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APA Style (7th Edition) Citation Guide: Films/Videos/TV Shows

• Introduction
• Journal Articles
• Magazine/Newspaper Articles
• Books & Ebooks
• Government & Legal Documents
• Biblical Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Films/Videos/TV Shows
• How to Cite: Other
• Additional Help

Table of Contents

Film or Video

Streaming Video From a Website (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)

Streaming video from a subscription media website (netflix, amazon prime, hulu, etc.), streaming video from a library database, television series episode.

Note: All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

This Microsoft support page contains instructions about how to format a hanging indent in a paper.

Who to Credit - Film or Video

The director should be credited as the author of a film. If the director is unknown, someone in a similar role, such as a producer and/or writer, can be credited. To clarify what role the person has in the production, their job title such as Director is put after their name in round brackets if the job title is known.

Who to Credit - Streaming Video from a Website

For videos from websites such as YouTube or Vimeo, credit the person who posted the content. If a real name is provided, use that followed by the person's user name in square brackets. If the real name of the person who posted the content is not known, just use their user name without brackets.

Note : It is not necessary to specify how you watched a film or video (e.g. motion picture, DVD, streaming online). 

In the Body of a Paper

Books, Journals, Reports, Webpages, etc.: When you refer to titles of a “stand-alone work,” as the APA calls them on their APA Style website, such as books, journals, reports, and webpages, you should italicize them. Capitalize words as you would for an article title in a reference, e.g., In the book Crying in H Mart: A memoir , author Michelle Zauner (2021) describes her biracial origin and its impact on her identity.

Article or Chapter: When you refer to the title of a part of a work, such as an article or a chapter, put quotation marks around the title and capitalize it as you would for a journal title in a reference, e.g., In the chapter “Where’s the Wine,” Zauner (2021) describes how she decided to become a musician.

The APA Sample Paper below has more information about formatting your paper.

• APA 7th ed. Sample Paper

Film or Video

When the Director, Producer and/or Writer is known:

Director/Producer/Writer's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Job Title). (Year film was produced).  Title of film: Subtitle if any  [Film]. Production Company.

Note: If not produced in the United States, list the city name and the country.

Hallam, J. (Producer, Writer), & Lam, K. (Producer, Director). (2010).  Staff relations in healthcare: Working as a team  [Film]. Insight Media.

• When you have more than one producer, writer and/or writer to credit, separate the names with a comma and put an ampersand (&) before the last person's last name.
• Serling, R. (Executive Producer). (1959–1964). The twilight zone [TV series]. Cayuga Productions; CBS Productions.

In-Text Paraphrase:

(Producer/Director/Writer's Last Name, Year)

Example: (Hallam & Lam, 2010)

Note: This example has two people to credit, so both last names are given)

In-Text Quote:

(Producer/Director/Writer's Last Name, Year, Timestamp)

Example: (Hallam & Lam, 2010, 2:30)

Note: Because the timestamp serves the same purpose in a video as page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings, you include it in the in-text citation. Include only the beginning timestamp.

When the Director, Producer and/or Writer is not known:  Start the citation with the film title.

Title of film: Subtitle if any  [Film]. (Year film was produced). Production Company if Known.

Era of viruses  [Film]. (2006). Films for the Humanities and Sciences.

( Title of Film , Year)

Example: ( Era of Viruses , 2006)

Note: Italicize the title of the film and capitalize the words for the in-text citation.

( Title of Film , Year, Timestamp)

Example: ( Era of Viruses , 2006, 40:00)

When the Poster's Name is known: 

Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. of person who posted the video if known. [User name that posted the video]. (Year video was posted, Month Day).  Title of video  [Video]. Website Name. URL

Note: According to APA, for citing purposes the person who posted the video is credited as the author.

Nye, B. [TheRealBillNye]. (2009, April 8).  Bill Nye the science guy on energy  [Video]. YouTube. http://youtu.be/0ASLLiuejAo

(Creator's Last Name, Year)

Example: (Nye, 2009)

(Creator's Last Name, Year, timestamp)

Example: (Nye, 2009, 0:55)

When the Poster's Name is not known: 

User name that posted the video. (Year video was posted, Month Day).  Title of video  [Video]. Website Name. URL

All Aces Media. (2012, January 19).  Often awesome the series  [Video]. Vimeo. http://vimeo.com/35311255

(User name, Year)

Example: (All Aces Media, 2012)

Example: (All Aces Media, 2012, timestamp)

Producer's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Producer). (Year of Publication).  Title of Video  [Video]. Website Name. URL

Note:  When you have one producer (Producer) is used after the producer's name. If you have more than one producer use (Producers) instead.

Allen, T., et. al. (Producers). (2017). The story of Diana  [Video]. Netflix. http://www.netflix.com

(Producer Last name, Year)

Example: (Allen, et. al., 2017)

(Producer Last name, Year, Timestamp)

Example: (Allen, et. al., 2017, 6:45)

Name of Company/Organization that Provided Content or Creator's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. if known. (Year video was created, Month Day if known).  Title of video  [Video]. Database Name.

National Film Board of Canada. (2014).  Making movie history: The women  [Video]. NFB Campus. 

(Name of Company/Organization, Year)

Example: (National Film Board of Canada, 2014)

(Name of Company/Organization, Year, Timestamp)

Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Job Title) if known. (Year the episode was originally aired). Title of episode (Season No., Episode No.) [TV series episode]. In Executive Producer's First Initial. Last Name (Executive producer) if known,  Television series name . Production Company.

Note: For other countries, list the city name and the country.

Young, R. (Writer, Producer, Director). (2010). Flying cheap (Season 2010, Episode 2) [TV series episode]. In  Frontline . American University School of Communication's Investigative Reporting Workshop.

(Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, Year)

Example: (Young, 2010)

(Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, Year, Timestamp)

Example: (Young, 2010, 15:38)

Television Series Episode Viewed on a Subscription Media Website 

Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Job Title) if known. (Year the episode was originally aired). Title of episode (Season No., Episode No.) [TV series episode]. In Executive Producer's First Initial. Last Name (Executive producer) if known,  Television series name . Streaming Video Site. URL

Attenborough, D. (Writer). (2001). Ocean world (Season 1, Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In A. Fothergill (Executive producer),  Blue planet: A natural history of the oceans . Netflix. http://www.netflix.com

Example: (Attenborough, 2001)

 (Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, Year, Timestamp)

Example: (Attenborough, 2001, 10:12)

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• How to Cite a YouTube Video | MLA, APA & Chicago

How to Cite a YouTube Video | MLA, APA & Chicago

Published on March 17, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on January 17, 2024.

To cite a video from YouTube or another video sharing site, you need an in-text citation with a corresponding reference listing the uploader, the publication date, the video title, and the URL.

The format varies depending on the citation style you use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago style .

Use the interactive example generator below to explore the APA and MLA formats or use Scribbr’s Citation Generator .

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Table of contents

Citing a video in mla style, citing a video in apa style, citing a video in chicago style, where to find the information for a youtube citation, frequently asked questions about citations.

An MLA Works Cited entry for an online video begins with the name of the video’s author (the person who created it). The uploader is listed later, after the name of the site. The video title appears in quotation marks, the site name in italics.

In the in-text citation, list the author’s last name and the timestamp of the relevant part of the video.

Videos with the same author and uploader

When the person who created the video (the author) is the same person who uploaded it, MLA recommends starting the Works Cited entry with the title so as not to repeat the name in both the author and the uploader position.

This means that the in-text citation for a video like this begins with the title, shortened if it is a long title.

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In an APA Style reference entry for a video , the person or organization that uploaded the video is always listed in the author position, even if they didn’t create the video. The video title appears in italics, followed by “Video” in square brackets.

A timestamp may be used in the in-text citation to show the location of a particular quote .

Note that if the uploader’s real name is known and is different from the name of their channel, both should be included—the real name first, then the channel name in brackets.

To cite an online video in Chicago style , include a bibliography entry listing full details of the video, and a footnote where you cite it in the text.

The bibliography entry shows the video title in quotation marks, as well as specifying that the source is a video and stating its total length.

The footnote may list a timestamp if it’s necessary to highlight the location of a specific part of the video.

Chicago also offers an author-date citation style . An example of how to cite YouTube videos in this style can be found here .

All the key information needed to cite a YouTube video is displayed below the video itself on the site:

• The video title
• The uploader’s username
• The upload date
• The timestamp of the relevant part of the video
• The URL (it’s best to use the one given when you click on “Share”)

If the uploader’s name is not the same as their username, or if you need information about the video’s original creator, this information may be available in the description or in the video itself.

The image below shows where to find the relevant information below the video on YouTube; other video sites tend to follow a similar layout.

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The main elements included in a YouTube video citation across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the name of the author/uploader, the title of the video, the publication date, and the URL.

The format in which this information appears is different for each style.

All styles also recommend using timestamps as a locator in the in-text citation or Chicago footnote .

In APA , MLA , and Chicago style citations for sources that don’t list a specific author (e.g. many websites ), you can usually list the organization responsible for the source as the author.

If the organization is the same as the website or publisher, you shouldn’t repeat it twice in your reference:

• In APA and Chicago, omit the website or publisher name later in the reference.
• In MLA, omit the author element at the start of the reference, and cite the source title instead.

If there’s no appropriate organization to list as author, you will usually have to begin the citation and reference entry with the title of the source instead.

When you want to cite a specific passage in a source without page numbers (e.g. an e-book or website ), all the main citation styles recommend using an alternate locator in your in-text citation . You might use a heading or chapter number, e.g. (Smith, 2016, ch. 1)

In APA Style , you can count the paragraph numbers in a text to identify a location by paragraph number. MLA and Chicago recommend that you only use paragraph numbers if they’re explicitly marked in the text.

For audiovisual sources (e.g. videos ), all styles recommend using a timestamp to show a specific point in the video when relevant.

Check if your university or course guidelines specify which citation style to use. If the choice is left up to you, consider which style is most commonly used in your field.

• APA Style is the most popular citation style, widely used in the social and behavioral sciences.
• MLA style is the second most popular, used mainly in the humanities.
• Chicago notes and bibliography style is also popular in the humanities, especially history.
• Chicago author-date style tends to be used in the sciences.

Other more specialized styles exist for certain fields, such as Bluebook and OSCOLA for law.

The most important thing is to choose one style and use it consistently throughout your text.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2024, January 17). How to Cite a YouTube Video | MLA, APA & Chicago. Scribbr. Retrieved September 3, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/cite-a-video/

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APA Citation Guide (7th edition) : Videos & DVDs

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Streaming video from a website (youtube, vimeo, etc.) - poster's name known, streaming video from a website (youtube, vimeo, etc.) - poster's name not known, streaming movie from a subscription media website or library collection (netflix, amazon prime, hulu, kanopy, etc.), dvd with named producer, director or writer, movie with unknown producer, director and/or writer, television series episode.

Who to Credit - DVD or Film

Many people can be involved in the production of a film but not all need to be listed in the citation. Typically the director is the only name that is used.  If the director is unknown, give credit to someone in a similar role (producer/writer/host etc.).  Their job title (such as Director) is put after their name in round brackets to clarify what role they had in the film production.

Who to Credit - Streaming Video from a Website

For videos from websites such as YouTube or Vimeo, credit the person who posted the content. If a real name is provided, use that followed by the person's user name in square brackets. If the real name of the person who posted the content is not known, just use their user name without brackets.

Who to Credit - TV Series and TV Series Episode

When citing a whole TV series, credit the executive producer(s).  When citing a single episode from a TV series, credit the writer and the director of the episode. For both series and single episodes, include their job titles after their names in round brackets.

Note : All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.

A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.

Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. of person who posted the video if known. [User name that posted the video] . (Year video was posted, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. Name of Website. URL

Note : According to APA, for citing purposes the person who posted/uploaded the video is credited as the author.

User name that posted the video. (Year video was posted, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. Name of Website. URL

Note : According to APA, for citing purposes the person who posted the video is credited as the author.

Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Director). (Year of Publication). Title of Movie [Film]. Production Company. 

Note:  Only specify how you watched a film (on DVD, streaming, etc.) when it is important to indicate a specific version. Put this information in in the square brackets following the word "Film" and a semicolon. If you have more than one director use (Directors) instead and separate their names with commas, adding an ampersand (&) before the final name.  If the director is unknown, credit someone in a similar role (producer/writer) and put their job title in round brackets after their name. 

Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Director). (Year DVD was produced). Title of DVD [Film; optional descriptive information if DVD is a unique version]. Production Company.

Note : In general, you don't need to cite the format of a movie. However, include it if the information you are citing can be found only in that particular format or edition (e.g. special features or commentary).  

Title of movie  [Film]. (Year Movie was Produced). Production Company.

Note : When the Director, Producer and/or Writer is not known, start the citation with the movie title.

Writer's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Writer), & Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Director). (Year the episode was originally aired, Month Day if known). Title of episode (Season Number, Episode Number) [TV series episode]. In Executive Producer's First Initial. Last Name (Executive Producer), Television series name . Production Company . 

Note:  Include the writer and director for the episode and put their job title in round brackets after their name.  If one person did both jobs use (Writer & Director).

Cite the URL for the log-in page instead of the URL for the actual movie. Omit the URL if the TV episode was viewed on cable television rather than online.

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / APA YouTube Citation

How to Cite a YouTube Video in APA

While doing research for a paper, you may find relevant YouTube videos that you want to cite. You may already know how to cite a website in APA , but it can be difficult to know how to cite YouTube in APA style. You may also want to cite quotes within the video, user comments, or entire YouTube accounts.

The guidelines of this page cover APA 7th edition and specifies what you need to know to cite any various YouTube video content in APA style. For similar but different media, like citing a movie in APA or a tv show,  you’ll need to visit another guide.

Guide Overview

Here’s a run-through of everything this page includes:

Step-by-step instructions for a YouTube video citation in APA style

Basic youtube video citation structure.

• Video with creator’s real name and screen mame

Video without uploader’s real name OR video by an organization

Citing a youtube channel, citing a direct quote from a video, citing a comment on a youtube video, citing a ted talk found on youtube, a note on apa 7th edition, citing a youtube video in apa, what you need, troubleshooting.

• List the real last name of the video’s uploader, capitalizing the first letter. Place a comma after the last name and then list the first initial of their first name, followed by a period. If you find their middle initial, list it after the first initial and period, also followed by a period. If the creator’s name is unavailable, skip this step and begin your citation with the next step.
• Next, using brackets, list the screen name of the video’s uploader as it is spelled on the page. Place a period after the closing bracket.
• Then, in parentheses, put the full numerical year followed by a comma, the full written month starting with a capital letter and followed by a comma, and the numerical day that the video was posted. Close the parentheses and follow with a period.
• Put the title of the video in Italics and in sentence case (only capitalizing the first letter and proper nouns). Do not place a period after the title.
• After the title, put the word Video (for the source format), capitalized, in normal font, and in brackets. Place a period after the closing bracket.
• Put the word YouTube (for the website source name) as it is spelled here, followed by a period.
• List the full URL for the web page containing the YouTube video you are citing. Do not follow with a period.

Note that in your citation, you must indent any lines after the first line. APA-style in-text citations for quoting and paraphrasing are the same for YouTube videos.

Video with creator’s real name and screen name

If only the screen name is available, you put the screen name first in the citation and omit the “[Screen name]” part of the citation.

View Screenshot

Now that you know how to cite YouTube in APA style, you may need more specific information on citing channels, quotes, or comments.

Instead of citing one particular YouTube video, you may want to cite an entire YouTube channel. While the format is similar to citing a YouTube video, there are a few key differences you can see in the format guidelines below.

• You will always use “n.d.” for “no date” because YouTube channels are undated.
• If you are instead citing another tab of the account (Videos, Playlists, Channels, Discussion, About), put the correct tab name instead of the word “Home.”
• Use the words “YouTube Channel” instead of the name of any specific videos since you’re citing a whole channel (not just one video).

You may want to include a direct quote from a YouTube video within your paper. While your reference page citation for the quote will be the same as a citation for the whole video, your in-text citation will need a timestamp to help readers easily access the quote ( Publication Manual , p. 274). It is commonly accepted to only include a timestamp for the beginning of the quote, but you may use a timestamp range if you think it would be helpful.

While researching your topic, you may find that you want to include a comment left on a YouTube video. You will need to cite the comment itself rather than the YouTube video. The format for citing a YouTube comment is similar to citing a YouTube video with a few key differences.

TED Talks are often great sources of information, and they can be found on both the TED website and on YouTube. When citing a TED Talk found on YouTube, list TED as the author for the in-text citation and the reference page.

The 7th edition of the APA Manual came out in 2020, replacing the 6th edition that came out in 2009. There are a few changes in the newest manual that apply when you need to cite YouTube video APA style.

Notable 7th edition changes include:

• Omission of “Retrieved from” before URLs
• Addition of the website name
• Uses “Video” instead of “Video file.”
• In-text citation format is the same,

APA 6th Edition Reference Page Format:

Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. [Screen name]. (Year, Month Day). Title of the video [Video file]. Retrieved from URL

APA 7th Edition Reference Page Format:

Uploader Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. [Screen name]. (Year, Month Day). Title of the video [Video]. Name of website. URL

In-text Citation Format (6th AND 7th Edition): 

(Author/Creator Last Name OR Screen name, Year)

To cite YouTube videos in APA style, you will need certain information. If available, find the following to include in your citation:

• Name of the individual(s) or group who uploaded the video. If it’s an individual, use their real name.
• Video uploader’s screen name
• Date attached to the video (including year, month, date)
• Title of the video
• URL of the video’s webpage

If any of the above information is not available on the same page as the YouTube video, you may need to do a little more research to find it. For example, to find the real name of the video’s uploader, you can click on the screen name to view the creator’s account where you might find their real name in the bio.

If any of the information is not available, even after doing additional research, simply leave it out of the citation, but include the rest of the information following the order of the basic format below.

Who is the author?

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (2020, p. 344) clarifies that the uploader of the video is used as the “author” of the video, even if they are not the creator of it.

Further information on citing in APA can be found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association in Section 10.12.

Solution #1: How to cite a video when the uploader’s real name cannot be found

When you want to cite a video from YouTube, Vimeo, or any other video-hosting sites, but cannot find the uploader’s real name, use their username in place of their actual name in your APA works-cited citation.

If using a username in place of a typical name, keep the same format and case of the username as it is discovered online, and omit the bracketed “username” part of your APA citation in your bibliography.

Use the username in place of the author’s name for your in-text citation.

Example in-text citation:

(videogamedunkey, 2021)

Example reference:

videogamedunkey. (2021, September 21). Originality in video games [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOQzTtsr3AQ

American Psychological Association (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10/1037/0000165-000

Published July 21, 2014. Updated April 16, 2020.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau.  Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

APA Formatting Guide

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• Sample Paper
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• View APA Guide

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• View all APA Examples

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To cite a YouTube video, you need to have the name of the uploader or the screen name, the full date the video was uploaded, the title of the video, and the URL (uniform resource locator). If any of these details are not available, you can skip it and add only the available information. The templates for in-text citations and reference list entries of a YouTube video along with examples are given below.

In-text citation templates and examples:

Video uploader’s name or Screen name (publication year)

Seburn (2020)

Parenthetical:

(Video uploader’s name or Screen name, publication year)

(Seburn, 2020)

Note that month and day are not mentioned in in-text citations.

Reference list entry template and example:

Video uploader’s Surname F. M. [Screen name]. (Publication Year, Month Day). Video title  [Video]. YouTube. URL

Seburn, C. [Smart Screen]. (2020, May 20). Welcome to the smart student! (Introductory video)  [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/wz9kb_cQ57Y

If you want to include the screen name, include it in square brackets after the uploader’s name. Set the title of the video in italics and sentence case. The word “Video” follows the title in square brackets. Use the word “YouTube” before the URL.

To cite a movie in APA style , it is important that you know basic information such as the name of the director, the date, the title of the movie, and the name of the production company.

In-text citation template and example:

Director Surname (Year)

Coppola (1972)

(Director Surname, Year)

(Coppola, 1972)

Director’s Surname, F. M. (Director). (Year). Title of the movie [Film]. Production Company.

Coppola, F. F. (Director). (1972). The godfather [Film]. Alfran Productions.

To cite a TV series in APA style, it is important that you know basic information such as the name of the executive producer, the date, the title of the TV series, and the name of the production company.

Executive Producer Surname(s) (Year/s)

Crane and Kauffman (1994–2004)

(Executive Producer Surnames, Year/s)

(Crane & Kauffman, 1994–2004)

Executive Producer’s Surname, F. M. (Executive Producers). (Year). Title of the TV show [TV series]. Production Company.

Crane, D., & Kauffman, M. (Executive Producers). (1994–2004). Friends [TV series]. Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions.

Streaming video

To cite a streaming video in APA style, it is important that you know basic information such as the name of the person or group who uploaded the video (or their username), the year, month, and day the video was uploaded, the title of the video, the streaming service, and the URL.

Video uploader’s surname or username (Year)

Stanford (2010)

(Video uploader’s surname or username, Year)

(Stanford, 2010)

Video uploader’s Surname F. M. [Username]. (Publication Year, Month Day). Video title . [Video]. YouTube. URL

Stanford. [Smart Screen]. (2010, March 29). Introduction to human behavioral biology . [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNnIGh9g6fA

If you want to include the username with the uploader’s full name, include it in square brackets after the uploader’s name. Set the title of the video in italics and sentence case. The word “[Video]” follows the title. Use the streaming service’s title, “YouTube,” before the URL.

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• Course Resources (PowerPoint, Handouts, etc.)
• Encyclopedia
• Journal Article
• Legal Materials
• Magazine Article
• Master's Thesis, Dissertation, or Capstone Project
• Movies & Streaming Video
• Newspaper Article
• Personal Communication (email, interviews, lectures, course materials, etc.)
• Webpages & Websites
• Formatting Your Paper
• In-text Citations
• Ethically Use Sources

Variations - URLs?

Some URLs may be long and complicated. APA 7th edition allows the use of shorter URLs. Shortened URLs can be created using any URL shortener service; however, if you choose to shorten the URL, you must double-check that the URL is functioning and brings the reader to the correct website. 

Common URL Shortner websites include:

More Information

For more information about URLs, see Section 9.36 on page 300 of APA Manual, 7th edition. 

NOTE:  Check your instructor's preference about using short URLs. Some instructors may want the full URL. 

Variations - Live Hyperlinks?

Should my urls be live.

It depends. When adding URLs to a paper or other work, first, be sure to include the full hyperlink. This includes the http:// or the https://. Additionally, consider where and how the paper or work will be published or read. If the work will only be read in print or as a Word doc or Google Doc, then the URLs should not be live (i.e., they are not blue or underlined). However, if the work will be published or read online, then APA advises to include live URLs. This would allow the reader to click on a link and go to the source.   

For more information, see Section 9.35 on pages 299-300 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

NOTE: Check your instructor's preference about using live URLs. Some instructors may not want you to use live URLs. 

Streaming Video available in Multiple formats and Multiple Collections (Kanopy, Films Media, NetFlix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc.)

Davenport, R. (Director). (2015). A cerebral game: A filmmaker with cerebral palsy & his love of baseball [Film]. New Day Films. 

Explanation

Author or creator: davenport, r. (director)..

Begin the reference with the Director of the film. The director serves as the author or creator of the film. List the last name of the director followed by a comma and the initial of the first name. Add a period after the initial. Then, add a space and put "Director" in parentheses. Add a period after the parentheses.  

Date of Publication: (2015).

Next, add the date the film was published in parentheses, and add a period after the parentheses.   

Title & Subtitle of the Film: A cerebral game: A filmmaker with cerebral palsy & his love of baseball [Film].

Next, add the title and subtitle of the film. Follow the general capitalization rule that says to only capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle as well as proper nouns. Italicize the title. Do not add a period after the last word of the title. Instead, add brackets with "Film" within the brackets. Add a period after the brackets.   

Source Information: New Day Films.

Complete the reference with the name of the production company. Add a period after the production company.  

More Information:

For more information about streaming videos, see page 341 about Audiovisual Media and Section 10.12 on page 342-344 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

Parenthetical & Narrative Citation Examples

Parenthetical citation example:.

(Davenport, 2015)

Narrative Citation Example:

Davenport (2015) shared .....

More Information: 

For more information about author format in parenthetical and narrative citations, see Section 8.17 on page 266 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

Streaming Video from YouTube or Vimeo

Carleton University Library. (2015, July 23). Writing an annotated bibliography [Video]. YouTube.  https://youtu.be/sesnEcikxT8

Author or Creator: Carleton University Library.

Begin with the organization that uploaded the video. The author may also be a person, a group author, an alias, or a username of the person who uploaded the video - even if they did not create the video. This aids in the retrievability of the video.  

Date of Publication: (2015, July 23). 

Next, add the date the video was published or uploaded. When adding the date, begin with the year first, followed by a comma and the month fully spelled out. After the month, add the day. The date should be in parentheses with a period after the parentheses.   

Title & Subtitle of the video: Writing an annotated bibliography [Video].

After the date, add the title of the video. The title should follow the general capitalization rule that says to capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle as well as proper nouns. The title should be italicized. After the title, add "Video" in brackets. Add a period after the brackets.   

Source Information: YouTube.  https://youtu.be/sesnEcikxT8

​Complete the reference by listing the streaming video collection where the video is hosted. In this case, it is YouTube. Add a period after YouTube. List the URL of the video. To find the shortened URL for the YouTube video, click on "Share" and use the URL provided. 

For more information about streaming videos, see page 341-342 about Audiovisual Materials and Section 10.12 on pages 342-344 of the APA Manual, 7th edition.  

(Carleton University Library, 2015)

Carleton University Library (2015) outlined ...

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• Writing Tips

APA Referencing – How to Cite a YouTube Video

• 3-minute read
• 5th November 2016

Not that long ago, the idea of citing a YouTube video in an academic paper would have sent some old-fashioned college professors into fits of outrage. These days, however, there’s no denying that YouTube and other online videos can be crucial academic sources in many subject areas. As such, knowing how to cite an online video source is increasingly useful. Herein, we look at how to do this with APA referencing (7th edition) .

Citing a YouTube Video

To cite an online video APA style, you’ll need to give the uploader’s name and the year the video was uploaded in brackets in the main text of your essay. For instance, we could cite a video uploaded in 2016 by the cultural critic Anita Sarkeesian to her Feminist Frequency YouTube channel as follows:

The trope of the sinister seductress is pervasive in video games (Sarkeesian, 2016).

Here, we cite the “author” of the video because it’s hosted on her own channel.

If you’re quoting part of a video directly, the citation should also include a timestamp :

In the video, Nicky Clayton and Clive Wilkins discuss the “capacity to convey and understand ideas non-verbally” (TEDx Talks, 2013, 3:37).

You’ll notice here that, despite the talk being by Nicky Clayton and Clive Wilkins, we name “TEDx Talks” in the citation. This is because the “TEDx Talks” channel hosts videos by numerous speakers, so Clayton and Wilkins are not the uploaders and, for the sake of citing the source APA style, they do not count as its “authors.”

Reference List

As with other sources, full publication information should be included in the reference list for any online videos you cite in your work. For a YouTube video, this involves providing the following:

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Surname, Initials. [Screen name]. (year, month day). Title of video [Video file]. http://www.URL.com

You’ll notice that this includes both a name and a screen name. This helps readers find the video when the uploader’s real name is different to their username. In the case of the Anita Sarkeesian video cited above, for example, you’d need to provide both:

Sarkeesian, A. [Feminist Frequency]. (2016, September 28). Sinister seductress – tropes vs women in video games [Video file]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oXzWzMqarU

If a channel doesn’t provide the uploader’s real name, you only need to give their screen name:

TEDx Talks. (2013, August 19). Conversation without words: Nicky Clayton & Clive Wilkins at TEDxOxbridge [Video file].  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iavquY2OFo

It’s important to remember that the name you should cite in the main text of your work should match the name in the reference list. If they do not match, your reader will not be able to find the source!

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How To Cite A YouTube Video In APA Style – With Examples

Ioanna Stavraki

Community Wellbeing Professional, Educator

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc, Neuropsychology, MBPsS

Ioanna Stavraki is a healthcare professional leading NHS Berkshire's Wellbeing Network Team and serving as a Teaching Assistant at The University of Malawi for the "Organisation Psychology" MSc course. With previous experience at Frontiers' "Computational Neuroscience" journal and startup "Advances in Clinical Medical Research," she contributes significantly to neuroscience and psychology research. Early career experience with Alzheimer's patients and published works, including an upcoming IET book chapter, underscore her dedication to advancing healthcare and neuroscience understanding.

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Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

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BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

Saul McLeod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

On This Page:

To cite a YouTube video using the APA Referencing Style, you will need to find the person or organization that uploaded it, the channel name, date of upload, video title, website name (in this case, YouTube), and, lastly, the video link.

See below for our step-by-step guide using a real-life example.

Where To Find Citation Information 

Firstly when writing your citation, you need to know where to find all the information needed. 

You only need to look at three locations: 

• For the video and YouTube channel name, look directly under the video
• For the upload date, look in the description bar of the video
• For the video link, look in the URL bar above the video

Step-by-step Guide

We will now guide you step-by-step on how to cite a YouTube video In APA style.

Let us assume that you would like to cite this video:

As mentioned, you will need the following information in this order:

• Channel name 
• Date of upload
• Title of the video (italicized)
• The word “Video” in brackets
• Name of the site (in these cases, that would be “YouTube”)

Putting it all together in a formula, the structure of your reference should look like this:

Channel Name. (Year, Month (spelled out), Day (using numbers) of upload). Title of video [Video]. Title of website. Video URL

Taking our example, the finished reference would then be:

American Psychological Association. (2022, March 16th). Why psychopathy is more common than you think, with Abigail Marsh, PhD [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCgGfMZ3_t0

How To Write In-Text Citations

We will now look at how to write in-text citations for YouTube videos. 

Similarly to how you would write an in-text citation for a research article or book chapter, you simply take the “author” name (in our case, this would be the “Channel name”), followed by a comma and the year of upload.

The formula structure looks like this:

Parenthetical citations: (Channel name, Year of upload) 

Narrative citations: Channel name (Year of upload)

Based on our example, the in-text citation would then be:

Parenthetical citations: (American Psychological Association, 2022) 

Narrative citations: American Psychological Association (2022)

What is important to remember is that for in-text citations in APA style, only the publication year is required, and we omit any other date information, such as day and month.

How To Include A Video Reference To The Reference Page

The last factor to consider when referencing a YouTube video is how to structure it in your “Reference Page.” 

You will be happy to learn that your reference’s source format (e.g., article, video, blog post, etc.) has no effect on your reference page, and you can simply follow the same general APA rules set out.

Those would be:

• Adding your references in alphabetical order by the author’s last name (in our case, channel name) 
• Ensuring that your list and references are double spaced
• Ensuring that every reference begins on a new line
• Adding a hanging indent for every new reference

How To Cite A YouTube Channel 

Let us assume that instead of an individual video, you would like to reference an entire YouTube Channel. Using our example, this is how you would cite the “American Psychological Association” channel.

The formula structure should look like this:

Channel Name. (n.d.). Home [YouTube channel]. YouTube. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL of YouTube Channel

*n.d stands for no date.

** “Home” stands for the YouTube Home tab, where most channels are found by default. To cite other tabs, such as ” “Playlists,” follow the same formula structure and simply replace the tab placement with your chosen one. Kindly note that this is also italicized. 

Based on our example, the reference would be:

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Home [YouTube channel]. YouTube. Retrieved November 15, 2022 from https://www.youtube.com/@TheAPAVideo

Similarly, the in-text citation would be:

Parenthetical citations: (American Psychological Association, n.d.)

Narrative citations: American Psychological Association (n.d.)

* To find more citation information regarding the APA style, you can navigate to the official APA website: https://apastyle.apa.org/

Frequently asked questions

Should videos be used as references.

In academic writing, it is recommended that primary sources such as peer-reviewed papers, books, and book chapters should make up the majority of your references. This is to ensure the information you have included has been written and reviewed by field experts. 

However, that being said, you can certainly cite secondary sources such as videos, online articles, and documentaries if they help provide important context and information to the point you are trying to make. Simply try to ensure that these are kept to a minimum where possible.

What types of videos are relevant to reference? 

When referencing a video, it is important to ensure its relevance to demonstrate that you have critically considered and carefully selected your sources. 

Videos that fall into this category can include but are not limited to: documentaries, biographies, docu-series, videos from channels of official bodies, e.g., the APA channel, video essays, critical perspectives, etc. Carefully consider the source’s credibility and how the video’s points assist your writing’s narrative or argumentation.

How is a direct quote from a video referenced?

If you would like to reference a direct quote from a video, then simply follow our YouTube video citation formula with the addition of a timestamp of when the quote begins next to the date.

Kindly note that time stamps are only needed for your in-text citations. You can omit them from the reference placed in your reference list.

Using our example, the in-text citation would look like this:

Parenthetical citations: (American Psychological Association, 2022, 2:44)

Narrative citations: American Psychological Association (2022, 2:44)

If you would like to cite multiple quotes from the same video, you can include timestamp ranges in your in-text citation separated by an en dash (-) . 

For example:

Parenthetical citations: (American Psychological Association, 2022, 2:44:3:16-17:45:19:00)

Narrative citations: American Psychological Association (2022, 2:44:3:16-17:45:19:00)

What Is APA Format?

The American Psychological Association (APA) formatting is a writing and referencing style dating back to 1929.

Developed by psychologists and other scholars, they set to standardize scientific writing by establishing a set of guidelines to be unanimously used across the discipline.

Thus, the APA style was born and has been adopted ever since by many fields, such as the behavioral and social sciences (Almeida, 2012).

This formatting style promotes concise, consistent, and persuasive writing. Special emphasis is given to the author’s ethical compliance and a reduction of prejudiced and biased descriptive language.

Frequent revisions are conducted to update the style, with the most current one (accessed when this article was published) being the 7th edition (American Psychological Association, 2020). Hence, the guidance provided in this article is based on the 7th edition APA manual.

Almeida, P. (2012, July 10). THE ORIGINS OF APA STYLE (AND WHY THERE ARE SO MANY RULES). Journal of European Psychology Students. https://blog.efpsa.org/2012/07/10/the-origins-of-apa-style-and-why-there-are-so-many-rules/

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

APA 7th Edition Citation Examples

• Volume and Issue Numbers
• Page Numbers
• Undated Sources
• Citing a Source Within a Source
• In-Text Citations
• Academic Journals
• Encyclopedia Articles
• Book, Film, and Product Reviews
• Online Classroom Materials
• Conference Papers
• Technical + Research Reports
• Court Decisions
• Treaties and Other International Agreements
• Federal Regulations: I. The Code of Federal Regulations
• Federal Regulations: II. The Federal Register
• Executive Orders
• Charter of the United Nations
• Federal Statutes
• Dissertations and Theses

Format for streaming videos

• Interviews, E-mail Messages + Other Personal Communications
• Social Media
• Business Sources
• PowerPoints
• AI: ChatGPT, etc.

Author last name, first initial. (Date).  Title of video [Video]. Host site. URL

• Author:  List the last name, followed by the first initial (and second initial). See  Authors  for more information. The person or group who uploaded the video should be credited as the author for citation purposes, even if that person or group did not create the video. If an author's real name isn't known, provide the user name. If both the real name and user name are known, provide the real name followed by the user name between brackets.
• Date:  List the date between parentheses, followed by a period.
• Title of video:  In italics. Capitalize the first word of the title, subtitle, and proper nouns, followed by [Video] and then a period.
• Host site: List the name of the site that hosts the video, followed by a period.
• URL:  List URL.

See specific examples below.

Heffernan, M. (2015, May). Why it's time to forget the pecking order at work [Video]. Ted Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_heffernan_why_it_s_time_to_forget_the_pecking_order_at_work

Fogarty, M. [Grammar Girl]. (2020, April 23). Why are we overwhelmed and not just whelmed? [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/zgCjEdVAnaQ

See  Publication Manual , 10.12.

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How do I cite a video in APA format?

The format for an APA reference for a video is composed of four elements:

• The individual or organization who created the video (Director, Producer, Writer)
• The year the video was published
• The title of the video in italics followed by [Video].
• The publisher, website, or database
• If online, the URL

The format for the reference is:

Creator. (Date). Title [Video]. Publisher. URL

See the following examples:

YouTube video:

TED. (2011, January 3). Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/iCvmsMzIF7o

In-Text citation: (TED, 2011).

Video from a Library database: 

Videatives. (2013). Motor development - infants 1-2 years: Stretching the infant's reach [Video]. Films on Demand. https://go.openathens.net/redirector/rasmussen.edu?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffod-infobase-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net%2FPortalPlaylists.aspx%3FwID%3D106986%26xtid%3D189727

Intext citation. (Videatives, 2013).

NOTE: Sometimes you may have in-text citations for different videos that are the same. For example, you could have several Videatives videos that were all published in the same year. According to APA rules, you include an a, b, c, etc. following the year in the in-text citation to distinguish one video from another.

Step 1: Create your reference list. Note that because the beginning of the reference (Author and Date) is the same, you must alphabetize by the title. 

Step 2: Add an a, b, c etc. to the date in BOTH the reference and the intext citation.

Reference: 

Videatives. (2013b). Motor development - infants 1-2 years: Infants explore the harp [Video]. Films on Demand.  https://go.openathens.net/redirector/rasmussen.edu?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffod-infobase-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net%2FPortalPlaylists.aspx%3FwID%3D106986%26xtid%3D189729  

In-text citation: (Videatives, 2013b).

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• Answered By Suzanne Schriefer, Librarian

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APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition)

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A step-by-step guide for creating and formatting APA Style student papers

The start of the semester is the perfect time to learn how to create and format APA Style student papers. This article walks through the formatting steps needed to create an APA Style student paper, starting with a basic setup that applies to the entire paper (margins, font, line spacing, paragraph alignment and indentation, and page headers). It then covers formatting for the major sections of a student paper: the title page, the text, tables and figures, and the reference list. Finally, it concludes by describing how to organize student papers and ways to improve their quality and presentation.

The guidelines for student paper setup are described and shown using annotated diagrams in the Student Paper Setup Guide (PDF, 3.40MB) and the A Step-by-Step Guide to APA Style Student Papers webinar . Chapter 1 of the Concise Guide to APA Style and Chapter 2 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association describe the elements, format, and organization for student papers. Tables and figures are covered in Chapter 7 of both books. Information on paper format and tables and figures and a full sample student paper are also available on the APA Style website.

Basic setup

The guidelines for basic setup apply to the entire paper. Perform these steps when you first open your document, and then you do not have to worry about them again while writing your paper. Because these are general aspects of paper formatting, they apply to all APA Style papers, student or professional. Students should always check with their assigning instructor or institution for specific guidelines for their papers, which may be different than or in addition to APA Style guidelines.

Seventh edition APA Style was designed with modern word-processing programs in mind. Most default settings in programs such as Academic Writer, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs already comply with APA Style. This means that, for most paper elements, you do not have to make any changes to the default settings of your word-processing program. However, you may need to make a few adjustments before you begin writing.

Use 1-in. margins on all sides of the page (top, bottom, left, and right). This is usually how papers are automatically set.

Use a legible font. The default font of your word-processing program is acceptable. Many sans serif and serif fonts can be used in APA Style, including 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, 12-point Times New Roman, and 11-point Georgia. You can also use other fonts described on the font page of the website.

Line spacing

Double-space the entire paper including the title page, block quotations, and the reference list. This is something you usually must set using the paragraph function of your word-processing program. But once you do, you will not have to change the spacing for the entirety of your paper–just double-space everything. Do not add blank lines before or after headings. Do not add extra spacing between paragraphs. For paper sections with different line spacing, see the line spacing page.

Paragraph alignment and indentation

Align all paragraphs of text in the body of your paper to the left margin. Leave the right margin ragged. Do not use full justification. Indent the first line of every paragraph of text 0.5-in. using the tab key or the paragraph-formatting function of your word-processing program. For paper sections with different alignment and indentation, see the paragraph alignment and indentation page.

Page numbers

Put a page number in the top right of every page header , including the title page, starting with page number 1. Use the automatic page-numbering function of your word-processing program to insert the page number in the top right corner; do not type the page numbers manually. The page number is the same font and font size as the text of your paper. Student papers do not require a running head on any page, unless specifically requested by the instructor.

Title page setup

Title page elements.

APA Style has two title page formats: student and professional (for details, see title page setup ). Unless instructed otherwise, students should use the student title page format and include the following elements, in the order listed, on the title page:

• Paper title.
• Name of each author (also known as the byline).
• Affiliation for each author.
• Course number and name.
• Instructor name.
• Assignment due date.
• Page number 1 in the top right corner of the page header.

The format for the byline depends on whether the paper has one author, two authors, or three or more authors.

• When the paper has one author, write the name on its own line (e.g., Jasmine C. Hernandez).
• When the paper has two authors, write the names on the same line and separate them with the word “and” (e.g., Upton J. Wang and Natalia Dominguez).
• When the paper has three or more authors, separate the names with commas and include “and” before the final author’s name (e.g., Malia Mohamed, Jaylen T. Brown, and Nia L. Ball).

Students have an academic affiliation, which identities where they studied when the paper was written. Because students working together on a paper are usually in the same class, they will have one shared affiliation. The affiliation consists of the name of the department and the name of the college or university, separated by a comma (e.g., Department of Psychology, George Mason University). The department is that of the course to which the paper is being submitted, which may be different than the department of the student’s major. Do not include the location unless it is part of the institution’s name.

Write the course number and name and the instructor name as shown on institutional materials (e.g., the syllabus). The course number and name are often separated by a colon (e.g., PST-4510: History and Systems Psychology). Write the assignment due date in the month, date, and year format used in your country (e.g., Sept. 10, 2020).

Title page line spacing

Double-space the whole title page. Place the paper title three or four lines down from the top of the page. Add an extra double-spaced blank like between the paper title and the byline. Then, list the other title page elements on separate lines, without extra lines in between.

Title page alignment

Center all title page elements (except the right-aligned page number in the header).

Title page font

Write the title page using the same font and font size as the rest of your paper. Bold the paper title. Use standard font (i.e., no bold, no italics) for all other title page elements.

Text elements

Repeat the paper title at the top of the first page of text. Begin the paper with an introduction to provide background on the topic, cite related studies, and contextualize the paper. Use descriptive headings to identify other sections as needed (e.g., Method, Results, Discussion for quantitative research papers). Sections and headings vary depending on the paper type and its complexity. Text can include tables and figures, block quotations, headings, and footnotes.

Text line spacing

Double-space all text, including headings and section labels, paragraphs of text, and block quotations.

Text alignment

Center the paper title on the first line of the text. Indent the first line of all paragraphs 0.5-in.

Left-align the text. Leave the right margin ragged.

Block quotation alignment

Indent the whole block quotation 0.5-in. from the left margin. Double-space the block quotation, the same as other body text. Find more information on the quotations page.

Use the same font throughout the entire paper. Write body text in standard (nonbold, nonitalic) font. Bold only headings and section labels. Use italics sparingly, for instance, to highlight a key term on first use (for more information, see the italics page).

Headings format

For detailed guidance on formatting headings, including headings in the introduction of a paper, see the headings page and the headings in sample papers .

• Alignment: Center Level 1 headings. Left-align Level 2 and Level 3 headings. Indent Level 4 and Level 5 headings like a regular paragraph.
• Font: Boldface all headings. Also italicize Level 3 and Level 5 headings. Create heading styles using your word-processing program (built into AcademicWriter, available for Word via the sample papers on the APA Style website).

Tables and figures setup

Tables and figures are only included in student papers if needed for the assignment. Tables and figures share the same elements and layout. See the website for sample tables and sample figures .

Table elements

Tables include the following four elements: 

• Body (rows and columns)
• Note (optional if needed to explain elements in the table)

Figure elements

Figures include the following four elements: 

• Image (chart, graph, etc.)
• Note (optional if needed to explain elements in the figure)

Table line spacing

Double-space the table number and title. Single-, 1.5-, or double-space the table body (adjust as needed for readability). Double-space the table note.

Figure line spacing

Double-space the figure number and title. The default settings for spacing in figure images is usually acceptable (but adjust the spacing as needed for readability). Double-space the figure note.

Table alignment

Left-align the table number and title. Center column headings. Left-align the table itself and left-align the leftmost (stub) column. Center data in the table body if it is short or left-align the data if it is long. Left-align the table note.

Figure alignment

Left-align the figure number and title. Left-align the whole figure image. The default alignment of the program in which you created your figure is usually acceptable for axis titles and data labels. Left-align the figure note.

Bold the table number. Italicize the table title. Use the same font and font size in the table body as the text of your paper. Italicize the word “Note” at the start of the table note. Write the note in the same font and font size as the text of your paper.

Figure font

Bold the figure number. Italicize the figure title. Use a sans serif font (e.g., Calibri, Arial) in the figure image in a size between 8 to 14 points. Italicize the word “Note” at the start of the figure note. Write the note in the same font and font size as the text of your paper.

Placement of tables and figures

There are two options for the placement of tables and figures in an APA Style paper. The first option is to place all tables and figures on separate pages after the reference list. The second option is to embed each table and figure within the text after its first callout. This guide describes options for the placement of tables and figures embedded in the text. If your instructor requires tables and figures to be placed at the end of the paper, see the table and figure guidelines and the sample professional paper .

Call out (mention) the table or figure in the text before embedding it (e.g., write “see Figure 1” or “Table 1 presents”). You can place the table or figure after the callout either at the bottom of the page, at the top of the next page, or by itself on the next page. Avoid placing tables and figures in the middle of the page.

Embedding at the bottom of the page

Include a callout to the table or figure in the text before that table or figure. Add a blank double-spaced line between the text and the table or figure at the bottom of the page.

Embedding at the top of the page

Include a callout to the table in the text on the previous page before that table or figure. The table or figure then appears at the top of the next page. Add a blank double-spaced line between the end of the table or figure and the text that follows.

Embedding on its own page

Embed long tables or large figures on their own page if needed. The text continues on the next page.

Reference list setup

Reference list elements.

The reference list consists of the “References” section label and the alphabetical list of references. View reference examples on the APA Style website. Consult Chapter 10 in both the Concise Guide and Publication Manual for even more examples.

Reference list line spacing

Start the reference list at the top of a new page after the text. Double-space the entire reference list (both within and between entries).

Reference list alignment

Center the “References” label. Apply a hanging indent of 0.5-in. to all reference list entries. Create the hanging indent using your word-processing program; do not manually hit the enter and tab keys.

Reference list font

Bold the “References” label at the top of the first page of references. Use italics within reference list entries on either the title (e.g., webpages, books, reports) or on the source (e.g., journal articles, edited book chapters).

Final checks

Check page order.

• Start each section on a new page.
• Arrange pages in the following order:
• Title page (page 1).
• Text (starts on page 2).
• Reference list (starts on a new page after the text).

Check headings

• Check that headings accurately reflect the content in each section.
• Start each main section with a Level 1 heading.
• Use Level 2 headings for subsections of the introduction.
• Use the same level of heading for sections of equal importance.
• Avoid having only one subsection within a section (have two or more, or none).

Check assignment instructions

• Remember that instructors’ guidelines supersede APA Style.
• Students should check their assignment guidelines or rubric for specific content to include in their papers and to make sure they are meeting assignment requirements.

Tips for better writing

• Ask for feedback on your paper from a classmate, writing center tutor, or instructor.
• Budget time to implement suggestions.
• Use spell-check and grammar-check to identify potential errors, and then manually check those flagged.
• Proofread the paper by reading it slowly and carefully aloud to yourself.
• Consult your university writing center if you need extra help.

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How to Write an Essay in APA Format

What is apa format, apa essay format basics.

• Steps to Follow

Frequently Asked Questions

If your instructor has asked you to write an APA format essay, it might at first seem like a daunting task, especially if you are accustomed to using another style such as MLA or Chicago. But you can master the rules of APA essay format, too.

An essay is one type of paper that can be written in APA format; others include lab reports, experimental reports, and case studies. Before you begin, familiarize yourself with some of the basic guidelines for writing a paper in APA format. Of course, it will also be important to follow any other formatting instructions that are part of your assignment.

How do you write an essay in APA format? The basic elements you need to include are:

• A title page
• An abstract
• An introduction, main body, and conclusion
• A reference section
• Proper APA formatting with regard to margins, layout, spacing, titles, and indentations

This article discusses how to write an essay in APA format, including the basic steps you should follow and tips for how to get started.

Whether you’re taking an introductory or graduate-level psychology class, chances are strong that you will have to write at least one paper during the course of the semester. In almost every case, you will need to write your paper in APA format, the official publication style of the American Psychological Association . It is also used for academic journals.

Such rules are generally the same whether you are writing a high school essay, college essay, or professional essay for publication.

APA format is used in a range of disciplines including psychology , education, and other social sciences. The format dictates presentation elements of your paper including spacing, margins, and how the content is structured.

Most instructors and publication editors have strict guidelines when it comes to how your format your writing. Not only does adhering to APA format allow readers to know what to expect from your paper, but it also means that your work will not lose critical points over minor formatting errors. 

While the formatting requirements for your paper might vary depending on your instructor's directions, writing APA essay format means you will most likely need to include a title page, abstract, introduction, body, conclusion, and reference sections.

Your APA format essay should have a title page . This title page should include the title of your paper, your name, and your school affiliation. In some instances, your teacher might require additional information such as the course title, instructor name, and the date.

• The title of your paper should be concise and clearly describe what your paper is about.
• Your title can extend to two lines, but it should be no longer than 12 words.

An abstract is a brief summary of your paper that immediately follows the title page. It is not required for student papers, according to APA style. However, your instructor may request one.

If you include an abstract , it should be no more than 100 to 200 words, although this may vary depending upon the instructor requirements.

Your essay should also include a reference list with all of the sources that were cited in your essay,

• The reference section is located at the end of your paper.
• References should be listed alphabetically by the last name of the author.
• References should be double-spaced.
• Any source that is cited in your paper should be included in your reference section.

When writing in APA essay format, the text will include the actual essay itself: The introduction, body, and conclusion.

• There should be uniform margins of at least one inch at the top, bottom, left, and right sides of your essay.
• The text should be in Times New Roman size 12 font or another serif typeface that is easily readable.
• Your paper should be double-spaced.
• Every page should include a page number in the top right corner.
• The first word of each paragraph in your paper should be indented one-half inch.

For professional papers (usually not student papers), every page of the essay also includes a running head at the top left. The running head is a shortened form of the title, often the first few words, and should be no more than 50 characters (including spaces).

Steps to a Successful APA Format Essay

In addition to ensuring that you cite your sources properly and present information according to the rules of APA style, there are a number of things you can do to make the writing process a little bit easier.

Choose a Topic

Start by choosing a good topic to write about. Ideally, you want to select a subject that is specific enough to let you fully research and explore the topic, but not so specific that you have a hard time finding sources of information.

If you choose something too specific, you may find yourself with not enough to write about. If you choose something too general, you might find yourself overwhelmed with information.

Research Your Topic

Start doing research as early as possible. Begin by looking at some basic books and articles on your topic to help develop it further. What is the question you are going to answer with your essay? What approach will you take to the topic?

Once you are more familiar with the subject, create a preliminary source list of potential books, articles, essays, and studies that you may end up using in your essay.

Remember, any source used in your essay must be included in your reference section. Conversely, any source listed in your references must be cited somewhere in the body of your paper.

Write Your Rough Draft

With research in hand, you are ready to begin. Some people like to create an outline to organize their argument prior to drafting. You may want to start with a very rough outline, and then add details.

Once you have a detailed outline, the next step is to translate it from notes to complete sentences and paragraphs. Remember, this is a first draft. It doesn't have to be perfect.

As you write your paper in APA essay format, be sure to keep careful track of the sources that you cite.

How do you start an APA paper? Your paper should begin with an introduction that includes a thesis statement that presents your main ideas, points, or arguments. Your introduction should start on the third page of your paper (after the title page and abstract). The title of your paper should be centered, bolded, and typed in title case at the top of the page.

Review and Revise

After you have prepared a rough draft of your essay, it's time to revise, review, and prepare your final draft. In addition to making sure that your writing is cohesive and supported by your sources, you should also check carefully for typos, grammar errors, and possible formatting mistakes.

When citing information or quotations taken from an interview, APA format requires that you cite the source, how the information was collected, and the date of the interview. They should not be included in the reference section, however, because they are not something that can be located by a reader in any published source or searchable database.

Instead, the information should be cited parenthetically in the main body of the text. For example: “There was an increase in the number of college students who screened positive for depression/anxiety” (R. Heathfield, personal communication, May 9, 2021).

If the essay is in a chapter of a book, edited collection, or anthology, APA format states that you should cite the last name, first name, title of essay, title of collection, publisher, year, and page range. For example: Smith, John, "The Light House," A Book of Poems , editing by Peter Roberts, Allworth Press, 2005, pp. 20-25.

According to APA format, a two-part essay is formatted the same as an essay, however, you'll need to create two title pages.

If you're including a short direct quote in your APA-format essay, you will need to cite the author, year of publication, and page number (p.) or page number span (pp.). Quotations longer than 40 words should omit the quotation marks and be put in the text using block quotation formatting, on its own line and indented 1/2 inch from the left margin.

The cover page or "title page" in APA essay format should always include the title of your paper, your name, and school affiliation as well as the course title, instructor name, and date, if requested by your teacher.

Nagda S.  How to write a scientific abstract.   J Indian Prosthodont Soc.  2013;13(3):382-383. doi:10.1007/s13191-013-0299-x

American Psychological Association.  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed.). Washington DC: The American Psychological Association; 2019.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Police Interviewed Georgia Suspect About Shooting Threats in 2023

The 14-year-old student accused of killing four people with a military-style rifle at his Georgia high school was questioned about online threats last year, the F.B.I. said.

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Shooting at Georgia High School Leaves Four Dead

The police responded to a shooting at apalachee high school in winder, ga. at least nine others were injured..

“Hurry up now. Come on, let’s go.” “What the —” “We got a whole school to get evacuated, people. Come on, now. Come on. Far left. Far left. Let’s move with purpose. Come on.” “Yeah, really sad.” “It took us a while before we realized that she wasn’t one of the victims. I mean, that’s what, a good 45 minutes?” “Hour.” “An hour before we got word that she was OK. It was very terrifying. It’s the least thing you’d expect to happen.” “I don’t know how to explain the feelings. I mean, the fear — I have two children that go to Haymon-Morris, which is, borders this school. And so first thing was immediately calling the schools. Then the text messages and stuff started coming through from the schools. Terror — absolute terror.”

Rick Rojas and Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon

Reporting from Georgia

Nine people were expected to survive their injuries. Here’s what else to know.

A 14-year-old student accused of killing four people at his Georgia high school had been interviewed by law enforcement officers last year in connection with threats of a school shooting posted online, officials said.

Barely a month into the new school year, the student opened fire with a military-style rifle on Wednesday at Apalachee High in Winder, Ga., killing two students and two teachers. He surrendered when confronted by school resource officers, according to the authorities, who said the suspect would be charged with murder.

Students described their terror as a lockdown that they initially thought was a drill yet turned out to be anything but. They said they heard gunfire and barricaded themselves in classrooms, then later fled to the football field to reunite with anxious parents.

The attack, which also injured eight students and a teacher, stoked fear and anguish in Winder, a city of roughly 18,000 people in the exurbs of Atlanta, as the community grappled with a burst of violence that the local sheriff described as “pure evil.”

Here’s the latest:

Officials identified the 14-year-old suspect as Colt Gray, and said that he would be prosecuted as an adult. Chris Hosey, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said the shooter had used an “AR-platform-style weapon.” The authorities were still investigating how he had gained access to the gun. Rifles based on the AR-15 design have been commonly used in mass shootings.

All of the victims who were at the hospital were expected to survive their injuries, Mr. Hosey said.

The suspect had been on the radar of law enforcement officials for more than a year, in connection with threats of a school shooting posted online, the F.B.I. said . When interviewed by local law enforcement officials, he denied making the threats, and his father said that his son did not have unsupervised access to weapons.

The shooting was the deadliest episode of school violence in Georgia history , and prompted an outpouring of sympathy and outrage. President Biden, in a statement, lamented the attack as “another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart.”

Jacey Fortin contributed reporting.

Christina Morales

What we know about the Apalachee High School shooting victims.

The shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., on Wednesday killed two teachers and two students, becoming the deadliest episode of school violence in the state’s history. At least nine others were injured.

The authorities identified the dead students as two 14-year-olds, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. The educators killed were identified as Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, officials said. Spellings of the names were not confirmed by the authorities.

Law enforcement officials said in a news conference that the victims taken to the hospital were expected to make a full recovery.

“Those that are deceased are heroes in my book,” said Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “Those that are in the hospital recovering right now are heroes in my book.”

Mason Schermerhorn was described by friends of his family as a lighthearted teenager who liked spending time with his family, reading, telling jokes, playing video games and visiting Walt Disney World. He had recently started at the school.

“He really enjoyed life,” said Doug Kilburn, 40, a friend who has known Schermerhorn’s mother for a decade. “He always had an upbeat attitude about everything.”

Louis Briscoe, a co-worker and friend of Schermerhorn’s mother, said the boy and his family were looking forward to an upcoming vacation there.

When Mr. Briscoe learned about the shooting at the high school in the afternoon, he called Schermerhorn’s mother to ask if everything was OK. She told him: “Mason’s gone.”

“My heart just dropped,” said Mr. Briscoe, 45. He added, “Nobody should have to go through this type of pain.”

The gunman — who the authorities identified as a 14-year-old student at the school — will be charged with murder, officials said. Students heard gunfire as they barricaded themselves in classrooms.

The shooting has shaken residents in Winder, which has about 18,000 residents and is roughly 50 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.

At the high school, Ms. Irimie and Mr. Aspinwall were math teachers. Mr. Aspinwall was also the football team’s defensive coordinator.

David Phenix, a math special education teacher and the school’s golf coach, was injured during the shooting. Katie Phenix, his daughter, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that he was shot in the foot and hip, shattering his hip bone.

“He arrived to the hospital alert and awake,” she wrote in the post, adding that he had surgery earlier that day.

Kate Selig and Rachel Nostrant contributed reporting.

The suspect was interviewed about online threats of a school attack last year.

Federal investigators said on Wednesday that the suspect in the shooting at a Georgia high school had been interviewed more than a year ago by local law enforcement officials in connection to threats made online of a school shooting.

The authorities were led to the suspect, Colt Gray, who was 13 at the time, after the F.B.I.’s National Threat Operations Center received several anonymous tips in May 2023 reporting threats that had been posted on an online gaming site warning of a school shooting at “an unidentified location and time,” according to statements from the F.B.I. field office in Atlanta and local law enforcement officials. The threats included photographs of guns.

Investigators from the sheriff’s office in Jackson County, Ga., interviewed the suspect and his father, the F.B.I. said. His father told investigators that he had hunting guns in the house, but said that his son did not have unsupervised access to the weapons. The suspect denied making the threats.

The F.B.I. said that the Jackson County authorities alerted local schools “for continued monitoring of the subject.” But it was unclear if officials at Apalachee High School, where the shooting took place and the suspect was a student this year, had been among those informed; the school is in Winder, Ga., in neighboring Barrow County.

The F.B.I., in its statement, said that investigators lacked probable cause to arrest the teenager or “take any additional law enforcement action on the local, state or federal levels.”

In a separate statement, Janis G. Mangum, the sheriff in Jackson County, said that a “thorough investigation was conducted,” but that “the gaming site threats could not be substantiated.”

Ms. Mangum cautioned residents to be careful of posts containing misinformation circulating online. “My phone is blowing up with messages from people about social media postings about other possible incidents,” she said in a note on Facebook. “To my knowledge, there is not a list indicating any of this.”

Alexandra E. Petri

All of the victims who were at the hospital were expected to survive their injuries, the authorities said.

Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon

About 400 people gathered at a candlelight vigil just before sunset in Winder's Jug Tavern Park. Two local officials spoke briefly, followed by a sermon from Geoffrey Murphy, the senior pastor of Winder First United Methodist Church, and a moment of silence.

The weapon used in the shooting was an “AR-platform-style weapon,” said Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, at a news conference.

The authorities are still investigating how the suspect gained access to the gun, Hosey said.

The AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle has been commonly used by mass shooters in the past, and is one of the most ubiquitous weapons in the United States.

Some quick thinking by one student ‘saved us,’ a classmate says.

Bryan Garcia heard what sounded like gunfire — boom, boom, boom, he said — coming from outside his math class at Apalachee High School. A lockdown alert flashed on a screen inside the room.

Following protocol, the students and teacher ran to the back of the class and huddled in the corner furthest from the door.

Bryan looked toward the door. It was open.

Almost immediately, Bryan said, a classmate ran across the room and slammed the door shut.

“He saved us,” Bryan said.

Another student, Nahomi Licona, described a similar scene in her math class. As students hustled to the back of the room, she said, one of them ran up to close the door. They heard gunshots, then footsteps, then lots of shouting, she said.

Nahomi, 15, a sophomore, said her family moved to the United States nine years ago from Guatemala. Walking beside Nahomi on Wednesday afternoon, her mother, Jackeline, said shootings in their native country tended to happen in the streets, not in schools. Nahomi said she recognized the sound of gunfire at once.

“It’s normal over there, but it’s still scary,” Nahomi said. She added: “I never expected to hear that in a school.”

Within a few minutes, Bryan said, school resource officers responded. Bryan said he heard a confrontation involving the shooter, whom the authorities identified as a 14-year-old student at the school. The officers were engaging the suspect, Bryan said, telling him to raise his hands and surrender.

Nahomi said she knew people were at least injured while she was evacuating the school. In a hallway, she said, she saw white powder used to absorb blood.

The suspect had been on the radar of law enforcement officials more than a year ago in connection with threats of a school shooting posted online, the F.B.I. said. He and his father were interviewed by local law enforcement officials; he denied making the threats, but the authorities alerted local schools.

In an interview on CNN, Lyela Sayarath, a junior at Apalachee High School who said she sat next to the shooter, described him as a “quiet kid” who recently transferred into the school and often skipped class. “He never really spoke,” she said. “I couldn’t tell you what his voice sounded like, or really even describe his face to you. He was just there.”

Richard Fausset

A mother and daughter endured lockdowns in separate schools before they could reunite.

Anetra Pattman, 43, was teaching social sciences at the alternative school in Barrow County, Ga., when she received a text on Wednesday at 10:24 a.m.

It was from her 14-year-old daughter, Macey Wright, at Apalachee High. It said, “Mom, I heard gunshots. I’m scared. Please come get me.”

Dr. Pattman knew that she could not hurry to her daughter. She had to stay with her own students, and keep calm.

“At that moment, the primary thing was continuing this communication with my daughter, but now I’m also responsible for keeping my other children safe,” she said of her students.

Then her own school went into hard lockdown mode. Her students hid in the corner. Lights out. Quiet. They stayed that way from 11 a.m. to about 1:30 p.m.

The reunion of mother and daughter finally came about an hour later. A friend had picked Macey up from Apalachee and taken her to a convenience store, where her mother was waiting. They hugged each other and cried.

Two students and two teachers were killed at Apalachee, the authorities said, and at least nine other people were injured.

Macey’s friend, a fellow freshman, had been shot in the shoulder, and Macey was worried about her. She told her mother she did not want to go back to school and get shot.

It was difficult for Dr. Pattman, an educator for 22 years, to accept that so many students have to live with such a possibility every day that they set foot on an American high school campus. But she said that she and her daughter would find a way to soldier on. She spoke on Wednesday afternoon with a resolve that seemed laced with resignation.

“I think most of it just comes from not living in fear, knowing that things like this happen,” she said. “Not just in schools, but in grocery stores, in churches. I’m almost to the point where I feel that no place is exempt.”

Winder, a rural, middle-class city in Georgia, is in a rapidly developing area.

The shooting at Apalachee High School on Wednesday took place in a rural, unincorporated area between the cities of Atlanta and Athens in Georgia.

The school — where a 14-year-old student fatally shot four people and injured nine others, according to the authorities — is on the edge of Winder, which is home to about 20,000 people. The city is roughly 50 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta and about 25 miles west of Athens.

The area around the school , once largely farmland nestled in the Georgia pines, has been developing rapidly in the last 15 years, as new buildings have cropped up along its winding, two-lane roads, according to Winder’s mayor, Jimmy Terrell.

Winder is the seat of Barrow County, which has nearly doubled in population to 83,500 since 2000, according to census data.

Winder is a family-oriented, middle-income community with an aging population, Mr. Terrell said. The area has not had a crime of “this magnitude” since a series of murders in the 1960s and ’70s, Mr. Terrell said in a phone interview.

In Winder, about 60 percent of the population is white, about 20 percent is Black and about 15 percent is Latino, according to census figures. The area has grown more diverse in recent years, Mr. Terrell said. The city’s median household income is about $57,000, according to the census , and about one in five people in the city have attained a bachelor’s degree. Barrow County as a whole has a larger share of families with children than other places in Georgia and the United States, according to the data.

The city leans Republican, Mr. Terrell said. In the 2020 presidential election , Donald J. Trump won Barrow County, which surrounds the city, with about 71 percent of the vote.

Apalachee High School opened in 2000, and has about 1,800 students in grades nine through 12.

Robert Gebeloff and Emmett Lindner contributed reporting.

Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon Richard Fausset and Rick Rojas

Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon and Richard Fausset reported from Winder, Ga., and Rick Rojas from Atlanta.

Students and teachers huddled in fear as the gunfire rang out.

The lockdown alert flashed on a screen in Stephen Kreyenbuhl’s classroom at Apalachee High School as the gunfire started.

Mr. Kreyenbuhl, a world history teacher, said he heard at least 10 shots on Wednesday morning, as the deadliest episode of school violence in Georgia history unfolded around the corner from his room.

Within minutes, four people — two students and two teachers — had been killed on the campus of Apalachee High School, in Winder, roughly 50 miles from downtown Atlanta. The authorities identified the shooter as a 14-year-old student at the school.

Laniel Arteta, a freshman, said he and other students huddled in the corner of their technology classroom, their hands over their heads, after the gunfire erupted. He heard screams, and the voice of his teacher urging the students to stay quiet. They waited like that, he said, for more than an hour.

When Laniel was finally shepherded out of the building with his classmates, he saw scads of police officers. He also saw loose shoes everywhere, but he did not know why, he said. Mr. Kreyenbuhl, 26, said he walked past a “pool of blood.”

Greg Mann, a parent at Apalachee High School, told 11 Alive, the NBC affiliate in Atlanta, that many students, who fled to the football field, had left their phones and keys inside the school. Mr. Mann said he was at the school helping to connect them with their families.

As parents scrambled to reunite with their children, traffic snarled around the school. Shelbey Diamond-Alexander, the chair of the Barrow County Democratic Party, said she was handing out bottles of water to some parents who left their cars to walk the final mile and a half to the school. “It’s a mess out here,” she said. “People are just trying to get their children. It’s devastating for our community.”

Laniel was able to find his father, Harvy Arteta, and at 4 p.m., about a mile from campus, the pair were by the side of a road choked with cars. Helicopters whirred above them. Laniel and his father seemed in shock.

Speaking in Spanish, Laniel said that about two years ago he came to the United States from Nicaragua, a country that has experienced bouts of intense political violence. But Laniel was aware that here, in the United States, there was a particular kind of problem to fear in school.

Now, he said, it was going to be difficult to go back to class.

Mr. Arteta, 40, seemed just as scared to send his son to Apalachee High in the coming days. Because what was to stop it from happening again? “It’s really complicated, going back,” he said.

Adeel Hassan

There have been three mass shootings in the U.S. this year.

The shooting at a high school in Winder, Ga., in which a gunman killed two teachers and two students, and wounded nine more people was the third mass shooting in the United States this year. It is also the deadliest school shooting in Georgia’s history.

The most recent mass shooting happened in Chicago over Labor Day weekend. Four people were killed in each of the two earlier attacks.

By The New York Times’s count, a mass shooting has occurred when four or more people — not including the shooter — have been killed by gunfire in a public place, and no other crime is involved. Our count of mass shootings is based on data from both the Gun Violence Archive and the Violence Project. We use data from both sources in order to make sure our database is as current and comprehensive as possible.

Mass shootings since 1999

Incidents where four or more people were killed in a public place and not connected to another crime.

Here are the other mass shootings that have occurred in the United States this year:

Fordyce, Ark. : A gunman killed four people and wounded nine on June 21 at the Mad Butcher grocery store in a town of 3,400 people, about 70 miles south of Little Rock. Two police officers were injured in the attack, and the shooter was also wounded.

Forest Park, Ill. : A man fatally shot four passengers on Monday as they slept on an L train in the Chicago suburb, according to the authorities.

Wednesday’s school shooting was the deadliest in Georgia’s history.

There have been about 70 shootings at K-12 schools in Georgia between 1970 and June 2022, according to data compiled by the Center for Homeland Defense and Security. But none were as deadly as Wednesday’s attack.

The data is expansive and includes instances where a gun is brandished or fired on school property, or a bullet strikes a school, regardless of the number of victims or the time that the shooting takes place.

Among those, one of the most high-profile school shootings in state history took place in May 1999, one month after the deadly massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado. Then, at Heritage High School in Conyers, about a half-hour southeast of downtown Atlanta, a 15-year-old student opened fire in an indoor common area and injured six students. No deaths were reported.

More recently, in 2019, 10 elementary school students were shot and suffered non-life-threatening injuries at a playground outside Wynbrooke Elementary Theme School in Stone Mountain, about 20 miles northeast of Atlanta.

Before Wednesday, there were four other shootings at Georgia schools this year that resulted in casualties.

In early February, two people were shot and injured in the parking lot of McEachern High School in Powder Springs. Days later, a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed after a basketball game at Tri-Cities High School in East Point.

Then, on Valentine’s Day, four students at Benjamin E. Mays High School in Atlanta were injured after being shot in school’s parking lot.

And in May, a 21-year-old woman was fatally shot on Kennesaw State University’s campus in front of a residential complex. Her former boyfriend was charged with murder in the shooting.

Schools in Barrow County, Ga., will be closed for the rest of the week, said Dallas LeDuff, the superintendent of the county’s school system.

The suspect surrendered when he was confronted by law enforcement, Sheriff Smith said. “He gave up and got on the ground,” the sheriff said, and was then arrested.

In emotional remarks, Sheriff Jud Smith of Barrow County said he “never imagined” he would be in a situation like this one, which he described as “pure evil.” “My heart hurts for these kids,” he said at a news conference.

Sean Plambeck

The suspect, who is in custody, will be charged with murder as an adult, said Chris Hosey, the director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Stephen Kreyenbuhl, a world history teacher, said he heard at least 10 shots ring out nearby at about the same time that a lockdown alert flashed on a screen in his classroom at the high school. Kreyenbuhl, 26, said teachers and employees all have a key card that can initiate a lockdown if they spot a potential threat.

The authorities identified the shooter as a 14-year-old student at the school. They said the deceased included two students and two teachers.

Former President Donald J. Trump offered his condolences on social media. “Our hearts are with the victims and loved ones of those affected by the tragic event in Winder, Ga.,” he wrote on social media. “These cherished children were taken from us far too soon by a sick and deranged monster.”

Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia expressed his sadness over the shooting and offered his prayers to the families of victims and the community. “But we can’t pray only with our lips,” Warnock, a Democrat, said in a statement. “We must pray by taking action.”

Emmett Lindner

Layne Saliba, a spokesman for the Northeast Georgia Health System, said the system’s campuses had received eight patients from Apalachee, three gunshot victims and five other patients suffering from anxiety-related symptoms.

Greg Mann, a parent at Apalachee High School, told 11 Alive, the NBC affiliate in Atlanta, that many students, who fled to the football field, had left their phones and keys inside the school and were still trying to get in touch with their families. Mann said he was at the school helping to connect them. “Nobody’s seen this coming,” he said. “You don’t really know what to do.”

Reid J. Epstein

Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking at a campaign rally in New Hampshire, called the Georgia school shooting “outrageous.” “Our kids are sitting in a classroom where they should be fulfilling their God-given potential, and some part of their big beautiful brain is concerned about a shooter busting through the door of their classroom,” she said. “It doesn't have to be this way.”

So before I begin, I do want to say a few words about this tragic shooting that took place this morning in Winder, Ga. We’re still gathering information about what happened, but we know that there were multiple fatalities and injuries. And our hearts are with all the students, the teachers and their families, of course. And we are grateful to the first responders and the law enforcement that were on the scene. But this is just a senseless tragedy on top of so many senseless tragedies. And it’s just outrageous that every day in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive. It’s senseless. It is — we got to stop it. And we have to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all. It doesn’t have to be this way. It doesn’t have to be this way.

The shooting in Georgia on Wednesday was the deadliest at a school this year, based on data from both the Gun Violence Archive and the Violence Project that was reviewed by The New York Times. It is also the deadliest school shooting in state history, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive .

Traffic was snarled around the school as parents scrambled to reunite with their children. Shelbey Diamond-Alexander, the chair of the Barrow County Democratic Party, said she was handing out bottles of water to some parents who left their cars to walk the final mile and a half to the school. “It’s a mess out here,” she said. “People are just trying to get their children. It’s devastating for our community.”

Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon and Rick Rojas

Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon reported from Winder, Ga., and Rick Rojas from Atlanta.

At first, students thought a lockdown was a drill. Then, they heard gunshots.

Students at Apalachee High School had gone through drills to prepare them for how to respond to a shooting on campus. On Wednesday morning, when a lockdown warning flashed in his Spanish classroom, Jose Inciarte assumed that school officials were conducting a test.

“But then we heard keys and running and screaming,” he recalled a few hours later as he left campus.

Jose, 16, and his classmates at Apalachee are part of a generation of students who have learned protocols and tactics for protecting themselves from a gunman as a regular part of their education. Still, students said on Wednesday that there was no way to anticipate the fear they felt as a shooting was actually unfolding at their school, about 50 miles from downtown Atlanta.

Isabella Albes Cardenas, an 11th grader, said she heard doors slamming shut and then what sounded like several gunshots.

“They prepare you for these things,” said Isabella, 15. “But in the moment, I started crying. I got nervous.”

Christian Scott, also in 11th grade, said he had left class and was heading to the nurse’s station. “Suddenly,” he said, “I was under lockdown.”

He could hear the gunshots, he said, “before I blocked it out.” Beds were used to barricade the doors inside the nurse’s office. He called his mother, crying.

Those moments were “living hell,” said Christian, 16.

Eventually, he made it out of the school to the football field, where he reunited with his sister, who is also a student, and his friends.

Susanna Timmons

Because law enforcement officials control crime scenes, we initially rely on the information they provide. We are working aggressively to verify it through interviews with witnesses and victims, and we will report any discrepancies between what officials are saying and what we find. Here’s how we report on mass shootings .

A 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School told Atlanta News First, a local news outlet, that he was sitting by the door in his classroom when “something told me to look to my left.” That’s when he saw the shooter “with a big gun” out of the corner of his eye, he said. The student said he ran to the back of the classroom and hid. He estimated the shooter, who he identified as a man, shot about 10 times, making his ears ring.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed that four people had died, but dispelled rumors that the suspect had been “neutralized,” adding that reports of additional shootings at nearby schools were false.

In a statement mourning the victims of the shooting, President Biden called on Republicans to work with Democrats to pass new gun control legislation. “What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart,” the president said.

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Quantitative professional paper template: Adapted from “Fake News, Fast and Slow: Deliberation Reduces Belief in False (but Not True) News Headlines,” by B. Bago, D. G. Rand, and G. Pennycook, 2020, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , 149 (8), pp. 1608–1613 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000729 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

Qualitative professional paper template: Adapted from “‘My Smartphone Is an Extension of Myself’: A Holistic Qualitative Exploration of the Impact of Using a Smartphone,” by L. J. Harkin and D. Kuss, 2020, Psychology of Popular Media , 10 (1), pp. 28–38 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000278 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

Mixed methods professional paper template: Adapted from “‘I Am a Change Agent’: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Students’ Social Justice Value Orientation in an Undergraduate Community Psychology Course,” by D. X. Henderson, A. T. Majors, and M. Wright, 2019,  Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology , 7 (1), 68–80. ( https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000171 ). Copyright 2019 by the American Psychological Association.

Literature review professional paper template: Adapted from “Rethinking Emotions in the Context of Infants’ Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Interest and Positive Emotions,” by S. I. Hammond and J. K. Drummond, 2019, Developmental Psychology , 55 (9), pp. 1882–1888 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000685 ). Copyright 2019 by the American Psychological Association.

Review professional paper template: Adapted from “Joining the Conversation: Teaching Students to Think and Communicate Like Scholars,” by E. L. Parks, 2022, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology , 8 (1), pp. 70–78 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000193 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

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