APA Style Made Easy – How to Cite Like a Scholar

 Introduction

If you’re a in the social sciences, chances are your supervisor expects APA 7th Edition for your thesis referencing — yet no one ever really teaches you how to get it right. As someone who has authored peer-reviewed works like "Post-Truth in Social Media Versus Deontological Ethics: Unwrapping the Journalistic Dilemma in Nigeria", I know how a single referencing error can stall publication or delay graduation. Follow through this guide that will help you fix that.




1. Why Referencing Matters

Referencing in APA is more than just rules — it’s about showing the trail of your thoughts. Whether you're quoting studies on gender-inclusive media or AI in journalism, citations help your reader verify, explore, and trust your claims.

2. APA 7 In-Text Citations Made Simple

  • Single author:

(Ola-Akuma, 2023)

  • Two authors:

(Okocha & Ola-Akuma, 2022)

  • Three or more:

(Ola-Akuma et al., 2024)

Use these in-text references every time you quote, paraphrase, or mention someone else’s idea.

3. Reference List Formatting (with real examples)

All your cited works should appear alphabetically at the end.

📘 Example (Journal Article):
Ola-Akuma, R. O., & Okocha, D. O. (2024). Evaluating the Gender-Inclusive Uptake of New Media Platforms by Nano and Micro Enterprises in Kano State Nigeria. The Journal of Development Communication, 35(1), 21-35.

📕 Example (Book):
Ajayi, T. M. (2019). Introduction to Social Research in Nigeria. Ibadan: Academic Press.

🧠 Pro Tip: Use a referencing manager like Bibcitation, Zotero or Mendeley to store and export in APA.

4. Top 4 APA Mistakes to Avoid

  • Referencing WhatsApp statuses or Wikipedia as official sources

  • Copying Google Scholar citations without formatting

  • Mixing APA 6th with 7th (e.g., “Retrieved from…” is outdated)

  • Using “&” instead of “and” in the reference list

Conclusion
If you’ve authored as much as I have — like in “Investigating Robot Journalism and the Future of Military-Media Relations” — you quickly learn that referencing isn’t decoration, it’s defence.

📩 Want our one-page APA 7 Reference Guide? DM “APA FIX” to get your copy.


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