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APA Style is widely used by students, researchers, and professionals in the social and behavioral sciences. The Scribbr APA Reference Generator automatically generates accurate references and in-text citations for free.
This referencing guide outlines the most important referencing guidelines from the 7th edition APA Publication Manual (2020). Scribbr also offers free guides for the older APA 6th edition, Vancouver Style, and Harvard Style.
In-text citations are brief references in the running text that direct readers to the full reference entry at the end of the paper. You include them every time you quote or paraphrase someone else’s ideas or words.
An APA in-text citation consists of the author’s last name and the year of publication (also known as the author-date system). If you’re citing a specific part of a source, you should also include a locator such as a page number or timestamp. For example: (Smith, 2020, p. 170) .
The in-text citation can take two forms: parenthetical and narrative. Both types are generated automatically when citing a source with Scribbr’s APA Citation Generator.
The in-text citation changes slightly when a source has multiple authors or an organization as an author. Pay attention to punctuation and the use of the ampersand (&) symbol.
| Author type | Parenthetical citation | Narrative citation |
|---|---|---|
| One author | (Smith, 2020) | Smith (2020) |
| Two authors | (Smith & Jones, 2020) | Smith and Jones (2020) |
| Three or more authors | (Smith et al., 2020) | Smith et al. (2020) |
| Organization | (Scribbr, 2020) | Scribbr (2020) |
When the author, publication date or locator is unknown, take the steps outlined below.
| Missing element | What to do | Parenthetical citation |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Use the source title.* | (Source Title, 2020) |
| Date | Write “n.d.” for “no date”. | (Smith, n.d.) |
| Page number | Either use an alternative locator or omit the page number. | (Smith, 2020, Chapter 3) or (Smith, 2020) |
*Format the title in the same way as in the corresponding reference entry (either italicized or, if the title in the reference entry is not italicized, placed in quotation marks). Use title case capitalization.
APA Referencing Generator
APA references generally include information about the author, publication date, title, and source. Depending on the type of source, you may have to include extra information that helps your reader locate the source.
It is not uncommon for certain information to be unknown or missing, especially with sources found online. In these cases, the reference is slightly adjusted.
| Missing element | What to do | Reference format |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Start the reference entry with the source title. | Title. (Date). Source. |
| Date | Write “n.d.” for “no date”. | Author. (n.d.). Title. Source. |
| Title | Describe the work in square brackets. | Author. (Date). [Description]. Source. |
On the reference page, you list all the sources that you’ve cited throughout your paper. Place the page, right after the main body and before any appendices.
On the first line of the page, write the word “References” (in bold and centered). On the second line, start listing your references in alphabetical order.
Apply these formatting guidelines to the APA reference page:
On the reference page, you only include sources that you have cited in the text (with an in-text citation). You should not include references to personal communications that your reader can’t access (e.g. emails, phone conversations or private online material).
APA Referencing Generator
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