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APA 7 referencing: a quick guide with examples

October 31, 2026

APA style is used across most social science, education and health departments. It has two parts that must always match: short citations in your text, and a full reference list at the end. Here are the rules you'll use most.

In-text citations

One author: (Okafor, 2021) or Okafor (2021) found that…
Two authors: (Okafor & Bello, 2021), or Okafor and Bello (2021) in a sentence.
Three or more authors: use the first author and "et al." from the very first citation: (Okafor et al., 2021).
Organisation as author: (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020) the first time, then (WHO, 2020).
Direct quotations: add the page number: (Okafor, 2021, p. 14).

Journal articles

Format: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Name, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/…

Example: Okafor, C. A., & Bello, T. O. (2021). Study habits and academic performance of secondary school students. Example Journal of Education, 14(2), 45–60. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxx

Only the first word of the article title (and of any subtitle, and proper nouns) is capitalised. The journal name and volume number are in italics.

Books

Format: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the book (edition). Publisher.

Example: Adeyemi, K. (2019). Research methods in education (2nd ed.). University Press. The book title is in italics, and in APA 7 you no longer include the publisher's city.

Websites and online reports

Format: Author or Organisation. (Year, Month Day). Title of the page. Site Name. URL

If there's no date, write (n.d.). Leave out the site name when it's the same as the author.

Formatting the reference list

Title the page "References", centred and in bold.
List entries alphabetically by the first author's surname.
Use a hanging indent (the first line flush left, the rest indented) and double spacing.
Every source cited in your text must be in the list, and every entry in the list must be cited in your text.

APA 6 vs APA 7: the changes students miss

"et al." from the first citation for three or more authors.
No publisher location for books.
DOIs written as links (https://doi.org/…).
No "Retrieved from" before most URLs.

Reference managers like Mendeley and Zotero can format citations for you, but always check the result: they often get capital letters and missing details wrong.

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In-text citations

One author: (Okafor, 2021) or Okafor (2021) found that…

Two authors: (Okafor & Bello, 2021), or Okafor and Bello (2021) in a sentence.

Three or more authors: use the first author and "et al." from the very first citation: (Okafor et al., 2021).

Organisation as author: (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020) the first time, then (WHO, 2020).

Direct quotations: add the page number: (Okafor, 2021, p. 14).

Journal articles

Format: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Name, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/…

Example: Okafor, C. A., & Bello, T. O. (2021). Study habits and academic performance of secondary school students. Example Journal of Education, 14(2), 45–60. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxx

Only the first word of the article title (and of any subtitle, and proper nouns) is capitalised. The journal name and volume number are in italics.

Formatting the reference list

Title the page "References", centred and in bold.

List entries alphabetically by the first author's surname.

Use a hanging indent (the first line flush left, the rest indented) and double spacing.

Every source cited in your text must be in the list, and every entry in the list must be cited in your text.

APA 6 vs APA 7: the changes students miss

"et al." from the first citation for three or more authors.

No publisher location for books.

DOIs written as links (https://doi.org/…).

No "Retrieved from" before most URLs.

Reference managers like Mendeley and Zotero can format citations for you, but always check the result: they often get capital letters and missing details wrong.