APA 7th Edition Citation Guide

If the author is a government department or agency, list the department/agency as the author and leave out the "Agency Name" section.

If a government department is considered to be the author of the report and has a well-known abbreviation, you do not need to type out the full name in each in-text citation. In the first in-text citation of your paper, type out the full name of the department followed by the abbreviation in brackets or parentheses. After that, you can use the abbreviated title.

Reference Page Format:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of Publication). Title of report. Agency Name. URL

Reference Page Example:

U.S. Department of Education. (2019). FY 2018 annual performance report and FY 2020 annual performance plan. https://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/2020plan/fy18apr-fy20app.pdf

In-text Citation Examples:

First in-text citation:

... (U.S. Department of Education [USDE], 2019).

According to the U.S. Department of Education (USDE, 2019)...

After the first in-text citation:

... (USDE, 2019).

According to the USDE (2019)...

Note that unlike many other reference types, the title of the case is listed in standard type in the reference list and in italics for in-text citations.

Reference Page Format:

Name v. Name, Volume U.S. Page (Year). URL

Reference Page Example:

Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/347us483

In-text Citation Examples:

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) shows that ...

...(Brown v. Board of Education, 1954).

U.S.C. stands for United States Code. The § symbol stands for "section" and can be inserted in Word with the "Insert Symbol" function, or copied and pasted from this guide.

Reference Page Format:

Name of Act, Title Number U.S.C. § Section Number (Year). URL

Reference Page Example:

Every Student Succeeds Act, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 (2015). https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1177

In-text Citation Examples:

The Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) states that ...

...(Every Student Succeeds Act, 2015).

The § symbol stands for "section" and can be inserted in Microsoft Word with the "Insert Symbol" function, or copied and pasted from this guide.

Reference Page Format:

Name of Statute, State Stat. § Section Number (Year). URL

Reference Page Example:

Nurse Practice Act, Minn. Stat. § 148.171 (2019). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148.171

In-text Citation Examples:

The Nurse Practice Act (2019) states that ...

...(Nurse Practice Act, 2019).