apa 7th style essay

APA Formatting and Style (7th ed.) for Student Papers

• What's New in the 7th ed.?
• Principles of Plagiarism: An Overview
• Basic Paper Formatting
• Basic Paper Elements
• Punctuation, Capitalization, Abbreviations, Apostrophes, Numbers, Plurals
• Tables and Figures
• Powerpoint Presentations
• Reference Page Format
• Periodicals (Journals, Magazines, Newspapers)
• Books and Reference Works
• Webpage on a Website
• Discussion Post
• Company Information & SWOT Analyses
• Dissertations or Theses
• ChatGPT and other AI Large Language Models
• Online Images
• Online Video
• Computer Software and Mobile Apps
• Missing Information
• Two Authors
• Three or More Authors
• Group Authors
• Missing Author
• Chat GPT and other AI Large Language Models
• Secondary Sources
• Block Quotations
• Fillable Template and Sample Paper
• Government Documents and Legal Materials
• APA Style 7th ed. Tutorials
• Additional APA 7th Resources
• Grammarly - your writing assistant
• Writing Center - Writing Skills This link opens in a new window
• Brainfuse Online Tutoring

APA 7th ed. Fillable Word Template and Sample Paper

• APA 7th ed. Template Download this Word document, fill out the title page and get writing!
• Sample Paper APA 7th ed. Our APA sample paper shows you how to format the main parts of a basic research paper.
• APA 7th Sample Papers from Purdue Owl
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• Last Updated: Apr 1, 2024 10:02 AM
• URL: https://national.libguides.com/apa_7th

• MJC Library & Learning Center
• Research Guides

Format Your Paper & Cite Your Sources

• APA Style, 7th Edition
• Citing Sources
• Avoid Plagiarism
• MLA Style (8th/9th ed.)

APA Tutorial

Formatting your paper, headings organize your paper (2.27), video tutorials, reference list format (9.43).

• Elements of a Reference

Reference Examples (Chapter 10)

Dois and urls (9.34-9.36), in-text citations.

• In-Text Citations Format
• In-Text Citations for Specific Source Types

NoodleTools

• Chicago Style
• Harvard Style
• Other Styles
• Annotated Bibliographies
• How to Create an Attribution

What is APA Style?

APA style was created by social and behavioral scientists to standardize scientific writing. APA style is most often used in:

• psychology,
• social sciences (sociology, business), and

If you're taking courses in any of these areas, be prepared to use APA style.

For in-depth guidance on using this citation style, refer to Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7th ed. We have several copies available at the MJC Library at the call number  BF 76.7 .P83 2020 .

APA Style, 7th ed.

In October 2019, the American Psychological Association made radical changes its style, especially with regard to the format and citation rules for students writing academic papers. Use this guide to learn how to format and cite your papers using APA Style, 7th edition.

You can start by viewing the  video tutorial .

For help on all aspects of formatting your paper in APA Style, see   The Essentials  page on the APA Style website.

• sans serif fonts such as 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, or 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, or
• serif fonts such as 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, or normal (10-point) Computer Modern (the default font for LaTeX)
• There are exceptions for the  title page ,  tables ,  figures ,  footnotes , and  displayed equations .
• Margins :  Use 1-in. margins on every side of the page.
• Align the text of an APA Style  paper to the left margin . Leave the right margin uneven, or “ragged.”
• Do not use full justification for student papers.
• Do not insert hyphens (manual breaks) in words at the end of line. However, it is acceptable if your word-processing program automatically inserts breaks in long hyperlinks (such as in a DOI or URL in a reference list entry).
• Indent the first line of each paragraph of text 0.5 in . from the left margin. Use the tab key or the automatic paragraph-formatting function of your word-processing program to achieve the indentation (the default setting is likely already 0.5 in.). Do not use the space bar to create indentation. 
• There are exceptions for the  title page ,  section labels ,  abstract ,  block quotations ,  headings ,  tables and figures ,  reference list , and  appendices .

Paper Elements

Student papers generally include, at a minimum: 

• Title Page (2.3)
• Text (2.11)
• References  (2.12)

Student papers may include additional elements such as tables and figures depending on the assignment. So, please check with your teacher!

Student papers generally  DO NOT  include the following unless your teacher specifically requests it:

• Running head
• Author note

For complete information on the  order of pages , see the APA Style website.

Number your pages consecutively starting with page 1. Each section begins on a new page. Put the pages in the following order:

• Page 1: Title page
• Page 2: Abstract (if your teacher requires an abstract)
• Page 3: Text 
• References begin on a new page after the last page of text
• Footnotes begin on a new page after the references (if your teacher requires footnotes)
• Tables begin each on a new page after the footnotes (if your teacher requires tables) 
• Figures begin on a new page after the tables (if your teacher requires figures)
• Appendices begin on a new page after the tables and/or figures (if your teacher requires appendices)

Sample Papers With Built-In Instructions

To see what your paper should look like, check out these sample papers with built-in instructions.

APA Style uses five (5) levels of headings to help you organize your paper and allow your audience to identify its key points easily. Levels of headings establish the hierarchy of your sections just like you did in your paper outline.

APA tells us to use "only the number of headings necessary to differentiate distinct section in your paper." Therefore, the number of heading levels you create depends on the length and complexity of your paper.

See the chart below for instructions on formatting your headings:

Use Word to Format Your Paper:

Use Google Docs to Format Your Paper:

Placement:  The reference list  appears at the end of the paper, on its own page(s). If your research paper ends on page 8, your References begin on page 9.

Heading:  Place the section label References  in bold at the top of the page, centered.

Arrangement:  Alphabetize entries by author's last name. If source has no named author, alphabetize by the title, ignoring A, An, or The. (9.44-9.48)

Spacing:  Like the rest of the APA paper, the reference list is double-spaced throughout. Be sure NOT to add extra spaces between citations.

Indentation:  To make citations easier to scan, add a  hanging indent  of 0.5 in. to any citation that runs more than one line. Use the paragraph-formatting function of your word processing program to create your hanging indent.  

See Sample References Page (from APA Sample Student Paper):

Elements of Reference List Entries: (Chapter 9)

References generally have four elements, each of which has a corresponding question for you to answer:

• Author:   Who is responsible for this work? (9.7-9.12)
• Date:   When was this work published? (9.13-9.17)
• Title:   What is this work called? (9.18-9.22)
• Source:   Where can I retrieve this work? (9.23-9.37)

By using these four elements and answering these four questions, you should be able to create a citation for any type of source.

For complete information on all of these elements, checkout the APA Style website.

This infographic shows the first page of a journal article. The locations of the reference elements are highlighted with different colors and callouts, and the same colors are used in the reference list entry to show how the entry corresponds to the source.

To create your references, you'll simple look for these elements in your source and put them together in your reference list entry.

American Psychological Association.  Example of where to find reference information for a journal article  [Infographic]. APA Style Center. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/basic-principles

Below you'll find two printable handouts showing APA citation examples. The first is an abbreviated list created by MJC Librarians. The second, which is more comprehensive, is from the APA Style website. Feel free to print these for your convenience or use the links to reference examples below:

• APA Citation Examples Created by MJC Librarians for you.
• Common References Examples (APA Handout) Printable handout from the American Psychological Association.
• APA Style Quick Reference Guide See how to format three typical types of references.
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Edited Book Chapter
• Webpage on a Website

Classroom or Intranet Sources

• Classroom Course Pack Materials
• How to Cite ChatGPT
• Dictionary Entry
• Government Report
• Legal References (Laws & Cases)
• TED Talk References
• Religious Works
• Open Educational Resources (OER)
• Archival Documents and Collections

You can view the entire Reference Examples website below and view a helpful guide to finding useful APA style topics easily:

• APA Style: Reference Examples
• Navigating the not-so-hidden treasures of the APA Style website
• Missing Reference Information

Sometimes you won't be able to find all the elements required for your reference. In that case, see the  instructions in Table 9.1 of the APA style manual in section 9.4 or the APA Style website below:

• Direct Quotation of Material Without Page Numbers

The DOI or URL is the final component of a reference list entry. Because so much scholarship is available and/or retrieved online, most reference list entries end with either a DOI or a URL.

• A  DOI  is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies content and provides a persistent link to its location on the internet. DOIs can be found in database records and the reference lists of published works.
• A  URL  specifies the location of digital information on the internet and can be found in the address bar of your internet browser. URLs in references should link directly to the cited work when possible.

When to Include DOIs and URLs:

• Include a DOI for all works that have a DOI, regardless of whether you used the online version or the print version.
• If an online work has both a DOI and a URL, include only the DOI.
• For works without DOIs from websites (not including academic research databases), provide a URL in the reference (as long as the URL will work for readers).
• For works without DOIs from most academic research databases, do not include a URL or database information in the reference because these works are widely available. The reference should be the same as the reference for a print version of the work.
• For works from databases that publish original, proprietary material available only in that database (such as the UpToDate database) or for works of limited circulation in databases (such as monographs in the ERIC database), include the name of the database or archive and the URL of the work. If the URL requires a login or is session-specific (meaning it will not resolve for readers), provide the URL of the database or archive home page or login page instead of the URL for the work. (See APA Section 9.30 for more information). 
• If the URL is no longer working or no longer provides readers access to the content you intend to cite, try to find an archived version using the Internet Archive , then use the archived URL. If there is no archived URL, do not use that resource.

Format of DOIs and URLs:

Your DOI should look like this: 

https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040251

Follow these guidelines from the APA Style website.

APA Style uses the  author–date citation system , in which a brief in-text citation points your reader to the full reference list entry at the end of your paper. The in-text citation appears within the body of the paper and briefly identifies the cited work by its author and date of publication. This method enables your reader to locate the corresponding entry in the alphabetical reference list at the end of your paper.

Each work you cite  must  appear in the reference list, and each work in the reference list must be cited in the text (or in a table, figure, footnote, or appendix) except for the following (See APA, 8.4):

• Personal communications (8.9)
• General mentions of entire websites, whole periodicals (8.22), and common software and apps (10.10) in the text do not require a citation or reference list entry.
• The source of an epigraph does not usually appear in the reference list (8.35)
• Quotations from your research participants do not need citations or reference list entries (8.36)
• References included in a statistical meta-analysis, which are marked with an asterisk in the reference list, may be cited in the text (or not) at the author’s discretion. This exception is relevant only to authors who are conducting a meta-analysis (9.52).

Formatting Your In-Text Citations

Parenthetical and Narrative Citations: ( See APA Section  8.11)

In APA style you use the author-date citation system for citing references within your paper. You incorporate these references using either a  parenthetical   or a  narrative  style.

Parenthetical Citations

• In parenthetical citations, the author name and publication date appear in parentheses, separated by a comma. (Jones, 2018)
• A parenthetical citation can appear within or at the end of a sentence.
• When the parenthetical citation is at the end of the sentence, put the period or other end punctuation after the closing parenthesis.
• If there is no author, use the first few words of the reference list entry, usually the "Title" of the source: ("Autism," 2008) See APA 8.14
• When quoting, always provide the author, year, and specific page citation or paragraph number for nonpaginated materials in the text (Santa Barbara, 2010, p. 243).  See APA 8.13
• For most citations, the parenthetical reference is placed BEFORE the punctuation: Magnesium can be effective in treating PMS (Haggerty, 2012).

Narrative Citations 

In narrative citations, the author name or title of your source appears within your text and the publication date appears in parentheses immediately after the author name. 

• Santa Barbara (2010) noted a decline in the approval of disciplinary spanking of 26 percentage points from 1968 to 1994.

In-Text Citation Checklist

• In-Text Citation Checklist Use this useful checklist from the American Psychological Association to ensure that you've created your in-text citations correctly.

In-Text Citations for Specific Types of Sources

Quotations from Research Participants

Personal Communications

Secondary Sources  

Use NoodleTools to Cite Your Sources  

NoodleTools can help you create your references and your in-text citations.

• NoodleTools Express No sign in required . When you need one or two quick citations in MLA, APA, or Chicago style, simply generate them in NoodleTools Express then copy and paste what you need into your document. Note: Citations are not saved and cannot be exported to a word processor using NoodleTools Express.
• NoodleTools (Login Full Database) This link opens in a new window Create and organize your research notes, share and collaborate on research projects, compose and error check citations, and complete your list of works cited in MLA, APA, or Chicago style using the full version of NoodleTools. You'll need to Create a Personal ID and password the first time you use NoodleTools.

See How to Use NoodleTools Express to Create a Citation in APA Format

Additional NoodleTools Help

• NoodleTools Help Desk Look up questions and answers on the NoodleTools Web site
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Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and CC BY-NC 4.0 Licenses .

APA Style (7th ed.)

• Cite: Why? When?
• Book, eBook, Dissertation
• Article or Report
• Business Sources
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools
• In-Text Citation
• Format Your Paper

Format Your Paper

Download and use the editable templates for student papers below: .

• APA 7th ed. Template Document This is an APA format template document in Google Docs. Click on the link -- it will ask for you to make a new copy of the document, which you can save in your own Google Drive with your preferred privacy settings.
• APA 7th ed. Template Document A Microsoft Word document formatted correctly according to APA 7th edition.
• APA 7th ed. Annotated Bibliography template A Microsoft Word document formatted correctly for an annotated bibliography.

Or, view the directions for specific sections below:

Order of sections (section 2.17).

• Title page including Title, Author, University and Department, Class, Instructor, and Date
• Body (including introduction, literature review or background, discussion, and conclusion)
• Appendices (including tables & figures)

Margins & Page Numbers (sections 2.22-2.24)

• 1 inch at top, bottom, and both sides
• Left aligned paragraphs and leave the right edge ragged (not "right justified")
• Indent first line of each paragraph 1/2 inch from left margin
• Use page numbers, including on the title page, 1/2 inch from top and flush with right margin

Text Format (section 2.19)

• Times New Roman, 12 point
• Calibri, 11 point
• Arial, 11 point
• Lucinda Sans Unicode, 10 point
• Georgia, 11 point
• Double-space and align text to the left
• Use active voice
• Don't overuse technical jargon
• No periods after a web address or DOI in the References list.

Tables and Figures In-Text (chapter 7)

• Label tables and figures numerically (ex. Table 1)
• Give each table column a heading and use separating lines only when necessary
• Design the table and figure so that it can be understood on its own, i.e. it does not require reference to the surrounding text to understand it
• Notes go below tables and figures

Title Page (section 2.3)

• Include the title, your name,  the class name , and  the college's name
• Title should be 12 words or less and summarize the paper's main idea
• No periods or abbreviations
• Do not italicize or underline
• No quotation marks, all capital letters, or bold
• Center horizontally in upper half of the page

Body (section 2.11)

• Align the text to the left with a 1/2-inch left indent on the first line
• Double-space
• As long as there is no Abstract, at the top of the first page, type the title of the paper, centered, in bold , and in Sentence Case Capitalization
• Usually, include sections like these:  introduction, literature review or background,  discussion, and conclusion -- but the specific organization will depend on the paper type
• Spell out long organization names and add the abbreviation in parenthesis, then just use the abbreviation
• Spell out numbers one through nine and use a number for 10 or more
• Use a number for units of measurement, in tables, to represent statistical or math functions, and dates or times

Headings (section 2.26-2.27)

• Level 1: Center, bold , Title Case 
• Level 2: Align left, bold , Title Case
• Level 3: Alight left, bold italics , Title Case
• Level 4: Indented 1/2", bold , Title Case, end with a period. Follow with text. 
• Level 5: Indented 1/2", bold italics , Title Case, end with a period. Follow with text. 

Quotations (sections 8.26-8.33)

• Include short quotations (40 words or less) in-text with quotation marks
• For quotes more than 40 words, indent the entire quote a half inch from the left margin and double-space it with no quotation marks
• When quoting two or more paragraphs from an original source, indent the first line of each paragraph a half inch from the left margin
• Use ellipsis (...) when omitting sections from a quote and use four periods (....) if omitting the end section of a quote

References (section 2.12)

Begins on a new page following the text of your paper and includes complete citations for the resources you've used in your writing.

• References should be centered and bolded at the top of a new page
• Double-space and use hanging indents (where the first line is on the left margin and the following lines are indented a half inch from the left)
• List authors' last name first followed by the first and middle initials (ex. Skinner, B. F.)
• Alphabetize the list by the first author's last name of of each citation (see sections 9.44-9.49)
• Capitalize only the first word, the first after a colon or em dash, and proper nouns
• Don't capitalize the second word of a hyphenated compound
• No quotation marks around titles of articles

Appendices with Tables, Figures, & Illustrations (section 2.14, and chapter 7)

• Include appendices only to help the reader understand, evaluate, or replicate the study or argument
• Put each appendix on a separate page and align left
• For text, do not indent the first paragraph, but do indent the rest
• If you have only one appendix, label it "Appendix"
• If you have two or more appendices, label them "Appendix A", "Appendix B" and so forth as they appear in the body of your paper
• Label tables and figures numerically (ex. Table 1, or Table B1 and Table B2 if Appendix B has two tables) and describe them within the text of the appendix
• Notes go below tables and figures (see samples on p. 210-226)

Annotated Bibliography

Double-space the entire bibliography. give each entry a hanging indent. in the following annotation, indent the entire paragraph a half inch from the left margin and give the first line of each paragraph a half inch indent. see the template document at the top of this page..

• Check with your professor for the length of the annotation and which elements you should evaluate.

These elements are optional, if your professor or field requires them, but they are  not required for student papers: 

Abstract (section 2.9).

• Abstract gets its own page
• Center "Abstract" heading and do not indent the first line of the text
• Summarize the main points and purpose of the paper in 150-250 words maximum
• Define abbreviations and acronyms used in the paper

Running Head (section 2.8 )

• Shorten title to 50 characters or less (counting spaces and punctuation) for the running head
• In the top margin, the running head is aligned left, with the page number aligned on the right
• On every page, put (without the brackets): [SHORTENED TITLE OF YOUR PAPER IN ALL CAPS] [page number] 

More questions? Check out the authoritative source: APA style blog

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• Last Updated: Mar 7, 2024 2:29 PM
• URL: https://libguides.uww.edu/apa

Generate accurate APA citations for free

• Knowledge Base
• APA Style 7th edition
• APA 7th edition: The most notable changes

APA 7th Edition (2020) | The 17 Most Notable Changes

Published on October 11, 2019 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on December 5, 2022.

In that time a lot of things have changed. Citing online material has become more common, the use of inclusive and bias-free language is increasingly important, and the technology used by researchers and students has changed.

The 7th edition addresses these changes by providing better and more extensive guidelines. This article outlines the biggest changes that you should know about.

Table of contents

References and in-text citations in apa style, inclusive and bias-free language, apa paper format, mechanics of style, apa 7th edition citation generator, free lecture slides, buying the new 7th edition apa manual, frequently asked questions.

When it comes to citing sources, more guidelines have been added that make citing online sources easier and clearer.

In total, 114 examples are provided, ranging from books and periodicals to audiovisuals and social media. For each reference category, an easy template is provided to help you understand and apply the citation guidelines. The biggest changes in the 7th edition are:

• Covey, S. R. (2013). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in personal change . New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
• Covey, S. R. (2013). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in personal change . Simon & Schuster.
• (Taylor, Kotler, Johnson, & Parker, 2018)
• (Taylor et al., 2018)
• Miller, T. C., Brown, M. J., Wilson, G. L., Evans, B. B., Kelly, R. S., Turner, S. T., . . . Lee, L. H. (2018).
• Miller, T. C., Brown, M. J., Wilson, G. L., Evans, B. B., Kelly, R. S., Turner, S. T., Lewis, F., Nelson, T. P., Cox, G., Harris, H. L., Martin, P., Gonzalez, W. L., Hughes, W., Carter, D., Campbell, C., Baker, A. B., Flores, T., Gray, W. E., Green, G., . . . Lee, L. H. (2018).
• doi: 10.1080/02626667.2018.1560449
• https://doi.org/10.1080/​02626667.2018.1560449
• Streefkerk, R. (2019, October 11). APA 7th edition: The most notable changes [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-seventh-edition-changes/
• Streefkerk, R. (2019, October 11). APA 7th edition: The most notable changes. Scribbr . https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-seventh-edition-changes/
• Brück, M. (2009). Women in early British and Irish astronomy: Stars and satellites [Kindle version]. https:/doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2473-2
• Brück, M. (2009). Women in early British and Irish astronomy: Stars and satellites .  Springer Nature. https:/doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2473-2
• Clear guidelines are provided for including contributors other than authors and editors. For example, when citing a podcast episode , the host of the episode should be included; for a TV series episode , the writer and director of that episode are cited.
• Dozens of examples are included for online source types such as podcast episodes , social media posts , and YouTube videos . The use of emojis and hashtags is also explained.

Writing inclusively and without bias is the new standard, and APA’s new publication manual contains a separate chapter on this topic.

The guidelines provided by APA help authors reduce bias around topics such as gender, age, disability, racial and ethnic identity, and sexual orientation, as well as being sensitive to labels and describing individuals at the appropriate level of specificity. Some examples include:

• A researcher’s career depends on how often he or she is cited.
• A researcher’s career depends on how often they are cited.
• People living in poverty
• People over 65 years old
• People in the age range of 65 to 75 years old

In the 7th edition, APA decided to provide different paper format guidelines for professional and student papers . For both types, a sample paper is included. Some notable changes include:

• Increased flexibility regarding fonts: options include Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans Unicode 10, Times New Roman 12, and Georgia 11.
• Running head: THE EFFECT OF GOOGLE ON THE INTERNET
• THE EFFECT OF GOOGLE ON THE INTERNET
• The running head is omitted in student papers (unless your instructor tells you otherwise).
• Heading levels 3-5 are updated to improve readability.

In terms of style, not much has changed in the 7th edition. In addition to some updated and better explained guidelines, there are two notable changes:

• Use only one space after a period at the end of a sentence.
• APA endorses the use of the singular pronoun they
• APA endorses the use of the singular pronoun “they”

Are you a teacher or professor who would like to educate your students about the APA 7th edition changes? Great! You can download our free lecture slides, available for Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint.

Open Google Slides Download PowerPoint

The American Psychological Association anticipates that most people will start using the 7th edition in the spring of 2020 or thereafter.

It’s best to ask your supervisor or check the website of the journal you want to publish in to see which APA guidelines you should follow.

The APA Manual 7th edition can be purchased at Amazon as a hardcover, paperback or spiral-bound version. You can also buy an ebook version at RedShelf .

The 7th edition APA Manual , published in October 2019, is the most current edition. However, the 6th edition, published in 2009, is still used by many universities and journals.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2022, December 05). APA 7th Edition (2020) | The 17 Most Notable Changes. Scribbr. Retrieved April 12, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-seventh-edition-changes/

Is this article helpful?

Raimo Streefkerk

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APA Style 7th Edition Tutorials for Students in Psychology and Social Work

What is apa style.

• The Importance of Citing

Why is APA Style needed?

How do i get started with apa style, let us practice what we have learned, attribution and acknowledgement.

• Basics of APA Style Tutorial
• Reference Entry Elements
• Reference Examples
• Reference List
• In-Text Citations
• Student Paper Format
• Managing References - Zotero

Origination of APA Style

• Where did APA Style come from?

Commonly Used APA Related Terms

Abstract : Abstract is a brief synopses of article. It provides a brief but comprehensive summary of the article. 

Citing : In the context of academic writing, citing is the act of acknowledging the sources of information you have used when writing your work.

Citation:  A citation gives credit to a source, and contains publication information such as author(s), title and date.

DOI (digital object identifier): It is a unique alphanumeric string assigned to a digital object, mainly a scholarly article, to provide a persistent link to its location on the internet. 

In-Text Citation : It is a brief note that appears within the body of the paper and briefly identifies the cited work by its author and date of publication. An in-text citation should always match the corresponding entry in the reference list at the end of paper.

Paraphrasing : A paraphrase restates another’s idea (or your own previously published idea) in your own words. 

Plagiarism : It is the act of presenting the words, ideas, or images of another as your own; it denies creators of content the credit they are due. 

Quoting : It is the act of reproducing the exact wording used by the original author. Direct quotations appear within quotation marks and end with a citation.

Reference : It contains details about one cited work, generally including four elements:  author, date, title, and source.  

Reference List : It identifies all the sources you cited in the text of your paper. It generally is at the end of the paper and definitely on a new page after the text of your paper. 

APA Style is the most common writing style used in college and career. Its purpose is to promote excellence in communication by helping writers create clear, precise, and inclusive sentences with a straightforward scholarly tone. It addresses areas of writing such as how to

• format a paper so it looks professional;
• credit other people’s words and ideas via citations and references to avoid plagiarism; and
• describe other people with dignity and respect using inclusive, bias-free language.

APA Style is primarily used in the behavioral sciences, which are subjects related to people, such as psychology, education, and nursing. It is also used by students in business, engineering, communications, and other classes. Students use it to write academic essays and research papers in college, and professionals use it to conduct, report, and publish scientific research.

In addition, APA Style provides you with a powerful tool that will hep you avoid deliberate or unintentional plagiarism. Please review the Avoiding Plagiarism Guide created by the APA experts to understand what two common types of plagiarism are and how to avoid them. 

Why is learning citations important? Citations help readers understand where the information used in your paper comes from, enabling them to trace the path of that information. When readers wish to explore a specific point or reference cited in the text, citations make it easier by providing information about your sources in a standardized format.

Besides showing readers where you obtained information, using citations also has a strong ethical purpose. In academic writing, it is important to credit ideas that are not your own. Citations allow you to integrate the ideas of others with your own thoughts in a fair and honest way.

The reference formats for APA Style manuals are as follows:

APA Style provides a foundation for effective scholarly communication because it helps authors present their ideas in a clear and concise, and organized manner.  Uniformity and consistency enable readers to (a) focus on the ideas being presented rather than formatting and (b) scan works quickly for key points, findings, and sources. When style works best, ideas flow logically, sources are credited appropriately, and papers are organized predictably and consistently. 

Students are encouraged to first learn about APA Style by reading works written in APA Style. A couple of guides created by APA experts from the American Psychological Association can help you with that:

Anatomy of a Journal Article   https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/anatomy-journal-article.pdf

Scholarly journal articles share a common anatomy or structure. Each part of an article serves a specific purpose. The handout of  Anatomy of a Journal Article explains how journal articles are structured and how to become more efficient at reading and understanding them. Understanding the structure of a scholarly article and the purpose of each part helps you grasp a strategy called targeted reading. Targeted reading means to read specific sections of research articles first to determine if the article seems useful for your research topic. This way you will save time, find useful article faster, and choose which articles to read in full.

Reading and Understanding Abstracts https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reading-abstracts.pdf

Abstracts are short summaries of scientific research articles. The handout of Reading & Understanding Abstracts explains the definition and purpose of abstracts and the benefits of reading them, including analysis of a sample abstract. The skill of reading and understanding abstracts of scholarly articles not only saves time but also helps you conduct better research and write more effectively.

APA Style Writing Principles https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/writing-principles.pdf

The poster created by APA experts shows the three main principles of APA Style: clarity, precision, and inclusion and lists steps on how to achieve them. As a student writer, you always should write your academic paper with clarity, precision, and inclusion. 

Research Article Activity https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/apa-style-research-activity.pdf

Reading research articles is not an easy task for you as a student. The Research Article Activity designed by APA Style experts aims to make it easy to read and understand a scholarly article. This activity worksheet helps you find, cite, analyze, and summarize a research article. Completing this activity breaks down a lengthy research article into easily understandable chunks. This way helps you better understand the study in the article before you write about it. 

The information in this Guide   is courtesy of   the official APA Style website by the American Psychological Association.

Source Credit: Information on this LibGuide comes from APA Style website https://apastyle.apa.org/ This website has a wealth of free and authoritative resources designed to help anyone new to APA Style.

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• Last Updated: Apr 6, 2024 12:06 PM
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APA 7th Edition Tutorial: Download Template & Section Headings

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Monroe College & APA Style

Monroe college uses  apa 7 style guidelines for all student papers. , you can download our detailed apa 7 formatting tutorial here ., if your instructor's directions conflict with any apa rules, follow the instructor's directions., apa 7th edition template.

• APA 7 Student Paper Template (.docx) Download this 7th-edition template, and use it to format your APA-style Research Paper. Simply download and save a new copy of the document and paste the contents of your paper into the appropriate fields within the template.
• APA 7 Paper Template WITH ABSTRACT This version of the template includes the ABSTRACT page. Ask your instructor whether the Abstract is required for your paper.
• APA 7 Student Paper Template PDF

7th Edition APA Section Headings

Apa 7 section headings.

•  Running heads are no longer required for student papers.
• written in title case
• Level 1 and 2 Section Headings APA 7

This is an excerpt. The full Annotated Sample Student Paper can be downloaded from the official APA Style Website here .

Purdue OWL 7th Edition Changes Guide

Great News! The Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) has created a handy guide to Changes in the 7th edition of the APA Style Manual

We've done our best to lay out the basic standards for the two different editions here, but you can go to the OWL for a more comprehensive breakdown of the new APA standards.

A Monroe College Research Guide

                 THIS RESEARCH OR "LIBGUIDE" WAS PRODUCED BY THE LIBRARIANS OF MONROE COLLEGE                    

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Free APA Citation Generator

Generate citations in APA format quickly and automatically, with MyBib!

🤔 What is an APA Citation Generator?

An APA citation generator is a software tool that will automatically format academic citations in the American Psychological Association (APA) style.

It will usually request vital details about a source -- like the authors, title, and publish date -- and will output these details with the correct punctuation and layout required by the official APA style guide.

Formatted citations created by a generator can be copied into the bibliography of an academic paper as a way to give credit to the sources referenced in the main body of the paper.

👩‍🎓 Who uses an APA Citation Generator?

College-level and post-graduate students are most likely to use an APA citation generator, because APA style is the most favored style at these learning levels. Before college, in middle and high school, MLA style is more likely to be used. In other parts of the world styles such as Harvard (UK and Australia) and DIN 1505 (Europe) are used more often.

🙌 Why should I use a Citation Generator?

Like almost every other citation style, APA style can be cryptic and hard to understand when formatting citations. Citations can take an unreasonable amount of time to format manually, and it is easy to accidentally include errors. By using a citation generator to do this work you will:

• Save a considerable amount of time
• Ensure that your citations are consistent and formatted correctly
• Be rewarded with a higher grade

In academia, bibliographies are graded on their accuracy against the official APA rulebook, so it is important for students to ensure their citations are formatted correctly. Special attention should also be given to ensure the entire document (including main body) is structured according to the APA guidelines. Our complete APA format guide has everything you need know to make sure you get it right (including examples and diagrams).

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's APA Citation Generator?

Our APA generator was built with a focus on simplicity and speed. To generate a formatted reference list or bibliography just follow these steps:

• Start by searching for the source you want to cite in the search box at the top of the page.
• MyBib will automatically locate all the required information. If any is missing you can add it yourself.
• Your citation will be generated correctly with the information provided and added to your bibliography.
• Repeat for each citation, then download the formatted list and append it to the end of your paper.

MyBib supports the following for APA style:

Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

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Library Liaison

The 7th edition of the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  was published in October 2019. Some departments and instructors may still be using the 6th edition. Please consult your instructor if you are unsure which edition to use.

APA Citation Style, 7th Edition

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Text Citations For most works, appropriate credit takes the form of an author-date citation (p. 255). In this system, each work used in a paper has two parts: an in-text citation and a corresponding reference list entry (p. 261).

One author:  In an in-text citation, provide the surname(s) of the author(s) or the name(s) of the group author(s) (p. 262). Ex: (Taylor, 2004) No author:  For works with an unknown author, include the title and year of publication in the in-text citation (p. 264)  Ex:   (“Quest for Redemption,” 2007)  Multiple authors:

2 authors:  List both authors when you cite the work (p. 265).  Ex:  (Wagner & Clarke, 1999) 3 to or more authors:  Include the name of only the first author plus 'et al.' in every citation, including the first citation (p. 265).  Ex:  (Kern et al., 2003)

As an alternative to parenthetical citations, you can cite the source in your narrative, which allows you to incorporate the authors more closely into your discussion:

                               Ex: Taylor (1999) had a new theory that is important because it . . .

                                Ex. The reason that Wagner & Clark introduced their research in 1999 was that . . .

References APA requires that the reference list be on a new page after the text, double-spaced and that entries have a hanging indent (p. 303). 

eBook (p. 320): 

Author, A. A. (Year).  Title: Subtitle . Publisher Name. DOI or URL 

Christian, B., & Griffiths, T. (2016).  Algorithms to live by: The computer science of human decisions . Henry Holt and Co. http://bit.ly/2G0BpbI

Web page (p. 350): 

Author, A. A. (Year).  Title of work . Site Name. https://xxxxxx

Avramova, N. (2019). The secret to a long, happy, healthy life? Think age-positive . CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/03/health/respect-toward-elderly-leads-to-long-life-intl/index.html

Journal article with a DOI (p. 316): 

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article.  Title of Periodical ,  Volume number (Issue number), Page numbers. https://doi.org/xxxx 

McCauley, S. M., & Christiansen, M. H. (2019). Language learning as language use: A cross-linguistic model of child language development.  Psychological Review ,  126 (1),1-51. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126

• APA.org: Paper Format View elements to formatting your paper, including title page setup, page header, line spacing and more.
• APA.org: Sample Papers Access student and professional sample papers, with or without annotations, in PDF and DOCX formats.
• APA.org: In-Text Citations View elements to utilizing in-text citations, including paraphrasing, parenthetical vs. narrative in-text citations, secondary sources, and more.
• APA.org: References View elements related to references, including reference examples, DOIs and URLs, missing reference information, and more.
• APA.org: Handouts and Guides View PDF instructional aids the span various topics regarding the seventh edition.
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Citation help using Credo Information Literacy Core !

If you need any assistance please text, chat, call, or visit us in-person  or visit our  Credo Information Literacy Core guide .

• APA citation 7th edition: Most notable changes - video (Scribbr) Watch a video on the 17 most notable changes found between APA citation 6th ed. to the 7th ed.
• 108 Tutorial: APA Citations 7th Ed.
• CSU Stanislaus Library APA Citation Tutorials Learn how to cite sources, then play a game to test your knowledge!

Location :  Library 222, 2nd Floor Phone:  (209) 667-3642 Email:  [email protected]

• Writing Center All writing help is now online. Online writing tutors will use Zoom to collaborate with writers. Visit the Writing Center for more information and to book an appointment: https://www.csustan.edu/writing-center
• CSU Stanislaus: Policy on Plagiarism The Plagiarism Policy notes the responsibilities instructors and students have in achieving academic honesty. more... less... Title 5, California Code of Regulations, Section 41301 is quoted in detailing the penalties from plagiarism.
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APA Legal Citation

Check out our APA Legal Citation guide for more help on citing legal materials!

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Public Health

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The Nursing Department requires all graduate students in the MSN and DNP programs to use the APA "Professional Paper" format as outlined in Chapter 2 of the APA manual (7th edition) rather that the "student paper" format. If you are a graduate or doctoral student, make sure you follow the Professional Paper guidelines.

  Overview

• Author names are listed lastname, then initials, with each author separated by a comma. The last author is separated from the others with an ampersand (&).
• Article and book titles should be in sentence case, which means the first word and any proper nouns are capitalized, but nothing else.
• Journal publication titles are in title case (every word is capitalized), and in italics.
• Titles for government reports should be in sentence case an in italics.
• The DOI number (if using one) is in URL format, starting with  https://doi.org/xxxxx
• APA Style Transcript

Journal Article

https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/journal-article-references

Viner, R., Russell, S., Saulle, R., Croker, H., Stansfield, C., Packer, J., Nicholls, D., Goddings, A.L., Bonell, C., Hudson, L., Hope, S., Ward, J., Schwalbe, N., Morgan, A., & Minozzi, S. (2022). School closures during social lockdown and mental health, health behaviors, and well-being among children and adolescents during the first COVID-19 wave: A systematic review. JAMA Pediatrics, 176 (4), 400–409.  https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.5840

• Parenthetical citation : (Viner et al., 2022)

https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/book-references

Torino, G. C., Rivera, D. P., Capodilupo, C. M., Nadal, K. L., & Sue, D. W. (Eds.). (2019). Microaggression theory: Influence and implications. John Wiley & Sons.

• Parenthetical citation : (Torino et al., 2022)

Government Website / Report

With government websites, there is often an authoring organization (the group in charge of the publication), but also a parent organizations. You'll want to list any parent organizations in the publisher spot in your reference.  https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/report-government-agency-references

National Cancer Institute. (2019).  Taking time: Support for people with cancer  (NIH Publication No. 18-2059). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health.  https://www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education/takingtime.pdf

• Parenthetical citation : (National Cancer Institute, 2019)

Healthy People 2030: Healthy People 2030 is considered to be a report, with the author being the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Because Healthy People 2030 is the name of the report, you would italicize this. 

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Chronic pain. Healthy People 2030 . U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/chronic-pain

• First time the citation appears: (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [ODPHP], n.d.)
• Subsequent citations: (ODPHP, n.d.)

Point of Care Database

If an author is named, list the name of the database in the "publication" section (in italics). If no author is named, you can list the database name as the author, and list the company that owns the database as the publisher (if applicable).  https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/clinical-practice-references

Dynamed (2022, June 28). Diabetes mellitus type 2 in children and adolescents​. EBSCO . Retrieved October 21, 2022 from  www.dynamed.com

• Parenthetical citation : (Dynamed, 2022)

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

In-Text Citations: The Basics

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style  can be found here .

Reference citations in text are covered on pages 261-268 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.

Note:  On pages 117-118, the Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases that occur in the literature review and procedure descriptions (for example, Jones (1998)  found  or Jones (1998)  has found ...). Contexts other than traditionally-structured research writing may permit the simple present tense (for example, Jones (1998)  finds ).

APA Citation Basics

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

If you are referring to an idea from another work but  NOT  directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference.

On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before listing the page number(s). Use an en dash for page ranges. For example, you might write (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201). This information is reiterated below.

Regardless of how they are referenced, all sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and italics/underlining

• Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones.
• If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are four letters long or greater within the title of a source:  Permanence and Change . Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs:  Writing New Media ,  There Is Nothing Left to Lose .

( Note:  in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized:  Writing new media .)

• When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word:  Natural-Born Cyborgs .
• Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's  Vertigo ."
• If the title of the work is italicized in your reference list, italicize it and use title case capitalization in the text:  The Closing of the American Mind ;  The Wizard of Oz ;  Friends .
• If the title of the work is not italicized in your reference list, use double quotation marks and title case capitalization (even though the reference list uses sentence case): "Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds;" "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."

Short quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p." for a single page and “pp.” for a span of multiple pages, with the page numbers separated by an en dash).

You can introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

If you do not include the author’s name in the text of the sentence, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

Long quotations

Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout, but do not add an extra blank line before or after it. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Because block quotation formatting is difficult for us to replicate in the OWL's content management system, we have simply provided a screenshot of a generic example below.

Formatting example for block quotations in APA 7 style.

Quotations from sources without pages

Direct quotations from sources that do not contain pages should not reference a page number. Instead, you may reference another logical identifying element: a paragraph, a chapter number, a section number, a table number, or something else. Older works (like religious texts) can also incorporate special location identifiers like verse numbers. In short: pick a substitute for page numbers that makes sense for your source.

Summary or paraphrase

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference and may omit the page numbers. APA guidelines, however, do encourage including a page range for a summary or paraphrase when it will help the reader find the information in a longer work.