APA Citation Style: The Ultimate Guide for 2024

Introduction: APA (American Psychological Association) citation style is widely used in social sciences, psychology, and education. APA focuses on author-date citation for clarity and readability. This article will help you navigate APA citation style in 2024, providing you with essential formatting tips for your research papers.

General Formatting Guidelines:

• Font: Times New Roman (12-point).

• Margins: 1-inch margins on all sides.

• Spacing: Double-space the entire paper, including the title page and reference list.

• Title Page: The title page includes the title of your paper, your name, and your institution, centered on the page.

• Page Numbers: Include page numbers in the top-right corner of each page.

In-Text Citations:

• In APA, cite sources using the author-date format.

  • Example: (Smith, 2020) for paraphrasing, or (Smith, 2020, p. 15) for direct quotes.

Reference List:

The reference list in APA should be on a new page at the end of your paper.

• Book Example:

  • Smith, J. (2020). The Science of Psychology (2nd ed.). New York: Publisher.

• Journal Article Example:

  • Brown, P. (2018). The effects of social media on adolescent behavior. Journal of Social Psychology, 12(3), 123-135. https://doi.org/xxxx

Conclusion: APA style is essential for social science and psychology writing. It provides a clean and structured way of presenting your citations and references.