How to Cite a Web Article in APA Format

You may need to search the web page for citation information.

The American Psychological Association (APA) format is commonly used in the social sciences. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (as of 2010, the 6th edition, second printing is the latest) is the standard resource that determines APA rules and is used by universities to set their standards for grading. When citing an article found on the web, search for as much information as you can for the requisite information. Sometimes you may need to hunt for the information in different parts of the website.

Instructions

Reference List

1. To cite web pages in a reference list, include the author of the article. For example,

   Francis, T. L., & Butler, K. F.

2. Add the publication date after the author. For example,

   Francis, T. L., & Butler, K. F. (2010, May 16).

3. Include the web page title after the date information in italics, capitalizing the first word only. For example,

   Francis, T. L., & Butler, K. F. (2010, May 16). <i>This format.</i>

4. Provide the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) from which the document has been retrieved. The URL is found in the address bar of your web browser, beginning with "http." When citing this information, precede the URL with "Retrieved from." For example, Francis, T. L., & Butler, K. F. (2010, May 16). <i>Hypothetical title.</i> Retrieved from http://www.example.com/xyz/

Tips & Warnings

• Key words that reveal the authorship of an article include: author, compiler (or compiled by) and maintainer (or maintained by).

• The publication date is often found at the end of the web document. Use the copyright date or last update if available and include the month and day if they are given. Use n.d. if no date is available (for example, type "(n.d.)" after the author names).

• The URL should take the reader directly to the cited article, if possible, or as close as possible to the cited article. Copy and paste the URL to avoid transcription errors and transcribe the entire URL.

References

• Purdue Online Writing Lab: Reference List: Electronic Sources (Web Publications)
• Westfield State University Ely Library: APA Style - How to Document Information