VCSU Library Citation Guide

APA Style, What and Why

APA style is the set of formatting and citation guidelines put out by the American Psychological Association. These guidelines are used most often in the sciences, including biological, physical, social, and behavioral sciences. Currently APA Style is in it's Seventh edition. 

Your professor isn't asking you to use APA style just to make your life harder. Following a citation style is important because it gives you a way to show which work is yours, what information you found from other sources, and makes it easy for the person reading your paper to find the sources used. Building your knowledge of formatting and citing in APA will also help you in your future, whether you plan on entering the workforce or continuing your education. 

Tutorials and Tools

There are dozens of tutorials, help pages, and other resources that cover APA style. The list below is a small collection of these resources from credible sources. 

• Academic Writer Tutorial: Basics of Seventh Edition APA Style. This tutorial from the APA Style website is self-paced and covers the major elements of APA style. 
• APA Beginner Student Paper Checklist. This PDF checklist from the APA is a helpful way to confirm that you didn't forget any steps before submitting your paper
• Purdue OWL APA 7 Formatting and Style Guide. The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is a great reference for understanding formats and citations in APA Style. 
• Purdue OWL General APA 7 Frequently Asked Questions. This web page from the Purdue OWL covers common questions about using APA style's 7th edition.
• APA 7th Edition Manual at the Reference Desk. If you would like to check out the physical copy of the APA 7th edition manual, you can stop by the reference desk. 

To cite this citation guide, you can follow the general instructions for citing websites. Most of the research guides on the VCSU website will include a section titled "Meet the Librarian" or "Research & Instruction Librarian." You can use the name of the featured librarian as your author. Research guides also have the last modified date at the bottom of the page, use this information as your date. 

Example:

Beebe, H. (2025, August 27). APA formatting. VCSU Library Citation Guide. https://library.vcsu.edu/citing/apaformatting