This guide is representative of the 7th edition Publication Manual of APA and focuses on a student paper structure.
APA examples are not exhaustive and focus on referencing and citations. Assistance from your professor and/or Writing Centre is suggested for clarification.
Users are responsible for interpretation of APA style guidelines and to seek further assistance when necessary.
Effective September 2020.
Social Media:
The author position in the reference list entry usually includes both the author and the username. The username is in square brackets. See examples below. Additionally, the reference list entry should include a description of the social media platform/application you are citing in square brackets. For example, [Tweet], [Status update], [Facebook page].
For additional examples, see Publication Manual Section 10.15
Reference list entry:
Hall, A. [@lyss_hall]. (2020, July 11). My favourite, most recent reads [pile of 3 books emoji] [Images of book covers] [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/lyss_hall/status/1281918832521732096
Note: Include the text of the social media post up to the first 20 words. Keep the original spelling and capitalization of the tweet. Include the emojis if possible, or describe the emoji in square brackets. If there is an audiovisual item attached, describe the audiovisual item(s) in square brackets.
Reference list entry:
GeorgianLibrary [@georgiancollegelibrary]. (2020, April 16). Dan, Barrie Math Centre, wishes you well. We're sorry we didn't have the chance for a proper goodbye. You'll be great, off you go. #georgiancollege #GCWeAreHere #GCmath #georgiancollegealumni #grads [Video]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/B_DwhM_lcMa/
Note: Include the text of the social media post up to the first 20 words. Keep the original spelling and capitalization of the tweet. Include the emojis if possible, or describe the emoji in square brackets. If there is an audiovisual item attached, describe the audiovisual item(s) in square brackets.
Reference list entry:
Georgian College [@georgiancollege]. (n.d.). Open House [Highlight]. Instagram. Retrieved May 26, 2020, from https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17996503726042075/?hl=en
Note: Use "n.d." for the date. Highlights can change so include the retrieval date.
Reference list entry:
APA Style. (2010, May 19). Home [Facebook page]. Facebook. Retrieved May 26, 2020, from https://www.facebook.com/APAStyle/?ref=page_internal
Reference list entry:
APA Style. (2020, February 11). What a week! The Publication Manual (7th.) is now also in the Top 10 of the Publishers Weekly trade paperback [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/APAStyle/posts/4096663363692386
Reference list entry:
Trudeau, J. (n.d.) Home [LinkedIn page]. LinkedIn. Retrieved May 26, 2020 from https://www.linkedin.com/in/justintrudeau/
Reference list entry:
[DataBoy57]. (2020, July 22). Differences teaching boys and girls? [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/education/comments/hvs95b/differences_teaching_boys_and_girls/
Note: In this example, the author is not identified and only the username is listed in the reference list entry.
For all of the examples above, the in-text citation follows the same format unless noted with the example. Refer to the Publication Manual, Section 8.17 for explanation with multiple authors.
Parenthetical citation format: (last name of author(s), year)
e.g. (Hall, 2020)
e.g. (APA Style, 2020)
Narrative citation format: include the author's or authors' names in the sentence, with the date in brackets
e.g. Hall (2020) wrote...
e.g. APA Style (2020) wrote...