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APA & MLA Styles

This guide contains tips for how to maximize your Academic Writer experience plus additional resources to assist with APA style.

Types of References

Select a reference type from the box below for an example of an APA formatted reference. Be sure when adding a reference to your reference list that you use a hanging indent. 


APA Style References

APA Style Reference for a Video:

Director, D. (Director). (Year). Title of video. [Video]. Production Company.

Example:

Doe, J. (Director). (2019). Exploring the universe. [Video]. Space Studios.

APA Style Reference for a Photograph:

Photographer, P. P. (Year). Title of photograph. [Photograph]. Website Name. URL

Example:

Smith, J. (2020). Sunset over the mountains. [Photograph]. Nature Photography. https://www.example.com

APA Style Reference for a Book with DOI:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy

Example:

Smith, J. (2020). Understanding psychology. Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.1000/xyz123

APA Style Reference for a Book without DOI:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher.

Example:

Jones, R. (2021). Advanced mathematics. Academic Press.

APA Style Reference for One Volume of a Multivolume Work:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (Vol. X). Publisher.

Example:

Miller, L. (2018). History of ancient civilizations (Vol. 2). History Press.

APA Style Reference for a Work in an Anthology:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. In E. Editor (Ed.), Title of Anthology (pp. xxx–xxx). Publisher.

Example:

Davis, P. (2019). Modern poetry. In R. Carter (Ed.), Anthology of Contemporary Poetry (pp. 34–56). Poetry Press.

APA Style Reference for a Paper Presentation or Poster Session:

Author, A. A. (Year, Month).Title of paper or poster [Conference presentation]. Organization Name, Location.

Example:

Lee, M. (2022, March). Innovations in Education [Conferencer presentation]. Annual Education Conference, Boston, MA, United States.

APA Style Reference for a Data Set:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of data set [Data set]. Publisher. DOI or URL

Example:

Johnson, H. (2021). Global temperature data [Data set]. Climate Research Institute. https://doi.org/10.1000/data123

APA Style Reference for a Dissertation:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of dissertation (Publication No.). [Doctoral dissertation, University]. Publisher.

Example:

Martinez, R. (2020). Social dynamics in urban areas (Publication No. 123456). [Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

APA Style Reference for a Policy Brief:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of policy brief. Organization. DOI or URL

Example:

Brown, K. (2019). Health policy recommendations. World Health Organization. https://doi.org/10.1000/policy789

APA Style Reference for a Journal Article with DOI:

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

Example:

Doe, J. (2021). Cognitive development in children. Journal of Psychology, 25(3), 123–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsycho.2021.03.002

APA Style Reference for a Journal Article without DOI:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages.

Example:

Lee, S. (2020). Effects of sleep on memory. Health Journal, 34(2), 78–89.

APA Style Reference for a MOOC:

Instructor, I. I. (Year). Title of course. Platform Name. URL

Example:

Anderson, T. (2021). Introduction to sociology. Coursera. https://www.coursera.org/learn/sociology

APA Style Reference for an OER (Open Educational Resource):

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of OER. Publisher. Retrieved date, from DOI or URL

Example:

Williams, J. (2019). Introduction to economics. OpenStax. Retrieved January 6, 2020, from https://doi.org/10.1000/oer456

APA Style Reference for a Webpage (Individual Author, Dated):

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of webpage. Website Name. URL

Example:

Thompson, L. (2020, May 5). How to learn Python. Programming Blog. https://www.example.com

APA Style Reference for a Webpage (Group Author, Dated):

Organization Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of webpage. URL

Example:

World Health Organization. (2021, June 15). Global health initiatives. https://www.who.int/initiatives

APA Style Reference for a Webpage (Group Author, Undated):

Organization Name. (n.d.). Title of webpage. URL

Example:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Preventing chronic diseases. https://www.cdc.gov/preventing


Main Parts of a Reference

Identifying these four (4) elements will help you create a reference for almost any resource.  

Author Who is responsible for the resource?
Date When was the resource published?
Title What is the name of the resource?
Source How can others locate the resource?

 

 


Please refer to these pages for additional reference examples.