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APA Style Referencing

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Different formats for referencing information have been developed by different disciplines to make the documentation of cited sources clear, given how that particular discipline uses information. APA is the style that has been developed by the American Psychological Association and has been adopted by many departments such as psychology, social work and education.

If you need to use APA style, your best reference is the "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition." The links below have been designed to help you. If you do not find what you are looking for, still have questions or have an assignment you would like to have reviewed by a tutor, come to the Center for Teaching & Learning for help. To make an appointment, call 630-844-5520.

Remember: The purpose of using APA style documentation (or any documentation style) is not to make your life more difficult. The most essential purpose of using APA is to be absolutely clear about where you retrieved the information you are using. This clarity allows you to give credit to the authors who originally penned the ideas and helps you avoid plagiarism.

• APA FAQs
  Frequently asked questions about using APA. UPDATED for 6th edition! (Reflects APA's later corrections to the 6th edition of the manual as well)
• APA PowerPoint/tutorial (.pdf file)
  Walks you through the basics of APA documentation.
• Referencing specifics (.pdf file)
  Shows how to reference most of the sources you may be using. UPDATED for 6th edition! (Reflects APA's later corrections to the 6th edition of the manual as well)
• Formatting an APA paper in Microsoft Word
  Directions to help you utilize your Microsoft Word functions to format your APA paper.
• Sample APA paper (.pdf file)
  This sample of a paper in APA format allows you to see how your final draft should look. UPDATED for 6th edition! (Reflects APA's later corrections to the 6th edition of the manual as well)
• APA Web site