APA Citation Generator

What is the Cite This For Me APA Citation Generator?

If you are working on an APA style project or paper, you know that formatting APA citations can be a complicated task that requires a lot of patience. Fortunately, referencing has never been so easy. Introducing your new best friend: the Cite This For Me APA citation generator. Using this automated citation machine to create accurate citations helps you to work smarter, leaving more time to focus on your studies and research.

The Cite This For Me citation generator fully-formats all of your APA citations in just a few clicks. So if you’re unsure how to accurately follow the APA citation format, or you need to cite all of your sources quickly, using the Cite This For Me accurate and intuitive generator will help you avoid losing valuable points on your work. Using this generator can help you create proper citations which prevents you from plagiarizing and allows you more time to focus on the content of your paper. All you have to do is enter the information from your sources as prompted by the generator, and it will create both a reference page citation you can copy and paste directly onto your reference page and an in-text citation for use within your paper.

This guide provides you with everything we believe you need to know to cite APA and get the grade that reflects all your hard work. Read ahead for tips on how to structure and present your work according to the APA formatting guidelines, how to avoid charges of plagiarism, and how to cite sources both in-text and in your reference list and bibliography.

Popular APA Citation Examples

• Archive material
• Artwork
• Bible
• Blog
• Book
• Chapter of an edited book
• Conference proceedings
• Court case
• Dictionary entry
• Dissertation
• E-book or PDF
• Edited book
• Email
• Encyclopedia article
• Government publication
• Image or video online

Why Do I Need To Cite?

Essentially, citing is the crediting of sources used in academic work. When another source contributes to your work you must acknowledge the original author with an accurate reference, unless it is common knowledge (e.g., Barack Obama is the first American of mixed race to be elected president). Failing to cite all of your sources or citing them incorrectly constitutes plagiarism, which is considered a serious academic offense. It is important to remember that information doesn’t just belong to anyone who happens to stumble upon it. If you are caught plagiarizing it is more than likely that you will lose points on your assignment, or even face expulsion from your university.

Aside from avoiding plagiarism, attributing your research is crucial in ensuring that your work is firmly anchored in academic tradition. Correctly citing your sources validates the statements and conclusions you make in your work by providing supporting evidence. For many students, citing can be a frustrating process, but it’s an excellent way to enhance the quality of your work and inject it with authority.

Imagine if all the stress of referencing simply vanished. Well, the Cite This For Me APA citation generator is here to help you – now you can create in-text citations and reference lists in the APA format without the usual frustrations of referencing. Creating an APA citation has never been easier.

Note that using a citation generator is not cheating or plagiarizing, unless the requirements for your paper specify that you do all citations manually, which is very uncommon. Consider citation generators as a tool similar to spell check – it doesn’t write the paper for you, but it helps prevent you from making errors in your citations. Also, unless you have the citation handbook memorized, using a generator is usually a much faster method for creating references.

What is the APA Citation Style?

The APA citation style (6th Edition) is a parenthetical author-date style, so you need to put the author’s last name and the publishing date into parentheses wherever another source is used in the narrative.

The APA format consists of in-text citations and a reference list, along with guidelines for formatting the paper itself. Both the in-text citations and the reference list can be created in using the Cite This For Me APA reference generator.

Although primarily used by social and behavioural sciences, the APA style citation is used amongst other scientific publications for its editorial efficiency. The Cite This For Me APA citation generator uses the (6th) edition of the APA format. Whether you are using the APA format generator for university assignments or are preparing research projects for publishing, Cite This For Me is there for you 24/7.

Aside from the APA format there is a plethora of different citation styles out there – the use of which depends on your discipline, university requirements, your professor’s preference or the publication you are submitting the work to. It is important to make sure that you are using the correct style – so if you’re unsure, consult your department and follow their guidelines exactly.

If no format is specified, be careful to use the same format throughout your paper and reference list. Do not mix citation styles, as this could lead to confusion in your references and a reduction of points.

Cite This For Me is not only an APA citation website; it can help you generate citations in multiple formats. The citation generator above will generate your references in APA format as standard. You can also sign up to Cite This For Me to select from over 7,000+ styles, including individual college variations. So, whether your professor prefers that you use the MLA format, or your discipline requires you to adopt the Chicago style citation, your referencing will be supported. Cite This For Me also provides citation generators and handy guides for styles such as ASA, AMA, IEEE or Harvard.

How do I Create and Format My Citations?

When you want to create an APA reference for a source within a paper; whether it is using a direct quote, repurposing an image, or simply referring to an idea or theory, you should:

• Insert an in-text citation APA (the author’s surname and the date of publication within parentheses) straight after a direct quote
• Insert an in-text citation at the end of the sentence when the author’s name is not included in the narrative of the sentence
• If you have already mentioned the author’s name in the sentence, you only need to insert the date immediately after their surname in parentheses
• Include page numbers within the parentheses (after the date), if referring to a particular page or section of the source
• When citing a source with three to five authors, include all surnames for the first in-text citation, then use the first author’s surname followed by ‘et al.’ for subsequent citations
• When citing six or more authors – use the first author’s surname followed by ‘et al.’ for all citations
• If you are mentioning both the year and author in the text, don’t include an additional citation in parentheses – unless you are referring to a particular section of the source, in which case you should cite the page number
• Provide an alphabetical list (ordered by author’s surname) of all sources used, titled ‘References’, on a separate page at the end of the narrative
• Inclusive page numbers for the electronic version of a print source (e.g., a PDF)
• Provide your appendices on a separate page after the reference list

When in doubt, it’s always better to create a citation instead of risking plagiarizing. If the thought or idea didn’t come from your head and isn’t considered common knowledge, cite a credible source. Use the Cite This For Me APA citation maker to help you create citations with ease; this will allow you to add citations to your project, edit on the spot, and export separate in-text citations as well as fully-formatted reference lists.

APA Citation Examples (7th Edition)

You will use an in-text citation to credit a source within the context of your paper. You can use an in-text citation after a direct quote or at the end of a sentence containing thoughts and ideas from a source, even if the sentence is not in quotations. To create an APA in-text citation, you will need some information from your sources, such as the author’s name, the year of publication, and the page number, if applicable.

The example below directly follow rules from Chapter 10 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition.

In-text citation examples:

• • Page specified, author mentioned in text:

  Lutz & Huitt (2010, p. 4) argue that “the statistical significance of …”

  • • Page specified, author not mentioned in text:

    The results were consistent throughout the study (Fernández-Manzanal, Rodríguez-Barreiro, & Carrasquer, 2007).

    The study found that … (Sania et al., 2011)

    The data presented …. (“How sleep enhances memory retention”, 2015).

    Reference examples:

    • • Book, one author, multiple editions:

      Hawking, S. W. (1998). A brief history of time: From the big bang to black holes (10th ed.). New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group.

      Tyler, G. (n.d.). Evolution in the systems age. http://www.onlineoriginals.com/showitem.asp?itemID=142&action=setvar&vartype=history&varname=bookmark&v1=1&v2=46&v3=2

      • • Journal article, three authors, with a DOI:

        Fernández-Manzanal, R., Rodríguez-Barreiro, L., & Carrasquer, J. (2007). Evaluation of environmental attitudes: Analysis and results of a scale applied to university students. Science Education, 91(6), 988–1009. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20218

        Veterans Affairs Canada. (2019, February 14). Indigenous people in the Second World War. https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/historical-sheets/aborigin

        Smith, D. (2019, October 22). The banner, the rings, the season opener: Champion Raptors return on a night like no other. The Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/2019/10/22/the-banner-the-rings-the-season-opener-champion-raptors-return-on-a-night-like-no-other.html

        • • Article from an online news website (HuffPost, MSNBC, Vox, etc.):

          Wade, L. (2013, March 6). ‘Sunstone’ crystal from British shipwreck may be vikings’ legendary navigation aid. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sunstone-british-shipwreck-viking-navigation_n_2818858

          CrashCourse. (2015, April 30). Mars: Crash course astronomy #15 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-88YWx71gE

          How Do I Format My Reference List?

          Drawing on a range of relevant sources in your work proves that you have read widely around your chosen topic, so it’s a surefire way to impress your reader. Your reference page may need to include citations for a variety of reference types, including books, websites, academic journals, videos, sheet music, song lyrics, paintings, and more.

          To ensure your reader’s ease of comprehension you must adhere to the style’s formatting guidelines. On an APA reference page, or an APA works cited page, a list of all the sources that have directly contributed to your work should be placed on a new page at the end of the narrative and titled ‘References’ (center align the title). The references should all have a hanging indentation – the second and subsequent lines of each reference should start ½ inch from the margin.

          You may also be required to provide a full bibliography. The difference between a bibliography and a reference page is that a reference page only cites the sources which are used directly in the paper, or those that are cited with in-text citations. For an APA bibliography, you will need to create a comprehensive list of all the source material you used to complete the assignment, even if it was not cited in the text. It should include any book, journal, article, etc., that you may have consulted throughout your research and writing process in order to get a deeper understanding of the subject at hand.

          APA Format Example:

          Fernández-Manzanal, R., Rodríguez-Barreiro, L., & Carrasquer, J. (2007). Evaluation of environmental attitudes: Analysis and results of a scale applied to university students. Science Education, 91(6), 988–1009. doi:10.1002/sce.20218

          A note on journals and website citations: If you are wondering how to cite a website in APA, you will need the URL of the website. If you use an online journal as a source, then you should first look for a DOI, or digital object identifier, and use that instead of a URL. A DOI is a more precise way to locate an article than a URL because the DOI will follow the article even if the URL changes. A DOI is typically located at the top of the page of an online journal article.

          The DOI or URL (never both) should be the last part of your citation for the website or online journal article on the reference page. To create an in text citation for a website, follow the same structure required for books, putting the author’s last name first followed by a comma and the year of publication, followed by a comma and the page numbers if applicable.

          Sound like a lot of work? Although the style guidelines are strict in regard to how references should be formatted, the Cite This For Me APA citation machine helps take the weight off your shoulders by accurately compiling your reference list and bibliography in a matter of a few clicks.

          APA Style Paper Formatting Guidelines (7th Edition)

          Along with specifications for in-text and reference page citations, APA style also has guidelines to follow when formatting the rest of your paper. When following these guidelines, you must pay attention to presentation details such as font type, line spacing, margins and page headers to ensure your work is easily legible.

          The information provided here is an overview of only the most important formatting elements; a more thorough description of paper elements and formatting can be found in Chapter 2 of the APA 7 Publication Manual, beginning on page 29.

          • 1 inch margins on all sides
          • Use Times New Roman, 12 pt. size
          • Double-space the entirety of the paper
          • The page number is included at the top of the page, aligned to the right
          • Title of the paper in all capitals, 50 characters or less, in the header on each page of the body (the ‘running head’), aligned to the left. A running head is only required for professional papers and not student papers
          • For students, the paper should typically include three major sections – Title Page, Main Body and References.
          • An APA cover page, also known as an APA title page, should include the following elements: the running head, page number, paper title, author name, and the institutional affiliation.
          • If infographics (tables, charts) were used in the narrative you should also add Appendices as a separate section at the end of the paper.
          • An APA sample paper may have an APA format title page that also includes an author’s note, but this is usually optional and not considered a requirement.

          APA Title Page

          Not all instructors will require a title page, also sometimes called an APA cover page. If they do, include these four parts:

          • Title of your paper
          • Running head (see above section)
          • Author’s/Your name
          • Institutional affiliation

          The title of your paper should:

          • Be centered on the page and use title case (a combination of lower and uppercase letters).
          • Not be italicized, bolded, or underlined
          • Use a 12-point font
          • Be a maximum of 2 lines and not more than 12 words long
          • Not include abbreviations

          Underneath the title, place the author’s name. If you wrote the paper, put your full name here. There’s no need to include titles or degrees (e.g., Ms., PhD, etc.).

          Under the author’s name, place the institutional affiliation. For most students, this would be the name of the school, college or university you are attending.

          The title, author’s name, and institutional affiliation should all be double spaced.

          Here’s an example of an APA format title page:

          

          A Brief History of the APA Format

          APA stands for American Psychological Association, the scientific organisation that assembles the publishing manual of the APA format. The style was developed in 1929 by a group of scientists to standardize scientific writing. It was created in the hopes that it would provide a coherent and professional manner of citing sources for students and researchers in the fields of social and behavioural sciences.

          The first publication manual of the APA format was published in pursuit of a neat and efficient research formatting style, mainly for editorial purposes. Although some contemporary scientists argued that having such strict regulations restricted personal writing styles, the format has since become one of the most popular referencing styles. Today it is adopted in term papers, research reports, literature reviews, theoretical articles, case studies etc.

          Differences Between the 6th Edition and 7th Edition

          In the fall of 2019, the American Psychological Association published the 7th edition of its Publication Manual. The 7th edition of the APA paper format includes updated citation rules for more efficiency, new example citations and papers, and revised writing guidelines.

          When in doubt about how to cite APA or which edition to use, ask your instructor or a librarian for help. Most of this guide follows the 6th edition, but if you’re looking for guidance on the 7th edition for your paper, these are some notable changes:

          • When making an APA book citation do not include the publisher’s location. This also applies to book chapter references
          • When making a journal citation:
            • DOIs are formatted as URLs (i.e., https://doi.org/xxx)
            • Don’t include the label “DOI” before the DOI url
            • Include the issue number if one exists
            • Annotated bibliographies
            • Citing social media posts, podcasts, and other modern sources

            APA Writing Guidelines and Suggestions

            The American Psychological Association also provides some helpful guidelines regarding overall best practices when writing academic and scientific papers. One important thing to be on the lookout for is bias in your writing. For instance, using the word “man” to represent humans as a species is neither scientific nor without potential bias.

            Here are some good rules of thumb to help you avoid bias in your paper:

            • Always be specific in your writing and avoid generalizations.
            • Do not label people or test subjects unnecessarily.
            • When writing about participants in your experiment or study, be sure to acknowledge them as such appropriately. Use the term “participants” instead of “subjects.”
            • Use active voice instead of passive voice in your writing. For example, “the participants completed the task” vs. “the task was completed by the participants.”
            • Always be cautious when discussing topics such as sexual orientation, racial and ethnic identity, disabilities, etc.
            • Never change quotations to better serve your own ends or to better fit with your conclusions.

            How Do I Create Accurate Citations With the Cite This For Me APA Generator?

            APA citing giving you a headache? Let the Cite This For Me APA format generator remove some stress caused by citations by helping you turn your sources into a fully-formatted citation. The citation generator will create your reference in two parts; an in-text APA format citation and a full reference that is ready to be copied straight into your work.

            To unlock the full potential of the APA citation maker simply login to the Cite This For Me multi-platform tool. Use the web platform to add and edit citations, export full projects and individual entries, utilize the add-ons and save all of your citations in the cloud. Or make use of the Cite This For Me extension for Chrome – the browser extension for Google Chrome that allows you to instantly create and edit a citation for any online source, without leaving the web page you’re viewing.

            Cite This For Me helps give students the confidence to be ethical researchers and writers by encouraging them to research and cite diverse sources. There are so many sources you can cite using the APA citation generator; whether it be a PDF report, podcast, a musical score or many more.