Best APA Citation Generator in 2024 (Plus Format Guide)
When diving into the deep waters of academic writing, citations become an integral part of your academic lifeboat. They’re the life jackets that keep your work afloat, providing the necessary credibility and validity to your arguments.
Of all the citation styles, the APA (American Psychological Association) citation is one you're likely to come across frequently.
However, creating APA citations is no walk in the park. In fact, creating an APA citation can be challenging if you aren't familiar with the format.
A citation generator is a tool that does the work for you by allowing you to input information and generate an APA citation in seconds.
In this article, we'll cover everything you need to know about APA citations, when to use them, what format to use, and provide options for the best APA citation generator you can use to knock our your citations in a breeze today.
What Are APA Citations?
APA citation is a method of referencing sources in academic writing, commonly used in the social sciences. When you use another person's work in your own, be it a direct quote or an idea, you need to give credit to the original author.
This recognition is the 'citation' - a breadcrumb trail that allows your readers to trace the origins of your argument or data.
The APA style provides a uniform framework for consistency in presenting the list of works cited, the bibliography, or the references.
Its guidelines standardize the format, punctuation, and order of information presented, offering an organized and streamlined look to your academic paper.
When Do You Use APA Citations?
APA citations are typically employed in papers related to psychology, education, and other social sciences. Yet, their use extends beyond these subjects due to their comprehensive structure and ease of use. It's critical to use APA citations whenever you:
- Quote directly from a source.
- Paraphrase another person's ideas or work.
- Refer to a theory, data, or research conducted by someone else.
- Use images, diagrams, or graphs from another source.
By doing so, you not only give the credit where it's due, but also protect yourself from allegations of plagiarism - a serious offense in the academic world.
What Is the Format for an APA Citation?
A general APA citation format follows the author-date method. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text. For example, (Smith, 2020).
In the reference list at the end of your document, the citation should include:
- Author's Last name, Initial(s). (Year of Publication). Title of the work. Source.
Here's an example of a book citation:
Smith, J. (2020). The Title of the Book. Publishing Company.
For an article from a periodical or journal, the citation will look like this:
Smith, J. (2020). Title of the article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. DOI or URL (if online).
The intricacies of the APA style can make it challenging to remember all the rules, especially for beginners. Thankfully, there are online tools known as APA citation generators that can create citations quickly and accurately.
Best APA Citation Generator
Text Blaze
If you are looking for a tool to help you create citations that are formatted correctly and can be easily inserted in your references list, use Text Blaze.
Text Blaze's APA citation generator template helps you quickly insert information about a source and generate an APA citation (full or in-text) in seconds.
With Text Blaze, You can insert the citation into your references page using keyboard shortcuts, saving you the time and hassle of copying the citation over from another site. The best part? It works anywhere from Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and any other place you are typing your references.
{note}To create your citation, fill out all required fields (indicated with a *) as well as any additional fields necessary.
Your citation will be created at the bottom of this form. Only the citation will be output by this snippet.
Source
{formmenu: default=book; image; journal article; online video; textbook; website; name=source}
Citation Type
{formmenu: default=Full citation; In-text citation; name=citationtype; multiple=yes}
Selecting both will output both citations at once.
Citation Details
{if: source="book" or source="textbook"}
{if: includes(citationtype, "Full citation")}Year* {formtext: name=year}{if: testregex(year, "[^0-9]")}{error: Enter numbers only}{endif}
Title* {formtext: name=title; cols=50}
Publisher* {formtext: name=publisher; cols=25}
Edition {formtext: name=edition; cols=25}
Include the ordinal indicator, such as "1st", "2nd", "3rd", or "4th"
Page(s){if: includes(citationtype, "In-text citation")}*{endif} {formtext: name=pages; cols=25}
Numbers only for a single page. Multiple pages should be separated with a - such as 10-15.
DOI {formtext: name=doi; cols=25}
ID only. Do not include https://www.doi.org/
URL {formtext: name=url; cols=50}
Include the full URL. If a DOI is included, URL will be ignored.
{elseif: includes(citationtype, "In-text citation") and not includes(citationtype, "Full citation"); trim=right}
Year* {formtext: name=year}{if: testregex(year, "[^0-9]")}{error: Enter numbers only}{endif}
Pages* {formtext: name=pages; cols=25}
Numbers only for a single page. Multiple pages should be separated with a - such as 10-15.{endif}
{elseif: source="journal article"}
{if: includes(citationtype, "Full citation")}Year* {formtext: name=year}{if: testregex(year, "[^0-9]")}{error: Enter numbers only}{endif}
Title* {formtext: name=title; cols=50}
Journal* {formtext: name=journal; cols=50}
DOI {formtext: name=doi; cols=25}
ID only. Do not include https://www.doi.org/
Volume {formtext: name=volume; cols=25}
Issue {formtext: name=issue; cols=25}
Page(s) {formtext: name=pages; cols=25}
Numbers only for a single page. Multiple pages should be separated with a - such as 10-15.
URL {formtext: name=url; cols=50}
Include the full URL. If a DOI is included, URL will be ignored
{elseif: includes(citationtype, "In-text citation") and not includes(citationtype, "Full citation"); trim=right}
Year* {formtext: name=year}{if: testregex(year, "[^0-9]")}{error: Enter numbers only}{endif}{endif}
{elseif: source="website"}
{if: includes(citationtype, "Full citation")}Title* {formtext: name=title; cols=50}
Website Name* {formtext: name=website; cols=25}
URL* {formtext: name=url; cols=50}
Include the full URL
Publishing date: {formdate: YYYY, MMMM D; name=pubdate}
Date accessed: {formdate: MMMM D, YYYY; name=accessdate}
{elseif: includes(citationtype, "In-text citation") and not includes(citationtype, "Full citation"); trim=right}
Year* {formtext: name=year}{if: testregex(year, "[^0-9]")}{error: Enter numbers only}{endif}{endif}
{elseif: source="image"}
{if: includes(citationtype, "Full citation")}Title or Description* {formtext: name=title; cols=50}
If the image has a title, use it. Otherwise, provide a description of the image [in square brackets like this].
Year* {formtext: name=year; cols=25}{if: testregex(year, "[^0-9]")}{error: Enter numbers only}{endif}
Source {formtext: name=imagesource; cols=25}
URL {formtext: name=url; cols=50}
{elseif: includes(citationtype, "In-text citation") and not includes(citationtype, "Full citation"); trim=right}
Title or Description* {formtext: name=title; cols=50}
If the image has a title, use it. Otherwise, provide a description of the image.
Year* {formtext: name=year; cols=25}{if: testregex(year, "[^0-9]")}{error: Enter numbers only}{endif}{endif}
{elseif: source="online video"}
{if: includes(citationtype, "Full citation")}Channel or Username of video publisher* {formtext: name=channel; cols=25}
Publishing date* {formdate: YYYY, MMMM D; name=pubdate}
Title* {formtext: name=title; cols=50}
Website Name* {formtext: name=website; cols=50}
URL* {formtext: name=url; cols=50}{if: includes(citationtype, "Full citation") and includes(citationtype, "In-text citation")}
Timestamp* {formtext: name=timestamp}
Provide as HH:MM:SS{endif}
Note: Listing contributors is not required for online videos. Only add below if you have this information. Check this box if you'd like to include contributors in the citation: {formtoggle: name=Include Contributors in online video citation}
{elseif: includes(citationtype, "In-text citation") and not includes(citationtype, "Full citation"); trim=right}
Channel or Username of video publisher* {formtext: name=channel; cols=25}
Publishing date* {formdate: YYYY, MMMM D; name=pubdate}
Timestamp* {formtext: name=timestamp}
Provide as HH:MM:SS
{endif}{endif}
Contributor Details
{if: (not includes(citationtype, "Full citation")) and (source="online video" or source="image")}Contributor details are not necessary for in-text citations for {=source}.{else}Number of contributors: {formmenu: default=1; 2; 3; 4; 5; name=contributors}
Contributor 1
| First Name{if: includes(citationtype, "Full citation")}*{endif} | Middle Initial | Last Name* | Suffix | Contributor Type* |
| {formtext: name=c1first; cols=15} | {formtext: name=c1mi; cols=3} | {formtext: name=c1last; cols=15} | {formtext: name=c1suff; cols=3} | {c1type="Author"}{=c1type} |
Contributor 2
| First Name{if: includes(citationtype, "Full citation")}*{endif} | Middle Initial | Last Name* | Suffix | Contributor Type* |
| {formtext: name=c2first; cols=15} | {formtext: name=c2mi; cols=3} | {formtext: name=c2last; cols=15} | {formtext: name=c2suff; cols=3} | {if: source="journal article" or source="website" or source="image" or source="online video"}{c2type="Author"}{=c2type}{else}{formmenu: Author; Editor; Translator; name=c2type}{endif} |
Contributor 3
| First Name{if: includes(citationtype, "Full citation")}*{endif} | Middle Initial | Last Name* | Suffix | Contributor Type* |
| {formtext: name=c3first; cols=15} | {formtext: name=c3mi; cols=3} | {formtext: name=c3last; cols=15} | {formtext: name=c3suff; cols=3} | {if: source="journal article" or source="website" or source="image" or source="online video"}{c3type="Author"}{=c3type}{else}{formmenu: Author; Editor; Translator; name=c3type}{endif} |
Contributor 4
| First Name{if: includes(citationtype, "Full citation")}*{endif} | Middle Initial | Last Name* | Suffix | Contributor Type* |
| {formtext: name=c4first; cols=15} | {formtext: name=c4mi; cols=3} | {formtext: name=c4last; cols=15} | {formtext: name=c4suff; cols=3} | {if: source="journal article" or source="website" or source="image" or source="online video"}{c4type="Author"}{=c4type}{else}{formmenu: Author; Editor; Translator; name=c4type}{endif} |
Contributor 5
| First Name{if: includes(citationtype, "Full citation")}*{endif} | Middle Initial | Last Name* | Suffix | Contributor Type* |
| {formtext: name=c5first; cols=15} | {formtext: name=c5mi; cols=3} | {formtext: name=c5last; cols=15} | {formtext: name=c5suff; cols=3} | {if: source="journal article" or source="website" or source="image" or source="online video"}{c5type="Author"}{=c5type}{else}{formmenu: Author; Editor; Translator; name=c5type}{endif} |
Citation Machine
Citation Machine is a popular APA citation generator trusted by students and professionals alike. It's useful because it allows you to choose from a range of source types - from books and journal articles to films and software.
All you need to do is input the details, and the tool generates a perfectly formatted APA citation for you. It also offers grammar and plagiarism checks, making it an all-around resource for any writer.
Cite This For Me
Another exceptional tool is Cite This For Me. It stands out for its user-friendly interface and versatility in handling various types of sources.
With Cite This For Me, you don't need to worry about intricate APA rules; it does the work for you. It also allows you to save and manage your reference list, making it easy to keep track of your citations. This is especially useful for longer research papers.
Conclusion
In essence, APA citations play a crucial role in academic writing, providing credibility and avoiding plagiarism. While the APA style's comprehensive nature can be a bit daunting, using an APA citation generator helps you save time and get your assignment done on time.
Use Text Blaze's citation generator above to create citations and insert them in your references page blazingly fast.
What are you waiting for? Give our APA citation generator a try today!
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