The “APA style” is an author-date style for citing and referencing information in assignments and publications. This guide is based on the "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association" 7th edition (2019).
See the APA Style's official
Common Reference Examples Guide
for a quick overview of how to format some of the most common reference types students may need to use.
Always
check with your lecturer or tutor
about the referencing style
preferred by the School.
There may be differences.
It is important to understand the basics of referencing and why it is important.
A referencing style is a set of rules on how to acknowledge the thoughts, ideas and works of others in a particular way. Different types of sources eg. books, articles, each have a specific format, determined by the referencing style you are using.
Referencing is a crucial part of
successful academic writing, avoiding plagiarism and maintaining academic integrity
in your assignments and research.
Watch
Introduction to referencing (YouTube 3m43s)
to learn about the basics of referencing.
Many types of publication examples have been provided in this guide. If you cannot find the example you need, you can:
consult the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
(7th ed.) or
APA Style
view the reference lists of articles in publications that use APA such
American Psychological Association journals
(check which APA edition used)
consult the
Instructions to authors
, if writing for a journal
type the title of the item into
Library Search
to see if it has a suggested citation
adapt the rules of a similar publication type to the item
consult other institutions’ style guides or with your
tutor
or
course coordinator
.
Always
check with your lecturer or tutor
about the referencing style
preferred by the School.
There may be differences.