APA Format
APA Format
The APA in text reference is in the format (author, date). When directly quoting from a text you must include a page
number in the citation as given in the examples below. Including page numbers in all other circumstances is not
required however, it is best practice to do so when referring to part of a work (e.g. a paragraph or chapter in a book).
When referring to an entire work that covers a single topic (e.g. a journal article) it is not required.
Referencing an idea
Anxiety and depression have been identified as more commonly in children and adolescents with long-
term physical conditions (Dantzer, 2003; Pinquart & Shen, 2011).
OR
Dantzer (2003), Pinquart and Shen (2011) all state that anxiety and depression has been identified as more
commonly in children and adolescents with long-term physical conditions.
Referencing a quotation
Indeed, one researcher commented that “technological innovations have saved or extended the lives of
many patients” (Lumby, 2001, p. 44).
Reference List
Your reference list should be ordered alphabetically by author and then chronologically by year of
publication. The APA 6th style requires the references to be indented as illustrated below in the
examples.
For instances of multiple articles with the same authors and years of publication, please check the APA
publication manual or Academic Writer. If you have the DOI for the journal article, you should include it in
the reference, otherwise, it is not necessary.
Book
De Vaus, D. A. (2014). Surveys in social research. Sydney, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
Book chapter
McKenzie, H., Boughton, M., Hayes, L., & Forsyth, S. (2008). Explaining the complexities and value of
nursing practice and knowledge. In I. Morley & M. Crouch (Eds.), Knowledge as value: Illumination through
critical prisms (pp. 209-224). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Rodopi.
Journal article
Cheung, J. M. Y., Bartlett, D. J., Armour, C. L., Laba, T. L., & Saini, B. (2018). To drug or not to drug: A
qualitative study of patients’ decision-making processes for managing insomnia. Behavioral Sleep
Medicine, 16(1), 1-26. doi:10.1080/15402002.2016.1163702
Newspaper article
Fellner, C. (2019, April 7). Time bomb: Two new cases as NSW faces worst measles outbreak in years. The
Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au
Government publication
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2018). Physical activity across the life stages. Canberra,
Australia: Author.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2018). Physical activity across the life stages. Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/physical-activity/physical-activity-across-the-life-stages/contents/table-of-
contents
Vuong, B. (2018, November). IBISWorld industry report OD5381. Coffee shops in Australia. Retrieved from
IBISWorld database.
Document Format:
Margins - 1 inch all sides, including top, bottom, left and right (p. 229)
Font preference and size - The preferred font is 12-pt Times New Roman. (p. 228)
Line Spacing - Double spacing should occur throughout the document, including quotations of 40 or more
words. (pp. 171 & 229)
Page Numbers - Page numbers should be located in upper right corner, unless specified differently from
your instructor. Be sure to include a page number on the title page, too! (p. 230)
Paragraph Indentation - Paragraphs should be indented 5-7spaces or 1/2 inch. (p. 229)
To separate the parts within the body of your paper, APA has five different levels of headings. Think of these levels
similar to what an outline has and how the main topics have Roman numerals, subtopics have capital letters, the next
level has Arabic numbers and so on.
Ask your professor if they wish to have you use headings in your paper. Long, formal papers should have headings
especially if they include an abstract at the beginning.
Here are the five levels and how they should be formatted:
3. Indented five spaces, boldface, lowercase heading with a period. Begin the text of your first sentence after the
period.
4. Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase heading with a period. Begin the text of your first sentence after the
period.
5. Indented, italicized, lowercase heading with a period. Begin the text of your first sentence after the period.