Developed using the APSA Style Manual (2018 Version)
A few basic tips:
| Document Type | Reference Format | Example | Notes |
| Bill | [Name of the Proposed Act], [Bill Number (without the session number)], [Session of Congress]. [(Year)]. | Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, H.R. 1599, 114th Cong. (2015). |
Use H.R. for House or H.R. Res. for House Resolution Use S. for Senate or S. Res. for Senate Resolution Use Cong. for Congress |
| Laws or Statutes* |
[Name of the Act], [Public Law Number], [Statute Number] [(Year)]. |
Homeland Security Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107–296, 116 Stat. 2135 (2012). |
Use Pub. L. No. for Public Law Number Use Stat. for Statute |
| Hearing |
[Name of the Hearing]: "Hearing Before the" [Committee Name or Names], [Session of Congress]. [(Year)]. ("statement of" [Name of Witness], [title of witness]). |
Facebook, Social Media Privacy, and the Use and Abuse of Data: Joint Hearing Before the S. Comm. on the Judiciary and the S. Comm. on Commerce, Science and Transportation, 115th Cong. (2018) (statement of Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook). |
Use Cong. for Congress |
|
Congressional Report or Document |
[Author Last Name, Author First Name]. [(Year)]. [Report or Document Title]. [Publisher or report/document type - see note]. |
Shimabukuro, Jon O. (2021). Worker Classification: Employee Status Under the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the ABC Test. Congressional Research Service. | For reports and documents originating from the House of Representatives, use H.R. Rep. or H.R. Doc. accordingly as abbreviated forms. For those from the Senate, use S. Rep. and S. Doc. accordingly. |
| Debate | [Volume Number of the Congressional Record] "Cong. Rec." [page number] [(Year)]. | 112 Cong. Rec. 16 (1996). |
All US congress debates are published in the Congressional Record. The record is organized into volumes. You must know the volume of the Congressional Record in order to cite a debate. Use Cong. Rec. for Congressional Record |
| State Law or Local Ordinance |
[The Publication for the Law/Statute you're citing] § [Chapter] [(Section)] Year. See notes for more information on the publication |
NJ. Rev Stat § 59(2-7) 2021 |
There are slight variations on how each state organizes its laws. For more information on citing State law, visit the Cornell State Statute Citation Guide Laws or statutes can be published in many places. For instance, New Jersey has statutes and chapter laws, similar to how the US has both the Statutes at Large and the US Code. In this example, we're using the New Jersey Revised Statutes, which is abbreviated NJ Rev Stat For more information in these different ways government organize their laws, see the glossary in this guide. |
| Book | Author. Year. Book Title. Publisher City: Publisher Name. | Levi, Margaret. 1988. Of Rule and Revenue. Berkeley: University of California Press. | |
| Journal Article | [Author]. [Year]. "[Title]." [Title of Journal] [volume]([issue]) ([Month Day]). [Date Accessed]. [URL or DOI]. | Hlatky, Mark A., Derek Boothroyd, Eric Vittinghoff, Penny Sharp, and Mary A. Whooley. 2002. "Quality-of-Life and Depressive Symptoms in Postmenopausal Women After Receiving Hormone Therapy. Journal of the American Medical Association 287(5) (February 6). Accessed Februrary 8, 2010. http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v287n5/rfull/joc10108.html#aainfo |
|
| Newspaper Article | [Author]. [Year]. [Title of Article]. [Publication]. [Month Day]. | Seward, Zachary. 2006. Colleges Expand Early Admissions. Wall Street Journal. December 14. |
| Document Type | Format | Example | Notes |
|
Bill |
(Name of the Act Year) | (Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act 2015) | |
| Federal Law or Statute | (Name of the Law/Statute Year) | (Homeland Security Act 2002) | |
| Hearing |
(Name of the Hearing Year) |
(Facebook, Social Media Privacy, and the Use and Abuse of Data 2018) | |
| Congressional Report or Document | (Author Date) | (Shimabukuro 2021) | |
| Debate | (Number of Congress Year) | (112 Cong. 1996) | |
| State Law or Local Ordinance | (Title of Publication Year) | (NJ. Rev Stat 2021) | |
| Book | (Author Date) | (Levi 1988) | |
| Journal Article | (Author Date) | (Hlatky et al. 2002) | For four or more authors, use et al. in your in-text citation (for any resource type) |
| Newspaper Article | (Author Date) | (Seward 2006) |
*Wondering what the difference between a statute and a law is? Take a look at the glossary of terms in this libguide!
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