American Psychological Association (APA) Style

This is an introduction to the APA style which is widely used in the social sciences and other fields, such as education, commerce and nursing. It is an author-date style with two key components:

• Citations in the text: name of author and year of publication
• Reference list at end of paper:  alphabetical listing of all references used in the text

This guide is based on the 5th edition of the APA's style rules which are set out in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition. Please note that an updated 6th edition of the manual is now available. For more information please visit the American Psychological Association website.

Before writing your list of references, check with your tutor or lecturer for the bibliographic style preferred by the School or Department.