APA STYLE: SEVENTH EDITION

1. Citing Sources in Your Paper

Your readers can’t know where any word, idea, or information in your sentence comes from unless you tell them. It could be your own idea, or from the source you just mentioned, or from a completely different source. That’s why you need to tell them! Once you’ve told them, they may want to find out more about that source. To help them, your citation will always include the first word(s) of your reference page entry--usually the name of the person(s) or group considered the “author” of the work. Direct quotations require page or paragraph numbers, but paraphrases usually don’t. Both can be cited narratively (author’s name as part of the sentence) or parenthetically (author’s name in parentheses after the sentence).