How to Cite in APA Format (7th edition)
As Earl Nightingale said, “Everything begins with an idea”. At Submityourassignments.net, we also believe that writing a good college essay begins with an idea. However, it takes good formatting to put your idea or ideas into writing.
The main problem today is that you may not be familiar with the ever-changing editions of formatting styles such as APA 7th edition.
The good news is that this article offers you a step-by-step guide on how to cite in APA 7th edition. If you will still have trouble after reading it or need your APA paper written, you can also hire our professional writers to craft a worthwhile essay for you in APA, MLA, or any other format 👉Here.
What is APA Style
APA is the official style of documentation of citing sources, used by the American Psychological Association. This style of writing is commonly employed in social sciences, psychology, education, as well as many other academic fields.
APA style was first used in 1929 in an article printed in Psychological Bulletin. The criteria were later incorporated into the APA Publication Manual. Since then, APA has evolved into different editions. The 7th Publication Manual is the up-to-date edition published in 2019.
General Formatting Guides
The key objective of the APA style is to promote clarity of speech and standardize the arrangement and content of research articles and book chapters in order to ease academic communication. For you to achieve this objective, you have to follow several basic APA formatting standards that apply to all types of APA papers. These include:
- Type on standard-size (8.5-inch by 11-inch) paper.
- The entire paper should be double-spaced.
- Have a 1-inch margin on all sides of the paper.
- Align text to the left-hand side.
- Always use an easily accessible font such as Times New Roman.
- Include a page header at the top of every page with a page number.
- Have a title page, a reference list, and a byline.
- Indent the first line of each paragraph by 0.5 inches.
As per APA guidelines, your work should entail four main parts:
- A title page
- An abstract
- The main body
- References
Formatting the Title page
The title page of an APA paper should entail the title of the paper, the author’s name, and the institutional affiliation. The title of the paper should be in title case, bolded, and centered. It should be in the upper half of the page.
Your title is concise and clear, with no abbreviations or terms that serve no function. Type the author’s name below the title: first name, middle initial(s), and last name. Do not utilize titles or degrees (Ph.D.). In addition, below the author’s name, type the institutional affiliation, which should reflect the place where the author(s) carried out the study.
Below is an example of an APA student’s title page.
Example of APA 7th edition Title Page
Formatting APA in-text citations
There are two main ways of formatting APA citations
- Narrative citation: In a narrative citation, the author’s name appears in the sentence and not in parentheses.
For example, White (2014), found that human actions, such as the use of fossil fuels and changes in land use, are the primary cause of climatic changes.
- Parenthetical citation: Parenthetical citations include the author(s) last name and the date of publication within parentheses.
For example, Human actions, such as the use of fossil fuels and changes in land use, is the primary cause of climatic changes (White, 2014).
Formatting the APA reference page
- The APA reference list begins on a fresh page, immediately following your assignment and before any appendices. At the top of the page, center and bold the term “References.”
- Each reference list entry should be in a hanging indent, which means that the first line of the entry is flush with the left margin, but all subsequent lines are indented.
- Organize the references by the author’s last name in alphabetic (A-Z) order
- If a reference does not have an author, list it alphabetically by title.
- If there are two references by the same author, put them in chronological sequence, beginning with the oldest one.
- If numerous references by the same author are published in the same year, arrange them alphabetically by title.
- Your references should be double-spaced as well
Example of Reference Page
We hope this guide has offered you the writing support you were looking for. However, if are still having trouble completing your essay or paper you can always reach out to our seasoned Academic Writers for further guidance and help.