CJL 200

Basic Principles: Citation is used to avoid plagiarism and to enable people to quickly find where information was found. You will find the basic information to include and the rationale for citing information in your paper.

Appropriate Level of Citation: This explanation is meant to prevent students from underciting and overciting in their papers.

Author-Date Citation System: Many examples of in-text citation including new rules for citing 3 or more authors.

Paraphrasing: 

Quotations: Examples include short and block (40 words or more) quotations

Citing Personal Communications: These are cited in the text but are not included in the references because they can not be retrieved by the reader.

Secondary Sources: This is a situation where a different author is cited in the source you are reading. You should only cite this author if you cannot find their original work. It should be done very seldom.

Restricted Classroom or Internet Sources: These are sources that can only be retrieved by certain audiences. This might include sources from a restricted class website or learning management system.

***For more information go to the In-Text Citations page of the APA Style blog.

Reference Examples: Examples of the most common types of works are included so you can model these examples.

Missing Reference Information: Table of solutions for creating references when information is missing. Some examples are also provided.

DOIs and URLs: You will learn when to include DOIs and URLs, how they should be formatted, and how to shorten a DOI or URL.

Works Included: See the rules for what must be included and what should be excluded from a reference list. 

***For more information go to the References page on the APA Style blog.

Table Setup:

• Number
• Title
• Headings: All tables include column headings. Some might also include column spanners, decked headings, and table spanners.
• Body: Includes all columns and rows of the table.
• Notes: Used if the title and body are not sufficient for the reader to understand the table.

Sample Tables

Figure Setup:

• Number
• Title
• Image: Formats include graphs, charts, drawings, photographs, or some other type of illustration.
• Legend (Key): This is only needed if the figure includes symbols, line styles, shading or patterns that need explaining.
• Note: Included only if the figure's content needs explanation.

Sample Figures

Accessible Use of Color in Figures: Color is not required. If it is utilized, you should use a Colour Contrast Analyzer to make sure readers with a color-vision deficiency can distinguish between the colors. Readers who print out the figure in grayscale would also be able to distinguish components of the figure.

***For more information go to the Tables and Figures page on the APA Style blog.

Headings: Rules and formatting for headings. The formatting has been changed to avoid the use of italics in this edition.

Sample Title Pages: Both professional and for student papers (See the Student Title Page Guide found below)

Sample Student and Professional Papers

Author Bylines and Affiliations: Table of various situations (Page 34)

Sample Author Note: (Page 38)

Acceptable Font Updated