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APA style

Definition

APA style refers to the formatting and citation guidelines established by the American Psychological Association. It is commonly used in academic writing, particularly in the social sciences.

Analogy

Think of APA style as a set of rules for how to dress up your paper. Just like you follow certain fashion guidelines for a formal event, APA style provides specific instructions on how to format your citations and references in a scholarly manner.

Related terms

In-text citation: In-text citation is when you include brief information about a source within the body of your paper. It helps readers easily locate the full reference in the list of references at the end.

Reference page: A reference page is a separate page at the end of your paper that lists all the sources you cited or consulted during your research. It includes detailed information about each source, such as author name, publication year, title, etc.

DOI (Digital Object Identifier): DOI is a unique alphanumeric string assigned to digital content such as articles or books. It provides a persistent link to access the content online and should be included in an APA citation if available.