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APA Citation Style Guide

This guide will support you in creating common citation formats in the APA (American Psychological Association) Style - 7th edition.

Other examples

Please consult the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for additional examples not listed on this page.

Quick tips

Personal communications refer to sources of information that cannot be recovered by the reader such as a book, article, video etc.

Examples of Personal Communications:

  • emails
  • text messages
  • online or direct message conversations
  • personal interviews
  • telephone conversations
  • live speeches
  • unrecorded classroom lectures
  • memos
  • letters
  • unarchived online discussion groups or bulletin boards
  • unrecorded webinars

Citing Personal Communications In-Text:

"Because readers cannot retrieve the information in personal communications, personal communication are not included in the reference list: they are cited in the text only. Give the initial(s) and surname of the communicator, and provide as exact a date as possible" (APA, 2020, p. 260).

Personal communication in-text

Parenthetical in-text citation: (G. Grinnell, personal communication, September 18, 2019)

Narrative in-text citation: G. Grinnell (personal communication, September 18, 2019)

(APA, 2020, p. 260)