Use the APA Citation Style

• Resources |
• Formatting Tips |
• Sample Citations 

          Most papers at City University of Seattle must be written using APA style. APA style refers to the rules and conventions established by the American Psychological Association for citing sources, creating a reference list and formatting a research paper. Complete information is available in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed., 2010).

          This guide contains a list of basic APA style elements that are commonly required for assignments at CityU. Your instructor may modify these requirements for specific course assignments.

• The Basics of APA Style (2012). American Psychological Association.
• Diana Hacker's Social Sciences
  (click "Documenting Sources" at left). In-text citations, list of references, manuscript format and sample paper.
• APA Formatting and Style Guide (2009). The OWL at Purdue.
• APA in-text citation guide (2012). Penn State University Libraries.
• APA Style.org
  Contains additional information about APA style, as well as limited examples and tutorials from APA.
• Whitaker, A. (2009). Research and APA style guide 2010. Bratislava, Slovakia: City University of Seattle. A guide for City University of Seattle students in Europe about doing, using, and citing research in academic assignments.

• CityU Modified APA Style Template
  A CityU modified APA style Microsoft Word template. Undergraduates may be directed to use this template by instructors for writing assignments at CityU. There are instances when your instructor may require strict use of APA style. In those instances, this template would not be appropriate and you would use the APA Style Template below. If you have questions about which template to use, ask your instructor for clarification.
• APA Style Template
  An APA style Microsoft Word template created by Douglas Degelman of Vanguard University. Graduate students and some undergraduates may be directed to use this template by instructors. This template strictly adheres to formatting rules dictated by the APA Style Manual. If you have questions about which template to use, ask your instructor for clarification.
• APA Style Guide for Documents
  This APA style guide, created by Douglas Degelman of Vanguard University, provides specific guidelines for formatting an APA style document. Included are details on spacing, margins, fonts, pagination and much more.
• How to Use the APA Features of Microsoft Word 2007

• Database citation tools
  This video tutorial shows you where to find and how to use the citation builders embedded in many of CityU's online databases.
• Mendeley
  Use Mendeley to manage sources and create bibliographies in MS Word and OpenOffice; choose your citation style, including APA; and access your saved sources and references from anywhere online. Learn more on the library’s Mendeley guide.
• Zotero
  A free Firefox extension that helps researchers collect, manage, and cite their research sources.       

See our page on formatting documents in APA Style.

• References are cited accurately in both the text and the reference list, and are ordered alphabetically by authors’ surnames (6.11-6.21, 6.16, 6.25).
• Hanging indents and double spacing are used for all reference list entries (2.11).
• Capitalize only the first word of an article, book, or chapter title and subtitle (if any), and any proper nouns (6.29)
• Electronic journal articles are cited in the same manner as print journal articles.*
• Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) should be included in journal article citations if they can be easily located (see sample citations below).*
• Journal and book titles in the reference list are spelled out fully and italicized.
• Page numbers for all articles are provided in the reference list (7.01, 7.02).

• What is a citation? What are the parts of a citation?
• Why do I need to cite and document sources?
• What kinds of sources need to be documented?

          Below you will find some of the most common types of sources used in academic research. For additional examples and more detailed information about the APA style, refer to The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed., 2010), or to the recommended resources linked below.