How to Cite in APA Format: A Student’s Guide
If you’re working on a paper for one of your courses — whether it’s a case study for your paralegal program, a research paper for a health sciences class, or a business plan for your management coursework — you’ll likely be asked to use APA format. This guide walks through exactly what that means and how to do it correctly, with real examples you can follow.
What Is APA Style, and Why Does It Matter for Your Grade?
APA (American Psychological Association) style is the citation and formatting system used across most of American National University’s programs, especially in business, health sciences, and the social sciences. Your instructors use it because it gives every student a consistent, professional way to credit sources — the same standard you’ll be expected to use if you go on to write in a clinical, business, or legal setting after graduation.
Skipping or botching citations isn’t a technicality, it’s one of the most common ways students lose points on an otherwise strong paper.
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Citation vs. Reference: What’s the Difference?
These two terms get mixed up constantly, so here’s the short version:
- A citation is the short note inside your paper — right after you quote or paraphrase something — that points to where the idea came from.
- A reference is the full source entry on your References page at the end of the paper, where a reader could find and look up that source themselves.
Every source you cite in your paper needs both: one in-text citation where you use it, and one matching entry on your References page.
In-Text Citations: How to Cite Within Your Paper
An in-text citation needs two pieces of information: the author’s last name and the year the source was published. Here’s how that looks in practice, across the situations you’ll actually run into.
Quoting directly:
According to recent workforce data, “employers increasingly prioritize credentialed experience over a four-year degree alone” (Patterson, 2023, p. 42).
Paraphrasing an idea (no quotation marks, but still cited):
Patterson (2023) found that employers are placing more weight on hands-on credentials than on degree type alone.
Two authors:
(Nguyen & Alvarez, 2022)
Three or more authors (use “et al.” after the first author):
(Franklin et al., 2021)
No identified author — use the first few words of the title instead:
(“Workforce Trends,” 2023)
Two sources by the same author, same year — add a lowercase letter:
(Patterson, 2023a) and (Patterson, 2023b)
Citing a source you read about in another source (use sparingly — track down the original when you can):
(as cited in Nguyen & Alvarez, 2022)
Reference List Examples by Source Type
Your References page should list every source alphabetically by the author’s last name. Here’s the format for the source types students use most often:
Website (no listed author):
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, June 14). Workplace safety basics. https://www.cdc.gov/workplace-safety
Journal article (with a DOI):
Nguyen, T., & Alvarez, R. (2022). Credential stacking and career mobility in allied health fields. Journal of Career Development, 49(3), 211–228. https://doi.org/10.1177/08948453221098765
E-book:
Franklin, D., Reyes, M., & Osei, K. (2021). Foundations of healthcare administration (3rd ed.). SpringerPub. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Book (print):
Patterson, L. (2023). The modern workforce: Skills over credentials. Career Press.
Common APA Mistakes That Cost Students Points
- Forgetting the page number on a direct quote. Paraphrases don’t need one; direct quotes always do.
- Mixing up “et al.” rules. It’s only for three or more authors — spell out both names for two authors every time.
- Citing in the text but forgetting the matching Reference entry (or vice versa). Every in-text citation needs a reference, and every reference should be cited somewhere in the paper.
- Using the wrong date format for undated web sources — if there’s truly no date, use “(n.d.)” rather than leaving it blank.
- Forgetting the hanging indent on the References page — the second line of each entry should indent half an inch.
FAQ
Do student papers need a running head in APA format?
No — under the current APA 7th edition rules, student papers (the type you’re writing for coursework) don’t require a running head. That’s only required for professional/publication manuscripts.
Do I need an abstract for a class paper?
Usually not, unless your instructor specifically asks for one. Check your assignment instructions first.
What if my source has no author and no date?
Use the title in place of the author, and “(n.d.)” in place of the date — see the example in the reference list section above.
Need More Help?
APA Style’s official website, apastyle.apa.org.
