Newspaper articles are excellent sources of information for students of academic texts. Historically, newspapers have provided a platform for writers to use information about pertinent issues, such as public policy, health care, and education. As such, students and researchers use reliable articles to find information that strengthens or validates their arguments, claims, opinions, or observations about a specific issue. When citing a newspaper article in the APA 7th edition, a writer needs to cover specific details. In turn, these elements include the author(s), dates of publication, titles of articles, newspaper name, and the URL. Hence, students need to learn how to cite a newspaper article in APA 7 to use evidence correctly.
General Aspects of Citing a Newspaper Article in APA 7
In academic writing, students and researchers use different kinds of sources to find evidence that backs up their arguments, claims, opinions, and observations. Basically, one of these sources is a newspaper article. Historically, such articles have played a significant role as a purveyor of news, which is new information concerning unfolding events. Also, this form of information can be a source of great insight for academic writers. Therefore, such a source is a text that provides new information on a topic. Then, the major difference between such an article and a regular article, such as a journal article, is that the newspaper’s content is not necessarily research-based. In other words, newspaper articles are not as credible as scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles. Although they can provide information about recent research, such information must be thoroughly investigated for credibility.
Citing Elements of a Newspaper Article in APA 7
Every time when students or researchers use a newspaper article as a source in their writing, they must cite it as per the rules of the applicable paper format. Concerning APA 7th edition, citations of newspaper articles should capture specific features. Hence, these elements include:
- Author’s name. It begins with the last name followed by initials of the first and middle names. In the case of several authors, writers should use the same format and use an ampersand “&” before the name of the last author.
- Date of publication. It appears as (Year, Month Date). Also, students should not abbreviate the month.
- Title of a newspaper article. This element must be in a sentence case. Only the first letter of the first word of the title and subtitle (if one exists) should be capitalized.
- Name of a newspaper for print and online versions. It must be in italics and follow a title case. Basically, each word’s first letter should be capitalized. In turn, the last feature should be page numbers for print versions. However, for an online newspaper article, URL links replace page numbers.
Reference and In-text Citation Schemes
In the APA 7 format, the only applicable citations are the reference list and in-text citations. Footnote citations are used in the APA 7 format too.
For a print newspaper, a reference scheme is:
- Last Name, First Name. (Year, Month Date). Title of the article. Newspaper’s Name. Page number(s).
For an online newspaper, a reference citation’s scheme is:
- Last Name, First Name. (Year, Month Date). Title of the article. Newspaper’s Name. URL link.
In-text citation format is:
- (Last name, year).
Examples of Citing Newspaper Articles in APA 7
Example of a reference citation for a print newspaper:
- Healy, P. & Martis, J. (2016, November 9). Trump triumphs: Outsider mogul captures the presidency, stunning Clinton in battleground states. The New York Times, p. 1A.
In-text citation: (Healy & Marties, 2016, p. [number]).
Reference citation sample for an online newspaper:
- Noor, P. (2020, July 14). The Trump supporters who changed their minds: ‘I would rather vote for a tuna fish sandwich.’ The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/14/trump-republican-voters-who-changed-their-mind
In-text citation: (Noor, 2020, para. [number]).
An illustration of a cited print article published by The New York Times is:
An illustration of a cited online article published by The Guardian is:
Summing Up
Students can use newspaper articles to back up their claims and arguments when writing academic texts like essays, while they need to cite them by following the rules of APA 7. In turn, some tips for citing a newspaper article in APA 7 are:
- indicate the name of the author(s);
- identify the date of publication – the year, month, and date;
- include the title of the article;
- present newspaper name in italics;
- for print newspapers, add page numbers;
- for online newspapers, provide URL links.