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How to Cite a Play in APA Format

"I know you what you are," the character Cordelia tells her sister in Shakespeare's "King Lear." Knowledge is identity. And if you are a scholar, what you know is the way in which you present yourself and your argument to the scholars and readers who pick up and read your research paper, journal article, or published book. Always correctly cite the sources of your knowledge by following style guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA). Don't make your readers guess at who you are as a scholar.

Instructions

    • 1

      Write the last name and the first initial of the play's author separated by a comma and followed by a period.

    • 2

      Write in parentheses and followed by a period the year of the publication of the book or volume in which the play appears.

    • 3

      Write the word "In" followed by the first initial of the book or volume's editior, a period, the last name of the book or volume's editor, and the abbreviation "Ed.," which stands for "Editor." Place the abbreviation in parentheses and follow it with a comma.

    • 4

      Write the title of the book or volume in which you found the play. Only capitalize the first word and any proper nouns, such as names, in the title. Italicize the title of the book or volume in an actual APA citation.

    • 5

      Write an opening parenthesis, the abbreviation "pp." for "pages," the page range of the play, a closing parenthesis and a period.

    • 6

      Write the place of publication and the publisher's name separated by a colon. For example, write "Shakespeare, W. (1972). In S. Barnet (Ed.),The complete Signet classic Shakespeare (pp. 317-371). New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich."

    • 7

      Write the last name of the author of the play and the date of the cited book or volume's publication within parentheses and separated by a comma for a parenthetical, in-text citation of a play in APA format. For example, write "(Shakespeare, 1972)."

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