titles (disregard "A', 'An",
and'The').

Unknown publication date

lf the publication date is unknown, write "n.d." for "no date" in place of the publication
date.
 )

Blog post (unknown publicatiori da[e) Scribbr. (n.d.). An intoduction to research methods.
httf llyWw. scribbr. com/category/methodolo gy/
1,

Title
ln the utitle" component, you write the name of the work that you're citing. This can be
the title of a journal or a book (i.e., a stand-alone work) or a specific artiile or chapter
from that journal or book (i.e., a work that is part of a greater whole). ln the latter case,
you need to include two titles.

Basic format
When citing a stand-alone work, its title appeafti in the'title" component, in italics and
sentence case.

Book (stand-alone work)Vosg C., &, Raz, T. (2017). Never sptit the dffirence: Negotiating as
your life depended on tnHarpw Bwiness.
d
When citing a work that is part of a larger whole, the title of the work appears in the
"title" component (sentence case, no styling) and the title of the larger wnob appears in
the "source" component (italicized).

Journal anicle (part of a iarger whoie)Loq C., & Yuan, S. (2019). Influencer marketing: How
message value aad credibility affect coosumer trust of branded content on social media. Journal
af Interactive Advertising, l9(l),58-:73. https:l/doi.orgl10.108 0/15252AW2018.i533501

Bracketed source descriptione

Descriptions help identify sources. You include them for pretty much every source type,
except for books, joumal articles, reports, websites and newspaper articles.

flacg the description in square brackets after the source title but before the period.
Capitalize the first letter of the description, but don't italicize it. Try to keep the
descriptions short and consistent.

YouTube videoBloomberg QuickTake. (2020,Ju1y 1). How to buitd a city around btkes,
fast $ ideaJ. YcuTube. h@s://you*u.be&-I6HFeXquU

Unknown title
lf a work does not have a title, provide a description of it in square brackets in the place
of the title.

PaintingVan Gogh, V. ( 1S78-l 882). [Portrait of a woman] [Painting]. Rijksmuseum,

Asrsterdam" The Netirerlan,is.

ln the "source" component, you include infonnation about where the work can be
retrieved.

o
When citing a stand-alone worlq(e.g., a book or webpage), you include the name of
the publisher, database, platfoffi, or website (whichever is relevant to your source), and
a Dot{DiqitalObiect ldentifier} or URL.

When citing a rvork that is part of a greater whole (e.9., an article in a journal), you
include information about this greater whole, like its title, relevant edition, volume or
issue information, relevant contributors (like editors), the page range and the publisher,
as well as a DOI or URL of the work.

Title of the grsater whole

The inclusion of titles is explained in the "title" section. The title of the
greater whole (e.9., a journal, newspaper, or edited book) is usually the first element in
the "source'component and is italicized.

Editlon lnformation and volume and issue numbers

Books can have different editions, while periodicals (such as journals and magazines)
usually have volume and issue numbers. This information appears after the tifle.

Put edition information in parentheses, but unlike the title, don't italicize it.

BookCoghlffi, D. (2019). Doing action research inyour own organization (5th ed.). SAGE
Publications.
Italicize the volume number and place it afier the periodicaltitle. The issue number
appears after the volume number in parentheses (not italicized). Do not add a space
between the volume and issue number.

Jaur'.rai articieE',,ans, N. J., iJhua, J.. I-im, -i.. & Jun. H. (2tJ17i. Lrisciasing Instagram influencer
advertising: The effects of disclosure language on advertising recognition, attitudes, and
behar.ioral intent. Journa l o.f Inter uc tive A dv e r tis ing, l 7 (2), 138*1 49 .
https://doi.ors11 0."! 080/l 525201 9.201 7.1 366885

Contributons
lf there are relevant contributors other than the author of the work you're citing, you
need to credit them as well. The most common examples are editors of collections and
translators of books in a foreign language.

Unlike the author component, the names of the contributors are not inverted. You
introduce contributors with the word .ln" right after the 'title" component. Don't forget to
include a role description in parentheses.

Chapter in an edited bookGaffney, D., & Puschmann. C. (20i4).Datacollection on

Twitter. ln K. Weller, A. Bruns, J. Burgess. M. Mahrl, & C. Puschmann (Eds.). Twitter and
saciety (pp. 55-67). Peter Lang Publishing.

Fage ranse of the wsrk

 I

\A/hen citing a work that is palt ota greater whole, you need to provide the page number
or page range of that work. This makes retrieving it easier. Depending on the type of
source, the page numbers are preceded by "p." or "pp." and placed in parentheses or
not.

Journal articlePlantin, J.-C., Lagoze, C., Edwards, P. N., & Sandvig, C. (2016). Infrastructure
studies meet platfonn sf,;dies in the age of coogle and Facebook. |;iew Media &
Sociery^, 20(1),293110. https://doi.ory'l0.1 17711461444816661553Chapter in an edited
bookBelsey, C. (2006). Poststructuralism. In S. Malpas & P. Wake (Reds.), The Routledge
ccnnpanion ta critieal theary (3rd od", pp. -s1*61). R+utledge.

Publisher, databasen platfoFm, or website name

Depending on the type of source, you should include the name of the publisher,
database, platform, or website responsible for distributing the work. When the author of
a work is the same as the publisher or website name, you may omit this information.

Blog post iwebsiteiMcCotnbes, *c. (2020, iune i9). Hovt to write. tt probiem srateme4r. Serib"hr.
https://www.scribbr.com/research-processlproblem-statemenVBook (publisher)Hetherington, M.
J., & Weiler, J. D. (2009). Autharitartanism and polarization in American politics. Cambridge
University Press.YouTube video tplatformlVox. (2018, October 17). How IKEA gets you to
impulsiveiy buy more [Vi<ieo]. YouTube. https:l'www.youtube.com/watch?v:WYKUJgMRQTA

Physical location
Some works are associated with a specific location-for example, an artwork in a
museum or a conference presentation. ln these cases, you include city and
statelcountry in the reference.

Artwork in a museumDali. S. (1931). The persistence of memory [Painting]. Museum of Modem

Art, Ner.v York, NY.

DOI or URL
Works that can be accessed online usually have a URL or DOI (dioitalobject identifier)
A DOI is often used for Bcientific publications and booke, while a URL is more common
for other online publications.

Use the following guidelines:

. lf available, always add a DOI

. A DOI is prefened over a URL (because it never changes)
. lnclude the protocol (httpl/ or https:/| for both DOts and URLs
. Do not add a period after the DOI or URL

Online newspaper articleWakabayashi" D. (2020, Octoher 21). Google antitrust fight thrusts low-
key- C.E.O. into the line of fire. The lieu, York
'l'imes. https://www'.ny.times.coqqJZAZAll0l2litechnolog;,igoogle-antitrust*sundar-

fl/'
pichai.htrnl.Journal articleChe,'ng, e. M. K., & Thadani, D. R. (2012),The impact of electronic
word-of-mouth communication: A literature aaalysis and integrative model. Decision Support
Sy s t€ *r s, 54( 1 ), 46147 A. https ://doi.org/ I 0. I 0 1 5d.dss.20 1 2. 06.008

Unknown source
lf the source is unknown or not publicly available, the work that you're citing cannot be
retrieved by readers. ln this case, you cannot include it as a reference entry. lnstead,
you should cite it as if if is personal communication.

Abbreviations in APA references

To save space in the reference entry, some common parts of works are abbreviated.
Pay attention to the differences in capitalization and punctuation.

Abbreviations in APA rsferences

Word Abbreviation
Revised eriition Rev. e<i.
Second edition 2nd ed.
Editor(s) Ed. / Eris.
Translator(s) Trans.
\r^-^r--,-1 ,_\-
i\ar r dtul \>.1 \t\alt.
!^-- // >-r_-,_-.-
t\all5.
No date n.d.
Page(s) p. / pp.
Pa rc orqnh
Volume(s) Vol. / Vols,
(lssue) number No.
Qttnnlemenf Qrrnnl

tl
APAWriting Style I Language &
Punctuation Guideli nes
Pubfiehed on January 3,2022 by Jack 9aulffqlS. Revised on October ?,2A29.

The American Psychological Association {APA')pubiisheci the oi-its stvle manual in

201v. As weii as ruies fbr citation anci paper ibrmatting. the manuai provicies various language
guidelines to help you present,vour ideas in a clear. concise. and inclusive manner"

Active vs. passive voice

The passiye voics, which places the focus on the object of an action rather than on rniho or what
is earrying it out (the agent), is r:{ten overused in academic writing. It can be long-winded, and it
soirietimes obscuies your meaning if you don't specify"the agent.

. The test was completed. fpassive voice. agent unclearl

'1-L,. ri.+ it.^,. ^^q*l-r^J L..
-- ! iiC irsr i'i!i:: Lttiiliritri!;u ui.\ il^^
i;iL *^-ri^.'^^,11^ I-^.,.;,...,,..:^4
ii.iiaiUil,ti-iiiiS. ii-iul:sirC ,iiir*U. !^-,, ,.,:-.{^JI
iU;ie-!\;iiiicui
. The participants completed the test. factive voice]

APA therefore recommends iising the active voice by def'ault. Flowever, tl:at doesn't mean you
ll/l-..-- :{'-,.,--i=---.--.^-'+^,=+
uii.ii iiuvui rrr.:.
usc thrtilu .--.,^^1-.^ - -:^-
[ias;i]u v'iiiuc. la iiuli li 5 UiliillFuli.aili =..!--., ^----:.J
Wilo Cail-iCCi --r:.-.!^.=
OUI a F,affiiCUiai- ^ -r:^.-
aciiOll, .t--
iilc
passive voice is a better choice.

. Ienr-" nlrrj I mnrrnterl

,i.lrLiaiarlr thc
.-ii! nvtia<,tnr
i-rluiL!iut r-;!i lha.r
nn oll
ii!r_ i!r_rr,

. 'fhe projector was mounted on the wall"

Are your APA in-text citations flawless?

The Al-powered APA Citation Checker points out every error, tells you exactly what's wrong,
and explains how to fix it. Say goodbye to losing marks on your assignment!

Personal pronouns
Appropriate use of personal pronouns is key to maintaining an academic tone in your writing.

f2-
First-person pronouns (I, we) should be used when ref-erring to your own actions and thoughts.
l)on't refbr to yourself in the third person.

. The researcher(s) administered the test.

" I/w-e administered the test.

Ho=fi,ever, avcid tlie rditorial "Trer" which invclves using o.-wo,,

to make a gensralizaliqn about
the world or about a group of people.

. \.Ve lre s+cin! creetul'es..

. F{umans are social creatures.

Seeond-person proneu*s (you) should be avoided entirely unless you're quoting somecne else.
trf 5rcil nccd tc niakc a gcncralization, usc thc irnpcrscnai picncun 'oonc" inslcac. cr
i'.rsuaii,,. thc
better option) rephrase.

. As a- teaci:er, 'ro,: should be natient with.vour str:dents.

. As a teacher. one should be patient q,ith one's students.
. Teachers should be patient with their students.

lJse the third-person p!'sn+un "the;,," io ret-er tc an indrl,i.iual r-,,hc uses "Ihe1," as their circsen
pronoun. Also use "they.-'-'not "he or she," to refbr to a generic individuai whose gender is
unknown or irrelevant in the context.

' When a student agrees to participate, he or she is provided with the necessary materials.
'. When a student agrees to participate, they are provided with the necessary materials.
When students agree tc part-icipate, they are provided with the necessary materials.

Anthropomorphisrn
Anthropornorphism means attributing actions to obiects that cannot iiterally take those actions.
Avoid doing this u'here it confirses your meaning, but feei free to do so when your point remains
olear.

o The siuiJ'-v n'i;nc!€reil \,vliether an aig,.;ritirm coirld pr*,.lici sturjent rngagemgnt.

l['he researcher wondered whether an algorithm could predict student *ngug"*"rrr.
'.
The table presents the algorithm's predictions and their accuracy.
' The resuits suggest that softw. are can heip schools improve student weii-being.

$m*$uslve IfinSuage
APA a!s* pl+vides gr-ridance +:: e*su::ing;..cur langr-rage is inclusi.,.e a*d respectful. S+r:re .L;e;,'
points are summarized below"

a Repiace terms that are unnecessarili, genderod or that have sexist cannotations with more
incliisive alternatives ( e. g., change "tirsmai:" tc "fiieligliter").

fs -
 . As mentioned above, use "the;r-" to refer to a person who uses "they" as their cirosen
profioun and to refer to a generic individual of'unknown gender.
=
- {- ;rnilr!izr..'Rlrr!.."
.*.rii:!qris.- L.r+!i\ rnr{ ..\\rhi!e'"
laiiti ll l:IrL r'.he-
!lriLii
,,..-l
uSLtJ
i.. rl-^ r^^i^t
iii i:tL :uLidi --^,.-
r'-iiiL.
n,,-'r
i-ruir i- ,,-^ ^,,1,--.. r^
ij:14.-i-iiuii aU -^C--
i[ifi
r^
iti

other racial groups. Also capitalize terms like "Native American," "Hispanic."
"Indigenous," and "Aboriginal."
* Don't hyphenate terms such as "Asian Americaii'' or "'African Amciican" in any position.
:- a:,,-^..-ii. ^.,^: j usiiiB
-LiuliulLiiij. diviu .-- r^ l^L..i
ci5 iiUUiiS i(, iilarui ialUUIjS L,l .-t'^-.^*i^ J.'^.e d,,^*,^i^
'r.;hi! ijciJijig. i Uf trXUItipiC. -*^r--- [rICiL'f
"people living in poverty" over "the poor." This emphasizes that poverty is a
circumstance in people's lives, not an essential quality of their existence.

Punctuation
Besides following seneral punetuation rules, pay attention to these points when writing in APA
Stvle

. Always use a cofirmaaftw the Latin abbreviations'oe.g." and "i.e."

. Similarlv, use a comm? afler an-intloductory phrase, even if it's only a sin-gle word. For
exampie, "Conversely, the results of ..."
. For proper hyphenation of words, follow Merciam*Webster or, for psychological terns,
the APA iliction*ry of Psycholog,,"
. F{ypiteaate fractions oniy w.tren they are useii as adjectives (e.g., "two thirds of the
participants," but "a two-thirds majority").
. Always use the serial gqlgma (aka Oxford comma), which means placing a cp$$a,be&xq
the o'and" preceding the f,nai item in a list of three or more items. For exampie,
"grammar, usage, anci styie."
a Use double quotation marks, and place a comma or 0efl od followins a ouote insiderthe
quotation marks.

Abbreviations and acronyms

Proper use of abbreviaticns and acron,vms is important, since they help keep your writing eoacise
but cari be confusing if used inconsistently or without proper explanation.

Define an acronym ra'hen you first mention it, and use it consistently after that point. You
r-,lnrr't ncc,-I tn l+fin.' r,^r'-- rrpll-L'n^!!'!1 irr.r r!lrn.. !;!. ^ "-f\/" --/t "n\l 4 " ^,..1-1-.-',i-li^--
fcrr standard units of nreasurement (e.g., "min" lor "minute").
a Reclefine an abbreviation in each tigure and table in which it appears. The purpose of
delinir:g abbreviations in the table or iigure is that if other authors ieuse the r.r,ork in a
!lrlr:re r,ar,Fr !hon
iutuIL th-' .-l^fi-ir','-^
PdPCi, ati!il iiig LiCiiiiiLiUit:) iii iiiC *o..*-
^f +i^^ iciiiii ':ii L^
..i!iii ^++^^L.,..i
i,C ailt(iLiiLLi.
a Avoid using an acronym in your paper title, except in cases where the acronym is used
more commonly than the full term (e.g., "DNA" or "HlV"). Yon can use acronyms in
hearlinc-q onlrr if thet, are similaril, Commiln ,--,r have been defincd in the text beti:re that
heading.
a It's fine to begin a sentence u,'ith an acronym or abbreviation" I{owever, never hegin a
sentence with a lovyercase abbreviation or a standalone sr;rnbol.

( c t,
 a [Ise periods in the terms "l-,i.S." and "U.K." only when they are used as adjectives, no1
u,hen they are used as nouns. Do not use periods in abbreviations of state, province" or
tami ! nn , 114rep.:
lLrlrIJtj 1 .r .r
rlsr:r.-J\!.8.. "NIrr V"
t j.\
a Use the Latin abbreviations u'e.g.," "i.e.,'-'and ooetc." only in parentheses or within bullet-
point lists. APA considers them too infcrmal lor the main text.

Numbers: Words vs. numerals

As a general rule, sp,,gll.gutnumbers fo{.zgfo through nine.and use n}rryerals for 10 and abo,ve.
However" note the following exeeptions

Always use numerals:

c \,! hen r nurnber ,lirectl melsuretrent (e.g.. ,\ cmri

prece<ies a unii of
. When referring to statistics. equations, fractions, decimals. percentages. or ratios
" When a number represents time. dates, ages, scores, points on a scale. exact sums of
money. or numerals as numerals (but trse words fbr: approxin:aJions of numhers of clays.
u'eeks. months. or years)
. When referring to a specific place in a numbered series
. In the a-bstract of a paper (this allows you to savc space in the eharacter limit)

Always use words:

. For an5, number that besins a sentence. titie or headinir ibut where possible. rephrase to
avoid the issue)
. For common fiactions (e.g.. "one fiilh")
. For universally accepted usage (e.g", "Twelve Apostles," 'oFive Pillars of Islam")

Use a combination of numerals and words to express back-to-back moditlers (e.g. "2 two-way
interacticns" or "ten 7-point scales"). ln such situations, a combination of nr"rmerals and words
incrcases the clarity anci reariabiiity of the piuase.

Note that when referring to a numbered element of your text, you should use a numeral and
capitalize tlre word preceding it (e.g., "Chapter 2," "T*le 4"\.

Hyphenation of prefixes and suffixes

Prefixes and suffixes are added to words to alter their meening-prefixes to the start of the word,
siifiixes to the end. For example, by adding the pretix'opost-" ti: the adjective'onatal," you get
anotler adj ective, "postnatal. "

cltl-r -,t'hllher s',rch lerms shouid be

I1's +lierr nr-'l cl'..iritten as clrr s+!lC +.<-':r'cl. ^"P,^,
helpfully provides a list of prefixes and suflixes that don't require hyphenaticn according to their
guidelines.

t4
Prefixes and sufrixes that don't req\ire- hyphens

Freflx or suffix Exampie

-able workable

after- aftershock

anti- antidepressant

L: L:f^^^i

-eede/-sede/-ceed supersede

ct)- covafiant

cyber- cybersecurity

equi- ea!'LliOo-rSe

extra- ertraretinal

*gram histogram

infra- infiastructure

:-L^-- i.^+^-^^+1.,^

-like life{ike

maero- macronutrient

mega- megawatt

I c--
 I

>

Prefixes and suffixes that don't reQuilq- hyphens

Prefix or suflix Exampie

meta- metafrction

-meter chronometer

mrcro- microscope

.:J .-:Jl^.,

tlttrtt- rilrillu{ trs5

multi- rnultivalent

non- nonidenticai

over- (_rvrr! wilrutl

-phobia araclinophobia

post- p(ist\Yar

pre* predetermined

_-^---J^

quasi- quasicrystai

re- rewrite

semr- semipermeable

l?--
 I

Prefixes and suflixes that don't re{uirq hyphens

Freitx or suffix txampie

socro- sociopoiitical

sub- sr"rbheading

super- supernLrmerary

-,,--^ ai- tdiiui

tuPi ^+;,.*.-t(i i

..- ^^...-^
un- ulrUdrrtr dl!

under- underlying

But do hyphenate:

. The prefix "seii'-" (e.g,. "seif-rleprecating"l

. 'fhe worii "quasi-experimentai"
. Prefixes that end with "a." "i"" or "o" when the follclwing word starts with the same letter
(e. 9.. "meta-anal5rsis.'" "anti-intel lectuai")
f t/r ,, t . ,.. .- -_. .__t_.. t t r. r. { ..__..
c wllsii atluuiitiiu :.,1....
iu a iillrriusr. uilille\li"lu(]li- (ii- caililaiizeut....-,! rc.g.---,_,-,,
w(liu l-.,, Iirc-i!o,)'i+. uiJ:ii-,
Napoleonic")
. To avoid ambiguity (e.g., "re-fcrrm" to mean "form again" as opposed to the usual
meaning of-"reform")

1 A
 -

APA Title Page (7th edition) | Template

for Professionals
This article refleets the APA 7th edition guidelines. Click here for APA 6th
edition guidelines.
APA provides tlifferent guid-clines for student and professional papers. The
student version of the APA title page should include the following information
(double spaced and centered):

. Paper title
. Author nams
. Department and universify name
. Course number and name
. Instructor name
. Due dste of the assignment

The professional title page also includes an author note (Ilushed left)o but not
a course name, instructor nams' or due date.

/ If-
 I

>

Academic writing is...

. Formal and unbiased
Academic writing aims to convey information in an impartial way. The goal is to
baee arguments on the evidence under coneideration, not the author's
preconeeptions. All claims should be supported with relevant evidence, not just
asser{ed.

To avoid bias, it's important to represent the work of other resaarcherc and the
results of your own research fairly and accurately. This means clearly outlining
your methodology and being honest about the limitations of your research.

The formal style used in academic writing ensures that research is presented
consistently across different texb, so that studies can be objectively assessed
and compared with other reeearch.

Because of this, ifs important to etrike the right tone with your language choices.
Avoid informal language, including elang, contractions, clich6s, and
converBetional phrases:

. AIso, * lot of the findings are a little unreliable.

. Mor*over, many ofthe findings are $omewhat unreliable.

. Clear and precise

It's important to use clear and precise language to ensure that your reader knows
exactly what you mean. This means being as specific as possible and avoiding vague
language:

. Pcople have been interested in this thing for a long time.

. Researchers have been interested in this phenomenon for at least 10 years.

Avoid hedging your claims with words like "perhaps," as this can give the impression
that you lack confidence in your arguments. Reflect on your word choice to ensure it
accurately and directly conveys your meaning:

. This eould perhaps suggest that...

. This suggests that...

$pecialist language or jargon is common and often necessary in academic writing,

which generally targets an audience of other academics in related fields.

/ o.,-
 '

However, jargon should be usedto make your writing more concise and accurate, not to
make it more complicated. A specialist term should be used when:

. lt conveys information more precisely than a comparable non-specialist term

. Your reader is likely to be familiar with the term.
. The term is commonly used by other researchers in your field.

The best way to familiarize yourself with the kind of jargon used in your field is to read
papers by other researchers and pay attention to their language.

. Focueed and well structured

An academic text is not just a collection of ideas about a topic-it needs to have a clear
purpose. Start with a relevant research question or thesis statement, and use it to
develop a focused argument. Only include information that is relevant to your overall
purpose.

A coherent structure is crucialto organize your ideas. Pay attention to structure at three
levels: the structure of the whole text, paragraph structure, and sentence structure.

O.- erall sfrucfure * Always include an introduction and a conclusion"

r Divide longer texts into chapters or sections with clear lreadir:gs.
r Make sure information is presented in a logical order.

E_,-,_-
ilaraBrairil o Start a ilew paragraph w'herr:you i11o.r'e onto a new idea.
structure r Use a topic sentence at the start of each paragraph to indicate what it's about, and make
clear transitions between paragraphs.
. Make sure every paxagraph is relevant to 5rorrr argumefit or question.

Sentence r Use transition words to express the connections between different ideas within and between
strueture sentences.
. Use appropriate punctuation to avoid sentenee fragmerds or r*{r-on sentences.
a Use o.rariety of sente*ce lengths end stnrctures.

.
lfilell sourced
Academic writing uses sources to support its claims. Sources are other texts (or
media obiects like photographs or films) that the author analyzes or u$es as
evidence. ttfiany of your sources will be written by other academics; academic
writing is collaborative and builds on previous research.

It's important to consider which source$ are credible and appropriate to use in
acedemic writing. For example, citing Wikipedia is typically discouraged. Don't
rely on webeitee for information; instead, use academic databasee and your
univensity library to find credible sources, Our interactive Chat PDF tool can give
you quick Aldriven insighb to help you find the most relevant information in
sources.

1l-
 I

You must always cite yoqr sources in academie writing. This means
acknowledging whenever you quote or paraphreeo someone elge's work by
including a citation in the text and a reference list at the end.

APA citation example

ln-text Elsewhere, it fias been argued that the method is the best cunently available"
citation (Smith,2019, p.25).

Reference Smith, J. (2019). Sfafisfical analysis methods (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Norton.
list

There are many different citation styles with different rules. The most common styles
are APA, MLA, and Chicago. Make sure to consistently follow whatever style your
institution requires. lf you don't cite correctly, you may get in trouble for plagiarism. A
good plagiarism checker can help you catch any issues before it's too late.

You can easily create accurate citations in APA or MLA style using our Citation
Generators.

.
Gorrect and consistent
As well aa following the rules of grammar, punctuation, and citation, ifs
important to consistently apply stylistic conventions regarding:

. How to write numberc

. lntroducingabbreviations
. Using verb tenses in different sections
. Capitalization of terms and headings
. $pelling and punctuation differences between UK and US English

ln some cases there are several acceptable approaches that you ean choose
between-the most important thing is to apply $e seme rulee consistently and to
carefully proofread your text before you submit. lf you don't fuel confident in your
own proofreading abilities, you can get help from Scribbr's professional
proofreading seruice$ or Grammar Checker.

Academic writing is not...

. Personal
Academic writing generally tries to avoid being too pereonal. lnformation about
the aufrror may come in at some poinb-for example in the acknowledgements or
in a per:ronal reflection-but for the most part the text should focus on the
research i6elf.

aa
 >

Always avoid addressing. _ the reader directly with the second-percon

pronoun "you." UEe the imperconal pronoun "one" or en alternate phrasing
ins$ed for generalizations :
. As * teacher, must tre*t students fairly.
. As a teacher, must treat students fairlv.
i T^^^l--
i tsaciitsi's iaiuSi ii tsaa iiicii SauuiJiits L'^:--a-
L-^^^L La-^!--
-L--)---L-
iati'ii.

The use of the first-penson pronoun "ln' used to be similady discouraged in

academic writing, but it ie increasingly accepted in many fields. lf you're unsune
whether to use the first penson, pay attention to conventions in your field or ask
your instructor.

When you refer to yourselt it should be for good reason. You can position
yourcelf and deecribe what you did during the research, but avoid arbitrarily
inserting your pensonal thoughb and feelings:

. In my opinion...
. I think that...
. Iiikeirlislike..,
. I conducted interviews with
. I argue that...
. I hope to achieve...

. Long-winded
Many students think their writing isn't academic unless it's over-complicated and long-
winded. This isn't a good approach-instead, aim to be as concise and direct as
possible.

lf a term can be cut or replaced with a more straightforward one without affec'ting your
meaning, it should be. Avoid redundant phrasings in your text, and try replacing phrasal
verbs with their one-word equivalents where possible:

. Interest in this phenomenon carried on in the year 2018.

r Interest in this phenomenon continued in 2018.

Repetition is a part of academic writing-for example, summarizing earlier information in

the conclusion-but it's important to avoid unnecessary repetition. Make sure that none
of your sentences are repeating a point you've already made in different words.

. Emotive and grandiose

An academic text is not the same thing as a literary, journalistic, or marketing text.
Though you're stitltrying to be persuasive, a lot of techniques from these styles are not

,^? L
 )

appropriate in an academic contqxt. Specifically, you should avoid appeals to emotion

and inflated claims.

Though you may be writing about a topic that's sensitive or important to you, the point of
academic writing is to clearly communicate ideas, information, and arguments, not to
inspire an emotional response. Avoid using emotive or subjective language:

. This horrible tragedy was obviousl-v one of the worst catastrophes in construction history.
. The injury and mortality rates of this accident were among the highest in construction
hi ctnrrz

Students are $ometimes tempted to make the case for their topie with exaggerated,
unsupported claims and flowery language. Stick to specific, grounded arguments that
you can support with evidence, and don't overstate your point:

a Clharles Dickens is the greatest writer of the Victorian period" and his influence on all
suhseorr"'nt literatrrre iS enorn:Otts.
a Charles Dickens is one of the best-known w'riters of the Victorian period and has had a
significant influence on the development of the English novel.

L?