APA 7 Citation Guide with Real Examples

Knowing how to cite sources correctly is one of the most important academic skills you can develop. Whether you are writing a research paper, a dissertation, or a literature review, the American Psychological Association (APA) style is one of the most widely used citation formats across the social sciences, education, nursing, and business fields.

This guide covers everything you need to know about APA 7th edition citations — from what changed between APA 6 and APA 7, to formatting your references page, handling tricky in-text citation situations, and avoiding the most common mistakes students make.

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What Changed from APA 6 to APA 7?

The American Psychological Association released the 7th edition of its Publication Manual in October 2019. The changes were substantial enough that many universities updated their style requirements immediately. Understanding what changed helps you avoid accidentally following outdated rules — especially if you learned APA formatting before 2020.

Here is a summary of the most important changes:

Running heads are no longer required for student papers. In APA 6, all papers required a running head at the top of every page. In APA 7, running heads are only required for manuscripts being submitted for publication. Student papers simply include a page number in the header.

Up to 20 authors can now be listed in a reference entry. APA 6 required you to list the first six authors and then use an ellipsis followed by the last author if there were more than six. APA 7 allows up to 20 authors to be listed before truncating. If there are 21 or more authors, list the first 19, add an ellipsis, and then list the final author.

The publisher location is no longer required for books. Under APA 6, you had to include the city and state (or city and country for international publishers) when citing a book. APA 7 drops this requirement entirely. You only need the publisher name.

DOIs are now formatted as hyperlinks. APA 7 requires DOIs to be presented in hyperlink format: https://doi.org/xxxxx. The older "doi:" prefix format used in APA 6 is no longer correct.

"Retrieved from" is no longer required for most URLs. In APA 6, you had to write "Retrieved from" before a URL. In APA 7, this phrase is dropped unless a retrieval date is also needed (for example, for web pages that change frequently and have no publication date).

The singular "they" is now officially endorsed. APA 7 formally endorses the use of "they" as a gender-neutral singular pronoun, reflecting evolving standards for inclusive language.

New source types were added. APA 7 added guidance for citing social media posts, YouTube videos, podcasts, TikTok videos, and other digital content types that were not addressed in APA 6.

Specific guidance for student papers vs. professional papers. APA 7 drew a clear distinction between the requirements for student papers and those for papers being submitted for professional publication, reducing some of the formatting burden on students.

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APA 6 vs APA 7: Side-by-Side Comparison

One of the clearest ways to understand the APA 7 changes is to see exactly how the same source looks under both editions. The table below shows four common source types formatted under both APA 6 and APA 7 rules so you can identify the differences at a glance.

Journal Article

Element	APA 6	APA 7
Author format	Smith, J. A., & Jones, B. C.	Smith, J. A., & Jones, B. C.
Year	(2018).	(2018).
Article title	Title of article.	Title of article.
Journal name	Journal of Psychology,	Journal of Psychology,
Volume/issue	45(3),	45(3),
Pages	112–130.	112–130.
DOI format	doi:10.1037/example	https://doi.org/10.1037/example
Full example	Smith, J. A., & Jones, B. C. (2018). Title of article. Journal of Psychology, 45(3), 112–130. doi:10.1037/example	Smith, J. A., & Jones, B. C. (2018). Title of article. Journal of Psychology, 45(3), 112–130. https://doi.org/10.1037/example

Book

Element	APA 6	APA 7
Author format	Brown, T. L.	Brown, T. L.
Year	(2015).	(2015).
Title	Title of book.	Title of book.
Publisher location	New York, NY:	(omitted)
Publisher	Routledge.	Routledge.
Full example	Brown, T. L. (2015). Title of book. New York, NY: Routledge.	Brown, T. L. (2015). Title of book. Routledge.

Website

Element	APA 6	APA 7
Author	Garcia, M.	Garcia, M.
Year	(2020, March 10).	(2020, March 10).
Page title	Title of webpage.	Title of webpage.
Site name	(often omitted or inconsistent)	Website Name.
URL prefix	Retrieved from https://www.example.com	https://www.example.com
Full example	Garcia, M. (2020, March 10). Title of webpage. Retrieved from https://www.example.com	Garcia, M. (2020, March 10). Title of webpage. Website Name. https://www.example.com

Government Report

Element	APA 6	APA 7
Author/agency	U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.	U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Year	(2019).	(2019).
Report title	Title of report.	Title of report.
Report number	(Publication No. XYZ-123).	(Publication No. XYZ-123).
Location + publisher	Washington, DC: Author.	(location omitted; agency listed as publisher)
URL	Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/example	https://www.hhs.gov/example
Full example	U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2019). Title of report (Publication No. XYZ-123). Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/example	U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2019). Title of report (Publication No. XYZ-123). https://www.hhs.gov/example

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What Is the APA 7 Paper Format?

Before diving into specific citation formats, it is worth reviewing the overall paper formatting requirements. APA 7 has clear expectations for how your document should look.

Margins: One-inch margins on all sides.

Font: APA 7 now permits several font options. Acceptable choices include 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, or 11-point Georgia. The key is to use a legible, consistent font throughout your paper.

Line spacing: Double-space the entire paper, including the reference list. Do not add extra spaces between paragraphs or reference entries.

Paragraph indentation: Indent the first line of each paragraph by 0.5 inches. Use the tab key or set an automatic first-line indent in your word processor.

Page numbers: Page numbers appear in the upper right corner of every page, beginning with page 1 on the title page. Student papers do not require a running head.

Title page (student papers): Include the paper title (bold, centered, in the upper half of the page), your name, the institution name, the course number and name, the instructor's name, and the due date.

Abstract: Not always required for student papers. If required, the abstract appears on page 2 and contains 150–250 words summarizing your paper.

References page: The reference list begins on a new page after the body of your paper. Center the word "References" (not bold, not italicized) at the top of the page. Use a hanging indent (0.5 inches) for each reference entry.

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How Do You Format In-Text Citations in APA 7?

In-text citations appear within the body of your paper whenever you quote, paraphrase, or summarize information from another source. Every in-text citation must correspond to a full entry on your references page, and every reference entry must be cited in the text.

Basic Parenthetical Format

The standard parenthetical citation includes the author's last name and the year of publication, separated by a comma, enclosed in parentheses.

Cognitive load theory suggests that working memory is limited and instructional design must account for this constraint (Sweller, 1988).

When you are quoting directly, add the page number preceded by "p." for a single page or "pp." for a range of pages.

"Working memory has a limited capacity that can be overwhelmed by extraneous cognitive load" (Sweller, 1988, p. 257).

For works with two authors, list both names every time the citation appears, connected by an ampersand (&) inside parentheses.

(Kahneman & Tversky, 1979)

For works with three or more authors, use only the first author's surname followed by "et al." from the very first citation.

(Bandura et al., 1977)

Narrative (Signal Phrase) Format

In a narrative citation, the author's name appears as part of the sentence and the year follows in parentheses immediately after the name. Page numbers, if needed, appear in parentheses after the quoted material.

Sweller (1988) argued that instructional design must account for the limits of working memory.

Kahneman and Tversky (1979) demonstrated that people rely on heuristics when making decisions under uncertainty.

For three or more authors in narrative format, use the first author's name followed by "et al."

Bandura et al. (1977) proposed that self-efficacy beliefs mediate behavior change.

Citing Multiple Works by the Same Author in One Parenthetical

When you are citing multiple works by the same author in a single parenthetical reference, list the works in chronological order, separated by semicolons. Do not repeat the author's name — simply list the years in order.

Research on self-efficacy has developed considerably over several decades (Bandura, 1977, 1986, 1997).

If two works by the same author were published in the same year, add lowercase letters (a, b, c) after the year to distinguish them. These same letters must appear in the corresponding reference entries.

(Bandura, 1997a, 1997b)

When citing multiple different authors in a single parenthetical, list them in alphabetical order by the first author's surname and separate each citation with a semicolon.

Several studies support this finding (Chen et al., 2019; Johnson & Park, 2021; Xu, 2020).

Citing a Chapter from an E-Book Without Page Numbers

Many e-books do not have fixed page numbers because the text reflows depending on the device or font size settings. When you need to cite a specific location in a work without page numbers, APA 7 provides several alternatives.

You may use a chapter number: (Author, Year, Chapter 3)

You may use a section heading: (Author, Year, "Section Title" section)

You may use a paragraph number if you are able to count paragraphs within a section: (Author, Year, para. 4)

For example, if you are quoting from a specific section of an e-book:

The author described three distinct phases of organizational change (Harrison, 2020, Chapter 5).

Leadership effectiveness depends on situational awareness (Northouse, 2021, "Situational Approaches" section, para. 2).

If a chapter or section title is long, you may shorten it to the first few words in quotation marks. The goal is always to give your reader enough information to find the exact passage you are referring to.

Block Quotes: Formatting Quotations Over 40 Words

When a direct quotation is 40 words or longer, APA 7 requires you to format it as a block quote rather than integrating it into the text with quotation marks. Block quotes have a specific visual format that distinguishes them from the surrounding text.

Rules for block quotes:

• Start the block quote on a new line
• Indent the entire block 0.5 inches from the left margin (the same indent as a paragraph first line)
• Do not add quotation marks around the block
• Double-space the block quote like the rest of the paper
• Place the parenthetical citation after the final punctuation mark (unlike regular in-text citations, where the citation comes before the period)

Here is an example of how a block quote should appear:

Researchers have increasingly recognized that student motivation is not a single, stable trait but a dynamic construct that responds to environmental cues, instructor feedback, and a student's own evolving sense of competence. Motivation fluctuates not only between students but within the same student across different tasks, subjects, and time periods, making it an especially complex variable to measure and support in classroom settings. (Martinez & Lee, 2018, pp. 44–45)

Notice that the citation appears after the period at the end of the block, not before it. This is the reverse of the rule for regular in-text citations.

Block quotes should be used sparingly. Reserve them for passages where the original wording is essential and cannot be effectively paraphrased without losing critical meaning.

Citing Secondary Sources

A secondary source is a source that discusses or quotes another work. Ideally, you should always locate and read the original (primary) source. However, when the original source is unavailable, out of print, or not accessible in your language, APA 7 permits citing secondary sources.

To cite a secondary source, identify the original work in your text and then use the phrase "as cited in" followed by the secondary source in parentheses. Only the secondary source (the one you actually read) appears in your reference list.

For example, if you read a textbook by Creswell that discusses original research by Glaser and Strauss, but you have not read the Glaser and Strauss work directly:

Grounded theory was originally developed as a method for generating theory from data (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, as cited in Creswell, 2014).

In this example, Creswell (2014) appears in your reference list. Glaser and Strauss (1967) does not, because you did not read it directly.

APA 7 recommends using secondary sources sparingly. Relying heavily on secondary sources signals to your reader that you may not have engaged directly with foundational texts in your field.

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How Do You Format the APA 7 References Page?

The reference list at the end of your paper provides complete bibliographic information for every source cited in your text. It begins on a new page with the centered heading "References." Entries are listed alphabetically by the first author's last name and formatted with a hanging indent.

Journal Article Reference Format

Template: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Name of Journal, volume(issue), page–page. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Example: Twenge, J. M., Joiner, T. E., Rogers, M. L., & Martin, G. N. (2018). Increases in depressive symptoms, suicide-related outcomes, and suicide rates among U.S. adolescents after 2010 and links to increased new media screen time. Clinical Psychological Science, 6(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702617723376

Key notes:

• Only capitalize the first word of the article title, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns
• Italicize the journal name and the volume number
• Include the DOI as a full hyperlink when available
• If there is no DOI and the article was found online, include the journal's homepage URL

Book Reference Format

Template: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book: Subtitle if applicable (edition, if not first). Publisher Name. https://doi.org/xxxxx (if applicable)

Example: Brown, B. (2010). The gifts of imperfection: Let go of who you think you're supposed to be and embrace who you are. Hazelden Publishing.

Key notes:

• Italicize the full book title and subtitle
• Only capitalize the first word of the title, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns
• Omit publisher location — this is one of the key changes from APA 6
• Include edition information in parentheses if it is not the first edition, e.g., (3rd ed.)

Book Chapter Reference Format

Book chapter citations are used when citing a chapter from an edited volume (a book where different authors wrote different chapters and editors compiled them).

Template: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor & F. F. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. page–page). Publisher Name. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Example: Graham, S. (2018). Attribution theory and motivation in education. In G. A. D. Liem & D. M. McInerney (Eds.), Big theories revisited 2: A volume of research on sociocultural influences on motivation and learning (pp. 11–30). Information Age Publishing.

Key notes:

• The chapter title is not italicized
• The book title is italicized
• Use "Ed." for one editor and "Eds." for multiple editors
• Include the page range of the chapter

Website Reference Format

Template: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of webpage. Website Name. URL

Example: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, May 15). Understanding COVID-19 variants. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/index.html

Key notes:

• If no individual author is listed, the organization or website name serves as the author
• When the author and website name are the same, omit the site name to avoid repetition
• Include a retrieval date only if the content is designed to change over time and the page is not archived
• Italicize the title of the webpage

Government Report Reference Format

Template: Author, A. A., or Name of Government Agency. (Year). Title of report (Report No. xxx). Publisher or Agency. URL

Example: National Institute of Mental Health. (2022). Mental health statistics: Prevalence, services, and treatment in the United States (NIH Publication No. 22-MH-8082). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics

Key notes:

• Include the report or publication number in parentheses after the title if one is available
• The government agency that produced the report is listed as the author
• The parent department may serve as the publisher
• Include the URL rather than the database name for most government reports

Dissertation Reference Format

Use the following generic template when citing a dissertation or thesis. Always use real information from the actual source — never invent an author, title, or institution.

Template (ProQuest Dissertations and Theses): Author, A. A. (Year). Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, Institution Name]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. URL

Template (Institutional Repository): Author, A. A. (Year). Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, Institution Name]. Name of Institutional Repository. URL

Template (Unpublished dissertation): Author, A. A. (Year). Title of dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Institution Name.

Key notes:

• Identify the type of work in brackets: [Doctoral dissertation] or [Master's thesis]
• Include the institution's name inside the brackets
• Name the database or repository where you accessed the work, followed by the URL
• If the dissertation was not published and is not available online, use the unpublished template

Multimedia Reference Format

APA 7 provides specific guidance for a wide range of multimedia sources that were not well addressed in previous editions.

YouTube video: Creator, A. A. [Username]. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. URL

Example: TED. (2020, April 23). The disarming case to act right now on climate [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMrtLsQbaok

Podcast episode: Host, A. A. (Host). (Year, Month Day). Title of episode (Season X, Episode X) [Audio podcast episode]. In Name of podcast. Production Company. URL

Social media post: Author, A. A. [@username]. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of the post [Post type]. Platform. URL

Key notes:

• For YouTube videos, include the channel name as the author and the username in square brackets if it differs
• For podcasts, identify the host and the production company
• For social media posts, include the exact post type in brackets: [Tweet], [Facebook post], [Instagram photograph], [TikTok video]

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What Are the Most Common APA 7 Mistakes?

Even students who have studied APA formatting carefully make recurring errors. Being aware of these pitfalls can save you points on an assignment or revisions during peer review.

Forgetting to update from APA 6 habits. The two most common holdovers from APA 6 are including the publisher location for books and using the old DOI format ("doi:" instead of "https://doi.org/"). If you learned APA before 2020, double-check these two elements especially carefully.

Incorrect capitalization in titles. APA uses sentence case for article titles, book titles, and chapter titles in reference entries. This means only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized. Journal names use title case (capitalize all major words). Students frequently apply title case to article titles, which is incorrect.

Missing or inconsistent DOIs. If a journal article has a DOI, you must include it. It is not optional. If you cannot find the DOI for an article, search for it using the Crossref Metadata Search at search.crossref.org before concluding that one does not exist.

Using "Retrieved from" unnecessarily. APA 7 dropped "Retrieved from" before URLs in most cases. Many students continue to include it out of habit. Only use a retrieval date and "Retrieved" when citing a webpage that changes frequently and has no publication date.

Incorrect et al. usage. APA 7 uses "et al." for three or more authors from the first citation. APA 6 used "et al." only after the first full citation (listing all names the first time). Make sure you are following the APA 7 rule.

Misformatting the hanging indent. Reference entries use a hanging indent, meaning the first line is flush with the left margin and all subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches. Many students accidentally indent the first line or apply a standard paragraph indent to the entire entry.

Omitting in-text citations for paraphrases. Some students believe they only need an in-text citation when they use a direct quotation. In APA, you must cite every paraphrase and summary as well, not only direct quotes.

Not matching in-text citations to the reference list. Every source cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and every source in the reference list must be cited in the text. Orphaned references and uncited in-text citations are both errors.

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APA 7 Citation FAQ

Do I need to include a DOI for every journal article? Include a DOI whenever one is available. If no DOI exists and the article was found in a database (such as JSTOR, PsycINFO, or EBSCO), do not include the database URL — these links are often not accessible to people outside your institution. If the article is available on the open web, include the URL.

What do I do if there is no author listed? Move the title of the work to the author position. In the in-text citation, use a shortened version of the title in quotation marks (for articles or chapters) or italics (for books or reports), followed by the year.

How do I cite a source with no date? Use "n.d." (no date) in place of the year, both in the in-text citation and in the reference entry. For example: (World Health Organization, n.d.) and World Health Organization. (n.d.).

How do I handle a reprinted or republished work? Cite the date of the edition you read and include the original publication year if relevant. For classic works, some instructors prefer you to note both dates: (Freud, 1900/1965).

Do I need to include the edition number for textbooks? Yes. If you are citing a textbook that is not in its first edition, include the edition in parentheses after the title: (3rd ed.). First editions do not require any edition notation.

Can I cite a source I found in another article's reference list but did not read? Technically, you should not cite something you have not read. If you cannot access the original source, use the secondary citation format ("as cited in") as described earlier. Do not list a source in your reference list if you did not read it directly.

Is it acceptable to cite Wikipedia in APA format? Most academic instructors and institutions discourage or prohibit citing Wikipedia as a source because it can be edited by anyone and may not reflect expert consensus. However, if you need to reference a Wikipedia article — for example, to define a general term — APA 7 does provide a format for it. Always check your institution's policy first.

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Key Takeaways

APA 7th edition brought meaningful updates that simplified some requirements for student writers while also expanding guidance for digital and multimedia sources. Here is a quick summary of everything covered in this guide:

• APA 7 dropped the running head requirement for student papers, the publisher location for books, and the "Retrieved from" prefix for most URLs.
• The DOI format changed from "doi:" to the full hyperlink format: https://doi.org/xxxxx.
• Up to 20 authors can now be listed in a reference entry before truncation is required.
• In-text citations use the author-date format; three or more authors use "et al." from the first citation.
• Block quotes (40+ words) are indented 0.5 inches, have no quotation marks, and place the citation after the final period.
• Secondary sources should be used sparingly; only the source you actually read appears in your reference list.
• The references page uses hanging indents, alphabetical order, and double spacing throughout.
• Common mistakes include carrying over APA 6 habits, misapplying capitalization rules, omitting DOIs, and failing to cite paraphrases.

Mastering APA 7 takes practice, but once you understand the underlying logic — who wrote it, when, what it is called, where it was published, and how to find it — most citations follow a consistent pattern.

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