APA 7: journal article (with DOI)
- List up to 20 authors, with “&” before the last. For 21 or more, list the first 19, an ellipsis, then the final author.
- Article titles are in sentence case and not italic; capitalise the first word after a colon or em dash. The journal name and volume are italic; the issue number is not.
- Give the DOI as a full https://doi.org/ link, with no “DOI:” label and no full stop after it.
APA 7: book
- APA 7 does not include the publisher's location.
- Book titles are italic and in sentence case.
- Put an edition after the title in parentheses, e.g. *Title of book* (2nd ed.).
APA 7: chapter in an edited book
- Editors' initials come before their surnames, followed by “(Ed.)” for one editor or “(Eds.)” for more.
- The chapter title is not italic; the book title is.
APA 7: web page
- The page title is italic. Leave out the site name when it is the same as the author.
- Use (n.d.) when there is no date. Add a retrieval date only for pages designed to change over time.
APA 7: report
- When the author and the publisher are the same organisation, leave the publisher out.
- Put a report number in parentheses after the title, e.g. (Report No. 12).
APA 7: thesis or dissertation
- For a thesis in a database or repository, use [Doctoral dissertation, University Name] followed by the database or archive name and the URL.
- Use “master's thesis” for a master's thesis.
APA 7 in-text citations
Give the author's surname and the year. Add a page number for direct quotations.
| Parenthetical | (Jergas & Baethge, 2015) |
| Narrative | Jergas and Baethge (2015) found that… |
| Direct quotation | (Doe, 2021, p. 14) |
| Group author | (Example Institute for Education, 2023) |
- One or two authors: give both surnames every time. Three or more: give the first surname and “et al.” from the first citation.
- Use “&” between names inside parentheses and “and” in running text.
- Use “p.” for one page and “pp.” for a range in quotations.
Common APA 7 mistakes
- Using “&” in a narrative citation. Write “Jergas and Baethge (2015)” in running text; “&” belongs inside parentheses and in the reference list.
- Title case for article and book titles. APA 7 uses sentence case for both; only journal names keep title case.
- Adding “Retrieved from” or “DOI:” before a DOI. APA 7 gives the DOI as a plain https://doi.org/ link.
- Including the publisher's city. APA 7 dropped publisher locations.
- Italicising the issue number. Only the journal name and volume are italic.
Format a reference in APA 7
Fill in a journal article once and our free in-browser formatter gives it to you in APA 7, ready to copy, with the author-list rules applied. It opens with APA 7 highlighted.
APA 7 questions
How many authors do I list before “et al.” in APA 7?
In the reference list, list up to 20 authors. In the text, use the first author's surname and “et al.” whenever a work has three or more authors, from the first citation onward.
Do I need to include the DOI?
Yes. APA 7 asks for the DOI whenever a work has one, whether you read it online or in print, written as a https://doi.org/ link.
What if a source has no date?
Write “n.d.” (no date) in place of the year, both in the reference, e.g. (n.d.), and in the in-text citation, e.g. (Public, n.d.).
Do I need page numbers in APA in-text citations?
Yes for direct quotations, e.g. (Doe, 2021, p. 14). For paraphrases they are encouraged, especially for long works, but not required.
Does APA 7 use a hanging indent?
Yes. Each reference has a 0.5-inch hanging indent, and the reference list is double-spaced like the rest of the paper.
About the examples
Every style guide on this site formats the same six sources, so you can compare styles side by side. The journal article is real; the others are fictional, with placeholder names.
- Journal article (with DOI) (real): Hannah Jergas and Christopher Baethge, “Quotation accuracy in medical journal articles—a systematic review and meta-analysis,” PeerJ, volume 3, article e1364, published 27 October 2015, DOI 10.7717/peerj.1364.
- Book: Jane A. Doe, Evidence and argument in student research, Example University Press, London, 2021.
- Chapter in an edited book: Richard B. Roe, “Reading statistics critically,” pages 45–67 of A handbook of research methods, edited by Maria C. Sample and Lee D. Example, Example University Press, London, 2020.
- Web page: Pat Q. Public, “How to check that a source exists,” Example Research Hub (London), published 12 March 2024, https://www.example.org/guides/check-a-source, accessed 15 October 2026.
- Report: Example Institute for Education (author and publisher, London), Student research practices in higher education, 2023, https://www.example.org/reports/student-research-2023, accessed 15 October 2026.
- Thesis or dissertation: Alex B. Placeholder, Peer feedback and revision in first-year writing, unpublished PhD thesis, Department of Education, Example University, London, 2022.
Based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. Last reviewed 2026-11. Your instructor's or journal's own guidelines take precedence. Spotted an error? Email support@moremind.ai.