How to cite in APA 7th edition
APA style uses two pieces that go together: a short in-text citation in the body of your paper and a full reference in the reference list at the end, sorted alphabetically by the first author's last name.
| Source | Reference format |
|---|---|
| Book | Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the book (2nd ed.). Publisher. |
| Book chapter | Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the chapter. In E. Editor (Ed.), Title of the book (pp. 45–67). Publisher. |
| Journal article | Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Name, 12(3), 456–470. https://doi.org/… |
| Web page | Author or Organization. (Year, Month Day). Title of the page. Site Name. URL |
In-text citations
- Parenthetical: (Kahneman, 2011) · two authors: (Smith & Lee, 2020) · three or more: (Brown et al., 2019).
- Narrative: Kahneman (2011) argues… · Smith and Lee (2020) found…
- For a direct quote, add the page: (Kahneman, 2011, p. 25).
Key APA 7 rules
- Up to 20 authors are listed in the reference; with 21 or more, list the first 19, an ellipsis and the last one.
- Titles of articles, chapters and books use sentence case (only the first word, the first word after a colon and proper nouns are capitalized). Journal names use title case.
- DOIs are written as links: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx.
- No publisher location is needed in APA 7 (it was in APA 6).
- If there is no date, write (n.d.).
Frequently asked questions
Does it format the hanging indent?
The «Copy reference» button copies the reference with italics. In Word or Google Docs, set a 0.5-inch hanging indent and double spacing for the reference list.
How long should my paper be?
Check your word count and how many pages it fills with the word counter.