How to Cite a Newspaper Article APA: Everything You Need to Know

If you want to know how to cite a newspaper article APA, it’s time for you to explore this topic. There’s no need to google “APA news article citation” further because you’ll have everything you need to know here. Remember that once you learn all about newspaper citation APA, you won’t need to spend so much time contemplating what to do next. So, let’s dive right into APA newspaper citation rules!

The Basics of Understanding APA Citation for Newspapers

Before we proceed with the instructions on how to cite a news article APA, let’s learn a little bit about it and its specific rules. First of all, APA stands for American Psychological Association, which serves as the official guide for multiple standards from citation and publication to reviewing the recent information on the following topic. This association helps professionals and students learn how to create APA citation for online newspaper articles and print reliably and professionally. It is one of the most commonly used reference styles in the world, and it is pretty easy and comfortable to use. Here’s an example of how it looks:

• Smith, G. (2021). Why dogs and cats are awesome. Animal Cuties, vol. 4, 15.

In this fictional example, everything is cited correctly. First, you see the author’s last name, Smith, and their initials (George, for instance). After that, you see the date (2021) and the title of the article. After that, you can see the name of the newspaper, which we will call Animal Cuties just to be funny. If you have the volume or issue, you can cite it as well. The last one (15) is the page number.

But if you don’t want to be funny, let’s read the other two examples:

• Blackwood, A. (2020). The link between stress and burnout. Psychology Newspaper, 20-26.
• Liddell, K. (2019). Shocking news about your brain. Education Studies, vol. 13, 8.

As you can see, APA newspaper citation style isn’t really hard to reference.

Why use APA in-text citation for newspapers

If you want to know why you should specifically use APA citation newspaper article, here’s the short of it: it’s a highly reliable citation style. Even if your educator didn’t give you a specific style and format to use, you can be calm about APA newspaper reference. It’s classic. What’s even better, APA is not only about the citation; it has a convenient paper format that you can research online. It’s easy and professional-looking. So, citing newspapers in APA is a safe choice.

Citing Newspaper Articles in APA Format: What’s Different

How can you cite news article APA compared to another style, let’s say, MLA? Well, newspaper citation APA is different from the article citation in MLA or Chicago/Turabian. Every organization has its own specific style and demands that respond to the needs of the industry. For instance, MLA stands for Modern Language Association, and it is usually used in the linguistic sphere. Here are some of the newspaper citation examples for MLA:

• Queen, Lydia. “Cool Teen’s Rules.” Girl’s Guide, vol. 5, no. 2, 2020.
• Spencer, John. “101 Best Books.” Reader’s Newspaper, vol. 12, 2021.

As you might have noticed, APA places a greater emphasis on the date because it’s more important for this format. For instance, psychological knowledge often expands fast, which makes it vital to regularly update every article. As a result, newspaper citation APA is very careful about recent information. The newspaper citation examples for MLA are more focused on the title and the full name of the author. For this reason, many APA citation guidelines for newspapers are focused on the newest sources.

APA reference list entry for newspapers: Do it right

Let’s start with the easiest part. Are there any rules that you should follow for making the reference list? Don’t worry; we’ll shift to in-text citations next. An APA newspaper reference page should introduce the word “References” (in plural) and the list of references in alphabetical order. Let’s look at these examples in a typical APA paper where you cite only newspaper:

References
Belfont, A. (2023). Understanding the new cooking method. Cooking Online, 12.
Freeman, K. (2023). Becoming your best self. Psychology Newspaper, vol. 22.
Rodriguez, O. (2021). Wandering through the crowd. Women’s Rules, vol. 2, no. 1.

Of course, depending on the number of newspaper sources you use, your list can be much longer. But you have probably become familiar with the most important elements. But if you want a more detailed guide, we should go further for more APA newspaper citation rules.

Your step-by-step guide to citing newspapers in APA

Now that you have a basic understanding of APA, we can proceed with more detailed newspaper citation tips. What makes a good APA citation news article? When making a citation, you have two separate places where you should cite something. These are in-text and reference page citations.

When you write a paper, here’s how you create good newspaper citation APA in the text: you write the author’s surname and the date separated by a comma. For the newspaper citation examples, let’s do these ones first:

…the data shows that this correlation is strong (Black & White, 2022).
…when studying the problem of people’s relationships, it was found that empathy often becomes a crucial contributor (Allen, 2021).
But sometimes you can reference the author’s name directly in the text and only add the year in the parentheses:
As Johnson (2020) notes, this link is…
In the research conducted by Matthews & Richards (2019), it was found that…

You might have observed that some of the examples offer you more than one author. Now it’s time for the next lesson! When you have two authors, introduce them correctly: use “&” between their first names, such as Watson & Holmes, Johnson & Wesson, West & Miller. The same goes for three authors when speaking of an in-text citation. However, when you have an APA newspaper citation with more than three authors, use only the first author’s name and follow it by “et al.” Here’s how you would cite such an article in the text:

…it is imperative to spend more time on researching this issue (Williams et al., 2021).
Garcia et al. (2022) have noticed that people are more likely to…

However, such rules apply to the in-text newspaper citation APA, not the reference page. Every APA paper format requires a reference page, as mentioned earlier. However, there are some more specific demands that every guide will tell you about.

In APA newspaper citations, you do not need to capitalize the title of the newspaper article. Nonetheless, you should capitalize the newspaper title because it is the name. But let’s look more closely at newspaper citation examples on the reference page:

References
Alfeld, N. (2023). Bringing down the past. History Newspaper, vol. 24, 12-15.
Bromfield, P. (2020). Making sense of tradition. The Future Guide, vol. 5.
Davis, K. (2018). The study of human consciousness. Mindful Online, vol. 12.

As you see, you capitalize and put the title of the newspaper in italics as a general rule.

If you don’t know how to make a citation, you can use an APA newspaper citation generator. But make sure you use a good one because otherwise, you’ll have a poorly made reference page that will not correspond to the APA rules correctly.

Easy citing online newspaper articles in APA

Hey, let’s take a short dive into the online article citation format. Although it’s pretty much like the print article, citing newspapers in APA when you access them online should present a link on the reference page. But nothing will change in the in-text citations; they will be exactly the same. Keep in mind that you don’t need to paste the link to the newspaper itself, just the publication.

Still, and it’s important to distinguish between the two, make sure that you don’t simply quote a website; it should be a newspaper. Well, although both can be reliable sources, the rules for citing newspaper articles correctly are a little different from the website. When you cite a website on the reference page, the title of the article will be in italics, while the website name will be simply capitalized.

Some More Examples of APA Citation for Newspaper Articles and Practice

Let’s review some examples of APA newspaper citation. Because APA citation style is so focused on the date of publication, you might even want to avoid using it or spend additional time researching the date of publication. It’s one of the main APA citation rules for newspapers. If you want to make a specific citation on the page, adding it to the text would be better. Here are some examples:

Norton & Campbell (2020) write that the following correlation was significant (p. 5).
…the study did not prove that people were likely to make such biased choices (Smith, 2019, p. 10).
…as the data has shown (Mitchell, 2023, p. 3).

Another thing that was not previously covered is how to use the APA format for newspaper citation when referring to several articles. For example, one sentence contains two references. In this case, you can easily put two or more in parentheses and divide them with a semicolon:

The majority of comments on this problem were negative (Black, 2023; Whittney, 2020).
…the latest publications depict the same narrative (Clinton, 2022; Baring, 2022; Shaw, 2022).

A few tips for accurate APA citation of newspaper articles

These are not necessarily a how-to for the exact format but how to make sure you cite the right information:

• Use only reliable sources;
• Avoid poor grammar and print design;
• Check the author’s credentials;
• Use the recent date;
• Paste all your sources in a document to make it easier to find them;
• Read the source thoroughly.

Common Mistakes in Citing Newspaper Articles and How to Avoid Them

Now that you know the basics of how to cite newspaper article APA, you may need to further examine some of the common errors people make.

• Mistake #1. Using the wrong generator.

Not everyone uses reliable generators, and it can make your reference page look very strange. You can use this one or Citation Machine if you need some help. Here’s how our generator works:

• Mistake #2. Using sources older than five years old.

In APA newspaper citation, it’s crucial to utilize the newest information because science is constantly changing. Try to look for sources published no earlier than five years before the day you write the paper.

• Mistake #3. Mixing up a website and online newspaper.

Keep in mind that citing newspapers in APA is different from other types of sources!

• Mistake #4. Forgetting about punctuation.

APA is a very specific format, and if you’re unused to it, you can get confused and forget about a comma or a semicolon.

FAQ

How do I cite a newspaper article in APA format?

To cite a newspaper article in APA, you need to follow a typical APA format for newspaper citation: you should include the author’s first and last name, date of publication, title of the article, and the newspaper name. After that, you can add the page numbers or the link. The title of the article is not capitalized, but the name of the newspaper should be (it is also in italics). If the newspaper has the volume and issue number, you should also add them.

What is the correct APA citation for an online newspaper article?

Every newspaper has specifics that may require a writer to pick separate approaches to citation. However, a correct APA citation offers the date and name of the author, the title, and basic information. APA formatting includes both in-text citations and the reference page. Here is an example of the correct citation for APA style:

Whistley, M. (2022). Focusing on the improvement of today’s employment market. Newspaper of Workers’ Relations, vol. 3, no. 6, p. 9.

Can you provide examples of APA newspaper citations?

Here are the examples for in-text citations:
…Smith & White (2020) note that…
…the article explained that diversity is essential for human cooperation (Pudding, 2019).

A reference page may include these titles:

Wood, O. (2023). The question of human equality. Social Newspaper, vol. 3.
Rodriguez, Q. (2018). How you should treat your employees. Management Online, p. 12-15.
Matthews, N. (2021). Bridging the gap between now and the future. Science Digest.