APA citation style is the author-date referencing system published by the American Psychological Association (APA) in the seventh edition of its Publication Manual. It tells you how to format a paper, how to cite a source inside your text, and how to build the reference list at the end. Students and researchers in psychology, education, and the social sciences use it most, but plenty of other fields have adopted it because the rules are consistent and easy to apply once you know the pattern. This guide covers the formatting rules, in-text citation patterns, and reference list examples you need for the most common reference types. For a broader look at how APA compares with other systems, see our citation styles overview.
What Is APA Citation Style?
APA citation style is a set of rules for crediting sources and formatting an academic document, maintained by the American Psychological Association. The current version is the 7th edition, published in 2020, which simplified several rules from the 6th edition, most notably dropping the requirement to list up to seven authors before switching to “et al.” APA style ties a short in-text citation to a full entry in an alphabetical reference list, so a reader can trace any claim back to its original source.
APA Citation Style vs. MLA and Chicago
APA citation style is one of three citation styles students run into most often, alongside MLA and Chicago. All three exist to solve the same problem: crediting original work consistently so readers can verify a claim. APA style favors the author-date format and is standard in psychology, education, and the social sciences. MLA style favors an author-page format and is standard in literature and the humanities. Chicago style offers both a notes-bibliography system and an author-date system, and shows up most often in history. If your assignment does not specify a style, check your course guidelines first. APA citation style is the safest default for social-science coursework, since it is the style most instructors in that field expect and the one your citations will be graded against.
APA Paper Formatting Rules
Before you get to citations, APA style sets a handful of formatting rules that apply to the whole document. Student papers and professional manuscripts differ slightly (student papers skip the running head), but the core rules below apply to both. Our APA title page generator builds a compliant title page automatically if you would rather skip the manual setup.
| Element | APA 7th Edition Rule |
|---|---|
| Font | 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Calibri, or another accessible font, used consistently throughout |
| Margins | 1 inch on all sides |
| Line spacing | Double-spaced throughout, including the reference list |
| Title page | Paper title, author name, institution, course, instructor, and due date, centered and stacked |
| Page numbers | Top right corner throughout, beginning with the title page |
| Paragraph indent | First line of each paragraph indented 0.5 inch |
| Headings | Five levels, each with a distinct bold, italic, and centering pattern |
APA In-Text Citations
APA in-text citations use the author-date format: the author’s last name and the publication year, placed either in the sentence or in parentheses at the end. When you quote directly, add the page or paragraph number as well. The Purdue OWL guide to in-text citations is a useful resource for edge cases not covered here.
One Author
Cite the author’s last name and year, separated by a comma inside parentheses: (Smith, 2023). If you name the author in your sentence, only the year goes in parentheses: Smith (2023) found that…
Two Authors
Join both last names with an ampersand inside parentheses, or with “and” in running text: (Smith & Lee, 2023) or Smith and Lee (2023) argue that…
Three or More Authors
List the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” for every citation, including the first: (Smith et al., 2023). This is one of the main simplifications the 7th edition made over the 6th, which required all authors on a source’s first mention.
(Smith & Lee, 2023, p. 45): use this exact format when quoting a specific spot directly.
No Page Number Available
For a direct quote with no visible page numbers, such as one from a webpage, use a paragraph number or the nearest heading instead: (Smith, 2023, para. 4). For paraphrased material, a specific locator is optional but still helpful to readers.
When you quote material word for word, keep the original wording exact and follow our guide on how to introduce quotations for the surrounding sentence structure. When you restate material in your own words instead, see how to paraphrase for the same citation rules still apply.
APA Reference List Rules
The reference list appears on its own sheet at the end of the document, titled “References,” centered and not bolded. Every entry uses a hanging indent, meaning the first line sits at the margin and every following line is indented 0.5 inch. Entries are sorted alphabetically by the first author’s last name, and the whole list stays double-spaced with no extra blank lines between entries. Every work cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and every entry there must be cited at least once in the text. The two lists always match, so a reader can trace any citation back to its original work. If you would rather build the list automatically, our APA citation generator formats entries from a title, URL, or DOI.
Formatting a Hanging Indent
Most word processors apply a hanging indent automatically once you select the whole reference list: open the paragraph formatting menu, choose “Special,” then “Hanging,” and set it to 0.5 inch. Apply this once to all the entries rather than indenting each line by hand, since manual tabs and spaces tend to break alignment when the citation wraps to a second line.
APA Reference Examples by Source Type
The table below covers the source types students cite most often. Each follows the same underlying pattern: author, date, title, and source, with punctuation and italics varying by type.
| Source Type | Reference List Format |
|---|---|
| Book | Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. Publisher. |
| Journal article | Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), page range. https://doi.org/xxxx |
| Webpage | Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title. Site Name. URL |
| Newspaper article | Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Newspaper Name. URL |
| Edited book chapter | Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx-xx). Publisher. |
| Report by an organization | Organization Name. (Year). Title of report (Report No. xxx, if any). Publisher. |
For type-specific walkthroughs, full worked examples, and more citation style resources, see the guides for the source types you cite most:
- How to cite books
- How to cite journals
- How to cite a website
- How to cite a newspaper article
- How to work an article into your essay
A Worked Example: In-Text Citation and Reference Entry Together
Seeing an in-text citation and its matching reference entry side by side makes the pattern easier to apply. Suppose you paraphrase a finding from a 2023 journal article by two authors, Chen and Ruiz. In the body of your paper, the citation reads: (Chen & Ruiz, 2023). The matching entry, alphabetized by “Chen,” reads: Chen, L., & Ruiz, M. (2023). Reading habits and academic performance in college students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 45(2), 112-129. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000456. Notice the last name and year line up exactly between the two citations, which is how a reader moves from your sentence to the full reference.
Citing an Indirect or Secondary Reference
Sometimes you find a useful idea quoted inside another work and cannot locate the original. APA style calls this a secondary citation: cite the work you actually read, and name the original author in your sentence. For example: Chen’s 2019 study (as cited in Ruiz, 2023) found that… Only the Ruiz entry goes in your reference list, since that is the material you read directly. Use secondary citations sparingly, and prefer citing your primary sources directly whenever they are available to you.
Most APA style mistakes come from applying an old edition’s rules or mixing APA with another style’s habits. The list below covers the slips that show up most often once you already know the basics.
Common APA Mistakes to Avoid
- Using title case in reference titles
- Skipping the hanging indent
- Citing a work not in the reference list
- Forgetting to include a locator in a direct quote
- Mixing “and” with an ampersand inconsistently
- Bolding or underlining the References heading
Keep this guide open as a quick reference the next time you draft a paper. Once you have formatted a few reference entries and written a handful of citations in this style, the pattern becomes automatic.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between APA 6th and 7th edition?
The 7th edition, published in 2020, simplified the “et al.” rule for multiple authors, added guidance for accessibility and bias-free language, and removed the requirement to list a publisher’s location for most sources.
Do I need a running head in APA style?
Only professional papers submitted for publication need a running head. Student papers in the 7th edition skip it entirely, keeping only the numbering in the top right corner.
How do I cite a source with no author?
Use the title in place of the author, shortened to the first few words in the in-text citation: (“Short Title,” 2023). In the reference list, the entry starts with the full title instead of an author name.
Is APA style double-spaced everywhere, including the reference list?
Yes. Every part of an APA paper is double-spaced, including the title page, body text, block quotes, and the reference list, with no extra blank lines added between reference entries.
What citation format does APA use for direct quotes?
Include the author, year, and page or paragraph number: (Smith, 2023, p. 12). Quotes of 40 words or more are set off as a block quote without quotation marks, indented 0.5 inch from the margin.
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Terry is a Chicago-based writer and editor who creates practical, student-friendly guides on essay writing, research, and citation styles (APA, MLA, and Chicago). He’s spent 15+ years editing educational content and building clear examples that help readers apply rules without guessing. When he’s not revising drafts, he’s usually turning messy notes into clean outlines and hunting down the one detail everyone skips.