APA 7th Edition: In-Text Citations and References With Examples
Reviewed by Prof. Dr. Alexander Holtermann · Updated 16 October 2026 · 5 min read
APA 7 uses author–date citations: (Nguyen & Patel, 2021) or Nguyen and Patel (2021). Use “et al.” for three or more authors from the first citation.
Key takeaways
- In-text citations use author and year: parenthetical (Nguyen & Patel, 2021) uses “&”, narrative Nguyen and Patel (2021) uses “and”.
- For three or more authors, use the first author plus “et al.” from the very first citation: (Garcia et al., 2022).
- Direct quotes need a page number (p. 14) or, for unpaginated sources, a paragraph number (para. 3); quotes of 40 or more words are block quotes.
- Reference list entries list up to 20 authors; DOIs are formatted as https://doi.org/…; book entries no longer include the publisher location.
- APA 7 distinguishes student papers (no running head, no abstract unless required) from professional papers.
APA 7 at a glance
APA style, published by the American Psychological Association, is the most widely used citation style in psychology, education, nursing, business, and the social sciences worldwide. The 7th edition (2020) is current and simplified several rules of the 6th edition.
One rule beats every guide on the internet, including this one: your own university’s or department’s style guide, handbook, or assignment brief always takes precedence. If it differs from what you read here, follow it. You can upload that handbook to Professor Digital, and everything (outline, citations, checks) is tailored to it.
| Rule | APA 6 (old) | APA 7 (current) |
|---|---|---|
| Three to five authors, first citation | All names | First author et al. |
| Authors in reference list | Up to 7 | Up to 20 |
| Publisher location for books | Required | Omitted |
| DOI format | doi:10.xxxx | https://doi.org/10.xxxx |
| “Retrieved from” before URLs | Common | Only when a retrieval date is needed |
| Running head in student papers | Required | Not required |
In-text citations
Every source you use must be cited in the text where you use it, and every in-text citation must match an entry in the reference list. APA uses two formats: parenthetical (author and year in brackets) and narrative (author in the sentence, year in brackets).
| Authors | Parenthetical | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| One | (Nguyen, 2021) | Nguyen (2021) |
| Two | (Nguyen & Patel, 2021) | Nguyen and Patel (2021) |
| Three or more | (Garcia et al., 2022) | Garcia et al. (2022) |
| Group author (first) | (World Health Organization [WHO], 2023) | World Health Organization (WHO, 2023) |
| Group author (later) | (WHO, 2023) | WHO (2023) |
| No date | (Lee, n.d.) | Lee (n.d.) |
| Several works | (Adams, 2019; Brown, 2021) | Adams (2019) and Brown (2021) |
| Same author, same year | (Kim, 2020a, 2020b) | Kim (2020a, 2020b) |
Quotations and page numbers
For direct quotations, add the page number (p. for one page, pp. for a range). For sources without page numbers, use a paragraph number, a section heading, or a timestamp for audiovisual sources. Quotations of 40 words or more are formatted as a block quote: a separate paragraph indented 0.5 inch, without quotation marks, with the citation after the final period.
APA does not require page numbers for paraphrases, but encourages them when it helps the reader find the passage in a long work.
Reference list examples
The reference list starts on a new page with the bold, centered heading “References”. Entries are alphabetical by first author’s surname, double-spaced, with a 0.5-inch hanging indent. Titles of articles and books use sentence case (only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns capitalized); journal names use title case and are italicized together with the volume number. The examples below use invented authors and placeholder DOIs for illustration.
| Source type | Pattern |
|---|---|
| Journal article | Nguyen, T., & Patel, R. (2021). Working while studying: Stress and grades in undergraduates. Journal of Higher Education Research, 14(2), 115–132. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx |
| Book | Morgan, L. (2019). Learning in the digital age (2nd ed.). Academic Press Name. |
| Chapter in edited book | Kim, S. (2020). Feedback and motivation. In J. Brown (Ed.), Assessment in higher education (pp. 45–67). Publisher Name. |
| Webpage | Office for Students. (2024, March 5). Student outcomes data. https://www.example.org/outcomes |
| Report (group author) | World Health Organization. (2023). Title of report (Report No. 12). https://www.example.org/report |
| Dissertation (database) | Lopez, M. (2022). Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. Database Name. |
Formatting a student paper in APA 7
APA 7 introduced separate guidelines for student papers. Unless your instructor says otherwise, use these settings.
- Title page: title (bold, centered), your name, department and university, course number and name, instructor, due date. No running head.
- Font: consistent and legible, e.g., 12-pt Times New Roman, 11-pt Calibri, 11-pt Arial, 11-pt Georgia, or 10-pt Lucida Sans Unicode.
- Spacing and margins: double-spaced throughout, 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins, left-aligned with ragged right edge.
- Page numbers: top right on every page, starting with the title page.
- Paragraphs: first line indented 0.5 inch.
- Headings: up to five levels; Level 1 centered and bold, Level 2 flush left and bold, Level 3 flush left, bold italic.
- Abstract: only if your instructor asks for one.
Common APA mistakes
These errors appear in a large share of student papers and are easy to avoid with a final check.
- Using “&” in narrative citations (“Nguyen & Patel (2021) found…”) instead of “and”.
- Listing all authors for three or more authors in the text instead of “et al.”
- Title case for article titles in the reference list instead of sentence case.
- Missing page numbers for direct quotes.
- Citations in the text that do not appear in the reference list, or the reverse.
- Adding the publisher location or “Retrieved from” for ordinary webpages.
- Not italicizing the journal volume number.
Frequently asked questions
When do you use “&” vs. “and” in APA?
Use “&” inside parentheses and in the reference list: (Nguyen & Patel, 2021). Use “and” in running text: Nguyen and Patel (2021) found…
When do you use et al. in APA 7?
For every in-text citation of a work with three or more authors, from the first citation onward: (Garcia et al., 2022). In the reference list, list up to 20 authors.
How do you cite a website in APA 7?
In text: (Author or Organization, Year). Reference: Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name (if different from author). URL
Do you need page numbers in APA citations?
Yes for direct quotes (p. or pp.), or a paragraph number for unpaginated sources. For paraphrases, page numbers are optional but encouraged.
Is APA 7 the latest version?
Yes. The 7th edition of the Publication Manual was published in 2020 and is the current standard.
How do I set APA 7th edition in Zotero, Mendeley or EndNote?
Choose the style “American Psychological Association 7th edition” (name varies slightly) in the citation plugin or document preferences. Word’s built-in citation tool also offers APA, but check the edition and the output against the manual.
Sources and further reading
- American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association.
Your university’s examination regulations and style guide always take precedence.
Related articles
- Reference listA reference list contains every source cited in your text; a bibliography may include works you consulted. APA says “References”, MLA “Works Cited”.
- Quote, paraphrase, summarizeQuote when exact wording matters, paraphrase to restate one idea in your own words, summarize to condense main points. All three need a citation.
- Harvard referencingHarvard is an author–date style widely used in UK universities: (Smith, 2020, p. 15) in text and an alphabetical reference list. Details vary by university.
- Tables and figuresIn APA 7, label tables and figures in bold (Table 1), add an italic title in title case above, put notes below, and cite any source in a copyright note.
- Avoiding plagiarismCite every idea, quote, and data point you take from others, paraphrase properly, never reuse graded work without permission, and track your sources.
- Reporting statistics in APAAPA style reports test statistic, degrees of freedom, exact p-value and effect size, e.g. t(13.46) = 3.42, p = .004, d = 1.71. Examples for every test.
- Reference managers comparedZotero is free and open source, Mendeley free with an account, EndNote and RefWorks usually come via a university licence, JabRef suits LaTeX users.
