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APA Citation Style: Intro to APA

WCCC's Guide to APA Style

American Psychological Association

What is APA?

APA stands for the American Psychological Association.  According to the APA website, "APA is the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States, with more than 115,700 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students as its members" (  


Funny APA Picture



APA Style

APA style is a method of documenting resources in academic writing within scientific writing, which includes the fields of all sciences, including social sciences such as psychology, sociology, education, and criminal justice.  As with MLA, "APA style consists of rules or guidelines that a publisher observes to ensure clear and consistent presentation of written material"  (  Using APA style applies to not only how you write, but also how  you cite and how you format your paper.  


Why APA?


This question applies to any citation style.  Why do we need citations?   






    (This information has been politely borrowed from Radford University's McConnell Library)


WCCC APA Quick Links

APA 6 Citation Guide (WCCC Library)

Using the Databases & APA Citations (WCCC Library)

Sample APA 6 Paper (WCCC Library) 

Sample APA 6 PowerPoint (WCCC Library) 

More on APA

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