APA Citation Generator

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What is Cite This For Me's APA Citation Generator?

If you are working on a paper in the APA style, you know that formatting APA citations can be a complicated task that requires a lot of patience. Fortunately, referencing has never been so easy. Introducing your new best friend: Cite This For Me’s APA citation generator. Using an automated citation machine to create accurate citations allows students to work smarter, leaving them more time to focus on their studies.

The Cite This For Me powerful citation generator formats all of your APA citations in just a click. So if you’re unsure how to accurately create your citations in the APA citation format, or you need to cite all of your sources quickly, try using the Cite This For Me citation generator! The citation generator will help you create accurate citations so you avoid losing valuable points on your work unnecessarily.

This 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 APA formatting guidelines, how to avoid charges of plagiarism, and how to cite sources both in-text and in your reference list and 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., Barack Obama is the first American of mixed race to be elected president). Failing to cite all of your sources or citing them incorrectly constitutes plagiarism, which is considered a serious academic offense. It is important to remember that information doesn’t just belong to anyone who happens to stumble upon it. If you are caught plagiarizing it is more than likely that you will lose points 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, citing 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 referencing simply vanished. Well, Cite This For Me’s APA citation generator is here to help you – now you can create in-text citations and reference lists in the APA format without all of the usual frustrations of referencing.

What is the APA Citation Style?

The APA citation style (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 APA format consists of in-text citations and a reference list, along with guidelines 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’s APA reference generator.

Although primarily used by social and behavioural sciences, the APA format is used amongst other scientific publications for its editorial efficiency. Cite This For Me’s APA citation generator uses the latest (6th) edition of the APA format, ensuring ultimate accuracy whether you are using the APA format generator for university assignments or are preparing research projects for publishing.

Aside from the APA format 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.

The APA format citation generator above will generate your references in APA format as standard, you can also sign up to Cite This For Me to select from over 7,500+ styles, including individual college variations. So, whether your professor prefers that you use the MLA format, or your discipline requires you to adopt the Chicago style citation, your referencing 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 styles such as ASA, or IEEE.

How do I Create and Format My Citations?

When you reference a source within an APA style paper; whether it is using a direct quote, repurposing an image, or simply referring to an idea or theory, you should:

  • Insert an in-text citation (the author’s surname and the date of publication within parentheses) straight after a direct quote
  • Insert an in-text citation 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 citing 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 APA style 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 APA reference page
  • Use ‘&’ in place of ‘and’ in both in-text citations and full references

Use Cite This For Me’s APA citation maker to create citations with ease; this will allow you to add citations to your project, edit on the spot, and export separate in-text citations as well as fully-formatted reference lists.

APA Citation Examples (7th Edition)

Wondering how to cite in APA? Include an in-text citation whenever you quote, paraphrase from, or refer to information from a source. That way, the reader will always know where information has come from and you avoid committing accidental plagiarism.

For each APA in-text citation created, a corresponding full reference will also need to be included in your bibliography at the end of your paper. That allows the reader to track down and review the original source, if needed.

The information for this section comes directly from Chapter 10 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition.

In-text citation APA guidelines examples:
The following information is usually included, either mentioned in the sentence or in a parenthetical citation:

    • Last name(s) of the author(s):

For sources with six authors or more, list the first author’s name then write “et al,” which is Latin for “and others.”

    • Year Published
    • Page number (if applicable)

If you’re using a source like a website or e-book that might not have pages, use a paragraph number instead (example: para. 9).

In addition, if there is no clear author, use the title of the source in place of the author. If the title is long, use the first few words as a shortened reference.

    • Page specified, author mentioned in text:

Lutz & Huitt (2010, p. 4) argue that “the statistical significance of …”

    • Page specified, author not mentioned in text:

The results were consistent throughout the study (Fernández-Manzanal, Rodríguez-Barreiro, & Carrasquer, 2007).

    • Six authors:

The study found that … (Sania et al., 2011)

    • No author:

The data presented …. (“How sleep enhances memory retention”, 2015).

APA Reference examples:

    • 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.

    • 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

    • 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. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20218

* Note: For more information on the different types of journal article citations that can be made under APA 7, see section 10.1 of the Publication Manual, pp. 316-321.

    • How to cite a website in APA:

Veterans Affairs Canada. (2019, February 14). Indigenous people in the Second World War. https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/historical-sheets/aborigin

    • Online newspaper article:

Smith, D. (2019, October 22). The banner, the rings, the season opener: Champion Raptors return on a night like no other. The Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/2019/10/22/the-banner-the-rings-the-season-opener-champion-raptors-return-on-a-night-like-no-other.html

    • Article from an online news website (HuffPost, MSNBC, Vox, etc.):

Wade, L. (2013, March 6). ‘Sunstone’ crystal from British shipwreck may be vikings’ legendary navigation aid. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sunstone-british-shipwreck-viking-navigation_n_2818858

    • Video, online:

CrashCourse. (2015, April 30). Mars: Crash course astronomy #15 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-88YWx71gE

How Do I Format My Reference List?

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 format, 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.

You may also be required to provide an APA bibliography, sometimes also called an APA works cited. 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. It 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.

APA Format 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

Sound like a lot of work? Although the style guidelines are strict in regard to how references should be formatted, Cite This For Me’s APA citation machine takes the weight off your shoulders by accurately compiling your reference list and bibliography in a matter of seconds.

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APA Style Paper Formatting Guidelines (7th Edition)

When following the APA paper format guidelines, you must pay attention to presentation details such as font type, line spacing, margins and APA headings to ensure your work is easily legible.

This is only an overview of only the most important formatting elements. For additional details, see Chapter 2 of the APA 7 Publication Manual, beginning on page 29.

  • 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.

APA Title Page
Not all instructors will require a title page, also sometimes called an APA cover page. If they do, include these four parts:

  • Title of your paper
  • Running head (see above section)
  • Author’s/Your name
  • Institutional affiliation

The title of your paper should:

  • Be centered on the page and use title case (a combination of lower and uppercase letters).
  • Not be italicized, bolded, or underlined
  • Use a 12-point font
  • Be a maximum of 2 lines and not more than 12 words long
  • Not include abbreviations

Underneath the title, place the author’s name. If you wrote the paper, put your full name here. There’s no need to include titles or degrees (e.g., Ms., PhD, etc.).

Under the author’s name, place the institutional affiliation. For most students, this would be the name of the school, college or university you are attending.

The title, author’s name, and institutional affiliation should all be double spaced.

Here’s an example of an APA format title page:

Example title page in APA format

A Brief History of the APA Format

APA stands for American Psychological Association, the scientific organisation that assembles the publishing manual of the APA format. The style was developed in 1929 by a group of scientists to standardize 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 APA format 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 it is adopted in term papers, research reports, literature reviews, theoretical articles, case studies etc.

This Cite This For Me APA citation website is not associated with the American Psychological Association, but all the information provided is in line with their official Publication Manual. If you decided to cite APA guide pages, or nearly any source for that matter, checkout the Cite This For Me citation generator for assistance.

What’s New in the 7th Edition?

Information and academic trends are constantly evolving and changing. To adapt to this, citation styles and referencing formats also update over time. This is why the American Psychological Association releases new editions every so often. The latest is the seventh edition of its Publication Manual, which was released in October 2019.

The 7th edition includes many new things including a chapter on journal article reporting standards, reference examples, an APA sample paper for different paper types, and more. With regards to APA citing, here are some of the most important updates listed in the 7th edition:

  • An APA book citation no longer needs to include a publisher’s location. This also applies to book chapter references.
  • Figures are formatted more like notes with a number and title at the top, and a note under the figure/table instead of a caption.
  • For journals, always show the issue number if there is one.
  • There’s a new section on annotated bibliographies, complete with guidelines and example bibliographies.
  • Student papers are no longer required to have running heads, except when it’s specifically requested by your instructor. In addition, student paper headers only need the page number to be displayed.
  • Format DOIs as URLs (i.e., https://doi.org/xxx). Also, you no longer need to precede the DOI with the label “DOI” in the reference.
  • For a full APA website citation, you no longer need to place “Retrieved from” before the URL. The exception to this is when you include a date of retrieval, which is optional.
  • When citing an ebook, you no longer need to indicate the device (e.g., Kindle), platform, or format.
  • Use only a single space after sentences in your paper (instead of the two spaces required in the 6th edition).
  • There’s new examples for modern, online sources like social media posts, podcasts, and more.
  • Updated language guidelines endorse the use of “they” as a general-neutral pronoun.

Before you start citing, ask your instructor what version of the style they want you to follow.

APA Writing Guidelines and Suggestions

The American Psychological Association also provides some helpful guidelines regarding overall best practices when writing academic and scientific papers. One important thing to be on the lookout for is bias in your writing. For instance, using the word “man” to represent humans as a species is neither scientific nor without potential bias.

Here are some good rules of thumb to help you avoid bias in your paper:

  • Always be specific in your writing and avoid generalizations.
  • Do not label people or test subjects unnecessarily.
  • When writing about participants in your experiment or study, be sure to acknowledge them as such appropriately. Use the term “participants” instead of “subjects.”
  • Use active voice instead of passive voice in your writing. For example, “the participants completed the task” vs. “the task was completed by the participants.”
  • Always be cautious when discussing topics such as sexual orientation, racial and ethnic identity, disabilities, etc.
  • Never change quotations to better serve your own ends or to better fit with your conclusions.

How Do I Create Accurate Citations With Cite This For Me’s APA Generator?

Referencing giving you a headache? Let Cite This For Me’s APA format generator remove the stress caused by citations by turning any of your sources into a fully-formatted citation in an instant. The generator will 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 APA citation maker 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, utilize 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 citation generator; whether it be a PDF report, podcast, a musical score or many more.

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