ASA Format Guide for Students (2025): Citation, Structure & Examples

If you’re writing a research paper in sociology, there’s a good chance your professor will ask you to use ASA format—short for American Sociological Association style.

But unlike APA or MLA, ASA isn’t often taught in detail. That’s where we come in.

This ASA format guide breaks everything down clearly for students—covering in-text citations, reference pages, title page layout, and more.

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📘 What Is ASA Format?

ASA style is the official formatting and citation style used by the American Sociological Association. It’s most commonly used in:

• Sociology

• Social research

• Gender studies

• Cultural studies

ASA format helps maintain clarity, consistency, and academic credibility in sociological writing.

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🧱 ASA Paper Format (General Rules)

Here’s how to format your entire paper in ASA style:

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📝 ASA Title Page Format

Your paper should begin with a separate title page that includes:

1. Full title of the paper (centered, in title case)

2. Your name

3. Course name and number

4. Instructor’s name

5. Date of submission

6. Word count (optional but often required)

📌 DO NOT bold, italicize, or underline the title. Keep it simple and centered.

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✍️ ASA In-Text Citation Rules

ASA uses the author-date system, similar to APA, but with some unique rules:

✅ Basic Format:

• (Author Last Name Year)
  Example: (Smith 2023)

✅ Direct Quote:

• (Author Year:Page)
  Example: (Johnson 2022:45)

✅ Two Authors:

• (Lopez and Zhang 2021)

✅ Three+ Authors:

• (Nguyen et al. 2020)

✅ No Author?

Use the title: (“Social Inequality” 2019)

🔍 Page numbers are only required for direct quotes—not paraphrases.

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📋 ASA References Page Format

Your References page goes at the end of the paper and should:

• Be titled “References” (centered, no bold or underline)

• Be alphabetized by author’s last name

• Use hanging indentation (second and third lines indented)

• Be double-spaced

• Include only works cited in the text

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📚 ASA Citation Examples (Common Sources)

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🔹 Book (1 Author)

Format:
LastName, FirstName. Year. Title of Book in Italics. City: Publisher.

Example:
Durkheim, Emile. 1912. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. New York: Free Press.

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🔹 Journal Article

Format:
LastName, FirstName. Year. “Article Title.” Journal Name Volume(Issue):page range.

Example:
Smith, Laura. 2021. “Gender Roles in Modern Advertising.” Journal of Media Sociology 19(2):155–178.

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🔹 Website

Format:
LastName, FirstName. Year. “Title of Webpage.” Website Name. Retrieved Month Day, Year (URL).

Example:
Pew Research Center. 2023. “Teens and Technology 2023.” Pew Research Center. Retrieved April 15, 2025 (https://www.pewresearch.org/teens-tech).

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🔹 Newspaper Article

Example:
Brown, James. 2024. “Sociology in the Age of AI.” New York Times, January 8, pp. A1, A5.

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🔹 Chapter in an Edited Book

Example:
Anderson, Sarah. 2020. “Workplace Inequality.” Pp. 45–67 in Modern Labor Studies, edited by T. Green. Boston: Beacon Press.

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💬 ASA Headings Format

If your paper is long or divided into sections, use ASA-style headings:

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❗ Common ASA Mistakes to Avoid

🚫 Forgetting to include a title page
🚫 Using APA-style parentheses with commas: (Smith, 2022) ← wrong
🚫 Italicizing article titles—only book/journal names are italicized
🚫 Forgetting page numbers for direct quotes
🚫 Mixing up “et al.” formatting (no comma before it)

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🧠 ASA Writing Tips

✔ Stick to third person (avoid “I” or “we”)
✔ Keep tone academic and objective
✔ Define key terms early in your paper
✔ Don’t assume your reader knows everything—explain clearly
✔ Proofread for formatting consistency before submission

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🛠 Tools to Help With ASA Style

• Zotero – Free reference manager with ASA support

• BibGuru – User-friendly citation generator

• Purdue OWL – Great for ASA-style basics

• StudyDoll Writing Help – Personalized formatting, citations, and writing assistance

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🚀 Need Help With ASA Formatting?

Writing in ASA style takes precision, practice, and patience. If you’re short on time or unsure how to format your references correctly, let us help.

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