How to Cite Sources Using In-Text Citations

APA Formatting.
Link: Student Success Center - Media Element View - APA 7th Edition Tutorial (writing-center) (gcumedia.com)
Complete the APA Formatting Tutorials video available in the GCU Student Success Center.
Link: APA Overview and Workshop // Purdue Writing Lab
Complete the Purdue Owl APA Style Workshop.
Respond to this DQ by providing a minimum 150-word response containing the following elements:
Explain the content demonstrated by the APA Formatting Tutorials video located in the GCU Student Success Center.
Explain the content demonstrated in the Purdue Owl APA Style Workshop.
Which of those resources do you think students will find more effective and why?
Complete the following statement at the end of your DQ response:
I, name, have reviewed the APA Formatting Tutorials video in its entirety, and the Purdue Owl APA Style Workshop in its entirety. I fully understand the content presented and APA formatting requirements expected of GCU students. Please use references from the last 5 years, please include 2 citations.
APA Formatting Tutorial
Introduction
This tutorial will cover the basic format required for all papers submitted to GCU and will utilize Microsoft Word.
Most of the features demonstrated in this tutorial are available in earlier versions of Microsoft
Word but may be found in different locations. Keep in mind that different platforms and versions
of Word may look different and have different features. Access to Microsoft Office is provided
by GCU and can be installed from the GCU Technical Support website. A link is provided in the
Additional Resources list below this video.
Using GCU Templates
Using GCU Templates. The easiest way to format your paper correctly is by beginning with the
APA Template provided in the Student Success Center. To access the Student Success Center,
first log into your course. Next, click on “Dashboard,” then “Student Resources” and then click
on “Student Success Center.”
On the Student Success Center page, click on the Resources drop-down menu toward the top of
the page. Under Tools, click on “The Writing Center” and then “Style Guides and Templates.”
Under “Style Guides and Templates,” you will see the APA 7th Edition Template listed. There
are two versions, one with an abstract and one without. Click on the version that you want to use.
Your assignment will say if an abstract is required or not.
Note that there are a number of different templates available in the Writing Center and that
different level classes and disciplines have unique formatting requirements. You should select
and use the correct template for your assignment. If you are unsure as to which template to use,
consult your instructor.
When you click on the template, your computer will ask you to open or save the file. Choose
“Save” and save it with your other Word documents, or somewhere that you will easily
remember.
Once you save the template, double click on the file to open it. The file template may also open
automatically depending on your computer’s settings.
If there is a yellow bar at the top of the page that says “Protected View,” you will need to click
“Enable Editing” before you can make changes. This too may vary depending on the platform
you are using.
Now that the template is open, you will be able to simply insert your information into the paper
by highlighting the text you want to replace and typing over it.
Title Page
Title Page. First, add your title to the paper in place of the text “Typing Template for APA
Papers: A Sample of Proper Formatting for the APA 7th Edition.” A title should be descriptive,
focused, and it should include the key concepts of the paper.
After you have entered your title, add your Name where the Template says “Student A. Sample.”
For group projects, add the names of the other students in your group on the same line.
Next, enter the name of your college at GCU, such as the College of Nursing & Health Care
Professions, which is followed on all papers by "Grand Canyon University." Then enter the
course prefix and number, and the course title. The next line is for your instructor or instructors.
Finally, enter the date the assignment is due.
The template already includes the page numbers, so you will not need to add them.
There is more information about how to format your title page on the APA Style website and the
GCU Library’s Citing Sources in APA guide. Links are provided in the additional resources
section.
Abstract
Abstract. If you downloaded the template that included the abstract, your next page is the
abstract. An abstract is just a brief summary of your paper. Abstracts should be no more than 250
words and include your key points, research question, and conclusions. For papers that include
original research, include the design, method, and results of the research you did.
Your assignment will say if an abstract is required. Many assignments do not require an abstract,
so use the Template Without Abstract if one is not required.
There is more information about how to create an abstract on the APA Style website and the
GCU Library’s Citing Sources in APA guide. Links are provided in the additional resources
section.
Main Body
Main Body. Once you are finished with your abstract (if you have one) scroll to the next page
(page 3). If you do not have an abstract, this will be the second page right after the title page.
This is where you will begin to write your paper.
NEW SECTION
On the first line on this page, type the full title of your paper, in bold. Once you have done this,
you are ready to start typing your paper on the line below the title. Notice that the first line of the
paragraph is indented. Each time you start a new paragraph, the first line will automatically be
indented.
If you wish to divide your paper into sections, follow the format in the template. All headings are
in bold and have the first word and all words over four letters capitalized. The main headings,
called Level 1 headings, are centered. There is more information about how to use headings and
the different levels on the APA Style website and the GCU Library’s Citing Sources in APA
guide. Links to these resources are provided in the additional resources section.
In-Text Citations
In-Text Citations. As you type your paper, make sure that you cite any content that is from
another person or another source, whether a direct quote or just an idea. Citations will go in two
places. First, you will add an in-text citation directly after you reference another source in your
paper. Secondly, you will add the full reference to your reference list at the end of your paper.
Information about in-text and reference citations can be found in GCU Library’s Citing Sources
in APA Guide, the APA Style website, and in the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association.
In-text citations are much shorter than full citations. They generally include the author and date,
and for quotations, they also include page number or other specific location. For example, if I am
quoting from Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, by Lynne
Truss in my paper, I would say: Truss (2003) says about commas, “when it comes to improving
the clarity of a sentence, you can nearly always argue that one should go in; you can nearly
always argue that one should come out” (p. 80). You will notice the year follows the author’s
name. Since this is a direct quote, I include the page number at the end of the quote.
Sometimes sources, including some ebooks, do not have page numbers. If I want to quote Good
Arguments: Making Your Case in Writing and Public Speaking by Richard Holland Jr. and
Benjamin Forrest in my paper, I would say: As Holland and Forrest (2017) said, “No one knows
everything…you included. It stands to reason, then, that if you want to make good arguments,
you will need to rely on the arguments, ideas, and expertise of other authors” (Chapter 8). Since
this ebook does not have page numbers, I include the chapter instead. If you are not naming the
author in your sentence, then the in-text citation will follow the quote with author, year, and page
number or location. For example, if you were to write, “the English language first picked up the
apostrophe in the 16th century” you would then use author, year, and page number at the end of
quote: (Truss, 2003, p. 37).
If your quote is 40 or more words, it will need to be placed into a block quotation. Quotation
marks should not be used. The quote should begin on a new line and the entire quote should be
indented .5 inches from the left margin. Once the entire quote is written, remember to include the
in-text citation with a page number or other specific location in parentheses after the closing
punctuation mark.
More examples and tips for in-text citations can be found at the GCU Library’s Citing Sources in
APA Guide under ‘In-Text Citations’. For more information, please see the URLs listed below
under Additional Resources.
References Page
References. At the end of your paper, you will have your reference list. This is formatted
correctly in the APA 7th edition template in the Student Success Center that we have been using
as an example.
Note how the second line and any following lines of each citation in the reference list are
indented .5 inches. This is called a hanging indentation.
Let’s take a look at how the reference page is formatted. The first thing you should notice is that
the references are listed in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. In some cases, when
there is no personal author, the name of the organization responsible for the source is used as the
author.
While all references include the same basic information, each type of source is formatted slightly
differently. The last citation, Holland & Forrest, is for the book we quoted from earlier. The
citation includes the authors’ last names, followed by their initials, the publication year in
parentheses, the title of the book in sentence case and italics, and the name of the publisher. Even
though this book came from the library’s ebook collection, because it does not have a DOI, or
Digital Object Identifier, the reference is written the same as if it were a print book. The
reference to the Publication Manual is also a book, but it does have a DOI, so the DOI is at the
end.
Next, we’ll look at the fourth reference, which is for a journal article by Copeland and others.
This article has four authors and all are listed. The publication year follows in parentheses, then
the title of the article. Two items when referencing a journal article are always in italics, the
journal title and the volume number. If there is an issue number, it will follow the journal volume
in parenthesis. The page numbers come next. At the end of this particular reference is a DOI. Not
all articles or books have DOIs, but if you use a source in your paper and it has a DOI, be sure to
include this in your reference. It should be formatted just as shown in the example.
The final references we will look at are for a document or a webpage found on an organization
website, the American Nurses Association and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
examples. Notice that these references do not have a personal author. Instead, the department or
organization that is responsible for the information is listed as the author. Following the author is
the publication year in parentheses, and the title of the document found on the website in italics.
The first example then ends with the direct link to the source, as the webpage author and the
website’s owner are the same. The second example includes two additional pieces of information
before the link, a publication number, and the name of the overall government agencies
responsible for the document. Not all documents found online will include publication numbers,
but if you use a source that includes this information, it should be included in the reference.
These two pieces of information about this source can be clearly seen on the webpage for this
source, so we know to include them.
There is more information about different source types and how to cite them on the APA Style
website and the GCU Library’s Citing Sources in APA guide. Links are provided in the
additional resources section.
Finding Citations
Finding Citations in the Library. Many of the databases in the library include citations that you
can copy and paste into the References section of your paper. In general, once you locate an
article in a database, look for a button or link that says “cite.” We will demonstrate how to locate
citations in two of our general databases.
First, let’s look at the Academic Search Complete database. To get there from the library
homepage, click “Find Journal Articles” in the middle of the page. Then scroll down to click on
“Academic Search Complete” on the list. If you are prompted to login, enter your GCU login –
the same one you use to log into the student portal. Let’s try a simple search to find scholarly
articles. When you locate an article that you wish to use as a source for your paper, click on the
title of that article to view the detailed record. On the right side of the screen, you will see a list
of tools. Locate the “Cite” button and click on it. The center of the screen will now display
citations formatted in different citation styles. Highlight the APA formatted citation with your
mouse, then right click and select “Copy” from the menu that pops up. Next, go to your Word
document, find the correct location in your “References” list for the reference, and right click in
that location. From the menu that pops up, click on “Merge Formatting” – it’s the middle icon. If
the reference is more than one line long, the second and any following lines should be indented.
To set this in Microsoft Word, highlight the entire reference, go to the “Home” tab and click on
the small arrow in the lower right corner of the “Paragraph” section. In the “Indentation” area of
the window that opens, select “Hanging” from the menu below “Special,” and then click on OK.
It’s also important to check the capitalization of words in the titles of selected resources. In this
example provided by the database, the first letter of each word in the title is capitalized.
Although the first letter of the first word needs to be uppercase, the remaining words in the
article title may need to be changed to lowercase letters per APA guidelines.
Next, let’s locate a reference in the Credo Reference database. To get there, go back to the “Find
Journal Articles” page. Since we know the name of the database, click on “C” and then click on
“Credo Reference.” When you locate an entry that you wish to use as a source for your paper,
click on the title of that article in your results list to open it. To the top of the article, click on the
“Citation” button – a dialogue box will open. Next, make sure that “APA” is selected, then
highlight, copy, and paste the citation into the appropriate place in the “References” section of
your paper. You will then need to correct any extra information included.
The library databases automatically generate citations based on data that is included in the
detailed bibliographic record. Sometimes, the citation may be missing some key information that
you would need to complete your reference page, and some databases have not yet updated to the
APA 7th Edition formatting. Many will also include the permalink, so you can find the article
again. Though this link is helpful to you, it is not a part of an APA reference. Always proofread
and double-check the citations from any library database.
Figuring out the correct way to cite sources can be challenging; however, there are many
resources available to assist you in the process. For quick citation formatting help, you can also
visit the GCU Library’s Citing Sources in APA guide or the APA Style website. Links to these
resources are located at the bottom of the page under “Additional Resources.”
Inside the Writing Center, where you downloaded the template at the beginning of this tutorial, is
a Style Guide for the APA 7th Edition that also includes examples of citations.
If you are in doubt about a citation format, please do not hesitate to contact a librarian by e-mail
or by chat at http://library(dot)gcu(dot)edu or by phone at 1-800-800-9776, extension 639-6641. You can
also consult with a LEAD at the ACE Centers. Make an appointment and find out more at the
ACE Center website found with the links below.
This concludes the APA Formatting Tutorial. If you have further questions about APA style,
please refer to these additional resources.
Purdue University
Purdue Online Writing Lab
College of Liberal Arts
Purdue University College of Liberal Arts
Writing Lab
Purdue OWL
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Reference List: Books
Note: This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style can be found here.
The following contains a list of the most commonly cited print book sources. E-books are described on our "Electronic Sources" page. For a complete list of how to cite print sources, please refer to the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual.
Cite a book automatically in APA
Search a book by title, author, or ISBN
Using citation machines responsiblyPowered byPowered by CitationMachine.net
Note: If available, APA 7 requires a DOI for all works that have one — whether print or digital. If a print work does not have a DOI do not include it in the reference citation.
BASIC FORMAT FOR BOOKS
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher Name. DOI (if available)
Stoneman, R. (2008). Alexander the Great: A life in legend. Yale University Press.
EDITED BOOK, NO AUTHOR
Editor, E. E. (Ed.). (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher. DOI (if available)
Leitch, M. G., & Rushton, C. J. (Eds.). (2019). A new companion to Malory. D. S. Brewer.
EDITED BOOK WITH AN AUTHOR OR AUTHORS
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (E. Editor, Ed.). Publisher. DOI (if available)
Malory, T. (2017). Le morte darthur (P. J. C. Field, Ed.). D. S. Brewer. (Original work published 1469-70)
A TRANSLATION
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (T. Translator, Trans.). Publisher. (Original work published YEAR) DOI (if available)
Plato (1989). Symposium (A. Nehamas & P. Woodruff, Trans.). Hackett Publishing Company. (Original work published ca. 385-378 BCE)
Note: When you cite a republished work, like the one above, in your text, it should appear with both dates: Plato (385-378/1989)
EDITION OTHER THAN THE FIRST
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (# edition). Publisher. DOI (if available)
Belcher, W. (2019). Writing your journal article in twelve weeks: A guide to academic publishing success (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.
ARTICLE OR CHAPTER IN AN EDITED BOOK
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor & F. F. Editor (Eds.), Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (pp. pages of chapter). Publisher. DOI (if available)
Note: When you list the pages of the chapter or essay in parentheses after the book title, use "pp." before the numbers: (pp. 1-21). This abbreviation, however, does not appear before the page numbers in periodical references. List any edition number in the same set of parentheses as the page numbers, separated by a comma: (2nd ed., pp. 66-72).
Armstrong, D. (2019). Malory and character. In M. G. Leitch & C. J. Rushton (Eds.), A new companion to Malory (pp. 144-163). D. S. Brewer.
MULTIVOLUME WORK
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (Vol. #). Publisher. DOI (if available)
David, A., & Simpson, J. (Eds.). (2006). The Norton anthology of English literature: The Middle Ages (8th ed.,Vol. A). W. W. Norton and Company.