APA 7th Edition: The Complete Student Citation Guide

You finished your research. You wrote the essay. Now you're staring at the reference list wondering whether the journal article gets italics on the title or the journal name — and whether you need the DOI, the URL, or both. One wrong format and your professor deducts marks before they've read a word of your argument.

APA 7 citation format is the standard across psychology, education, nursing, and most social sciences. Get it right and it's invisible. Get it wrong and it signals to every reader that you rushed. This guide covers every source type you'll encounter as a student, the changes APA 7 made from the 6th edition, and the exact formatting rules for both in-text citations and your reference list.

What Changed in APA 7 Citation Format (And Why It Matters)

APA 7th edition came out in 2019 and introduced several changes that still trip students up in 2026. Know these before you format anything:

Up to 20 authors listed in the reference. APA 6 cut off at 6 authors and used "et al." APA 7 lists all authors up to 20 before abbreviating.
DOIs formatted as hyperlinks. Write DOIs as full URLs: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxx — not the old "doi:" prefix.
"Retrieved from" removed for most sources. You no longer write "Retrieved from https://..." — just the URL alone.
Running heads are optional for student papers. Only required for manuscripts submitted for publication.
Publisher location dropped from book references. No more "New York, NY: Publisher." Just "Publisher."

If your textbook or your professor is still teaching APA 6 rules, flag it. Journals and institutions moved to APA 7 as the active standard.

APA 7 In-Text Citation Format: The Core Rules

Every in-text citation follows the same author-date structure: (Author, Year). The reference list entry gives the full details. The in-text citation just points the reader there.

One author: (Smith, 2022)

Two authors: (Smith & Jones, 2022) — use the ampersand inside parentheses, "and" in running text

Three or more authors: (Smith et al., 2022) — use "et al." from the first citation onward in APA 7

Organization as author: (World Health Organization, 2021) — spell out the full name on first use, abbreviate after: (WHO, 2021)

No author: Use the first few words of the title in title case, in quotation marks for articles: ("Mental Health Trends," 2023)

Direct quote: Add the page number: (Smith, 2022, p. 47) — for paraphrases, the page is optional but encouraged

APA 7 Reference List Format: Every Source Type With Examples

The reference list starts on a new page, titled "References" (centered, bold). Every entry uses a hanging indent — the first line flush left, all subsequent lines indented 0.5 inches. Entries sort alphabetically by the first author's last name.

Journal Article

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article in sentence case. Title of Journal in Title Case and Italics, Volume(Issue), Page–Page. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Example: Nguyen, T. L., & Park, S. H. (2023). Social media use and academic performance in undergraduate students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 115(3), 412–428. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000712

Book

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book in sentence case and italics. Publisher.

Example: Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Chapter in an Edited Book

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.

Example: Marcus, G. (2019). The next decade in AI. In J. Brockman (Ed.), Possible minds: 25 ways of looking at AI (pp. 116–129). Penguin Press.

Website With Author

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL

Example: Mayo Clinic Staff. (2024, January 15). Depression (major depressive disorder). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression

Website With No Author

Title of page. (Year, Month Day). Site Name. URL

Example: Climate change evidence and causes. (2023). National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. https://www.nationalacademies.org/climate

YouTube Video

Channel Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. URL

Example: Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell. (2023, September 12). Why is it so hard to pay attention? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=example

Social Media Post

Author, A. A. [@username]. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of post in italics [Type of post]. Platform. URL

Government Report

Agency Name. (Year). Title of report. URL

Example: Statistics Canada. (2023). Canada at a glance 2023. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/12-581-x/12-581-x2023001-eng.htm

Dissertation or Thesis

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. Database Name. URL

Example: Chen, W. (2022). Machine learning approaches to early dropout prediction in higher education [Doctoral dissertation, University of British Columbia]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.

When to Cite vs. When Not to Cite

New students over-cite and under-cite in equal measure. The rule is simpler than most professors make it sound.

Cite these:

Direct quotes from any source
Paraphrased ideas that came from a specific source (not common knowledge)
Statistics, data, and research findings
Theories associated with named researchers
Images, figures, and tables you didn't create

Don't cite these:

Common knowledge: "The Second World War ended in 1945"
Your own analysis and conclusions drawn from sources you've already cited
General concepts taught in your course that appear in every textbook on the subject

When in doubt, cite. A citation that wasn't strictly necessary costs you nothing. A missing citation on a key statistic costs you marks and credibility.

The Most Common APA 7 Formatting Mistakes

Italicizing the article title instead of the journal name in journal citations
Writing "et al." for two-author sources — APA 7 uses "et al." only for three or more
Forgetting the hanging indent on reference list entries
Using the old DOI format ("doi: 10.xxxx") instead of the full URL format
Including "Retrieved from" before URLs — APA 7 removed this for most sources
Alphabetizing by first name instead of last name
Using sentence case on journal titles — journal names use title case

Quillify's APA formatter catches these automatically. Paste your draft, select APA 7, and it flags every citation error with a specific correction and exports a properly formatted Word document.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is APA 7 format for a journal article?

The format is: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article in sentence case. Journal Name in Title Case, Volume(Issue), Page–Page. https://doi.org/xxxxx. The article title gets no italics and uses sentence case (only the first word and proper nouns capitalized). The journal name is italicized and uses title case. The volume number is italicized along with the journal name. The issue number appears in parentheses without italics. Include the DOI as a full URL whenever one exists.

How do you cite a website with no author in APA 7?

Move the title to the author position. The title becomes the first element of the reference and is italicized. Then list the date, the site name, and the URL. In your in-text citation, use a shortened version of the title in title case inside quotation marks: ("Climate Change Evidence," 2023). If the webpage has no date, write (n.d.) in the date position.

What is a hanging indent and how do I make one?

A hanging indent means the first line of each reference sits flush with the left margin, and every subsequent line in that same entry is indented 0.5 inches. In Microsoft Word: select your reference list, open the Paragraph dialog, choose "Hanging" under the Indentation Special dropdown, and set the indentation to 0.5 inches. In Google Docs: select the text, then go to Format, Align & Indent, Indentation Options, and set Special Indent to "Hanging" at 0.5 inches.

Does APA 7 still require DOI?

Include a DOI whenever one exists — it's required, not optional. APA 7 changed the format from the old "doi:" prefix to the full hyperlink: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxx. If an article has no DOI but was accessed online, include the URL instead. Never include database URLs (like PsycINFO or JSTOR access links) unless the content is only available through that specific database with no open-access version.