APA Style Citation

Generate and validate citations following APA Publication Manual, 7th Edition (2019).

Capabilities

• Generate in-text citations (parenthetical and narrative)
• Create formatted reference list entries for any source type
• Check existing citations for errors and correct them
• Build complete reference lists from research materials
• Handle modern sources: AI tools, social media, streaming content
• Apply edge case rules: missing info, secondary sources, translations

In-Text Citation Rules

Author-Date Format

Key rules:

• Use & in parenthetical, spell out “and” in narrative
• Use et al. from FIRST citation for 3+ authors (changed from 6th ed.)
• Period goes AFTER parenthetical citation: ...end of sentence (Smith, 2023).

Direct Quotations

Always include locator for direct quotes:

• Page: (Smith, 2023, p. 45) or (Smith, 2023, pp. 45-47)
• Paragraph: (Smith, 2023, para. 4)
• Section: (Smith, 2023, Methods section)
• Timestamp: (Smith, 2023, 2:15)
• Classical: (Shakespeare, 1623/2003, 1.5.45-60)

Block Quotations (40+ words)

• Indent entire block 0.5 inches
• No quotation marks
• Period BEFORE citation: ...end of quote. (Smith, 2023, p. 45)

Multiple Sources

Alphabetize, separate with semicolons:

(Adams, 2020; Chen, 2019; Williams, 2021)

Same author, multiple years:

(Smith, 2019, 2021, 2023)

Same author, same year (alphabetize by title in reference list):

(Smith, 2023a, 2023b)

Reference List Format

Core Structure

Every reference has four elements:

1. Author – Who created it
2. Date – When published (Year) or (Year, Month Day)
3. Title – What it’s called
4. Source – Where to find it (publisher, URL, DOI)

Formatting Rules

• Heading: References (bold, centered)
• Double-spaced throughout
• Hanging indent: 0.5 inches
• Alphabetize by first author’s surname
• No period after DOI or URL

DOI Format

Use hyperlink format: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx

NOT: doi:10.xxxx or DOI: 10.xxxx

Common Source Types

Journal Article

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article in sentence case.
    *Journal Name in Title Case, Volume*(Issue), Page-Page.
    https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx

Book

Author, A. A. (Year). *Title of book in sentence case*. Publisher.

Book Chapter

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), *Title of book*
    (pp. xx-xx). Publisher. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx

Website

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. https://url

Omit site name if same as author.

AI Tools (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.)

OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model].
    https://chat.openai.com/chat

Anthropic. (2024). Claude (3.5 Sonnet version) [Large language model].
    https://claude.ai

Include prompt and response in appendix. Note: AI output not replicable.

Social Media

X/Twitter:

Author, A. A. [@username]. (Year, Month Day). Content up to 20 words
    [Tweet]. X. https://twitter.com/username/status/xxxxx

YouTube:

Uploader Name. (Year, Month Day). *Title of video* [Video]. YouTube.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxx

Podcast Episode:

Host, A. A. (Host). (Year, Month Day). Episode title (No. xx) [Audio
    podcast episode]. In *Podcast Title*. Producer. https://url

For all source type formats, see references/source-types.md.

Handling Missing Information

Edge Cases Quick Reference

Secondary sources (citing a source you found in another source):

• In-text: (Rabbitt, 1982, as cited in Lyon et al., 2014)
• Reference list: Only include Lyon (the source you read)

Personal communications (emails, interviews, conversations):

• In-text only: (J. Smith, personal communication, January 15, 2023)
• NOT in reference list (not recoverable)

Translated works:

Freud, S. (1961). *The ego and the id* (J. Strachey, Trans.). W. W. Norton.
    (Original work published 1923)

In-text: (Freud, 1923/1961)

Retracted articles:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title. *Journal, Volume*(Issue), Pages.
    https://doi.org/xxxxx (Retraction published Year, *Journal, Volume*, Page)

For comprehensive edge case guidance, see references/edge-cases.md.

Common Errors to Avoid

1. “&” vs. “and” – Use & only in parenthetical citations
2. Period placement – Period after citation, not before
3. DOI format – Must be https://doi.org/ not doi:
4. Title capitalization – Sentence case for articles/books, Title Case for journals
5. et al. usage – Use from first citation for 3+ authors
6. Issue number italics – Only volume is italic: 12(3)
7. Missing page numbers – Required for all direct quotes
8. Retrieved from – Omit unless retrieval date included
9. Publisher location – Not required in APA 7th
10. Database URLs – Omit for common databases (JSTOR, ProQuest)

For complete error checklist, see references/common-errors.md.

Workflow: Checking Citations

When asked to check/correct citations:

1. Identify format issues – DOI format, capitalization, punctuation
2. Verify completeness – All four elements present
3. Check in-text/reference correspondence – Every citation has reference entry
4. Apply source-specific rules – Correct format for source type
5. Flag uncertainties – Note if information appears incomplete

Workflow: Creating Reference List

When asked to create a reference list from sources:

1. Identify source type for each item
2. Extract four elements – Author, Date, Title, Source
3. Apply correct format per source type
4. Alphabetize by first author surname
5. Format with hanging indent (note in output)
6. Generate matching in-text citations if requested

Examples

Example 1: Format a journal article

Input: “Cite this: Article by Sarah Chen and Michael Park in Journal of Psychology, volume 45, issue 3, pages 112-128, published 2023, DOI 10.1037/psych.2023.045”

Output: Reference:

Chen, S., & Park, M. (2023). [Article title needed]. *Journal of Psychology,
    45*(3), 112-128. https://doi.org/10.1037/psych.2023.045

In-text: (Chen & Park, 2023)

Note: Article title needed to complete reference.

Example 2: Correct a citation

Input: “Fix this: (Smith, John, 2020, p.15)”

Output: Corrected: (Smith, 2020, p. 15)

Issues fixed:

• Removed first name (use last name only)
• Added space after “p.”

Example 3: Cite AI-generated content

Input: “How do I cite something Claude told me?”

Output: Reference:

Anthropic. (2024). Claude (3.5 Sonnet version) [Large language model].
    https://claude.ai

In-text: (Anthropic, 2024)

Requirements:

• Include full prompt and response in appendix
• Note in text that AI output cannot be replicated exactly
• Verify any factual claims independently