How to Cite a Government Document in APSA Style Manual

This guide explains how to format a government document citation in APSA Style Manual. Follow the format template below, refer to the real example, and use the step-by-step instructions to build your citation correctly.

Format Template

The general pattern for citing a government document in APSA Style Manual:

Template

Agency or Author. Year. "Title of Document." Report/Publication No. Place: Publisher. URL.

In-Text Citation Example

How the citation appears within the body of your paper:

In-text citation

(U.S. Department of Education 2024, 18)

Reference List Entry Example

The full citation as it appears in your reference list:

Reference list entry

U.S. Department of Education. 2024. "Digest of Education Statistics." NCES 2024-009. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/.

Step-by-Step Guide

1
Identify the author or agency
Use the full name of the government agency. For individual authors, use Last, First format.
2
Add the year
Write the year of publication, followed by a period.
3
Write the document title
Place the title in quotation marks for reports and documents. Use headline-style capitalization. For stand-alone publications, italicize instead.
4
Include the report number
Add the report or publication number after the title.
5
Add publication details and URL
Write the place of publication, colon, publisher name, and URL.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Using initials instead of full agency names.
Omitting the report or publication number.
Forgetting to include the place of publication.
Using a comma between the agency and year in the in-text citation (APSA omits the comma).
Not placing the document title in quotation marks when it is not a stand-alone publication.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does APSA handle government document citations differently from APA?

APSA uses full first names, places the year after the author (like Chicago Author-Date), and typically uses headline-style capitalization. APSA also omits the comma between author and year in in-text citations.

Should I abbreviate the agency name?

No. APSA requires the full agency name on first reference. You may introduce an abbreviation in the in-text citation for subsequent use: (U.S. Department of Education [USDOE] 2024).

Do I include the state for the publisher location?

Include the state abbreviation for lesser-known U.S. cities. Well-known cities like Washington, DC can use their standard abbreviation.

Information You Will Need

Before creating your citation, gather the following information from your government document:

Author/Agency
Title
Publication Number
Publisher
Year
URL

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Step-by-Step Guide

Identify the author or agency

Use the full name of the government agency. For individual authors, use Last, First format.

Add the year

Write the year of publication, followed by a period.

Write the document title

Place the title in quotation marks for reports and documents. Use headline-style capitalization. For stand-alone publications, italicize instead.

Include the report number

Add the report or publication number after the title.

Add publication details and URL

Write the place of publication, colon, publisher name, and URL.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Using initials instead of full agency names.

Omitting the report or publication number.

Forgetting to include the place of publication.

Using a comma between the agency and year in the in-text citation (APSA omits the comma).

Not placing the document title in quotation marks when it is not a stand-alone publication.