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Education - Library Guide

APA Style

The CUE Faculty of Education follows the APA Style Manual, 7th edition.

Even if you do not have all the information required for a full reference you must still cite the item, as thoroughly as possible.

Brief Guides & Examples

In-depth Guides 

Video Tutorials

Sample Papers - Note that these are provided by the American Psychological Association and, although they show the basic format and citation style, Education assignments are not necessarily structured in the same way.

Frequently Cited Documents in Education

Alberta Curriculum & Program of Studies are cited like reports or web pages. For more information, see the APA Manual, section 10.4.

Reference list entry

Alberta Education. (2025). Social studies (Grade 5) [Curriculum].

          https://curriculum.learnalberta.ca/curriculum/en/gfc/SSS/SSS5

Parenthetical in-text citation

(Alberta Education, 2025)

For more information on citing Curriculum

Alberta Legislation - UofA Guide to Legal Citation

  • In-text citation with the act, year, and section pinpoint: (Education Act, 2012, c E-0.3 s.198)
  • Reference list entry: Education Act, S.A. 2012, c E-0.3.
  • The Education Act is chapter E-0.3 of the Statutes of Alberta and this in-text citation refers to section 198 of that act.

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - RRU Writing Centre

  • In text citation with the title, year, and section pinpoint: (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982, s 8) 
  • Reference list entry: Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Part 1 of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), c 11.

Teaching Quality Standard 

  • Teaching Quality Standard 2023
  • In text citation using the author, year, and page number: (Alberta Education, 2023, p. 3)
  • Reference list entry using the author, year, title, and URL link: Alberta Education (2023). Teaching quality standard. https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/14d92858-fec0-449b-a9ad-52c05000b4de/resource/09cd735a-3a02-4f1f-8e23-51a11e6dfb06/download/educ-teaching-quality-standard-2023.pdf

Tips on Tough Stuff

Visit the APA Style & Grammar Guidelines page and scroll down to see more.

Images

Images, diagrams and artistic works require citations in your assignments, similar to citing text-based information, unless the creator of the image states that they do not require attribution. To learn more, visit

Gather as much information as possible about the image. Try to locate the missing information by hovering your mouse over the image, looking at any captions above or below the image, and downloading a copy of the image then checking the file name.

  • Creator's name (artist or photographer)
  • Date the work was created, published, or posted
  • Title of the image 
  • Name of the website hosting the image and the URL
  • Type of image, for example, a photograph, painting, or online image.

Even if you do not have all the information required for a full reference, you must still cite the item, as thoroughly as possible.

  • Visit the APA Style Missing Reference Information page for examples.
  • Use the abbreviation n.d. if there is no date available and use square brackets to enclose information that you create, such as a description of the image [Children reading together] or format [Painting], [Photograph] or [Online image].

Sample citations for images

  • Note: Figure numbers and image titles are not required for posters and slide presentations.

In-Text Citation: (Artist Surname, Year)

Example: (Baumel, 2010)

 

Reference

Artist Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Title of the image [Format]. Title of the Website. URL (address of web site)

Example: Baumel, A. (2010). Cholera treatment center in Haiti [Online image]. Doctors Without Borders. https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

 

Reference (No Author)

Title of the image. [Type of work]. (Year image was created). Title of the Website. URL (address of web site)

Example: Flu epidemic [Online image]. (1919). History. http://www.history.net/photo/flu-epidemic-art/collections

 

Reference (No Author, No Title, No Date)

[Subject and type of work]. Title of the Website. URL (address of web site)

Example: [Untitled illustration of a sleeping dog]. Sleeping Animals. http://www.sleepinganimals/pix.com

 

- Adapted from Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library's guide to Citing Images

For more examples, visit

Citing Indigenous Knowledge Keepers - APA 7th Edition

More Than Personal Communication: Citation templates for Elders and Knowledge Keepers - Video Tutorial

  • While working at NorQuest College Libraries, Lorisia MacLeod (James Smith Cree Nation) worked with the Indigenous Student Centre to develop new citation templates to be used in APA and MLA for citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers. These citation formats are meant to promote the culturally respectful use of Indigenous knowledge and people in research and challenge the status quo of who we cite. 

University of British Columbia