APA 7 Basics
APA (American Psychological Association) 7th edition is the most widely used citation style in social sciences, education, and psychology.
In-Text Citations
One author: (Smith, 2024)
Two authors: (Smith & Jones, 2024)
Three+ authors: (Smith et al., 2024)
Reference List Format
Book
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter for subtitle. Publisher.
Example:
Smith, J. D. (2023). Introduction to psychology: A modern approach. Oxford University Press.
Journal Article
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx
Example:
Johnson, R. L. (2024). Effects of sleep on memory. Journal of Cognitive Science, 15(3), 45-67.
Website
Author or Organization. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL
Example:
World Health Organization. (2024, March 15). Mental health in the workplace. https://www.who.int/mental-health
Common Mistakes
- Missing DOI for journal articles (always include if available)
- Incorrect capitalization — only capitalize the first word of titles
- Using "Retrieved from" — APA 7 dropped this; just put the URL
- Not using hanging indent — second line onwards should be indented
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