APA Style

APA style was created by the American Psychological Association so that scholarly writers could clearly communicate where they found their data and ideas. APA style is used by academics and students in the fields of psychology, nursing, social work, library science and more. 

Professional papers have different requirements than student papers. This guide will only cover the requirements for student papers using APA 7th ed. If you are seeking to get published, please consult the Publication Manual, The Official Guide to the APA Style. 

In an academic paper, there are two places where you need to provide citations:

In-text. When you use a quote, paraphrase, data, or other evidence found in research, you should include an in-text citation at the end of the sentence.  

References. The last page of a research paper lists all citations used to support your writing alphabetically. 

When you begin the research process, open a blank document to save citation information. Having this information ready before you even begin your paper can save you time trying to track it down later. 

On this document, record your own notes about the resources. What did you learn from this resource? How does this resource support your main points? 

As you're writing your research paper, information for your in-text citations will be readily available. Then once you've completed your research paper, you can delete your notes notes and transform the document into your References list. 

This guide itself is our first recommendation for learning how to use APA Style. We also have a PowerPoint with notes that goes into detail on using APA.  Moving on from there, we'd recommend that you check out the APA Publication Manual or the APA Style Online. Finally, many people find the Purdue OWL to be a helpful resource. 

You can also meet with a reference librarian through Jefferson's tutoring services who can help you format your citations.

Learn more about citations in general or view a different citation style.