APA Citation Format: The Complete 2026 Guide (7th Edition with Examples)

APA citation format is the most widely used referencing system in the social sciences, education, nursing, and psychology — and for good reason. Its author-date structure makes it easy for readers to trace sources and evaluate the currency of your evidence. Whether you are writing a thesis, journal article, or course paper, mastering APA format is non-negotiable for academic credibility. This guide covers every aspect of APA 7th edition, the current standard as set out in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed., 2020).

The 7th edition, released in October 2019, introduced significant changes: running heads are no longer required for student papers, the singular “they” is endorsed, DOIs are formatted as hyperlinks, and the rules for author name display were simplified. If you learned APA from an older textbook or style guide, this 2026 update is essential reading.

This pillar guide walks you through in-text citations, reference list construction, title page formatting, headings, tables, figures, direct quotes, paraphrasing, and 25+ worked examples covering every common source type. Each section references the relevant sections of the APA Publication Manual and the official APA Style website.

What Is APA Citation Format?

The American Psychological Association developed its citation style to serve one purpose: transparency. Scholars must be able to verify your sources, assess their recency, and build on your work. The author-date system places that information immediately in the sentence, minimising disruption to reading flow while still providing full traceability.

APA is now in its 7th edition (2020). The manual applies to all document types — journal articles, student papers, theses, dissertations, and conference proceedings. Key features include:

• Author-date in-text citations: (Author, Year)
• Alphabetical reference list at the end of the document
• Hanging indent for reference entries
• Double spacing throughout
• 12-point Times New Roman or 11-point Calibri/Arial
• 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins on all sides

APA is mandatory in most psychology, education, social work, criminology, and nursing programmes. Check your institution’s style guide before assuming — some departments use APA for citations but have local formatting rules for title pages and appendices.

In-Text Citations: Rules and Examples

In-text citations appear within the body of your paper whenever you quote, paraphrase, or summarise another author’s ideas. The basic format is (Author Surname, Year). When citing a direct quote, add a page number: (Author Surname, Year, p. X).

Basic Author-Date Format

Narrative vs. Parenthetical Citations

APA allows two citation placements. In a parenthetical citation, the author and year both appear in brackets at the end of the sentence: Burnout is prevalent among graduate students (Sverdlik et al., 2018). In a narrative citation, the author is named in the sentence and only the year goes in brackets: Sverdlik et al. (2018) found that burnout is prevalent among graduate students. Both are equally valid; choose what reads more naturally.

Secondary Sources

Cite a secondary source only when the original work is genuinely inaccessible. The format is: (Original Author, Year, as cited in Secondary Author, Year). Only the secondary source appears in your reference list. Example: (Bandura, 1977, as cited in Zimmerman, 2002).

Reference List: Structure and Formatting

The reference list begins on a new page, headed “References” (centred, bold). Every source cited in the text must appear in the reference list — and every reference list entry must correspond to an in-text citation. The list is alphabetical by first author’s surname.

Core Reference List Formatting Rules

• Double-space all entries; no extra space between entries
• Hanging indent: first line flush left, subsequent lines indented 0.5 inches (1.27 cm)
• List up to 20 authors; for 21 or more, list the first 19, insert an ellipsis (…), then list the final author
• Use sentence case for article and book titles (capitalise only the first word, proper nouns, and the first word after a colon)
• Italicise journal names and volume numbers; capitalise all major words in journal names (title case)
• Include DOIs as hyperlinks formatted as: https://doi.org/xxxxx
• Omit “Retrieved from” before URLs unless a retrieval date is needed (e.g., wikis)

General Reference Template

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of work: Subtitle if any. Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxxx

25+ Source-Type Examples

The following examples follow APA Publication Manual 7th edition conventions. Each example includes both the reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation.

Journal Articles

1. Journal article with DOI (1–2 authors)
Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298487
In-text: (Hattie & Timperley, 2007)

2. Journal article with DOI (3+ authors)
Sverdlik, A., Hall, N. C., McAlpine, L., & Hubbard, K. (2018). The PhD experience: A review of the factors influencing doctoral students’ completion, achievement, and well-being. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 13, 361–388. https://doi.org/10.28945/4113
In-text: (Sverdlik et al., 2018)

3. Journal article with no DOI, from a database
Garcia, M., & Liu, W. (2021). Social media use and academic performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(4), 789–801.
In-text: (Garcia & Liu, 2021)

4. Advance online publication
Chen, R. (2025). AI ethics in higher education. Higher Education Research & Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/xxxxxxxx
In-text: (Chen, 2025)

Books and Book Chapters

5. Whole book (single author)
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE.
In-text: (Creswell, 2014)

6. Edited book
Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.). (2019). The Cambridge handbook of intelligence (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108770422
In-text: (Sternberg, 2019)

7. Chapter in an edited book
Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. In A. E. Kazdin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of psychology (Vol. 7, pp. 329–332). APA; Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1037/10522-143
In-text: (Bandura, 2001)

8. Translated book
Piaget, J. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children (M. Cook, Trans.). Norton. (Original work published 1936)
In-text: (Piaget, 1936/1952)

9. E-book with DOI
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
In-text: (American Psychological Association, 2020)

Websites and Online Content

10. Webpage with individual author
Goldberg, E. (2023, March 12). Cognitive load theory for instructional designers. Learning Science Hub. https://www.learningsciencehub.com/cognitive-load
In-text: (Goldberg, 2023)

11. Webpage with organisational author
World Health Organization. (2024, January 8). Mental health and substance use. https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use
In-text: (World Health Organization, 2024)

12. Webpage with no author
APA citation format overview. (2023). APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references
In-text: (“APA Citation Format Overview,” 2023)

13. Webpage with no date
Brown, T. (n.d.). Writing a strong thesis statement. Academic Skills Centre. https://www.academicskillscentre.edu/thesis-statements
In-text: (Brown, n.d.)

Reports and Grey Literature

14. Government report
National Institute of Mental Health. (2023). Mental illness (NIH Publication No. 20-MH-8082). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness
In-text: (National Institute of Mental Health, 2023)

15. Technical report
Turnitin. (2023). The state of academic integrity 2023. https://www.turnitin.com/resources/academic-integrity-report-2023
In-text: (Turnitin, 2023)

Theses and Dissertations

16. Doctoral dissertation from an institutional repository
Malik, S. (2022). The role of metacognition in graduate student writing [Doctoral dissertation, University of Edinburgh]. Edinburgh Research Archive. https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/xxxxx
In-text: (Malik, 2022)

17. Master’s thesis from ProQuest
Nguyen, L. T. (2021). Social support and academic persistence in first-generation students [Master’s thesis, California State University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
In-text: (Nguyen, 2021)

Conference Presentations and Papers

18. Paper presented at a conference
Reyes, C., & Park, J. (2024, August 10–13). AI-assisted academic writing: Risks and affordances [Paper presentation]. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
In-text: (Reyes & Park, 2024)

19. Conference paper published in proceedings
Hoffman, D. L., & Fodor, M. (2010). Can you measure the ROI of your social media marketing? In Proceedings of the 2010 ACM workshop on Social media analytics (pp. 43–52). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/1878xxxxxx
In-text: (Hoffman & Fodor, 2010)

Newspapers and Magazines

20. Newspaper article (online)
Sample, I. (2024, February 5). AI can now write academic essays. Are universities ready? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/feb/05/ai-academic-essays
In-text: (Sample, 2024)

21. Magazine article
Harmon, K. (2023, June). The citation crisis. Scientific American, 328(6), 32–37.
In-text: (Harmon, 2023)

Multimedia and Digital Sources

22. YouTube video
TED. (2013, May 9). How to escape education’s death valley [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX78iKhInsc
In-text: (TED, 2013)

23. Podcast episode
Harris, S. (Host). (2023, September 14). The ethics of AI (No. 302) [Audio podcast episode]. In Making Sense. https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/302
In-text: (Harris, 2023)

24. Social media post (Twitter/X)
APA Style [@APA_Style]. (2024, January 15). New guidance on citing AI-generated content is now available on the APA Style website [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/APA_Style/status/xxxxxxxxx
In-text: (APA Style, 2024)

25. AI-generated content (e.g., ChatGPT)
OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com
In-text: (OpenAI, 2024)

Note: APA recommends providing the prompt used and noting that the output is not retrievable by others. Disclose AI use per your institution’s academic integrity policy. See also our step-by-step APA citation tutorial for detailed worked examples.

26. Database record (e.g., ERIC)
Johnson, P. (2019). Scaffolding academic writing for ESL students (ERIC No. ED598xxxx). ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED598xxxx
In-text: (Johnson, 2019)

27. Legal document (court case)
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
In-text: (Brown v. Board of Education, 1954)

Title Page Formatting

APA 7th edition distinguishes between student papers and professional papers. Most undergraduate and postgraduate papers use the student format.

Student Paper Title Page

The student title page contains the following elements, in this order, all centred:

1. Title (bold, title case) — 3–4 lines down from the top margin
2. Author name(s) — first name, middle initial(s), last name; no titles or degrees
3. Affiliation — department and institution name
4. Course number and name
5. Instructor name
6. Assignment due date
7. Page number — top right header (no running head required for student papers)

Professional Paper Title Page

Professional papers (submitted for publication) require all elements above plus a running head — a shortened title in ALL CAPS, flush left, with “Running head:” only on the title page in APA 6th. In APA 7th, the label “Running head:” is dropped; the running head appears in ALL CAPS in the header on every page.

Abstract

For student papers, an abstract is only required if the assignment specifies one. When included: begin on a new page labelled “Abstract” (bold, centred); write 150–250 words in a single paragraph without indentation; list 3–5 keywords below the abstract, indented, beginning with “Keywords:” in italics.

APA Headings (Levels 1–5)

APA uses a five-level heading system. Use as many levels as needed — but start with Level 1 and work down sequentially. Do not skip levels.

The body text following Levels 1–3 begins on a new line, indented 0.5 inches. Levels 4 and 5 run into the paragraph — there is no line break between the heading and the text that follows it.

Direct Quotations

Use direct quotes sparingly — they are most powerful when the exact wording is irreplaceable. APA requires a page number (or paragraph number for un-paginated sources) with every quote.

Short Quotes (Fewer Than 40 Words)

Incorporate short quotes into the running text with double quotation marks:

Hattie and Timperley (2007) argued that “feedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement” (p. 81).

Block Quotes (40 Words or More)

Block quotes are indented 0.5 inches from the left margin, double-spaced, with no quotation marks. The citation follows the closing punctuation:

Feedback is information provided by an agent (e.g., teacher, peer, book, parent, self, experience) regarding aspects of one’s performance or understanding. A teacher or parent can provide corrective information, a peer can provide an alternative strategy, a book can provide information to clarify ideas, a parent can provide encouragement. (Hattie & Timperley, 2007, p. 81)

Omissions and Insertions

Use three ellipsis points (. . .) with spaces to indicate omitted words within a sentence. Use square brackets [like this] to insert your own words or clarifications within a quote. To change a letter’s case, also use square brackets: “[T]he results showed…”

Paraphrasing in APA

APA strongly encourages paraphrasing over direct quotation — it demonstrates comprehension and integrates sources more naturally. A paraphrase does not use quotation marks but does require an in-text citation. While page numbers are not mandatory for paraphrases in APA 7th edition, the manual recommends including them to help readers locate the original passage.

Good paraphrasing involves more than replacing words with synonyms. You should restructure the sentence, change the grammatical form, and integrate the idea into your own argument. If you are concerned about unintentional plagiarism, tools like Turnitin and Google Scholar can help you check source proximity. See our guide on how to do a literature review for paraphrasing strategies applied at scale.

Poor paraphrase: “Feedback is one of the most powerful influences on learning.” (Smith, 2022, p. 47) — this is essentially the same sentence with a synonym substituted.

Good paraphrase: Smith (2022) demonstrated that formative feedback consistently outperforms other instructional interventions in improving student outcomes (p. 47).

Tables and Figures

Tables and figures in APA 7th edition follow a standardised format. The key principle: every table and figure must be cited in the text (“See Table 1” or “Figure 2 shows…”) before it appears.

Table Formatting

• Label: “Table 1” — bold, flush left, above the title
• Title: Italicised, title case, flush left, on the line below the label
• Body: Single or 1.5 line spacing acceptable within the table; double-space between tables and surrounding text
• Note: Below the table, starting with “Note.” in italics — used to explain abbreviations or provide source attribution
• Do not use vertical lines; use horizontal lines only to separate the header row and the last data row from the body

Example note for a reproduced table: Note. Adapted from “Title of Original Article,” by A. Author, Year, Journal Name, Volume(Issue), p. XX (https://doi.org/xxxxx). Copyright Year by Publisher. Adapted with permission.

Figure Formatting

• Label: “Figure 1” — bold, flush left, below the figure
• Caption: Italicised title, title case, on the same line as the label after a period
• Use high-resolution images (at least 300 dpi for print)
• Colour figures should remain interpretable in greyscale

Using AI Tools and Tesify for APA Citations

Generating accurate APA citations manually is time-consuming — and small errors (a misplaced comma, the wrong edition) can cost marks. AI-assisted writing tools are changing how students approach referencing. Citation generators can accelerate formatting, but they are not infallible; always verify against the APA Publication Manual or the official APA Style website.

Tesify is purpose-built for academic writing and integrates APA 7th edition citation formatting directly into its workflow. Rather than cross-referencing multiple windows, Tesify generates properly formatted reference entries as you write, checks in-text citation consistency, and flags common errors like missing DOIs, incorrect author order, and sentence-case violations in article titles. This makes it a reliable alternative to standalone citation managers for students who want citation support embedded in their writing environment.

When using any AI tool to help format citations, apply the following quality checks:

1. Verify the author order and initials against the original source
2. Confirm the publication year — AI tools sometimes confuse revision dates with publication dates
3. Check that article titles are in sentence case and journal names are in title case
4. Ensure DOIs are formatted as full hyperlinks (https://doi.org/…)
5. Confirm page number ranges use an en dash (–), not a hyphen (-)

Frequently Asked Questions

Get Your Citations Right Every Time

Mastering APA citation format takes practice, but the payoff is significant: stronger academic credibility, fewer lost marks, and a writing process that feels less like guesswork. For a step-by-step walkthrough of individual source types, visit our complete APA citation tutorial. If you are building a literature review and need to manage dozens of sources efficiently, our guide on how to do a literature review covers citation strategies in depth. For quick formatting help, see our roundup of the best citation generators in 2026.

Tesify integrates APA 7th edition formatting into your academic writing workflow — so you spend less time checking commas in reference entries and more time developing your argument. If you are writing a thesis or dissertation that demands consistent, high-volume citation management, Tesify is designed precisely for that task.