Writing & Citing
The “Writing & Citing” page is meant to help you understand how to best go about writing a college-level research paper with citations. It is structured in a Q&A format. This is to help both the novice and experienced writer find exactly what they need to write a successful paper. Some questions, you may already know the answers to, while others you may need to delve into the supplementary material provided to get a better grasp of the task at hand. We have provided numerous images, videos, and links to help explain each concept.
For the most recent APA citation and formatting information, please see Purdue Owl.
Click on one of the questions below that most closely resembles your own questions regarding the writing and citing process or expand them all to take yourself through the entire process.
Why do I need to use sources from peer-reviewed journals?
Why do I have to provide citations in my papers?
How do I know if I need to cite something?
What is paraphrasing? How do I paraphrase something?
Original “To the extent that a child is separated from its mother at an early age, a child may suffer generalized separation anxiety” (Heinz, 2009). |
Paraphrase When children are separated from their mothers when they are very young, they are likely to be afraid to leave familiar people and places. (Heinz, 2009). |
What type of citation style do I use?
Where do I cite my references?
APA 7: In-text Citations (VIDEO)
Also see these related links:
How do I know the correct formatting to use for my Works Cited page?
APA Style 7th Edition: Reference Lists (VIDEO)
Reference List
- Arrange alphabetically by author’s last name.
- Arrange works with no author by the first significant word in the title.
- Arrange works signed “Anonymous” as though “Anonymous” were a name.
REMINDER: cite your sources to avoid plagiarism
When writing your paper, you MUST identify the source of any
- quotations
- facts
- idea or opinion that is not your own
This guide is a modified version of a guide on the Van Wagenen library website.
For additional information, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition, or the APA Style 7th Edition Reference Quick Guide.
Download the Reference List Citation Format guide as a PDF
Citation to an article from a journal in APA 7
These related links detail how to cite:
Can I use a citation generator?
ProQuest
EBSCO
PubMed Central
Cochrane
How do I format my paper so it meets APA guidelines?
Image from Berkeley College Website
APA7 Format: Changes
- Font: APA now allows other fonts besides Times New Roman 12. It recommends 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, or 10-point Computer Modern.
- Cover Page: “Running Head” is no longer used in the header of APA papers. For student papers, APA now says only the page number is needed in the right hand corner of the header.
- Titles: Your paper’s title on the cover page and first page is now Bold, and written in Title Case. So are most section headings.
References
- Online links: Most web addresses (URLs) at the end of a full reference no longer start with “Retrieved from”. Just put the complete link, including http://, as the last item in your complete reference.
- DOIs: If the citation uses a DOI instead of an URL, turn it into a link by placing https://doi.org/ before the numbers, like this: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001226
- Books/EBooks: The publisher location (City, State) is no longer required for print books or DVDs, just the name of the publisher. For EBooks, you don’t need to put the version, such as [Kindle edition], just the URL.
- In-text citations: For articles with more than 3 authors, you should put the first author’s surname and “et al.”, like: (Williams et al., 2018). But list up to 20 authors on the References page.
Content
- Singular “They”: APA now requires the use of the singular “they” or “their” as a generic pronoun to refer to someone if their gender is unknown or not relevant to what you are writing about. Also use “they” or “their” to refer to individuals who use those as their gender pronouns.
(from Berkeley College Website –https://chat.library.berkeleycollege.edu/faq/285800)
Sample papers with instructions:
OWL at Purdue
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/18/
APA’s website
https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/sample-papers
Microsoft Word has pre-made APA templates on the Office 365 web app and on their desktop platform:
You can get to Office 365 through StudentHub. Click in the left corner to find Word in your Apps.
If you have Microsoft Word on your personal computer, you can find the APA style report format by searching for it as you create a new document:
What if I’ve read everything on this page and STILL am having trouble?
If you are still unsure how to cite or format in APA style, please set up an appointment with one of your friendly campus librarians:
San Diego:
Patricia Benefiel
619-736-5464
New York:
Raquel Fereres
929-373-3194
Chicago:
Janet Harper
773-477-784