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APA Style (7th ed.)

How to create a document and cite using the most recent edition of APA.

Abbreviations

Congress Cong.
House of Representatives H.R.
Senate S.

Tip

Add the § symbol for section numbers in Word by:

  1. click on the "Insert" tab,
  2. then "Symbol,"
  3. then "More Symbols," and then
  4. "Special Characters."

Or just copy/paste from this page!

Court Cases

Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1-13 (1967). https://www.oyez.org/cases/1966/395

Parenthetical: (Loving v. Virginia, 1967).
Narrative: In the case Loving v. Virginia (1967), ....

 

Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ (2015). https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf

Parenthetical: (Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015).
Narrative: In the case Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), ....

Copano Energy, LLC v. Bujnoch, 593 S.W.3d 721 (Tex. 2020). https://casetext.com/case/copano-energy-llc-v-bujnoch

Parenthetical citation: (Copano Energy, LLC v. Bujnoch, 2020).
Narrative citation: The Court ruled in Copano Energy, LLC v. Bujnoch (2020) that...

 

Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 17 Cal.3d 425, 131 Cal. Rptr. 14, 551 P.2d 334 (1976). https://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/torts/torts-keyed-to-dobbs/the-duty-to-protect-from-third-persons/tarasoff-v-regents-of-university-of-california

Parenthetical citation: (Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, 1976).
Narrative citation: In the case Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (1976), ....

Note:  The Tarasoff decision was reported* in three places, so all are included in the citation. They're usually reported together, so you shouldn't have to do additional research to find this info.

*Reported in the legal sense, where it's recorded -- not reported like in the news.

Note:

  • In-text citations: italicize the name of the case (parenthetical and narrative).
  • References list? No italics.

Enacted Laws/Statutes

General Format:

Name of Act, Title Source § Section Number (YYYY). url

Americans with Disabilities Acts of 1990, 42 U.S.C § 12101 et seq. (1990). https://www.ada.gov/pubs/adastatute08.htm

Parenthetical: (Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990) 
Narrative: The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) states...

NOTE: In the example above the "42 U.S.C" stands for the U.S. Code Title 42. § stands for section. Et seq. is Latin for "and what follows."

Government Reports

S. Rep. No. 113-288 (2014). https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CRPT-113srpt288.pdf

Parenthetical citation: (S. Rep. No. 113-288, 2014).
Narrative citation: In Senate Report No. 113-288 (2014), ...