General Information

APA is a referencing method developed by the American Psychological Association and

is version of the commonly used Author-Date system.
Which style does my Faculty or School use?

Some Schools require a different style from the one outlined here. Use the citation style
required by your Faculty or School.
Why Reference your sources?

It is important to reference the sources you use so that the reader can follow your
arguments and check your sources. It is essential to correctly acknowledge the author
when quoting or paraphrasing, as you are using other peoples' ideas in your work.
APA is a citation style create by the American Psychological Association. This guide is
based on the following texts:
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed.).
Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
How to use APA

Sources must be cited in two ways:

1. In-text citations are made like this:

In-text citations consist of the author's name and year of publication inserted at an appropriate point in the text.
Sternberg (1993) suggests results should be carefully analysed ...
OR
... a discussion of results analysis (Sternberg, 1993)

According to the Publication Manual of the APA When paraphrasing or referring to an idea contained in another
work, you are encouraged to provide a page or paragraph number, especially when it would help an interested reader
locate the relevant passage in a long or complex text. (p. 171)
Note that this is a change from previous editions of the Manual. Always check with your lecturer for their
preferences.

Direct quotations and in-text citations

Page numbers are always included in the in-text citation for direct quotations eg.
(Hiebert, 2009, p. 69).

Direct quotations 40 words or less should be typed within the text surrounded by
double quotation marks.
Example:
Using graphics in an assignment has visual impact, but you need determine the
purpose and importance of including them "The preparation of graphic materials
requires careful attention to organization and content" (American Psychological
Association, 2010 p. 126).

Direct quotations more than 40 words should be included as a separate

paragraph, and indented from the left margin, without quotation marks (American
Psychological Association, 2010, pp. 170-171).

Example:
...Frameworks are constructed by scaffolding master goal learning.
Placing an emphasis on mastery of new material, not just the performance of tasks,
typifies the teacher who is focused on mastery goal orientation. In the classroom,
concepts are introduced and then related to one another to form a complex web of
knowledge. Students are able to explore topics in depth and at length, and they come
away with a more nuanced understanding of the text that can then enhance future
reading experiences.
Even at the lower elementary grades, students are capable of learning multiple
concepts and making connections among those concepts. Although at first they may
appear more challenging, decodable texts that include conceptual knowledge are more
likely to sustain student interest and foster curiosity, thereby creating engaged readers.
(Hiebert, 2009, p. 69)

2.

Reference lists, at the end of your paper, are made like this:

A reference list entry includes information about the source such as author, publication
date, title, place of publication and publisher, but may include additional information
depending on the type of source.

The reference list starts a new page (APA, 2010, p. 37), and is arranged
alphabetically by author's last name (APA, 2010, p. 181).

References are double spaced with the second and subsequent lines of each
reference indented (APA, 2010, p. 37).

Include only the references that were used when writing the paper (APA, 2010, p.
180).

The title of the reference list 'References' should be centered (APA, 2010, p. 37).

In the reference list single authors go before multiple authors (APA, 2010, p.
182), for example:
Fischer, K. W., (1992)... before Fischer, K., Demetriou, A., & Dawson, T. L.
(1992)....

Example:
References
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed.).
Washington DC: American Psychological Association.

Bjork, R. A. (1989). Retrieval inhibition as an adaptive mechanism in human memory. In

H. L. Roediger &
F.I.M. Craik (Eds.), Varieties of memory and consciousness (pp. 309-330).
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Fischer, K., Demetriou, A., & Dawson, T. L. (1992). The development of mental
processing: efficiency,
working memory and thinking. Boston: Blackwell Publishing.

Sternberg, R. J. (1993). The psychologist's companion (2nd ed.). Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.