Different disciplines use different citation styles for various reasons. Be sure to consult with your professor before you choose a specific style to work with.

How to format in APA style

Use the links below to find info on how to format references, in-text citations, or other parts of a paper in APA style.

Official APA style guidelines - Online

Use the links below for info on how to format in APA style. All of the links below take you to webpages on the APA Style website, a guide to APA formatting produced by the American Psychological Association.

Official APA style guides - Print books

These are the official APA style manuals produced by the American Psychological Association (APA). They are comprehensive. They are only available in print, and you can find copies for use in WMU Libraries.

Have a specific question about citing sources using APA style? Click on a question below and to link to the APA Style webpage that has the answer.

The basics: How do I cite a source using APA style?

• Author-date citation system: What is an author-date citation system, and how does it related to in-text and reference list citations?
• Examples of references: Where can I view examples of APA style references?
• In-text citation format: How do I format an in-text citation? If I'm citing a work with more than one author, how many author names do I include in the in-text citation?
• Reference list: In APA style, what is a reference list? Is it the same as a bibliography?
• Source? What is the "source" of a work?: APA citations include something called a "source". What does that mean, and how do I figure out the source of the work I'm citing? (Note: Scroll down on this webpage to the section "Source".)

How do I cite info from ChatGPT or other generative AI (artificial intelligence) tools?

• Citing info generated by ChatGPT: I used ChatGPT to answer a question, make an outline, summarize an article, etc. How do I cite this?
  • Note: Always check your instructor's course policy on using AI for assignments before you include info from a generative AI (genAI) tool in a WMU course assignment. Easily-accessible genAI is a relatively new technology and academia is still figuring out best practices for its ethical use in coursework.
  • Note: If you are a scholar submitting a manuscript to a journal or other scholarly publication, read "APA policy on the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in scholarly materials". Also please read the position statement "Authorship and AI" by the Committee on Publication Ethics. They contain crucial information on including, and citing, information from genAI tools; please read them!

What should I include in my citation? 

• Authors, more than one: The work I'm citing has many authors. Do I include them all in my citation? What order to I put them in? How do I format their names? 
• Capitalization: See Sentence case capitalization: and Title case capitalization for info on how to capitalize the parts of your reference.
• Date includes month and date: The work I'm citing has a publication month and date as well as a publication year. Should I include all of them in my citation? (Note: Scroll to the section called "Date".) 
• DOI: What is a DOI? Should I include it in my citation?
• Italicization: What parts of my citation do I italicize? (Note: Scroll down to the section "Italics in the title and source".)
• Missing info needed for a reference: The work I'm citing doesn't seem to have all the info I need to create a citation. What do I do?
• Page numbers: Should I include in my in-text citation the page numbers where the info I'm citing is located?
• Punctuation: Where do I put the punctuation in my citation? (Note: scroll down to the section called "Punctuation in reference entry lists".
• Sentence case capitalization: What is "sentence case capitalization" and where do I use it?
• Title case capitalization: What is "title case capitalization" and where do I use it?

How do I cite a specific type of publication?

• Archived documents: I'm using an original document from an archive. How do I cite it? 
• Class materials: How do I cite my class notes or materials from the course Elearning site?
• Children's books and illustrated works: I'm citing a children's book or book that is heavily illustrated. How do I do that?
• Comic books and graphic novels: APA doesn't really state how to cite comics and graphic novels. So, how do I cite them? (Note: This info is from the Psychology Today blog, not the APA Style blog.)
• Data sets: Should I cite a data set and, if yes, how?
• Suggested citations: The work I'm citing lists a suggested citation. Can I just copy and paste it into my reference list? (Note: Scroll down to the section called "Suggested citations".)
• Website: I simply mention an entire website in my paper. Do I need to cite it with an in-text citation and include it in my reference list?

When do I cite? 

• When to cite a work: As I'm writing my paper, when should I cite a work? When I quote the work? When I include info from the work in my paper? 
• Paraphrasing: What is paraphrasing and how does it relate to citing sources?
• Quotation vs paraphrasing: If it better to quote a work or paraphrase it?

Citation and writing style

• In-text citation reads awkwardly: How do I work an in-text citation into my paper so it doesn't make the sentence read awkwardly?
• In-text citation that includes several works: In a sentence in my paper, I'm including ideas from several works. Should I include all those works in one in-text citation? How do I format it? 
• Using the same source many times in a paragraph: I'm including info from one work in many sentences in one paragraph. How often should I cite it in that paragraph? (Note: Scroll down the webpage to the section "Long paraphrases".)
• Work citied in the text of a work (aka a "secondary source"): I want to cite another work cited in a work I read, but I haven't actually read that other work. Can I cite that other work? How do I cite it?

Do you have more questions about APA style? Contact us at the Libraries. We're here to help.