Website
Website example
American Psychological Association. (2019, March 15). APA style guidelines. Retrieved from https://apastyle.apa.org/
Social Sciences citation style
Free APA 6th edition Citation Generator
APA 6th edition style is the citation format used by the American Psychological Association before the 7th edition, commonly used in psychology, education, and social sciences.
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APA 6Journal article
Smith, J. A., & Doe, M. B. (2024). The effects of climate change on coastal ecosystems. Journal of Environmental Science, 45, 234–251. doi:10.1234/jes.2024.045
Book
Smith, J. A. (2023). Coastal ecosystems in a changing climate (2nd ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Website
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2024). Climate change indicators: Sea surface temperature. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from https://www.climate.gov/news-features/sea-surface-temperature
In-text
(Smith & Doe, 2024)
Sample formatted to the official APA 6th edition rules. Your real citation fills in from any URL, DOI, or ISBN.
APA 6th edition Citation Examples
See how to format different source types in APA 6th edition.
Journal article
Journal article example
Smith, J. A., & Doe, M. B. (2019). The psychology of learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(3), 245-260. doi:10.1037/edu0000123
Book
Book example
Brown, C. D. (2018). Introduction to social psychology (5th ed.). New York, NY: Academic Press.
Quick APA 6th edition Rules
Author Format
Last name, First initial. Middle initial. Use & before last author. List up to 7 authors.
Title Format
Sentence case for article titles. Italicize journal titles and volume numbers.
Date Format
Year in parentheses after author. Include month and day for web sources.
Journal/Source
Italicize journal name, volume number (italicized), and issue number in parentheses.
In-text Citations
Use author-date format: (Author, Year) or Author (Year). Include page numbers for quotes: (Author, Year, p. 123).
APA 6th edition Frequently Asked Questions
What is APA 6th edition citation style?
APA 6th edition style was the citation format used by the American Psychological Association from 2009-2019. It has since been replaced by the 7th edition.
How do I cite a website in APA 6th edition?
Include author, publication date, page title, and use 'Retrieved from' before the URL (no retrieval date for stable content).
Does APA 6th edition require a DOI?
Yes, APA 6th edition requires DOIs when available. Use the format: doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx (without https://)
How do I format multiple authors in APA 6th edition?
For 2 authors, use & between names. For 3-7 authors, list all with commas and & before the last. For 8+ authors, list first 6, then ... and last author.
APA 6th edition Citation Guides
How to Use an APA 6th Edition Citation Generator
The APA 6 patterns a generator should produce, the eight differences from APA 7 to check, and fixes for books, articles, ebooks and in-text citations.
How to Quote a Website in APA 7: Locators and Block Quotes
Webpages have no page numbers, so APA 7 quotes them with para., a heading, or both. Worked examples from a WHO page, block quotes, and allowed edits.
How to Cite an Article From a Website in APA 7
The APA 7 formats for online newspaper, magazine, and blog articles and stories on news sites like CNN or Vox, with examples, in-text forms, and paywall rules.
APA Citation Links: How to Format DOIs and URLs in APA 7
When an APA citation link should be a DOI, a URL, or nothing, with the https://doi.org format, shortDOIs, database rules, retrieval dates, and 9 worked examples.
How to Cite a Tweet in APA 7 (X Posts, Threads, Profiles)
The APA 7 format for X posts and old tweets, with worked examples for replies, threads, images, deleted posts, profiles, and the 20-word title rule.
How to Cite Wikipedia in APA 7th Edition
The APA 7 format for a Wikipedia article, how to find the permanent link, quoting without page numbers, and how to fix the Cite This Page output.
How to Cite an Interview in APA 7
APA 7 splits interviews three ways, and only one kind gets a reference entry. Worked examples for podcasts, archives, personal interviews, and participants.
How to Cite the Bible in APA 7th Edition
APA 7 gives the Bible a reference list entry for the first time. Covers the version rule, chapter and verse in text, study Bibles, and the Qur'an.
How to Cite a Group Author in APA 7: Organizations
When to abbreviate an organization, when to spell it out in every citation, and how a group author changes both your in-text citation and your reference.
How to Use an APA 7th Edition Citation Generator
The eight checks that catch what an APA 7th edition citation generator gets wrong: sentence case, DOIs, issue numbers, author counts, and in-text forms.
How to Cite a Movie in APA 7th Edition
The APA 7 film format with worked examples: streaming originals, foreign films, TV episodes, timestamps for quotes, and the mistakes that cost marks.
APA Paper Format: How to Set Up Your Paper (7th Edition)
Complete APA paper format rules from the 7th edition manual: title page, running head, headings, page order, and the exact Word and Google Docs setup steps.
How to Cite a Lecture in APA 7: Slides, Notes, Recordings
Worked examples for Canvas slides, Zoom recordings, and transcripts, plus the retrievability rule that decides how you cite a lecture in APA 7.
How to Cite the CDC in APA 7: Webpages, Reports, and Data
Worked examples showing how to cite the CDC in APA 7 across webpages, MMWR articles, reports, and data sets, plus the in-text and date rules.
How to Format a Dissertation in APA 7th Edition
Margins, fonts, heading levels, and front matter for a dissertation in APA 7, plus where your graduate school's template overrides the manual.
How to Cite a Conference Paper in APA 7
Worked examples for citing a conference paper in APA 7: presentations, posters, abstracts, and proceedings published as chapters or articles.
How to Cite a Book Chapter in APA 7th Edition
Worked examples for every APA book chapter case: edited books, authored books, missing chapter authors, reprinted essays, and entries with no pages.
APA Reference List Order: How to Alphabetize Every Entry
Covers the letter-by-letter rule behind APA reference list order: same-author stacks, 2020a labels, Mc and Mac names, and Word sort steps.
How to Cite Multiple Authors in APA 7
Worked examples showing how to cite multiple authors in APA 7: et al. from the first citation, the 20-author rule, and fixes for ambiguous citations.
How to Cite a Source With No Date in APA 7
Covers what n.d. replaces, when a retrieval date is required, and how to cite a source with no date that is missing an author too.
How to Cite a Source With No Author in APA 7
What replaces the author, when Anonymous is correct, and how to cite a source with no author in text, with worked examples for websites and books.
How to Cite a Dissertation or Thesis in APA 7th Edition
APA 7 dissertation and thesis format with examples for ProQuest, institutional repositories, unpublished theses, and embargoed work under Section 10.6.
How to Cite ChatGPT in APA 7th Edition
APA 7 ChatGPT format: Company. (Year). Tool Name [Large language model]. URL. Includes worked examples for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and citing specific chats.
How to Cite a Government Document in APA 7th Edition
The APA 7 format for government documents, with examples for federal reports, congressional publications, executive orders, and state documents.