To cite in the 6{th} edition of the American Psychological Association’s (APA 6) citation style, it is helpful to know basic information about your source, including the author’s name(s), title of the source and/or article, date published, and page number(s) (if applicable).

This guide will show you in-text citations and full reference examples in APA 6 style for the following source types:

• Website

• Book

• Journal article

• Online image

If you wish to easily cite in APA 6, check out the Chegg Writing citation generator.

Formatting citations in APA 6 style

The APA 6 citation style has two parts:

• In-text citations

• Reference list

In-text citations

When you cite information from a source in your work, you need to include an in-text citation. There are two types of in-text citations:

• Parenthetical citation: (Author Last Name, Year Published)

• Narrative citation: Author Last Name (Year Published)

When possible, include a page number:

• Parenthetical citation: (Author Last Name, Year Published, p. Page #)

• Narrative citation: Author Last Name (Year Published) “Quote goes here” (p. Page #)

Narrative citations are placed near wherever the author’s name is mentioned. Parenthetical citations are usually placed at the end of the cited information. For parenthetical citations, you can also cite several sources at once by separating them with semicolons (;). Here are a few examples:

Parenthetical citation examples:

• (Lee, 2010)

• (Chaundry, 2022, p. 111)

• (Sato & Smith, 1995)

• (Madrigal et al., 1972)

• (Lee, 2010; Sato & Smith, 1995)

Narrative citation examples:

• Lee (2010)

• Chaundry (2022) noted that “nothing that contained element A resulted in a reaction” (p. 111).

• Sato and Smith (1995)

• Madrigal and his collaborators (1972)

Every in-text citation should correspond to a source in the reference list.

Reference list

Place a list of all of your references at the end of your paper and title it “References.” References are usually listed alphabetically by the author’s last name (the first name shown in the reference list entry). The page should be double-spaced. For each reference list entry, any lines after the first should be indented.

Example references:

Ankersmit, F. R. (1996). Aesthetic politics: Political philosophy beyond fact and value. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Baumrind, D. (1966). Effects of authoritative parent control on child behavior. Child Development, 37(4), 887–907. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1126611

Burton, H. (1923). Taking down a wall [Image]. The Met Museum, New York, NY.

Johns Hopkins Medicine Office. (2022, November). School struggles and your child: Expert tips. Retrieved from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/

Citing a basic website page in APA 6 style

Include as much information as you can and omit information that doesn’t exist. Include a space between the first and middle initials. Write the title of the webpage in italics and sentence case.

Parenthetical in-text citation template and example:

(Author’s Surname, Publication Year)

(Schempp, 2022)

Reference list entry template and example:

Citing a book in APA 6 style

If the book is in print, no URL is necessary.

Parenthetical in-text citation template and example:

(Author’s Surname, Publication Year)

(Duschinsky, 2020)

Reference list entry template and example:

Citing a journal article in APA 6 style

Write the article title in sentence case but the journal title in title case. Do not add a period after the URL.

Parenthetical in-text citation template and example:

(Author’s Surname, Publication Year)

(Duhn, 2010)

Reference list entry template and example:

Citing an online image in APA 6 style

Parenthetical in-text citation template and example:

(Artist Surname, Publication Year)

(Evans, 1930)

Reference list entry template and example:

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