This document explains how to accurately reference newspaper articles in your work, including those found online and reader comments.
When crafting a well-researched paper, knowing how to cite your sources correctly is crucial. This guide will walk you through citing newspaper articles in APA Style, ensuring your work is credible and plagiarism-free.
Basic Structure for Print Newspapers
Let’s start with articles found in the tangible form – the print newspaper. Here’s the blueprint:
Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Article Title. Newspaper Name, Page Number(s).
Let’s break it down:
- Author: Begin with the author’s last name, followed by a comma, then their first initial followed by a period (e.g., Smith, J.).
- Date: In parentheses, provide the year of publication, followed by the month and day (e.g., (2024, January 10)).
- Article Title: Next, state the article title in sentence case, meaning you only capitalize the first word and any proper nouns (e.g., New study shows benefits of early morning coffee).
- Newspaper Name: Italicize the full name of the newspaper (e.g., The Daily Grind).
- Page Number(s): Finally, list the page number(s) where the article is located, separating multiple pages or page ranges with a comma (e.g., A1, A3-A4).
Example:
Jones, M. (2023, December 20). Local bakery wins national award. The Small Town Times, B2.
Navigating Online Newspapers
Online newspapers are increasingly common. When using an article from a newspaper’s website, the format is very similar, but instead of the page number, you’ll include the URL:
Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Article Title. Newspaper Name. URL
Example:
Lee, S. (2024, February 15). The rise of sustainable fashion. The Style Gazette. https://www.thestylegazette.com/sustainable-fashion-rise
Important Considerations
- No Author? If an article lacks an author, start your reference with the article title.
- News Websites: For articles on news websites not associated with a print newspaper (e.g., CNN, BBC News), use the standard APA website citation format.
Citing Comments on Online Articles
What if you want to reference a particularly insightful comment on an online newspaper article? Here’s the format:
Commenter’s Username (or Real Name). (Year, Month Day). “First 20 Words of the Comment” [Comment on the article “Article Title”]. Newspaper Name. URL of the comment.
Example:
FashionForward. (2024, February 16). “This is such an important topic! We need to be more conscious…” [Comment on the article “The rise of sustainable fashion”]. The Style Gazette. https://www.thestylegazette.com/sustainable-fashion-rise/#comment-2468
By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your references to newspaper articles are accurate and consistent, maintaining accuracy and upholding academic integrity.
