APA 6
th
Edition
Basics
Introduction to APA citation methods
The Writing Center
We Provide:
• peer guidance with all steps in the writing process
• an interactive tutoring process
• help with all of the major citation styles including: APA,
MLA, and Chicago
To register for our appointment system
– Visit: utsa.edu/twc
Why is documentation important?
Plagiarism
• Plagiarism is the unethical practice of using another
person’s work as if it were one’s own
• Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional
• When information is presented from an outside source –
whether directly quoted or paraphrased - that
information must be cited so that the author is properly
attributed
• See UTSA’s Code of Conduct for more information
And documenting your sources also allows your
readers to join the conversation.
Documentation is like a road map
leading the reader to the source.
Starting in 1929, The American Psychological
Association has “sought to establish a
simple set of procedures, or style rules, that
would codify the many components of
scientific writing to increase the ease of
reading comprehension” (American
Psychological Association [APA], 2010, p. xii).
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association. Washington, D.C.: Author.
What is APA?
• Stands for “American Psychological Association”
• Allows for uniform writing style regarding:
– headings
– number usage
– format
– references
• Uses in-text citations
• Focuses on names and dates for references
• Requires a cover page and “References” page
WHEN IN DOUBT,
ALWAYS REFER TO THE MANUAL!!!
Choosing Sources
• Wikipedia is NOT a source
• Look for peer-reviewed sources
• Strive to use journal articles or books
• Use Google Scholar or UTSA Library Database
• Should be able to locate the source’s author or editor and year
of publication
• Ask a UTSA librarian for help accessing resource databases
• The APA manual does not give examples of how to cite a
website
– Other handbooks and the Purdue OWL can help
Three Concepts
APA Format
In Text
Citations
References
Cover Page
Running head: SHORTENED TITLE 1
This is the Sample Title
Matt Lumbatis
The University of Texas at San
Antonio
SHORTENED TITLE 2
This is the Sample Title
This is the introduction to your
paper. These are continued words in
the first paragraph of your paper.
Headings
• Level One:
Centered, Boldface,
Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
• Level Two:
Flush Left, Bold, Uppercase and Lowercase Heading
• Level Three:
Indented, bold, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a
period.
• Level Four:
Indented, bold, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending
with a period.
• No heading for Introduction
• Do not use numbers or letters to label headings
In-Text Citations
• Connects the included information to the source on your
Reference page
• Citations should be added to any sentence that contains
information gained from a source and must include the
author’s last name and the date of publication
• When the author’s name is mentioned in the sentence,
the date of publication should come directly after in
parentheses
• Example:
– According to Goodwin (2013), “Charismatic and eligible, Charles
Carow seemed a perfect match for Gertrude Tyler” (p. 114).
Sample Citations
Citation Explanation
Goodwin (2003)
Use this method if author’s name is mentioned in
text
(Goodwin, 2003)
Use this method if paraphrasing and if the author’s
name is not mentioned in text
(Goodwin, 2003, p. 72)
Use this method if a direct quote is used and author
is not mentioned
(p. 72)
Use this after quote if author’s name is mentioned
in sentence
What if there are two authors?
• Mention both authors. Use and in the signal phrase,
but use an ampersand (&) in parenthesis.
Kenny and Gould (2008) studied the effects
of nicotine on fear learning.
Or
According to the Peter Principle, “In a
hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to
his level of incompetence” (Peter & Hull,
1969, p. 26).
• APA emphasizes using original work over
using sources that refer to the original
work
• If the original work is
– out of print,
– unavailable through usual sources, or
– not available in English
• Then, you may use a source quoted in
another source
• When using a source quoted in another
source:
• In the body of the paper, include:
– Name of the original work, and
– Citation for the secondary source
• Example: if citing Smith and Jones who are, in
turn, cited in Newman et al. and you did not
read the original work, cite the “Newman et
al.” reference.
– “In Smith and Jones’ study (as cited in Newman,
Green, & Birchman, 2016)…”
References Page
• The References page details the sources that you used in
your paper and must always be included
• Most sources require the same basic information:
– author’s or editor’s last name and first initial
– date of publication (first or most recent revision)
– title
– publication information
– DOI (preferred) or URL, if no DOI is given
• Sources must be in alphabetical order based on the first
word in the entry
• Use hanging indent
• If you use a citation generator (not recommended)
always check your citations against a reliable source
Reference Examples
Book with one Author
Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Date of Publication). First word in title
capitalized: First in sub-title capitalized. Publication City, State or Country:
Publisher.
Goodwin, D.K. (2003). The bully pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft,
and the golden age of journalism. New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster.
Database Article Without DOI
Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Date of Publication). First word in article title
capitalized: First in sub-title capitalized. Journal of Publication, Volume#(issue #),
Page Numbers. Retreived from Name of database or URL
Singler, J. V. (2006). Children and creole genesis. Languages, 21(1), 157-173. Retrieved
from http://uq5sd9vt7m.search.serialssolutions.com
Extra Tips
• If you will be using APA often in your academic career, it is
best to buy the most recent edition of the manual
• If in doubt, it is always better to over-cite than to under-cite
• APA discourages using the entire title of books and articles in
the body of the paper
– Full titles will be used on the reference page
• Titles of books are in written in italics within the paper and on
the reference page
• Ask your professor about preferred verb tense, but use the
past tense for the lit review portion of an APA style paper (The
researchers found) and for the results section of the paper.
Use the present tense for the implications of the results and
for the conclusions.
Questions?
