para.

Writing & Everyday abbreviation · Citation and Bibliography

para. stands for Paragraph, a citation and bibliography abbreviation.

Identifies a numbered paragraph in a document, typically when page numbers are unavailable, as in legal judgments, web pages and contracts. APA uses it to locate quotations from unpaginated online sources.

Example: One respondent noted that "the delays were never explained" (Garcia, 2021, para. 6).

Usage notes

APA 7 recommends "para." for unpaginated sources, while MLA uses "par." and "pars." Court judgments in many countries number every paragraph so they can be cited precisely, sometimes with the pilcrow sign. The plural in APA is paras.

Related abbreviations

More citation and bibliography abbreviations

• n.d. – No date
• n.p. – No place (of publication)
• N.S. – New Style
• No. – Number
• O.S. – Old Style
• p. – Page
• pl. – Plate
• POD – Print on demand
• pp. – Pages
• pref. – Preface
• pseud. – Pseudonym
• pt. – Part

See all 58 citation and bibliography abbreviations →

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