How do I cite an editorial/letter to the editor in APA?

Answered By: Katie Hutchison

Last Updated: Nov 18, 2018 Views: 35535

There are no examples of referencing a letter to the editor in the APA Publication Manual or in the APA Style Blog, however, there is mention of them. The Library suggest following the format below:

Writer/author. (Year, Month date). Title [Letter to the editor]. Title of newspaper, page number. Retrieval statement

Example with author:

McHugh, J. (1993, June 10). It’s past time to make a change [Letter to the editor]. The Canberra Times, 12. Retrieved from http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/127238555

Example no author:

ANZAC Day Observance [Letter to the editor]. (1944, April 26). The Mercury, 3. Retrieved from http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/26023751

If the letter you are referencing is from a print newspaper (i.e. not sourced online), omit the retrieval statement.

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Comments (4)

But editorials are often anonymous. What then?
by Otto on Jan 15, 2016.
According to the Purdue OWL, in the rare case the "Anonymous" is used for the author, treat it as the author's name.
by Katie Hutchison on Jan 17, 2016.
what about the intext citation?
by Obi on Jul 06, 2021.
@Obi The intext citation would follow the standard formats: According to McHugh (1993)... OR (McHugh, 1993) I hope this helps!
by Walsh U Library on Jul 08, 2021.