The Official Source

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition (2019) is the definitive guide for APA style. Published by the American Psychological Association, it's available in print, spiral-bound, and ebook formats at apastyle.apa.org.

The 7th edition introduced significant updates including flexible font options, new sample papers for students, updated bias-free language guidelines, and over 100 new reference examples.

Quick Overview

APA style uses an author-date citation system with two components:

1. In-text citations — Brief references in your paper pointing to sources

2. Reference list — Full source details at the end of your paper

In-Text Citations

Place the author's last name and publication year in parentheses. Add page numbers when quoting directly.

One Author

Research shows significant results (Smith, 2023).

Smith (2023) found significant results.

Two Authors

Use "and" in narrative citations, "&" in parenthetical citations.

According to Smith and Jones (2022), the effect was notable.

The effect was notable (Smith & Jones, 2022).

Three or More Authors

Use the first author's name followed by "et al."

Previous studies (Garcia et al., 2021) confirmed this finding.

Direct Quotes

Include page numbers for direct quotations.

The researchers noted that "results exceeded expectations" (Smith, 2023, p. 45).

No Author

Use the title (shortened if necessary) in place of the author.

The report indicated rising trends ("Global Climate Study," 2023).

Reference List Basics

Your reference list appears on a new page titled "References" (bold, centered). Format each entry with a hanging indent (first line flush left, subsequent lines indented 0.5 inches).

Basic Structure

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. Publisher. DOI or URL

Journal Article

Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelber, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185

Book

Jackson, L. M. (2019). The psychology of prejudice: From attitudes to social action (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000168-000

Website

World Health Organization. (2023, March 15). Mental health in the workplace. https://www.who.int/mental-health/workplace

Chapter in Edited Book

Aron, L., Botella, M., & Lubart, T. (2019). Culinary arts: Talent and their development. In R. F. Subotnik, P. Olszewski-Kubilius, & F. C. Worrell (Eds.), The psychology of high performance (pp. 345–359). American Psychological Association.

Key 7th Edition Changes

The APA 7th edition (2019) made several important updates from the 6th edition:

• No location required — Publisher city/state is no longer needed

• DOIs always included — Present as https://doi.org/xxxxx format

• Up to 20 authors — List all authors (previously capped at 7)

• Singular "they" — Endorsed as a gender-neutral pronoun

• Student papers — New dedicated formatting guidelines

• Running head simplified — Only required for professional papers, not student papers

Common Mistakes to Avoid

DOI formatting — Use the https://doi.org/ format, not "doi:" or bare numbers

Capitalization — Only capitalize the first word of titles and subtitles (plus proper nouns) in references

Italics — Italicize book titles, journal names, and volume numbers—not article titles

Ampersand vs. "and" — Use "&" in parenthetical citations and reference lists; use "and" in narrative text

Missing retrieval dates — Only include retrieval dates for sources that change over time (like wikis)

Who Uses APA Style?

APA is the standard citation format for:

• Psychology

• Education

• Social sciences

• Nursing

• Business

• Communications

• Criminology

If you're unsure which style your instructor requires, always ask. Many social science courses default to APA, while humanities courses typically use MLA or Chicago.

Further Resources

• APA Style Official Website — Free tutorials, sample papers, and the official blog

• Purdue OWL APA Guide — Comprehensive free resource

• APA Style Blog — Updates and answers to common questions

Need help generating APA citations automatically? Research tools like Wonders can export your sources in APA format with one click.