The American Psychological Association developed this writing and citing style for use in the social and behavioral sciences.
In-text citations (direct quotes & paraphrasing)
When you quote or paraphrase information from a source you must create an in-text citation which includes relevant source information in parentheses after the quote or summarization. The descriptive word(s) that you include in an in-text citation must be the first word(s) that appear(s) in the corresponding item on your References page.
APA style follows an author-date method of in-text citing, meaning that the author's last name and the year of publication must appear within the text [page numbers are included for direct quotations]. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the publication date should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your work.
References page
When using APA style a reference list will appear on a separate page at the end of your work providing the information necessary to identify and retrieve each work cited in the text. Each work cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and each work in the reference list must be cited in the text. List all items alphabetically, and double-space entries just like the rest of your paper, unless otherwise instructed. All lines after the first line of each reference should be indented one-half inch from the left margin (= hanging indent).
Current APA citation guide
APA Style Blog = the companion site to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition.
APA Guide at Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL) = a great guide that includes just about any source you might need to cite.
To cite your sources, you will need to keep track of the following information for each of your resources:
In-text citations (direct quotes & paraphrasing)
When referring to the works of others in-text you are required to use a parenthetical in-text citation after a quote or a paraphrase which will correspond to a complete reference on the Works Cited page. The descriptive word(s) used in the in-text must be the first word(s) that appear(s) in the corresponding Works Cited entry.
MLA Style uses an author-page in-text citation including the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in parentheses, not in the text of your work.
Works Cited page
In MLA style, you are required to create a Works Cited page to include full citations for all sources identified in your work. All entries in the Works Cited page must correspond to your in-text citations. Your Works Cited page should appear on a separate page at the end of your paper and include the same one inch margins and header as the rest of your paper. Double-space all citations (unless otherwise instructed).
Printable guides
Annotated Bibliography = sample annotated bibliography in MLA style.
MLA Annotated Bibliography = sample annotated bibliography in MLA style.
To cite your sources, you will need to keep track of the following information for each of your resources:
Archive of last previous edition:
This is the MLA 8th Edition handout that covers how to format your paper.
This is the MLA 8th Edition Handout that covers how to create references in your paper.
This is the MLA 8th Edition handout that covers how to create a Works Cited Page.
The MLA Style Center = companion site to MLA Handbook, 8th edition.