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Linguistics

APA Citation Style

APA style was created by the American Psychological Association. It is a set of rules for publications, including research papers.

In APA, you must "cite" sources that you have paraphrased, quoted or otherwise used to write your research paper. Cite your sources in two places:

  1. In the body of your paper where you add a brief in-text citation.
  2. In the reference list or bibliography at the end of your paper where you give more complete information for the source.

Quoting vs. Paraphrasing

  • There are two ways to integrate others' research into your assignment: you can paraphrase or you can quote.
  • Paraphrasing is used to show that you understand what the author wrote. You must reword the passage, expressing the ideas in your own words, and not just change a few words here and there. Make sure to also include an in-text citation.
  • Quoting is copying a selection from someone else's work, phrasing it exactly it was originally written. When quoting place quotation marks (" ") around the selected passage to show where the quote begins and where it ends. Make sure to include an in-text citation.

Authors

  • An author can be a person but can also be an organization, or company. These are called group or corporate authors. 
  • If a book has no author or editor, begin the citation with the book title, followed by the year of publication in round brackets.
  • If an author is also the publisher, put the word "Author" where you'd normally put the publisher name. This happens most often with corporate or group authors.
  • When a book has one to twenty authors or editors, all authors' names are cited in the Reference List entry. When a book has twenty-one or more authors or editors, list the first nineteen authors followed by three spaced ellipse points (. . .) , and then the last author's name. Rules are different for in-text citations; please see the examples provided.

Titles

  • Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title. If there is a colon (:) in the title, also capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon. Capitalize the first letter of proper names in titles, such as names of places or people. Example: United States of America
  • Some sources, such as advertisements or images, may not have an identified title. If you are citing something with no identified title, write a description of the product/brand being advertised and place it in square brackets (e.g. [Advertisement for Dueling App]. Put this description in brackets where you'd normally put the title.

Editions

  • Some books have specific editions listed. Include the edition after the title of the book in the reference list. You do not have to include the edition if it is the first edition. Shorten the word "edition" to "ed.".
  • Example: Silverman, D. (2017). A Critical Introduction to Phonology: Functional and Usage-Based Perspectives (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury.

Hanging Indents

  • All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List or Bibliography.
  • A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

Hyperlinks

  • It is acceptable for hyperlinks to be blue and underlined (live) or black without underlining.
  • All hyperlinks must include https://
  • Do not put a period after DOIs or hyperlinks.

Commonly Used Terms

Citing: The process of acknowledging the sources of your information and ideas.

DOI (doi): Some electronic content, such as online journal articles, is assigned a unique number called a Digital Object Identifier (DOI or doi). Items can be tracked down online using their doi.

In-Text Citation: A brief note at the point where information is used from a source to indicate where the information came from. An in-text citation should always match more detailed information that is available in the Reference List or Bibliography.

Paraphrasing: Taking information that you have read and putting it into your own words.

Plagiarism: Taking, using, and passing off the ideas or words of another, as your own.

Quoting: The copying of words of text originally published elsewhere. Direct quotations generally appear in quotation marks and end with a citation.

Reference: Details about one cited source.

Reference List/Bibliography: Contains details on ALL the sources cited in a text or essay, and supports your research and/or premise.

Retrieval Date: Used for websites where content is likely to change over time (e.g. Wikis), the retrieval date refers to the date you last visited the website.

Advertisements

 Some advertisements may not have an identified title. If you are citing something with no identified title, write a description of the product/brand being advertised and place it in square brackets, e.g. [Advertisement for Duolingo].
Formula: Name of Company That Owns the Product. (Year, Month Day of issue which contains (space) advertisement if known). Name of advertisement [Advertisement]. Name of (space) Journal, Magazine or Newspaper, Volume(Issue) if known, page number (space) (space) advertisement is found on.
Reference List: Duolingo. (2021, February 11). ¡Hola, elected officials! [Advertisement]. The Washington (space) Post, 1.
In-Text Citation: (Duolingo, 2021)
Books & eBooks Most of the time, references are exactly the same for a print copy of a book and an eBook copy of the same book from a library database.
Formula: Last Name of First Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given, & Last Name of Second Author, (space) First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given. (space) Publisher Name often shortened. 
Reference List: Sterk, D. (2020). Indigenous Cultural Translation : A Thick Description of Seediq Bale. (space) (space) Routledge. 
In-Text Citation: (Sterk, 2020)

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

 If an encyclopedia or dictionary entry does not indicate a specific author or co-authors, begin the citation with a group author such as Merriam-Webster or American Psychological Association, followed by the year of publication in round brackets.
Formula: Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of (space) entry. In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if given. Last Name (Ed.), Name of (space) encyclopedia or dictionary (edition if given and is not first edition). https://doi (space) number 
Reference List: Brown, E. K., & Miller, J. E. (2013). The Cambridge Dictionary of Linguistics. Cambridge (space) University Press. 
In-Text Citation: (Brown & Miller, 2013)

Government Documents

Government Documents often have a group/corporate author listed instead of a specific person's name. The author may be the name of a department, committee or agency. When the government department, agency or committee that created the document is also the publisher, omit the publisher name.
Formula: Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee. (Year of Publication, Month (space) Day). Title of document: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). (space) Publisher Name. URL if online source
Reference List: Congress of the U.S., Washington, D.C., Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs. (1992, (space) June 18). Native American Languages Act of 1991. Hearings on S. 2044 To Assist (space)Native Americans in Assuring the Survival and Continuing Vitality of Their (space)Languages, before the Select Committee on Indian Affairs. United States Senate, (space)One Hundred Second Congress, Second Session.
In-Text Citation: (Congress of the U.S., Washington, D.C., Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, 1992)

Images

 

 Applies to Graphs, Charts, Drawings, Maps, Tables and Photographs. Information about the image is placed directly below the image in your assignment. If the image has been changed, use "Adapted from" instead of "From" before the source information. Images may not have a set title. If this is the case give a description of the image where you would normally put the title. Each image you reproduce should be assigned a figure number, starting with number 1 for the first image used in the assignment.
Formula: Figure X. Description of the image or title of the image. From "Title of Article," by Article (space) Author's First Initial. Second Initial. Last Name, year, day, (for a magazine) or year (for (space) a journal), Title of Magazine or Journal, volume number, page(s). Copyright year by (space) name of copyright holder.
Reference List: Figure 1. Woman speaking. Adapted from "Tongue: Stretching Out," by Z. S. Rühig, and J. S. (space) Boswell, 2019, August 18, Speech Digest, 12, p. 42. Copyright 2019 by Speech Digest (space) Inc.

Interviews

 

 Interviews and e-mail are considered personal communications in APA style. They are cited within the text of your assignment, but do not get an entry on the References list. Put the citation right after a quote or paraphrased content from the interview or e-mail. Published interviews can appear in many types of sources (magazines, newspapers etc.). When citing published interviews, follow the guidelines for the type of source it was published in. 
Formula: (First Initial of Person Who Was Interviewed or sent the e-mail. Second Initial if known. Last (space) Name, personal communication, Month Day, Year interview took place or e-mail was (space) received)
In-Text Citation:

"Linguistics is a misunderstood discipline" (Z. S. Rühig), personal communication, June 29, (space) 2015)

OR 

Z. S. Rühig explained that "students are often introduced to linguistics research and topics in (space) sociology or anthropology courses" (personal communication, June 29, 2015).

Journal Articles

Some electronic content is assigned a unique number called a Digital Object Identifier (DOI). If a DOI is provided for a journal article, include it after the page numbers of the article as a hyperlink - https://doi.org/xxxxx. You do not need to put a period after a DOI number.
Formula: Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. & Last Name of Second Author, (space) First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if (space) any. Name of Journal, Volume Number(Issue Number), first page number-last page (space) number. https://doi.org/DOInumber
Reference List:

Daniels, B., & Sterzuk, A. (2022). Indigenous Language Revitalization and Applied Linguistics: (space) Conceptualizing an Ethical Space of Engagement between Academic (space)(space)(space)Fields. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics / Revue Canadienne de Linguistique (space)Appliquée, 25(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.37213/cjal.2022.31841
In-Text Citation: (Daniels & Sterzuk, 2022)

Magazine Articles  
Formula: Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. & Last Name of Second Author, (space) First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if (space) any. Name of Magazine, Volume Number(Issue Number if given), first page number-(space) last page number if given. URL 
Reference List: Abramsky, S. (2012, May 14). The other America 2012. Nation, 294(20), 11-18.
In-Text Citation: (Abramsky, 2012)

Newspaper Articles If an article ends with a question mark or exclamation mark (!), you do not need to add a period to mark the end of the title.
Formula: Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication, Month Day if (space) Given). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Newspaper, p. SectionPage if given. (space) URL
Reference List:

Stamper, K. (2017, April 16). America's Uncivil War Over Words. New York (space) (space) (space) Times, 5(L). https://link-gale-com.colorado.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/(space) (space) (space) A489612344/CDB?u=coloboulder&sid=bookmark-CDB&xid=5a5e85d3
In-Text Citation: (Stamper, 2017)

Statistics

 If the author and publisher are different people/organizations, then you should include the publisher before the url: Agency Name. http://www.xxxxxx
Formula: Corporate Author Name. (Year of Publication). Title of data set: Subtitle if given [Data set]. (space) URL
Reference List:

United States Census Bureau (2020). Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months. American (space) (space) Community Survey, ACS 5-Year Estimates Subject Tables, Table S1701 [Data set]. (space) https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S1701?q=poverty in Colorado in 2020
In-Text Citation: (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020.)

Video

 

Only specify how you watched a film (on DVD, streaming, etc.) when it is important to indicate a specific version. Put this information in the square brackets following the word "Film" and a semicolon. If you have more than one director use (Directors) instead and separate their names with commas, adding an ampersand (&) before the final name. If the director is unknown, credit someone in a similar role (producer/writer) and put their job title in round brackets after their name.
Formula: Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Director). (Year of Publication). Title (space) of Movie [Film]. Production Company. 
Reference List: Hooper, T. (Director). (2010). The King's Speech [Film]. UK Film Council.
In-Text Citation: (Hooper, 2010)

Websites

 

Be careful! Just because you found something on the web, it doesn’t mean you are citing a website. Look at the material closely – is it a journal article? A newspaper article? An encyclopedia? An eBook? Use the format that best describes the item. APA treats a source as a website only when it does not fit another category. 
Formula: Corporation/Group/Organization's Name. (Year webpage was last updated/published, Month (space) Day if given). Title of page: Subtitle (if any). URL
Reference List: Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR). (2024). The Endangered Languages Archive. (space) (space) https://www.elararchive.org
In-Text Citation: (Endangered Languages Archive, 2024)

In APA, in-text citations are inserted in the body of your research paper to briefly document the source of your information. Brief in-text citations point the reader to more complete information in the reference list at the end of the paper.

  • In-text citations include the last name of the author followed by a comma and the publication year enclosed in parentheses: (Daniels, 2022).
  • If you are quoting directly the page number should be included, if given. If you are paraphrasing the page number is not required.
  • If the author's name is not given, then use the first word or words of the title. Follow the same formatting that was used in the title, such as italics: (Indigenous Language Revitalization and Applied Linguistics, 2022).

Signal Phrase

If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation. Instead include the date after the name and the page number (if there is one) at the end of the quotation or paraphrased section. For example: Daniels and Sterzuk (2022) examine the relationship between applied linguistics and Indigenous language revitalization with a particular focus on the "changes necessary for the creation of an ethical space of engagement" (p. 1).

In-Text Citations for Two or More Authors/Editors

Number of Authors/Editors First Time Paraphrased Second and Subsequent Times Paraphrased First Time Quoting Second and Subsequent Times Quoting
2 (Daniels & Sterzuk, 2022) (Daniels & Sterzuk, 2022) (Daniels & Sterzuk, 2022, p.15) (Daniels & Sterzuk, 2022, p.15)
3+ (Daniels et al., 2022) (Daniels et al., 2022) (Daniels et al., 2022, p.15) (Daniels et al., 2022, p.15)

Sometimes an author of a book, article or website will mention another person’s work by using a quotation or paraphrased idea from that source. The work that is mentioned in the article you are reading is called the primary source. The article you are reading is called the secondary source.

For example, suppose you are reading an article by Leonard (2021) that cites information from an article by Rosa (2016) that you would like to include in your essay. For the reference list, you will only make a citation for the secondary source (Leonard). You do not put in a citation for the primary source (Rosa) in the reference list. For the in-text citation, you identify the primary source (Rosa) and then write "as cited in" the secondary source (Leonard). If you know the year of the publication of the primary source, include it in the in-text citation. Otherwise, you can omit it. See below for examples.

Examples of In-Text Citations:

According to Rosa (2016, as cited in Leonard, 2021), the co-naturalization of race and language is best exemplified through the raciolinguistic perspective.

Note: If you don't have the publication date of Rosa's article, you just omit it like this:
According to a study by Rosa (as cited in Leonard, 2021), the co-naturalization of race and language is best exemplified through the raciolinguistic perspective.

The co-naturalization of race and language is best exemplified through the raciolinguistic perspective (Rosa, 2016, as cited in Leonard, 2021).

Rosa (2016, as cited in Leonard, 2021) concluded that the raciolinguistic perspective is a most useful lens by "reimagining and reconstituting not only racial and linguistic formations but also the range of historical, political, economic, and sociocultural structures to which they are linked" (p.642).

Example of Reference List Citation:

Leonard, W. Y. (2021). Toward an Anti‐Racist Linguistic Anthropology: An Indigenous Response to White Supremacy. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 31(2). 

Quick Rules for an APA Reference List

Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in the text of the paper; this is called the Reference List. Here are nine quick rules for this Reference List.

  1. Start a new page for your Reference list. Center the title, References, at the top of the page.
  2. Double-space the list.
  3. Start the first line of each reference at the left margin; indent each subsequent line five spaces (a hanging indent).
  4. Put your list in alphabetical order. Alphabetize the list by the first word in the reference. In most cases, the first word will be the author’s last name. Where the author is unknown, alphabetize by the first word in the title, ignoring the words a, an, the.
  5. For each author, give the last name followed by a comma and the first (and middle, if listed) initials followed by periods.
  6. Italicize the titles of these works: books, audiovisual material, internet documents and newspapers, and the title and volume number of journals and magazines.
  7. Do not italicize titles of most parts of works, such as: articles from newspapers, magazines, or journals / essays, poems, short stories or chapter titles from a book / chapters or sections of an Internet document.
  8. In titles of non-periodicals (books, videotapes, websites, reports, poems, essays, chapters, etc), capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, and all proper nouns (names of people, places, organizations, nationalities).
  9. If a web source (not from the library) is not a stable archived version, or you are unsure whether it is stable, include a statement of the accessed date before the link.

Annotations

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations for various books, articles, and other sources on a topic. The annotated bibliography looks like a Reference page but includes an annotation after each source cited. An annotation is a short summary and/or critical evaluation of a source. Annotated bibliographies can be part of a larger research project, or can be a stand-alone report in itself.

Types of Annotations

  •  A summary annotation describes the source by answering the following questions: who wrote the document, what the document discusses, when and where was the document written, why was the document produced, and how was it provided to the public. The focus is on description. 
  •  An evaluative annotation includes a summary as listed above but also critically assesses the work for accuracy, relevance, and quality. Evaluative annotations can help you learn about your topic, develop a thesis statement, decide if a specific source will be useful for your assignment, and determine if there is enough valid information available to complete your project. The focus is on description and evaluation.

 

Sample Paper 

The American Psychological Association (APA) has created a sample paper that includes explanations of the elements and formatting in APA 7th ed. 

In-Text Citations

  • Have you given credit to other sources when you’ve quoted and/or paraphrased throughout your paper?
  • Are the in-text citations properly constructed according to APA style? 
  • Does every in-text citation have a complete, matching citation in your References List?

Title Page (Follow unless a different format is specified by your instructor)

  • Is there a page number one inch from the top right-side of the page? 
  • Does page numbering start from the title page?
  • Did you include the full title in the upper half of your page, in title case capitalization, centered, and in bold?
  • Is your name, course number, instructor’s name and the paper’s due date (Month Day, Year) centered on the page?
  • Is the title page properly constructed according to APA style and double-spaced with 1-inch margins? 

References List 

  • Does it say References at the top of your page, centered, in bold, and without underlining?
  • Is the References List page double spaced?
  • Are the citations in alphabetical order by the first word/name of each citation (ignoring initial articles like “The”, “A” and “An”)?
  • Are the citations properly constructed according to APA style?
  • Are the second and subsequent lines of any citations longer than one line indented half an inch? This is called a “hanging indent” in your paragraph settings.
  • Does each citation in the References List have a matching in-text citation in your assignment?

Overall Paper Presentation

  • Did you cite the appropriate number and type of sources according to your assignment instructions? 
  • Is your paper double-spaced?
  • Unless specified otherwise by your instructor, is your paper in an easy-to-read font? (For example: 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial)
  • Are margins set to 1-inch on all sides?
  • Are the in-text citations and the Reference List properly constructed according to APA Style?

If you have used AI-generated content in your assignment, you are required not only to provide proper citations, but also, to explain how you used AI for your assignment.

Your explanation should include:

  • A description of all of the ways in which the AI tool(s) that you used helped you with your assignment.
    • For example, did the AI tool translate words from one language to another? Did it explain a concept to you? Did it give you a plan for how you would structure your assignment? Describe all of the ways in which the AI tool helped you.
    • If your assignment contains content that was originally generated by an AI tool and then modified (for example, you edited text that you got from ChatGPT, and then added it to your assignment), you should acknowledge this as well.
  • The full text of the prompt(s) that you used.
  • Any portion of the relevant content that was generated from that prompt.

You can explain these things at any point in your assignment. For example, if you are writing an essay, you could use your introduction to describe which AI tool(s) you used, and how. Then, in the body paragraphs, you could share your AI-generated content and prompts.

APA also recommends including the full text of all AI-generated content in an Appendix at the end of your paper. Create separate appendices for each of the AI-generated items that you have used for your assignment. Then, in your in-text citations, refer the reader to the appropriate Appendix for the full content.

  • For example, if you used two separate Chat-GPT ‘chats’ for your assignment, include the first as an Appendix A, and the second as an Appendix B. Then, in the body text of your assignment, whenever you refer to something from Appendix A, direct the reader to Appendix A, as in the example below:
    • (OpenAI, 2024; see Appendix A for the full transcript)

Also, be sure to confirm that your instructor allows the use of AI tools in assignments!

What Is a Prompt?

The term “prompt” refers to the instructions that you write and submit to a generative AI tool (such as ChatGPT or DALL·E), in order to get it to perform a task for you. 

The generative AI tool will then create an “output.” This is the response it gives to your prompt. An output might take the form of text, images, videos, or other media.

Depending on what you are working on, you may ask the generative AI tool to do things like:

  • Translate words from one language to another
  • Explain a concept, or concepts, to you
  • Synthesize two or more texts
  • Write a short text
  • Create step-by-step instructions for how to complete a large assignment

There is no set standard for how long your prompt should be. It all depends on what you want the generative AI tool to do. For some tasks, an effective prompt could be one sentence long; for others, a successful prompt would require a full paragraph of instructions.

Formatting URLs in Citations for AI-Generated Content

In your citation, include a direct URL to the AI-generated content only if it is publicly available (i.e. the person who clicks on the URL will be able to view your AI-generated content without having to log in first). If the direct URL requires a login, include a general URL to the AI tool instead.

ChatGPT

Formula: OpenAI. (Year). ChatGPT (version information if known) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com

Note: APA recommends that you include an explanation of how you used ChatGPT, and an Appendix (or Appendices) containing the full text of your prompt(s) and output(s). If you are not sure whether or not you should include this info, check with your instructor.

Do not include a direct URL to your ChatGPT conversation. Instead, use https://chat.openai.com.

Citation Guidelines May Change!

Generative AI tools are relatively new, and constantly evolving. Because of this, the guidelines around how to cite these tools frequently change.

If you plan on using AI tools in your assignment, check this page frequently, to ensure you are following the most up-to-date guidelines on how to cite these tools.

Additional APA Citation Resources

If you use a citation generator...

Please be aware that automatically generated citations may not provide accurate results.

If you choose to use a citation generator, then take the time to make the necessary corrections using this APA guide.

Remember: It is your responsibility to double-check the results!

There are several options when it comes to choosing a program to manage your citations. The selected citation management programs below are the most popular at CU Boulder, but there are many others available.
All citation management programs let you:

  • Add citations from databases like PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, etc.
  • Organize your citations into folders or groups
  • Add PDF files of articles to the references
  • Format citations in Microsoft Word (and other document programs such as Google Docs) to create bibliographies in any of 1000s of styles
  • Share all or part of your database, with various degrees of permissions, and collaborate with others on documents