The APA Format for the Constitutional Amendments
The American Psychological Association provides a writing style that is frequently used in behavioral and social science studies. The seventh edition of the "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association" adopts "The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation" for referencing legal citations, including constitutional amendments.
Citing Constitutional Amendments
On the References page, APA citation for constitutional amendments begins with an abbreviation for the constitution, "U.S. Const.", followed by the abbreviation "amend." and the cited amendment numbers in Roman numerals. If citing an amendment section, the section number symbol and number follow the amendment number
for example: U.S. Const., amend. XIV, ยง 1.
If an amendment has been repealed, include the word "repealed" and the year it was repealed in parentheses after
for example: U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933).
In-text citations are cited in the same manner as bibliographic references, except the entire citation is placed in parentheses.
If the amendment was repealed, place a comma after the amendment number and then the word "repealed" and the year: (U.S. Const. amend. XVIII, repealed 1933).
References
- Davenport University Library Services: Citing Legal Materials
- Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition)
- The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation,19th ed.
Writer Bio
Maggie Lourdes is a full-time attorney in southeast Michigan. She teaches law at Cleary University in Ann Arbor and online for National University in San Diego. Her writing has been featured in "Realtor Magazine," the N.Y. State Bar's "Health Law Journal," "Oakland County Legal News," "Michigan Probate & Estate Planning Journal," "Eye Spy Magazine" and "Surplus Today" magazine.
