What is Cite This For Me’s APA Reference Generator?
If you are using APA referencing to reference your work, you know that correctly formatting your references can be a complicated task that requires a lot of patience. Fortunately, APA referencing has never been so easy. Introducing your new best friend: Cite This For Me’s APA reference generator. Using an automated reference generator to create an accurate bibliography allows students to work smarter, leaving them more time to focus on their studies.
Cite This For Me’s powerful open-access APA referencing generator fully-formats all of your references in just a click. So if you’re unsure how to accurately create your references, or you need to cite all of your sources in record time, using Cite This For Me’s accurate and intuitive APA reference generator will ensure that you don’t lose valuable points on your work unnecessarily.
This APA referencing guide provides you with everything you need to know to ensure you get the grade that reflects all your hard work. Read ahead for tips on how to structure and present your work according to the guidelines, how to avoid charges of plagiarism, and how to cite sources both in-text and in your reference list or bibliography.
Popular APA Citation Examples
Why Do I Need To Cite?
Essentially, citing is the crediting of sources used in academic work. When another source contributes to your work you must acknowledge the original author with an accurate reference, unless it is common knowledge (e.g. The Second World War began in 1939). Failing to cite all of your sources or citing them incorrectly constitutes plagiarism, which is considered a serious academic offence. It is important to remember that information doesn’t just belong to anyone who happens to stumble upon it. If you are caught plagiarising it is more than likely that you will lose marks on your assignment, or even face expulsion from your university.
Aside from avoiding plagiarism, attributing your research is crucial in ensuring that your work is firmly anchored in academic tradition. Correctly citing your sources validates the statements and conclusions you make in your work by providing supporting evidence. For many students, APA referencing can be a frustrating process, but it’s an excellent way to enhance the quality of your work and inject it with authority.
Imagine if all the stress of APA referencing simply vanished. Well, Cite This For Me’s APA reference generator is here to help you – now you can create your in-text citations and bibliography without all of the usual frustrations of referencing.
What is APA Referencing?
APA style referencing (6th Edition) is a parenthetical author-date style, so you need to put the author’s last name and the publishing date into parentheses wherever another source is used in the narrative.
The latest edition consists of in-text citations and a reference list, along with rules for formatting the paper itself. Both the in-text citations and the reference list can be created in the blink of an eye using Cite This For Me.
Although primarily used by social and behavioural sciences, the style is used amongst other scientific publications for its editorial efficiency. Cite This For Me’s APA reference generator uses the latest edition of the style, ensuring ultimate accuracy whether you are using the generator for university assignments or are preparing research projects for publishing.
Aside from APA referencing there is a plethora of different citation styles out there – the use of which depends on your discipline, university requirements, your professor’s preference or the publication you are submitting the work to. It is important to make sure that you are using the correct style – so if you’re unsure, consult your department and follow their guidelines exactly. You can also find your university’s style by logging into your Cite This For Me account and setting your institution in ‘My Profile’.
If you’re struggling to get your APA referencing done on time, why not try out Cite This For Me’s APA generator? The generator above will generate your references in the APA format as standard, but you can sign up to Cite This For Me to select from over 1,000+ styles, including individual university variations of each style. So, whether your lecturer prefers that you adopt Harvard referencing your referencing style will be supported. To access all of them, simply go to Cite This For Me’s website to create your free Cite This For Me account and search for your specific style such as AMA or MLA.
How Do I Create and Format My References?
When you cite a source with an APA reference, whether you are using a direct quote, repurposing an image, or simply referring to an idea or theory, you should:
- Insert an in-text reference (the author’s surname and the date of publication within parentheses) straight after a direct quote
- Insert an in-text reference at the end of the sentence where a source has contributed, but was not a direct quote
- If you have already mentioned the author’s name in the sentence, you only need to insert the date immediately after their surname
- Include page numbers within the parentheses (after the date), if referring to a particular page or section of the source
- When referencing a source with three to five authors, include all surnames for the first in-text citation, then use the first author’s surname followed by et al. for subsequent citations
- When citing six or more authors – use the first author’s surname followed by et al. for all citations
- If you are mentioning both the year and author in the text, don’t include an additional citation in parentheses – unless you are referring to a particular section of the source, in which case you should cite the page number
- Provide an alphabetical list (ordered by author’s surname) of all sources used, titled ‘References’, on a separate page at the end of the narrative
- Inclusive page numbers for the electronic version of a print source (i.e. a PDF)
- Provide your appendices on a separate page after the reference list
- Use ‘&’ in place of ‘and’ in both in-text and full references
Use Cite This For Me’s APA reference generator to create citations with ease; this will allow you to add references to your project, edit on the spot, and export separate in-text references as well as fully-formatted reference lists.
APA 6th Edition Referencing Examples
In-text APA referencing examples:
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- Page specified, author mentioned in text:
Lutz & Huitt (2010, p. 4) argue that “the statistical significance of …”
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- Page specified, author not mentioned in text:
The results were consistent throughout the study (Fernández-Manzanal, Rodríguez-Barreiro, & Carrasquer, 2007).
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- Six authors:
The study found that … (Sania et al., 2011)
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- No author:
The data presented …. (“How sleep enhances memory retention”, 2015).
APA referencing bibliography examples:
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- Book, one author, multiple editions:
Hawking, S. W. (1998). A brief history of time: From the big bang to black holes (10th ed.). New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group.
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- Ebook, online only:
Tyler, G. (n.d.). Evolution in the systems age. Retrieved from http://www.onlineoriginals.com/showitem.asp?itemID=142&action=setvar&vartype=history&varname=bookmark&v1=1&v2=46&v3=2
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- Journal article, three authors, with a DOI:
Fernández-Manzanal, R., Rodríguez-Barreiro, L., & Carrasquer, J. (2007). Evaluation of environmental attitudes: Analysis and results of a scale applied to university students. Science Education, 91(6), 988–1009. doi:10.1002/sce.20218
How Do I Format My Reference List And Bibliography?
Drawing on a range of relevant sources in your work proves that you have read widely around your chosen topic, so it’s a surefire way to impress your reader.
To ensure your reader’s ease of comprehension you must adhere to the style’s formatting guidelines. In APA referencing, a list of all the sources that have directly contributed to your work should be placed on a new page at the end of the narrative and titled ‘References’ (center align the title). The references should all have a hanging indentation – the second and subsequent lines of each reference should start ½ inch from the margin. Before submitting your work, make sure that you have formatted your whole paper according to the guidelines.
You may also be required to provide a full bibliography. This is a comprehensive list of all the source material you used to complete the assignment, even if it was not cited in the text. Your bibliography should include any book, journal, article etc. that you may have consulted throughout your research and writing process in order to get a deeper understanding of the subject at hand.
Sound like a lot of work? Although the guidelines are strict in regard to how references should be formatted, Cite This For Me’s APA reference generator takes the weight off your shoulders by accurately compiling your reference list and bibliography in a matter of seconds.
Example:
Fernández-Manzanal, R., Rodríguez-Barreiro, L., & Carrasquer, J. (2007). Evaluation of environmental attitudes: Analysis and results of a scale applied to university students. Science Education, 91(6), 988–1009. doi:10.1002/sce.20218
APA Referencing Guidelines (6th Edition)
When following the guidelines, you must pay attention to presentation details such as font type, line spacing, margins and page headers to ensure your work is easily legible.
- 1 inch margins on all sides
- Easily readable font – Times New Roman recommended, 12pt. size
- Double-space the entirety of the paper
- Page numbers in the header, aligned to the right
- Title of the paper in all capitals, 50 characters or less, in the header on each page of the body (the ‘running head’), aligned to the left
- The paper should typically include four major sections – Title Page, Abstract, Main Body and References.
- If infographics (tables, charts) were used in the narrative you should also add Appendices as a separate section at the end of the paper.
A Brief History of the APA Format
APA stands for American Psychological Association, the scientific organisation that assembles the publishing manual for APA referencing. The style was developed in 1929 by a group of scientists to standardise scientific writing. It was created in the hopes that it would provide a coherent and professional manner of citing sources for students and researchers in the fields of social and behavioural sciences.
The first publication manual of the style was published in pursuit of a neat and efficient research formatting style, mainly for editorial purposes. Although some contemporary scientists argued that having such strict regulations restricted personal writing styles, the format has since become one of the most popular referencing styles. Today APA referencing is adopted in term papers, research reports, literature reviews, theoretical articles, case studies etc.
How Do I Create Accurate Citations With Cite This For Me’s APA Referencing Generator?
APA referencing giving you a headache? Let Cite This For Me’s APA reference generator remove the stress by turning any of your sources into a fully-formatted reference in an instant.
The accessible interface of the generator makes it easy for you to identify the source you have used – simply enter its unique identifier (URL, DOI or ISBN, title, or other unique source information) into the search bar. If this information is not available you can search for the title or author instead, and then select from the search results. The generator will then create your reference in two parts; an in-text citation and a full reference that is ready to be copied straight into your work.
To unlock the full potential of the generator simply sign up or login to Cite This For Me’s multi-platform tool. Use the web platform to add and edit citations, export full projects and individual entries, utilise the add-ons and save all of your citations in the cloud. Or make use of Cite This For Me for Chrome – the browser extension for Google Chrome that allows you to instantly create and edit a citation for any online source, without leaving the web page you’re viewing.
Cite This For Me gives students the confidence to achieve their full academic potential by encouraging them to research and cite diverse sources. There are no limits to what sources you can cite using the APA reference generator; whether it be a PDF report, podcast, a musical score or many more.
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