How to Cite Encarta in APA Format in References

Encarta, a digital reference library published by Microsoft, provides a vast array of articles, definitions and essays, as well as multimedia sources such as videos, images and even maps. Although the software has been discontinued, this source is still useful for research for school papers, as long as it is cited correctly according to APA guidelines.

Instructions

    • 1

      Cite the title of the specific entry in Encarta that you are referencing, such as "Robert E. Lee," "Nixon's resignation speech" or "Map of Africa." This is the first part of the citation, in the place where you would usually write the author's name. At the end of the title, before the period, write the type of media in brackets, if the source is not primarily text; for example, "Nixon's resignation speech [video file]." Do not enclose the title in quotation marks.

    • 2

      Specify the date of publication, which is the year that your version of Encarta was released. For example, for Encarta 2009, the publication date is 2009. Enclose the year in parentheses, followed by a period.

    • 3

      Write "In Microsoft Encarta," in normal lettering. If this were a print reference source, the title of the encyclopedia would be italicized; however, the 6th edition of the APA manual stipulates that you should not write software titles in italics.

    • 4

      Add parentheses after the title of Encarta, before the period; within the parentheses, note which version or edition of Encarta you are using. For example, (version 2.1).

    • 5

      Insert brackets after the parentheses (still before the period). Inside the brackets, write "software." After the brackets, place a period.

    • 6

      Cite the publisher by specifying its location and title. Since Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, you can simply write, "Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation."

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