Cornell University Library. APA citation style refers to the rules and conventions established by the American Psychological Association for documenting sources used in a research paper.
APA style requires both in-text citations and a reference list. For every in-text citation there should be a full citation in the reference list and vice versa. The examples of APA styles and formats listed on this page include many of the most common types of sources used in academic research. For additional examples and more detailed information about APA citation style, refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association and the APA Style Guide to Electronic References. APA Formatting and Style Guide.
Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019.
The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here. Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in APA. You can also watch our APA vidcast series on the Purdue OWL YouTube Channel. General APA Guidelines.