majiayu000 APA Style Citation
Generate and validate citations following APA Publication Manual, 7th Edition (2019).
Capabilities
- Generate in-text citations (parenthetical and narrative)
- Create formatted reference list entries for any source type
- Check existing citations for errors and correct them
- Build complete reference lists from research materials
- Handle modern sources: AI tools, social media, streaming content
- Apply edge case rules: missing info, secondary sources, translations
In-Text Citation Rules
Author-Date Format
| Authors | Parenthetical | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (Smith, 2023) | Smith (2023) |
| 2 | (Smith & Jones, 2023) | Smith and Jones (2023) |
| 3+ | (Smith et al., 2023) | Smith et al. (2023) |
| Group (first) | (American Psychological Association [APA], 2019) | American Psychological Association (APA, 2019) |
| Group (subsequent) | (APA, 2019) | APA (2019) |
| No author | ("Article Title," 2023) | "Article Title" (2023) |
Key rules:
- Use
&in parenthetical, spell out "and" in narrative - Use
et al.from FIRST citation for 3+ authors (changed from 6th ed.) - Period goes AFTER parenthetical citation:
...end of sentence (Smith, 2023).
Direct Quotations
Always include locator for direct quotes:
- Page:
(Smith, 2023, p. 45)or(Smith, 2023, pp. 45-47) - Paragraph:
(Smith, 2023, para. 4) - Section:
(Smith, 2023, Methods section) - Timestamp:
(Smith, 2023, 2:15) - Classical:
(Shakespeare, 1623/2003, 1.5.45-60)
Block Quotations (40+ words)
- Indent entire block 0.5 inches
- No quotation marks
- Period BEFORE citation:
...end of quote. (Smith, 2023, p. 45)
Multiple Sources
Alphabetize, separate with semicolons:
(Adams, 2020; Chen, 2019; Williams, 2021)
Same author, multiple years:
(Smith, 2019, 2021, 2023)
Same author, same year (alphabetize by title in reference list):
(Smith, 2023a, 2023b)
Reference List Format
Core Structure
Every reference has four elements:
- Author - Who created it
- Date - When published (Year) or (Year, Month Day)
- Title - What it's called
- Source - Where to find it (publisher, URL, DOI)
Formatting Rules
- Heading: References (bold, centered)
- Double-spaced throughout
- Hanging indent: 0.5 inches
- Alphabetize by first author's surname
- No period after DOI or URL
DOI Format
Use hyperlink format: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
NOT: doi:10.xxxx or DOI: 10.xxxx
Common Source Types
Journal Article
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article in sentence case.
*Journal Name in Title Case, Volume*(Issue), Page-Page.
https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
Book
Author, A. A. (Year). *Title of book in sentence case*. Publisher.
Book Chapter
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), *Title of book*
(pp. xx-xx). Publisher. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
Website
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. https://url
Omit site name if same as author.
AI Tools (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.)
OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model].
https://chat.openai.com/chat
Anthropic. (2024). Claude (3.5 Sonnet version) [Large language model].
https://claude.ai
Include prompt and response in appendix. Note: AI output not replicable.
Social Media
X/Twitter:
Author, A. A. [@username]. (Year, Month Day). Content up to 20 words
[Tweet]. X. https://twitter.com/username/status/xxxxx
YouTube:
Uploader Name. (Year, Month Day). *Title of video* [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxx
Podcast Episode:
Host, A. A. (Host). (Year, Month Day). Episode title (No. xx) [Audio
podcast episode]. In *Podcast Title*. Producer. https://url
For all source type formats, see references/source-types.md.
Handling Missing Information
| Missing | Solution |
|---|---|
| No date | Use (n.d.) |
| No author | Move title to author position |
| No title | Use [Description of work] in brackets |
| No page numbers | Use para., section, timestamp |
| No DOI, from database | Omit URL entirely |
| No DOI, from web | Include direct URL |
Edge Cases Quick Reference
Secondary sources (citing a source you found in another source):
- In-text:
(Rabbitt, 1982, as cited in Lyon et al., 2014) - Reference list: Only include Lyon (the source you read)
Personal communications (emails, interviews, conversations):
- In-text only:
(J. Smith, personal communication, January 15, 2023) - NOT in reference list (not recoverable)
Translated works:
Freud, S. (1961). *The ego and the id* (J. Strachey, Trans.). W. W. Norton.
(Original work published 1923)
In-text: (Freud, 1923/1961)
Retracted articles:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title. *Journal, Volume*(Issue), Pages.
https://doi.org/xxxxx (Retraction published Year, *Journal, Volume*, Page)
For comprehensive edge case guidance, see references/edge-cases.md.
Common Errors to Avoid
- "&" vs. "and" - Use & only in parenthetical citations
- Period placement - Period after citation, not before
- DOI format - Must be
https://doi.org/notdoi: - Title capitalization - Sentence case for articles/books, Title Case for journals
- et al. usage - Use from first citation for 3+ authors
- Issue number italics - Only volume is italic: 12(3)
- Missing page numbers - Required for all direct quotes
- Retrieved from - Omit unless retrieval date included
- Publisher location - Not required in APA 7th
- Database URLs - Omit for common databases (JSTOR, ProQuest)
For complete error checklist, see references/common-errors.md.
Workflow: Checking Citations
When asked to check/correct citations:
- Identify format issues - DOI format, capitalization, punctuation
- Verify completeness - All four elements present
- Check in-text/reference correspondence - Every citation has reference entry
- Apply source-specific rules - Correct format for source type
- Flag uncertainties - Note if information appears incomplete
Workflow: Creating Reference List
When asked to create a reference list from sources:
- Identify source type for each item
- Extract four elements - Author, Date, Title, Source
- Apply correct format per source type
- Alphabetize by first author surname
- Format with hanging indent (note in output)
- Generate matching in-text citations if requested
Examples
Example 1: Format a journal article
Input: "Cite this: Article by Sarah Chen and Michael Park in Journal of Psychology, volume 45, issue 3, pages 112-128, published 2023, DOI 10.1037/psych.2023.045"
Output: Reference:
Chen, S., & Park, M. (2023). [Article title needed]. *Journal of Psychology,
45*(3), 112-128. https://doi.org/10.1037/psych.2023.045
In-text: (Chen & Park, 2023)
Note: Article title needed to complete reference.
Example 2: Correct a citation
Input: "Fix this: (Smith, John, 2020, p.15)"
Output: Corrected: (Smith, 2020, p. 15)
Issues fixed:
- Removed first name (use last name only)
- Added space after "p."
Example 3: Cite AI-generated content
Input: "How do I cite something Claude told me?"
Output: Reference:
Anthropic. (2024). Claude (3.5 Sonnet version) [Large language model].
https://claude.ai
In-text: (Anthropic, 2024)
Requirements:
- Include full prompt and response in appendix
- Note in text that AI output cannot be replicated exactly
- Verify any factual claims independently