APA Citation Guides and Source Examples

Start by identifying what kind of source you are citing. APA references use the same broad building blocks, such as author, date, title, and source, but the details change for a webpage, journal article, book, report, chapter, or dissertation.

Use this guide to choose the right citation workflow. If you already know your source type, you can go directly to the relevant tool.

Choose Your Source Type

The most important rule is simple:

Classify the work itself, not the way you accessed it.

A journal article viewed in a web browser is still a journal article. A report downloaded as a PDF is still a report. An ebook is still a book.

The Four Main Parts of an APA Reference

APA references are generally organized around four elements:

1. Author — Who is responsible for the work?
2. Date — When was it published?
3. Title — What is the work called?
4. Source — Where can the work be found or identified?

The source element changes depending on the type of work.

For example:

• a book usually uses a publisher
• a journal article uses journal publication information and may include a DOI
• a webpage can use a website name and URL
• an edited-book chapter includes the larger book and its editors
• a dissertation can require institution, database, or repository information

This is why choosing the correct source type matters before you start formatting.

The official Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition includes more than 100 reference examples across many categories. The APA Style website is the authoritative source when you need a rule or source type beyond the supported workflows on this site.

Webpages and Websites

Use the webpage workflow when you are citing a specific page on a website.

You may need:

• individual or organization author
• publication or update date
• title of the specific webpage
• website name
• direct URL

A typical webpage reference follows this general structure:

**Author. (Date). *Title of webpage*. Website Name. URL**

Important questions include:

• Is a person named as the author?
• Is an organization the author?
• Is the organization also the website name?
• Is the date really the publication date for this page?
• Is the source actually a webpage rather than a journal article or report?

Use the APA Website Citation Generator for the full webpage workflow.

Journal Articles

Use the journal workflow for an article published in a scholarly or academic journal.

You may need:

• article authors
• publication year
• article title
• journal title
• volume
• issue
• page range or article number
• DOI

A typical journal reference follows this general structure:

**Author. (Year). Title of article. *Journal Title, Volume*(Issue), pages. DOI**

A DOI can help identify an article, but it is an input, not a source type. Review a DOI lookup to make sure it matches the article you actually used.

Use the APA Journal Article Citation Generator for journal-specific guidance and DOI-assisted entry.

Books, Ebooks, and Textbooks

Use the whole-book workflow when you are citing a book as a complete work.

You may need:

• author or editor
• publication year
• title
• edition
• publisher
• DOI or appropriate URL

A typical authored-book reference follows this pattern:

**Author. (Year). *Title of book*. Publisher.**

If the book is not the first edition, include the edition after the title.

An ISBN can help with lookup, but it does not appear as a normal element in the finished APA reference. Check that any retrieved record matches the edition you actually used.

Use the APA Book Citation Generator for books, ebooks, and textbooks.

Book Chapters

A chapter does not always need its own chapter-style reference.

Use a chapter-in-an-edited-book reference when:

• the chapter has its own author
• the larger book has editors
• you are citing that individual contribution

The reference then needs both the chapter information and information about the book that contains it.

If the same author wrote the entire book, citing material from one chapter normally means citing the whole book, with an appropriate locator in the in-text citation when needed.

The main APA Citation Builder includes a book-chapter source option for supported edited-book chapter cases.

Reports

Reports can be published by:

• government agencies
• research organizations
• universities
• companies
• professional bodies
• nonprofit organizations

A report may include:

• individual or group author
• publication date
• report title
• report number
• issuing body or publisher
• DOI or public URL

A report distributed as a PDF does not become a separate “PDF” source type. Cite the underlying report.

The main APA Citation Builder includes a report source option.

Theses and Dissertations

A thesis or dissertation reference can require details such as:

• author
• year
• title
• degree description
• institution
• repository or database
• publication number
• DOI or URL

The exact reference can depend on whether the work is published, available in a database or repository, or otherwise retrievable.

APA Citation Builder includes a thesis/dissertation source option, but unusual publication states should be checked against authoritative APA guidance rather than forced into a generic template.

Reference Entry vs. In-Text Citation

These are related but different parts of APA citation.

Reference entry

The full reference appears in the reference list at the end of the paper.

Example structure:

Author. (Date). Title. Source.

In-text citation

The shorter citation appears in the body of your writing and points readers to the reference entry.

Common forms include:

Parenthetical: (Author, Year)

Narrative: Author (Year)

A direct quotation may also need a page number, paragraph number, timestamp, or another suitable locator.

The author and date used in the in-text citation should correspond to the same work represented in the reference list.

What If the Author or Date Is Missing?

Do not invent missing information.

First check whether:

• an organization is actually the author
• a publication date appears elsewhere on the source
• an update date genuinely applies to the content
• an editor belongs in the author position for the source type

If there is genuinely no author, the title can move into the author position.

If there is genuinely no publication date, APA uses n.d., meaning “no date.”

Use the full guide to APA citations with no author or no date for examples and decision rules.

How Do I Format the Final Reference Page?

Generating the reference entry is only part of the job.

A standard APA reference page uses:

• the heading References
• a new page
• double spacing
• alphabetical order
• a 0.5-inch hanging indent

You should also check that references still have the correct italics, spacing, and indentation after copying or exporting them into your word processor.

See the APA Reference Page guide for step-by-step formatting.

Which Tool Should I Use If My Source Has a URL?

Ask what the source is, not whether it has a URL.

A URL is often only the location or access route.

The underlying work determines the citation structure.

Which Tool Should I Use If My Source Is a PDF?

A PDF is also a file format rather than a single source type.

A PDF might contain:

• a journal article
• a report
• a book or book chapter
• a thesis or dissertation
• another document type

Identify the work inside the PDF first, then select the corresponding source workflow.

APA Citation Builder does not currently claim automatic PDF extraction or a standalone PDF citation workflow.

What Should I Check Before Using a Generated Citation?

Before copying a generated citation, review:

• Source type: Did you choose the correct kind of work?
• Author: Does it match the source?
• Date: Is it the publication date for this work?
• Title: Is it complete and accurate?
• Publication information: Are the journal, publisher, website, institution, or repository correct?
• Identifier: Does the DOI, ISBN, or URL belong to the intended source?
• In-text output: Does it correspond to the same reference entry?

Automatic metadata lookup can save time, but a formatted result can still be wrong if the underlying source record is wrong.

Read Accuracy, Source Review, and Limitations to understand what the tool can format and what still needs your review.

Start Building Your References

If you know your source type, open the appropriate citation workflow.

If you are working with several kinds of sources, use the main APA Citation Builder to create references, review their source details, generate matching in-text citations, and keep the sources together in one reference project.

For source types or special cases not covered by the current tools and guides, consult the official APA Style reference examples rather than forcing the source into an unrelated template.