When writing a newspaper article, it is important to be sure that you cite sources correctly. The proper citation of a newspaper article can strengthen your paper and add credibility to your research. Although citing peer-reviewed journal articles and published books is the best way to ensure that you are using reliable information, sometimes you will need to cite a newspaper article.
When citing a newspaper article in APA style, start with the name of the author and first initial followed by a period. Then, type the date of publication in day-month-year format and include the page number(s) if available. In-text citations in APA style use the same structure as an MLA citation; however, it is not necessary to provide a page number when citing an online article.
If the author’s last name is italicized, enclose it in square brackets after the name. Similarly, when the newspaper name is italicized, enclose the city name in square brackets after the title. If the article appears on more than one page, you must also cite the page numbers.
The basic APA citation for a newspaper article consists of the author’s name, the title of the article (in quotation marks), and any subtitles (if there are). You must also cite the publisher in parentheses, as well as the website URL if it is available.
For scholarly journals, a volume number is often included along with the article’s name and page numbers, but you should check the specific rules of each journal for further details. For example, Science Fiction Studies usually publishes more than one issue per year and assigns the first page of each issue a number.
When citing an online article, you will need to specify the site in which you found it, but you do not need to include the URL if the source is part of a database or site associated with a daily/weekly/monthly published newspaper. If you do include the URL in your citation, break it off before punctuation and only use https:// if the site is secure.
The format of the APA citation for a newspaper article follows that of a magazine article; however, newspapers are published on newsprint, a rougher and less stiff paper than is used in magazines. This is because of the fact that most newspapers are published on a daily basis.
Unlike magazine articles, a newspaper article should be cited in the notes of your bibliography unless it is critical to your argument or is frequently cited. Citing a newspaper article in the works cited or reference list is generally unnecessary for most essays, and APA recommends against it when citing a single article or short passage that is not critical to your argument.
In-text citations in APA are very simple. You do not need to include a page number, if available. Instead, you should cite the article by name, the date it was published, and the name of the newspaper. Then, use the same APA format in your works cited or reference page.
