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Allen Memorial Library

VCSU Library Citation Guide

Citation help for the five citation styles most used at VCSU.

General Formatting:

There are two different formats for APA papers, professional papers and student papers. The instructions here are focused on student papers. If your professor asks for different information than provided here, go with what they ask.

To properly format a student paper, use the following guidelines: 

  • The paper should be typed and double-spaced.
  • The paper's margins should be set to 1 inch on all sides. Most word processors have 1-inch margins as the default setting.  
  • The paper should have a "running head" or page header on each page. For students, the only element in the running head is a page number unless otherwise requested by a professor. This running head should start on the title page.
  • Your paper should be written in a legible (i.e., accessible) font, for example 11 point Arial, 11 point Calibri, or 12 point Times New Roman. 

Title Page Format:

A student paper's title page should use the following information in the order listed here:

  • Title of the paper
  • Author's name (that's you!) 
  • Department and University the paper was written for 
  • Course number, section (if applicable), and name
  • Professor's name 
  • Due date

And should follow the following Formatting Rules: 

  • The title page should be double-spaced, with all information centered.
  •  The paper's title should start 3-4 lines from the top of the page, should be bolded, and should have all important words capitalized.
  • Each piece of information goes on a new line, with an extra blank line between the title and author name. 
  • Names should be written First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name. 

APA Title Page Formatting Example.

Reference Page Format:

The reference page for an APA paper should follow these guidelines: 

  • The reference page should have References written at the top, centered and bolded.
  • References should be alphabetized by author's last name, or the first word of the title if there is no author for a source.
  • The reference page should be double-spaced.
  • Each source should have a hanging indent.
  • Each source should be cited in APA style. 

Example formatting for each type of source can be found in the tabs on this page. Also see the sample papers below for helpful examples! 

APA Reference Page Basics

  • All citations should be double spaced
  • Indent after the first line of each entry
  • Entries are not numbered
  • If an element is not present, omit it
  • Alphabetize by the first word of the entry
  • Enter author's last name followed by first and middle initials
  • Italics must be used for book and periodical titles
  • Capitalize ONLY the first word of a title, the first word of a subtitle, and proper nouns in titles of books and articles, no matter how they appear in a database or catalog
  • Use (n.d.) if no date is given

Elements of a Citation

APA Style requires four elements in citations: Author, Date, Title, and Source. 

Author: Who wrote the work you're citing? You may have a single author, multiple authors, an organization as author, or an unknown author.

Date: When was the work published? Most sources have a publication date available, while others may have a "last modified date." Occasionally, you will find information with no date, especially when using web pages.

Title: What is your work called? Most of the time, the title is easy to find, although websites or web pages may be more complicated.

Source: Where can the work be accessed? The source element has a few subsections of information depending on the type of work being cited. 

Formatting Authors in Reference Page Citations

Single Author: Lastname, F. M.

2 Authors:  Lastname, F.M., & Other, N.

3 to 20 Authors: List all names in the citation. Put commas between each name. Name, F.M., Other, N., & Lastname, N.M.

21+ Authors: List the first 19 authors, add an ellipses [...], then put in the last author's name. 

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C., Author, D. D., Author, E. E., Author, F. F., Author, G. G., Author, H. H., Author, I. I., Author, J. J., Author, K. K., Author, L. L., Author, M. M., Author, N. N., Author, O. O., Author, P. P., Author, Q. Q., Author, R. R., Author, S. S., . . . Author, Z. Z.

Group Author: Organization's full name with a period at the end. National Institute of Mental Health. 

 

What are in-text citations and why do we use them?

An in-text citation is used in the body of your paper to let your reader know which parts of your writing are other people's ideas and which are your own. 

In text citations include the last name of the author or authors, the year a source was published, and the page number for any direct quotes. There are two main ways to include an in text citation in a paper: parenthetical and narrative citations.

Parenthetical citations are when the in text citation is put in parentheses at the end of a sentence. For example: Science exists (Lastname, 2024). These parentheses go before the period or other ending punctuation mark. 

Narrative citations are when the author's name is mentioned in the sentence itself. For example: Lastname, a scientist, found that science exists (2024). Any reference information you provide in a sentence can be left out of the parentheses. On page 34 of their 2024 book, Firstname Lastname states "the multidisciplinary concept of science does, indeed, exist." 

 

Basic Format

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher Name. DOI (if available)

Edited Book (no author)                                                                                            

Editor, E. E. (Ed.). (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher. DOI (if available)

Chapter in an Edited Book                                                                                             

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor & F. F. Editor (Eds.), Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (pp. pages of chapter). Publisher. DOI (if available)

Multi Volume Work                                                                                                      

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle(Vol. #). Publisher. DOI (if available)

Translated Book                                                                                                          

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (T. Translator, Trans.). Publisher. (Original work published YEAR) DOI (if available)

Dictionary, Encyclopedia, etc. 

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of entry. In F. M. Lastname (ed.), Title of reference work (edition, page numbers). Publisher.

Basic Format                                                                                                               

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy

Baniya, S., & Weech, S. (2019). Data and experience design: Negotiating community-oriented digital research with service-learning. Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement, 6(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284316979

 

Federal or State Statute 

Name of Act, Public Law No. (Year). URL

Report by Government Agency or Other Organization

Organization Name. (Year). Title of report. URL

Report by Individual Authors at Government Agency or Other Organization

Lastname, F. M., & Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of report. Organization Name. URL

Film or Video

Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture [Film]. Production company.

TV Series

Executive Producer, P. P. (Executive Producer). (Date range of release). Title of series [TV series]. Production company(s).

TV Series Episode

Writer, W. W. (Writer), & Director, D. D. (Director). (Original air date). Title of episode (Season number, Episode number) [Tv series episode]. In P. Executive Producer (Executive Producer), Series title. Production company(s). 

YouTube Video

Person or group who uploaded video. (Date of publication). Title of video[Video]. Website host. URL 

Podcast

Executive Producer, E. P. (Executive Producer). (Range of publication). Title of podcast [Audio podcast]. Production company. URL

Single Podcast Episode

Executive Producer, E. P. (Executive Producer). (Date of publication). Title of podcast episode (Episode number) [Audio podcast episode]. In Title of podcast. Production company. URL

Music Album

Recording artist. (Year of release). Title of album [Album]. Record label.

Single Song or Track

Recording artist. (Year of release). Title of song [Song]. On Title of album. Record label. 

Artwork 

Artist, A. (Year of release). Title of artwork [medium]. Name of museum, City, State, Country. URL of museum

Clip Art or Stock Image

The citation requirements for images depend on the license connected with the image. If your image says "no attribution required," you do not need to create a citation. Use the guidelines below for an image that requires attribution. (If you don't know, always cite!)

APA guidelines say you should use images as figures in your paper. Put a Copyright Statement with the image, then your reference list entry with your other references. 

Copyright Statement:

Title of image [format], by Author, Year of release, Name of Website (URL). License. 

Reference List Entry:

Artist, A. (Year of release). Title of image [format]. Name of Website. URL 

 

Basic Format

Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of dissertation/thesis (Publication No.) [Doctoral dissertation/Master’s thesis, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree]. Database or Archive Name.

Tweet

Lastname, F. M. or Name of Group [@username]. (Year, Month Date). Content of the post up to the first 20 words[Tweet]. Site Name. URL

Twitter Profile

Lastname, F. M. or Name of Group [@username]. (n.d.). Tweets [Twitter profile]. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL

Facebook Post

Lastname, F. M. or Name of Group. (Year, Month Date). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Type of post]. Site Name. URL

Facebook Page

Lastname, F. M. or Name of Group. (n.d.). Home [Facebook page]. Site name. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL

Instagram Post

Lastname, F. M. or Name of Group [@username]. (Year, Month Date). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Type of post]. Site Name. URL

Instagram Reel

Lastname, F. M. or Name of Group [@username]. (Year, Month Date). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Video]. Site Name. URL

Instagram Profile

Lastname, F. M. or Name of Group [@username]. (Year, Month Date). Page of profile being cited [Instagram Profile]. Instagram. Retrieved Month Date, Year. URL

TikTok Video

Lastname, F. M. or Name of Group [@username]. (Year, Month Date). Content of the post up to the first 20 words [Video]. TikTok. URL

TikTok Profile

Lastname, F. M. or Name of Group [@username]. (Year, Month Date). Content of the bio up to the first 20 words [TikTok Profile]. TikTok. Retrieved Month Date, Year. URL

Blog Post

Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of post. Publisher. URL

Website (with author)

Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL

Website (organization as author)

Group name. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL

Website (no author)

Title of page. (Year, Month Date). Site name. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL

 

Basic Format (same as for scholarly articles)

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy

It is always best to find the original source for information you're using in your paper. If you are unable to find an original source, you can cite a source referenced in another source. These are called "indirect citations." When citing indirect citations, you should put the source you found the information in as part of your reference sheet.

For the in-text citation: One scholar explains, "the sky is blue" (Miller, 1953, as cited in Agrios, 2005). 

APA Style considers personal communications to be any work that cannot be recovered by the reader of a paper. 

Personal communications include:

  • Emails
  • Texts and DMs
  • Phone calls
  • Personal interviews
  • Speeches, lectures, livestreams, or webinars that are not archived anywhere
  • Letters

These types of communication are only cited as in-text citations.

Parenthetical Citation: (J. Kirk, personal communication, March 22, 2009)

Narrative Citation: J. Kirk (personal communication, March 22, 2009)

 

When citing information from the Traditional Knowledge or Oral Traditions of Indigenous Peoples, there are times when using a form of personal communication citations are appropriate. The APA Style online guide discusses these citations in their personal communications guide. Personal Communications and Citing Traditional Knowledge.

 

Generative AI is becoming more prevalent every day. Many professors have policies regarding Generative AI, so make sure you understand that policy BEFORE you use AI for your assignments. If your professor allows you to use AI, you do need to cite that AI in your references. See the examples below for references and in-text citations. For more information about citing AI in APA Style, read this blog post from the APA Style blog.

Reference Page Citation:

Group who Created the AI. (Year of Version Used). Name of the Model (Version Used). [Large Language Model]. URL

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Parenthetical Citation:

(Creator of Model, Year).

(OpenAI, 2023).

The APA has added an AI policy to their publishing policies. 

For this policy, AI refers to generative LLM AI tools and does not include grammar-checking software, citation software, or plagiarism detectors.

  • When a generative artificial intelligence (AI) model is used in the drafting of a manuscript for an APA publication, the use of AI must be disclosed in the methods section and cited.
  • AI cannot be named as an author on an APA scholarly publication.
  • When AI is cited in an APA scholarly publication, the author must employ the software citation template, which includes specifying in the methods section how, when, and to what extent AI was used. Authors in APA publications are required to upload the full output of the AI as supplemental material.
  • The authors are responsible for the accuracy of any information in their article. Authors must verify any information and citations provided to them by an AI tool. Authors may use but must disclose AI tools for specific purposes such as editing.
  • No submitted content may be entered into generative AI tools as this violates the confidentiality of the process.

 

 

Source: 

American Psychological Association. (2024, July). APA publishing policies. https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/resources/publishing-policies?tab=4