As a fact, various rules apply to format an academic paper. Citing your sources also requires you to use a specific format to acknowledge the author and their work properly. Hence, the confusion comes when it gets to sources that might now have the required information that is expected from you. I am talking about instances when you cannot obtain the needed information because you are citing a website. APA formatting presents rules that apply to all sources, including such cases when you cite web pages. However, citing a website (APA) involves knowing specific aspects of formatting that apply only to web-based content as well as general requirements, such as sentence and title case use, how to cite charts, and more.
General
Firstly, it is important to know that you must acknowledge the APA guidelines when citing a website. APA citation rules have specific criteria for you to follow for in-text citations and reference page. Hence, citing a website in text and on the APA reference page is a whole different story. Also, you should acknowledge the difference in the types of sources and learn what sentence case and title case in APA format mean before starting formatting your work. Therefore, all the information will be presented below for you to learn what you need.
Sentence Case and Title Case in APA
When you refer to a specific work in text, you should acknowledge the type of source to follow the APA style guide. Also, you must acknowledge the position of your reference as in-text position and in reference page will force you to format the same work differently. For example:
In your text, this web page will be referred to as – “Citing a Website APA.”
However, on your reference page, you will write this
Turner, A. (2019). Citing a website APA. Retrieved from
www.wr1ter.com/citing-a-website-apa.
Sentence Case
Sentence case is used in APA for:
- The title of the source on the “References” page.
- APA headings (Levels 3, 4, and 5).
Direction on Sentence Case for all paper formats:
- The first word has to be capitalized. If it is a title of the work that has a complex name, divided with “:” to highlight something (usually in scholarly works), you should capitalize the first letter after “:” because it is considered as a subtitle.
- Lowercase any word that is not a proper noun or a specific type of word identified below.
Exclusions (you must capitalize each word of the following):
- Names of people, brands, institutions, tools, tests, departments, websites, software, programs, inventory, databases, periodicals, acts, statutes, regulations, bills, etc.
- Nouns followed by the number, letter, or other identification to highlight a chart or something of importance.
Title Case
Title case is used in APA for:
- Titles of sources that you write in the text;
- APA headings (Levels 1 and 2);
- Titles of your paper;
- Exclusions of Sentence Case, listed above.
Direction on Sentence Case for all paper formats:
- Firstly, capitalize first words.
- Also, capitalize major words when you use title case (in cases listed above).
- Additionally, capitalize all words of 4 letters and more when you use title case (in cases listed above).
- Moreover, do not
capitalize minor words that are 3 letters or less. Minor words include articles, conjunctions, and prepositions.
- Besides, both parts of hyphenated words have to be capitalized.
Exclusions (you must capitalize each word of the following):
- Minor words that are the first word in the title, heading, or anything else that falls under cases where you have to use title case.
Charts Reproduced From Websites
The general format of what you have to write will be like this (information is put right below the image):
Figure Number. Title of the picture with descriptions. Adapted from “Article’s Title (where you reproduced the image from),” by Article’s Author (in format of initials followed by periods and Last Name), year, day, (if available) or year (year or publication or current year or “n.d.” if not available), Title of Periodical, volume number, issue number, page(s). Copyright Year (when rights were granted) by Name of Copyright Holder (who acquired rights). Example:
Figure 1. Man doing crunches. Adapted from “Workout Workout,” by A. A. Grey, and B. B. Red, 2019, March 26, Sports Sports, 15, p. 22. Copyright 2019 by Sports Sports Inc.
In-Text Citations for Web Pages
For the in-text citations of web pages, you must use the same rules as for any article, which is to write the last name of the author and the date, divided by comma. For example:
(Turner, 2019).
However, when the author is unknown, you should mention the short version of the title of the article in quotation marks. For example:
(“Citing a Website APA,” 2019).
Also, to cite multiple web sources in one sentence, you should put semicolon to divide them. For example:
(Turner, 2019; “Citing a Website APA,” 2019).
APA References
Major aspects to consider when citing a website (APA) on the “References” page:
- Firstly, the list has to be at the end of the document;
- Secondly, you should separate the “References” page and start from a new page;
- Additionally, it should have a heading “References” as a title of the page;
- Moreover, “References” sign should be formatted the same way as the title of the APA paper;
- Furthermore, each reference has to be formatted with hanging indentation, starting from a new line;
- Hence, entries should be double-spaced;
- The list should follow alphabetical order;
- Authors’ last names always go first while you must use initials for first name and surname. When there are more than 7 authors, put ellipses after the 6th and list the last one after it.
- For all websites, you should use words “Retrieved from” at the end of the reference with the link that follows such phrase. Also, if the source is not in free access – use “Available from.”
Example:
Turner, A. (2019). Citing a website APA. Retrieved from
www.wr1ter.com/citing-a-website-apa.