How to Cite a Fact in APA Style
The American Psychological Association (APA) format for writing includes in-text citations and references. When using in-text citations, the format may change slightly depending on the resource that you are using. APA formatting can take some time to get used to, but once you become familiar with the general guidelines of APA, you will be able to accurately cite sources without much additional effort. In the meantime, refer to an APA manual as necessary.
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Instructions
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Cite books and articles with one or two authors using this basic format: (Author's last name, publication date). The citation should be bounded by parentheses and placed immediately after the fact is stated.
Refer to this example if the book or article has one author: "There were over 200 murders in Pleasantville in 2011 (Jones, 2012)."
Refer to this example if the book or article has two authors: "There were over 200 murders in Pleasantville in 2011 (Jones & Smith, 2012)."
You can also cite the book or article by including the author's name in the text and adding the publication date as a parenthetical citation, as here:
"According to Jones (2012), there were over 200 murders in Pleasantville in 2011" or "According to Jones and Smith (2012), there were over 200 murders in Pleasantville in 2011."
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Cite books and articles with more than two authors using this format: (First author's last name et al., publication date). The citation should be bounded by parentheses and placed immediately after the fact is stated. For example: "There were over 200 murders in Pleasantville in 2011 (Jones et al., 2012)."
You can also cite the book or article by including the first author's name and the "et al." notation in the text and adding the publication date as a parenthetical citation. For example: "According to Jones et al. (2012), there were over 200 murders in Pleasantville in 2011."
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Cite movies using the following format: (Lead director's last name, release date). The citation should be bounded by parentheses and placed immediately after the reference to the movie. For example: "Shrek is a hilarious movie with ogres, adventure and true love (Adamson, 2001)."
You can also cite the book or article by including the director's last name in the text and adding the release date as a parenthetical citation. For example: "Directed by Adamson (2001), Shrek is a hilarious movie with ogres, adventure and true love."
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Cite interviews using this format: (Interviewed person's first initial and last name, personal communication, full date of interview). The citation should be bounded by parentheses and placed immediately after the fact is used. For example: "The Holocaust often tore families apart (L. Goldstein, personal communication, June 23, 2011)."
You can also cite an interview by including the interviewed person's first initial and last name in the text and adding the interview date as a parenthetical citation. For example: "L. Goldstein explained that the Holocaust often tore families apart (personal communication, June 23, 2011)."
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Cite government, corporate or organizational sources with no individual authors listed in almost the same way that you would a book or article. Cite the name of the organization that published the source in place of the author's name.
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Cite electronic sources in the same way that you would a book or article, including the author's last name and the publication date if possible.
If no author is listed, replace it with the title in your citation. For example: "If you have no money, crafts, hiking and watching DVDs make excellent entertainment (Having Fun With No Money, 2010)."
If no publication date is listed, replace the date with the abbreviation "n.d." to stand for "no date." For example: "If you have no money, crafts, hiking and watching DVDs make excellent entertainment (Jones, n.d.)."
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Tips & Warnings
Do not cite indirect sources. Even if you learned about something from a secondary source, use the original source in your citation.
If two authors have the same last name, add the first initial to in-text citations to prevent confusion.
If you are citing two works by the same author and they were published in the same year, add a lowercase letter after the date to prevent confusion. Start with "a" and continue through the alphabet until each work has a unique citation.
In addition to providing in-text citation of facts, you must create a reference list at the end of your paper to conform to APA standards.
Failure to cite your sources is considered plagiarism and can have very serious consequences.
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