APA 7th Edition Citation Guide: In-Text & Reference Examples

Whether you’re finishing a research paper at midnight or drafting a thesis proposal, getting APA citations right on the first try saves hours of frustrating rewrites. The APA Publication Manual’s seventh edition introduced meaningful simplifications—fewer rules to memorize, more flexibility with author lists, and clearer guidance for digital sources. This guide pulls examples straight from Purdue OWL and official APA Style guidelines to walk you through exactly how to cite in APA 7th edition, step by step.

Edition: 7th · Publication Year: 2020 · Publisher: American Psychological Association · Key Resource: Purdue OWL · Official Site: apastyle.apa.org

These specifications define the baseline requirements for APA 7th edition papers submitted to most academic institutions and journals.

How do you cite in APA 7th edition?

APA 7th edition uses the author-date method for in-text citations. Every source in your reference list must connect to at least one in-text citation in your paper. According to the Purdue OWL (Academic Guide for APA Style), this means your reader sees the author’s last name and publication year together, either in parentheses or as part of your sentence.

In-text citations

• Parenthetical citation: Place the author’s surname and year in parentheses at the end of the sentence: (Smith, 2023).
• Narrative citation: Weave the author’s name into the sentence naturally, then include just the year in parentheses: Smith (2023) explains that…
• Direct quotations: Add a page number to either format: (Smith, 2023, p. 45) or Smith (2023, p. 45) states…

The APA 7th edition manual covers in-text citations across pages 261–268. Signal phrases in literature reviews typically use past tense verbs like “found” or present perfect forms like “has found” to frame the citation smoothly within your argument.

Reference list entries

• Alphabetize entries by the first author’s last name
• Use a hanging indent with no extra space between entries
• Include up to 20 authors in a single reference (compared to just 7 in APA 6th)

The implication: mastering the parenthetical-narrative pair gives you two flexible tools for integrating sources naturally into any argument without disrupting your writing flow.

What is an example of an APA 7th edition citation?

Looking at concrete examples clarifies rules faster than reading descriptions alone. The APA 7th manual provides 114 reference examples covering everything from books to podcasts.

Book example

For a standard book, the format is: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Subtitle if applicable. Publisher.

Example: Harris, J. (2023). The science of citation: A practical guide. Academic Press.

For edited books, add the editor role: Harris, J. (Ed.). (2023). The science of citation. Academic Press.

Journal article example

Journal references follow this structure: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Example: Chen, M., & Lopez, R. (2022). Digital scholarship in undergraduate programs. Journal of Academic Writing, 14(2), 112–128. https://doi.org/10.1234/jaw.2022.001

The catch: mixing up book and journal formatting remains the most common APA error. Keeping the two templates separate in your notes or templates reduces reformatting time significantly.

What is APA 7 standard format?

Beyond citations, APA 7th defines how your paper looks physically—margins, fonts, spacing, and page layout. These details matter because professors and journals reject submissions that violate formatting standards before reviewing content.

Paper formatting basics

• Margins: One inch on all sides
• Font: 12-point Times New Roman (default) or 11-point Calibri, Arial, or Lucida Sans Unicode
• Spacing: Double-spaced throughout, including reference list
• Alignment: Left-aligned (not justified)

Reference page layout

• Start on a new page after the main text
• Label as “References” centered at top
• Apply hanging indent: first line flush left, subsequent lines indented 0.5 inches
• Use one space after periods (a change from two spaces in APA 6th)

The trade-off: APA 7th’s one-space-after-periods rule conflicts with Microsoft Word’s default settings. Most students must manually disable the “add double space after period” feature to comply.

How to write APA 7th edition citation in-text?

In-text citations form the bridge between your ideas and your sources. Getting these right means readers can verify your claims and locate your sources independently.

Parenthetical citations

Place parenthetical citations at the end of sentences before the period: (Brown, 2021). Multiple sources in one citation separate with semicolons: (Brown, 2021; Davis, 2020; Miller, 2019). For three or more authors, include the first author’s name followed by “et al.” from the very first citation—a simplification from APA 6th, which required “et al.” only after six authors.

Narrative citations

Integrate the author’s name into your sentence: Brown (2021) compared three approaches. The year follows in parentheses immediately after the name. This format works especially well when you want to emphasize the researcher or build a historiographical narrative.

The pattern: paraphrases require only author and year; page numbers are encouraged but optional. Direct quotations always require page numbers for print sources. For digital sources without page numbers, use paragraph numbers: (Brown, 2021, para. 4).

The APA in-text citation for works with three or more authors is now shortened right from the first citation. You only include the first author’s name and “et al.”

— Scribbr (Educational Resource on APA Changes)

What should APA 7 format look like for websites and journals?

Digital sources present specific challenges that print sources don’t: URLs break, DOIs change, and websites lack stable page numbers. APA 7th provides updated rules for handling these cases.

Website citations

Format for web pages with identifiable authors: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. https://www.urlgoeshere.com

APA 7th no longer requires “Retrieved from” before URLs—the full URL follows the title directly. For pages without authors, cite the site name and URL, moving the title into the author position if no individual author exists.

Journal article citations

Journal references now list DOIs as complete URLs using the https://doi.org/ prefix rather than the older doi: format. Example: https://doi.org/10.1234/jpa.2022.4455

PDF citations

PDFs without unique publication information follow the same format as the source type they represent (journal, book, report). If the PDF is a standalone document with no equivalent web version, include “[PDF]” in brackets after the title.

The implication: APA 7th’s digital-first approach acknowledges that most contemporary research happens online. The rules that once applied only to print now flex to accommodate URLs, DOIs, and dynamically updated webpages.

APA 7th Edition Changes: Step-by-Step

If you’re updating existing papers from APA 6th to APA 7th, or learning the current standard for the first time, here’s a practical workflow.

1. Check your author count rules. For in-text citations, apply “et al.” after three or more authors (down from six in APA 6th). For reference lists, include up to 20 authors before using ellipsis.
2. Format your reference page. Remove publisher location from book references. Add hanging indents to all entries. Use one space after periods throughout the document.
3. Handle digital sources. Drop “Retrieved from” before URLs. Convert DOIs to https://doi.org/ format. Remove retrieval dates for stable sources.
4. Verify your in-text citations. Match each reference entry to at least one parenthetical or narrative citation. Check that direct quotations include page numbers. Confirm all two-author citations list both names every time.
5. Review formatting details. Confirm 1-inch margins, double-spacing, and left alignment. Apply 12-point Times New Roman or approved alternative font.

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation.

— Purdue OWL (Academic Guide for APA Style)

For anyone managing a semester-long research project, these steps transform a citation nightmare into a repeatable process. Building the template library once means every subsequent assignment inherits correct formatting automatically.

Related reading: How Many Sentences Is a Paragraph – Rules, Examples and Tips

Complementing Purdue OWL tips, this full citation guide offers practical examples of APA 7th in-text and reference citations for books and websites.

Frequently asked questions