REFERENCING: THE APA

STYLE
6TH EDITION

Prepared and Presented by: Dr. M. Clarke & B. E.

Whyte
Date: November 2011

Paraphrasing

Authors name and year appear in the

introductory phrase -

According to Berk and Santrock (2007), most

children learn to express their thoughts, desires,
and emotions through language from an early
age.

IN TEXT CITATION

OR

Berk and Santrock (2007) affirm that most

children learn to express their thoughts, desires,

and emotions through language from an early
age.

Authors name and the year appear at the end

of the statement

Most children learn to express their thoughts,

desires, and emotions through language from an

early age (Berk & Santrock, 2007).
Optional (6th Edition): Page # can be provided
especially when it would help an interested reader
to locate the relevant passage in a long and
complex text

A DIRECT QUOTE (LESS THAN 40

WORDS)
NOTE CAREFULLY:

When quoting, always provide the author, year and specific

page citation or paragraph number for non-paginated
material.

Direct quotation must be accurate except that the

1st letter of the first word may be changed to an
uppercase or lowercase letter. Direct quote must
be enclosed in double quotation marks.

It is believed that we need to rethink the idea of

school readiness. Carlton and Winsler (2010)
argue that it is the schools that must be ready,
rather than placing the burden of readiness on
the children (p. 69).
OR

(para. 4)

AN EXAMPLE

It is believed that we need to rethink the idea of

school readiness. It is the schools that must be
ready, rather than placing the burden of
readiness on the children (Carlton & Winsler,
2010, p. 69).
OR
(Carlton & Winsler, 2010, para. 6).

NOTE:

If the quotation appears in mid-sentence, end

the quote with quotation marks, cite the source
in parenthesis, immediately after the quotation
marks and continue the sentence.

Use three () within a sentence to indicate

omitted material from the original text.

Carlton and Winsler (2010) argue that it is the

schools that must be ready, rather than placing
the burden of readiness on the children
(p. 69), we therefore need to rethink the idea of
school readiness.

If the document includes a heading, but neither

paragraph nor page numbers are visible, cite
the heading and the number of the paragraph
following it, to direct the reader to the location
of the quoted material, e.g.

(Discussion section, para. 4)

Berk and Santrock (2007) insist that:

Postponing school entry keeps children in the
environments that created and maintained the
lack of readiness in the first place. Schools
should instead work with childrens existing
abilities, scaffolding their learning experiences
to help them acquire the cognitive skills our
culture sees as important for learning and
academic success. (p. 128)

A DIRECT QUOTE (40 WORDS

OR MORE)

Postponing school entry keeps children in the

environments that created and maintained the
lack of readiness in the first place. Schools
should instead work with childrens existing
abilities, scaffolding their learning experiences
to help them acquire the cognitive skills our
culture sees as important for learning and
academic success. (Berk & Santrock, 2007,
p.128)

NOTE:

The position of the full stop in the long quote.

When the name of the author is part of the

narrative, you need not include the year in
subsequent citations within the same
paragraph. The year however, must be
included in all parenthetical citations.

Work by two authors Cite both names

every time the reference appears in text

Hayward and Brown (2009) state

(Hayward & Brown, 2009)

ONE WORK BY MULTIPLE

AUTHORS

Cite all authors the first time the reference

occurs, but in subsequent citations, include
only the surname of the first author followed
by et al. and the year.
Hayward, Brown, and Campbell(2009) OR
(Hayward, Brown, & Campbell, 2009)

parenthetical format
Hayward et al. (2009)

in subsequent

citations

WORK BY THREE TO FIVE

AUTHORS

Cite only the surname of the first author

followed by et al. and the year for the first and
subsequent citations.

WORK BY SIX OR MORE

AUTHORS

Order the citations alphabetically

Several studies (Miller, 2011; Taylor &

Morgan, 2009).

Two or more works by the same author (earliest

first)
( Miller, 1997, 2003)
Works by the same author published in the
same year

( Miller, 2003a, 2003b)

TWO OR MORE WORKS WITHIN

THE SAME PARENTHESES

Use sparingly, for instance when the original work is

out of print, unavailable through direct sources. In
text, name the original work and give a citation for
the secondary source. For example, if Bradfords
work is cited in Nicholson and you did not read
Bradfords work:
List the Nicholson reference in the reference list.
In text use the following citation:
Bradford states in his diary that (as cited in
Nicholson, 2008).

SECONDARY SOURCES

Private letters, memos, some electronic

communications (e.g. emails, electronic
bulletin board), personal interviews, telephone
conversations, etc. - Cite in text only
L. Berk (personal communication, November 24,
2011)
(L. Berk, personal communication, November 24,
2011)

PERSONAL COMMUNICATION

Only those work cited in the body of your text

should be listed and these must be listed
alphabetically.
APA requires that the reference list be doublespaced and that entries have a hanging indent.
Elements of a reference to an entire book Author. (Year). Title. Place of Publication:
Publisher.

REFERENCE LIST

A BOOK WITH ONE AUTHOR

Slavin, R. E. (2006). Educational psychology:

Theory and practice. Boston, MA: Pearson
Education.

Hendrick, J., & Weissman, P. (2007). Total

learning: Developmental curriculum for the
young child. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education.

A BOOK WITH TWO

AUTHORS

Feeney, S., Christensen D., & Moravcik, E.

(2006). Who am I in the lives of children?
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

A BOOK BY THREE TO SEVEN

AUTHORS

Include the first six authors names then add

three periods () and add the last authors
name

Henry, G.T., McKenzie, P., Kelly, S. E., Pinnock,

R., Grant, D., Simpson, K. A., Clarke, R.
(2011)

WHEN AUTHORS NUMBER

EIGHT OR MORE

ELEMENTS
A REFERENCE
TO AN
Author of articleOF
or chapter.
(Year). Title of
ARTICLE
OR CHAPTER
IN
AN EDITED
article or chapter
being cited. In
editors
name(s) (Eds.), Book title (page numbers
BOOK
pp.).
Place of Publication: Publisher.

Bronson, M. B. (2006). Developing social and

emotional competence. In D. F. Gullo
(Ed.),Teaching & learning in the kindergarten
year (pp. 47 56). Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Websters Collegiate Dictionary. (10th ed.).

(1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam Webster.

A BOOK WITH NO LISTED

AUTHOR OR EDITOR

Elements of an Article in a Journal

Author. (Date). Article title. Journal Title,

volume number(issue number), page
numbers.
Berson, M. (2000). How does the brain develop?
Educational Leadership, 58(3), 68-71.

PERIODICALS (JOURNALS,
MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPER,
NEWSLETTERS)

Author. (Year, Month). Article title.

Magazine Title, volume number, page
numbers
McCurdy, H.G. (2003, June). Brain mechanisms
and intelligence. Psychology Today, 46, 61-65.

ELEMENTS OF AN ARTICLE IN
A MAGAZINE

Author, (Year, Month Day). Article title.

Newspaper Title, page number.
Salmon. G. E. N. (2007, September 8). Supporting
literacy and the reading habit. The Gleaner, p.
A8.

ELEMENTS OF A NEWSPAPER
ARTICLE

ELEMENTS OF A NEWSPAPER
ARTICLE ON THE INTERNET

Author, (Year, Month Day). Article title. Newspaper

Title. Retrieved from URL
Nelson, B. (2007, September 15). Howard University graduate
boasts a wealth of knowledge. The Gleaner. Retrieved
from ://www.jamaica-gleaner.com

ELEMENTS OF REFERENCES TO A WEB

DOCUMENT

Author. (Year). Title of article. Retrieved from URL

Haas, E. (2007). Driving brain change is a skill, retraining the

student brain is an art. Retrieved from
http://www.brainconnection.com/content/256_1

ELEMENTS OF REFERENCES TO A WEB

DOCUMENT(NO AUTHOR IDENTIFIED,
NO DATE)

Title of Article. (n. d.). Retrieved from URL

Driving brain change is a skill, retraining the student brain is
an art. (n. d.). Retrieved from
http://www.brainconnection.com