APA Research Paper Citation Rules: Tips And Examples

Research papers gain a distinct fair when they are formatted with a vision. Thankfully, there are two belligerent format styles that help students to the hilt; APA and MLA. You should choose among the two and having done that, abide by it consistently.

A clear picture

Now, the reference page is what gives a clear picture of how well or not a paper has been formatted. This is also the page, which when conditioned well, gives the paper an air of authenticity and originality.

You need to make your citations properly. This of course entertains certain rules you cannot flout.

• You should not ignore hierarchy. Books take precedence over journals, newspapers; reference materials and online citations. Even among the books, you should go in order of the usage you have made with the extracts.


• It would be ideal to cut an annotated citation, where each citation is followed by a description of 150 words or thereabout. Here you mention the manner in which the relevant people went about their study and carried experiments.


• The citation rule is simple; you should write the author’s name (last name followed by first name and middle initials). This is followed by the book or other reference material’s name and the year of publication or release. You should finish it with the pages you have utilized. If you have made use of a large number of pages, place the range.


• In case of online takes, you should end the citation with the URL from where you have retrieved it.


• You will need to align the citations with the original mention in the body of the research paper. You can utilize the footer section of the page for a cursory definition and then align it with the reference page.


• You can also introduce a footnote page where you elaborate on terms and situations you may not have the space to define in the actual body. This is generally referred to as the appendix page.


• If you have any doubts, you can check out the samples on the glossary of APA format style sites for guidelines. Choose papers connected with your chosen subject and absorb how the references and citations have been done.

More labor required

It goes without saying that the citation page, even if pivotal, is one of the many fries of the paper. You will have to pour more labor into other quotients to ensure a systematic and well-carved paper.

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