The APA system has two essential components:
1. A list of works references, or bibliography
2. In-text references in the body of your paper
A Book with one author
Katz, J. N. (1995). The Invention of Heterosexuality. New York: Dutton.
A Book with two authors
Omi, M. & Winant, H. (1996). Racial Formation in the United States. New York: Routlege & Kegan Paul.
An article in an anthology
Butler, J. (1990). Performative Acts and Gender Constitution. In Sue-Ellen Case (Ed.), Performing Feminisms. (pp. 270-282). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
An article in an anthology edited by departments rather than individuals
Feagin, J. R., & Feagin, C. B. (1996). Theories of Discrimination. In Departments of Political Science and Sociology, Brooklyn College (Eds.), People, Power, and Politics, Vol. II, 7th ed. (pp. 198-204). New York: Simon and Schuster.
A journal article
Michaels, W. B. The No Drop Rule. (1996). In Transitions 70, 4-19.
A newspaper story
Marable, M. (1998, April 4). A Debate on Activism in Black Studies. New York Times, p. B 11.
An article from a web page with an author
Gates, Henry. "Black Demagogues and Pseudo-Scholars." 3 May 1998. <http://www.wiesenthal.com/resource/Blackdem.htm>.
An article from a web page, organization is author
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "Capital Gains and Losses '97." 3 May 1998. <http://www.ngltf.org/97CGAL/cgal97.html>.
(It's fine to cite interest groups, associations, lobby groups, etc. in your paper in discussions of the positions of different interest groups, but don't necessarily cite them as authoritative sources of information. Use your judgment.)
An article from a web page without a named author or organization
"Joe's favorite cds." Online. Internet. 3 May 1998. <http:// www.joe. net/>. (Note: this is not a real address -- don't go there.)
(Be very cautious citing web sources without names of individuals or organizations. Do you know who wrote this document? It's not a credible source if there is no organization or individuals associated with it.)
The main difference between MLA in-text citations and APA in-text citations is that the latter includes the publication date, commas, and the abbreviation for page (p.).
The source of the quotation, paraphrase, argument, or factual material you are using is indicated in the body of your essay by a shortened reference in parentheses to the author, if necessary, the date of publication, and the page.
A. Short quotations (less than five lines)
For example, you might write:
Joe Feagin and Clairece Boohr Feagin write that, "once a colonial system is established historically, those in the superior position seek to monopolize basic resources" (1996, p. 202).
Because the writer mentioned Feagin and Feagin in the sentence introducing the quotation, it is not necessary to include their names in the parenthesis. If the writer had not mentioned Feagin and Feagin in the sentence, the parenthetical reference would have looked something like this:
...monopolize basic resources" (Feagin & Feagin, 1996, p. 202).
Note: with short quotations the period comes after the parenthetical reference, not before.
B. Long quotations (five lines or longer)
When more than five lines of someone else's writing is quoted, you must indent the quotation. In these cases, quotation marks are not necessary. For example, I might write:
Because difference feminism is structured around emphasizing the differences between men and women, this school of feminist theory has not been able to account for differences among women. As Nancy Fraser notes,
In repressing the differences among women, the mainstream movement had also repressed axes of subordination other than gender--once again, class, "race," ethnicity, nationality, and sexuality. It therefore repressed what Deborah King has called "multiple jeopardy," the multiple forms of subordination faced by lesbians, women of color, and/or poor and working class women. Consequently, the mainstream movement failed to grasp the multiple affiliations of such women, their loyalty to more than one social movement. (1997, p. 179)
Note that in the case of long, indented quotes, the period is placed at the end of the quotation, not after the bracket as in the case of short quotes.
C. Paraphrasing the work of someone else:
If you summarize an author's work in your own words, you should still cite the source in your text.
Nancy Fraser has outlined the ways in which difference feminism ignores differences among women (1997, p. 179).
or
Other social theorists have pointed to the problems of difference feminism in accounting for differences among women (Fraser, 1997, p. 179).
Copyright © 1998 by Paisley Currah
Last revised -- 5/4/1998