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APA 7th Edition

This guide provides information about creating APA 7 Reference List and In-Text Citations

Basic Format of a Reference List

Below are some basic rules to follow when creating a reference list:

  • Begin your reference list on a new page
  • The word References should be centered and bold at the top of the page
  • Double-space your reference list
  • For each author, list the last name first followed by the initials for their first and middle names
  • Arrange your reference list alphabetically by the last name of the author
  • Use a hanging indent after the first line of your citation

Basic Structure of a Citation

Authors may be individual people, multiple people, institutions, organizations, or a combination. 

One Author Freeman, A. (2020, January 28). To keep textiles from landfills, manufacturers focus on recycling. The Washington Post.
Two-Twenty Authors Schuler, A. R., & Pearson, H. C. (2019). Conservation benefits of whale watching in Juneau, Alaska. Tourism in Marine Environments, 14(4), 231–248. https://doi-org/10.3727/154427319X15719404264632
Organization as Author National Association of Social Workers. (2005). NASW standards for clinical social work in social work practice. https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=YOg4qdefLBE%3d&portalid=0
Editor Carlsten, J. M., & McGarry, F. (Eds.). (2015). Film, history, and memory. Palgrave Macmillan. 

Other tips:

  • List authors in the order they appear on the source
  • If there is no author listed, the title will be the first item listed in citation
  • You must include the names of all authors up to 20
  • Use the ampersand symbol "&" symbol before the last author listed

Different sources require a different date format. For example:

Sources like books and journal articles only require the year Smith, Z. (2009). Changing my mind: Occasional essays. Penguin Press. 
Sources like magazine articles, newspaper articles, social media, YouTube videos, blog posts, etc., require the full date, if that information is available Freeman, A. (2020, January 28). To keep textiles from landfills, manufacturers focus on recycling. The Washington Post.
If an item has no date, use n.d. where you would normally put the date Freeman, A. (n.d.). To keep textiles from landfills, manufacturers focus on recycling. The Washington Post.

Depending on what you are citing, your title will be formatted differently:

  • Italicize titles of books, journals and magazines
  • Do not italicize titles of articles or book chapters
  • Newspapers can be tricky:
    • If the source has an associated newspaper, italicize the title of the newspaper
    • If the source doesn't have an associated newspaper, italicize the title of the article
    • View News Articles examples under the Citing Articles tab for examples
  • For titles of articles, books, and book chapters: capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the title. If there is a colon in the title, also capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon. You will also capitalize proper nouns. 

Depending on what you are citing, the source section of your citation will be formatted differently. For example: 

What are you citing? Source Components:
Journal Articles Name of journal, volume(issue) page numbers, DOI
Magazine Articles Name of magazine, volume(issue) if given, page if given, URL
Books Publisher
Web Sources Website name, URL

For more detailed examples, please visit the Citing Articles, Citing Books, Citing Websites, and Citing Media tabs.