APA 7th

• Use a single space after punctuation marks that close a sentence.
• Use parentheses to introduce abbreviations and to denote separate thoughts.
• Use square brackets to enclose material that's already in parentheses.

• Major words including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns are capitalized. This is needed for:
  • titles of works appearing in text
  • all headings
  • the title of your paper included sections and subsections
  • table titles and figure titles
• Sentence case in which the first word is capitalized and most other words are lowercase; used for:
  • titles of works in the reference list
  • table column headings, entries, and notes

• Use abbreviations only as needed.
  • For the first use of an abbreviated term, write the full name of the term followed immediately by the abbreviation in parentheses.
• For all subsequent uses of the term, use the abbreviation.

• Numbers one through nine are expressed the as words.
• Numbers 10 and greater are written numerically.

• 1-inch margins must be used on all sides.
• Font should be consistent throughout your entire paper.
  • Use 11-point Calibri or 11-point Arial for a sans serif font. 
  • Use 12-point Times New Roman or 11-point Georgia for a serif font.
• All text should be double spaced.
• Page numbers will appear in the upper, right hand corner of the page.
  • This includes the title page.
• Indent the first line of every paragraph by 0.5 inches.

The 7th edition has differences between a student and professional paper. Be sure to consult with your professor to make sure you are following the correct version. 

A student paper will include:

1. Title page​​, including the following elements:
   • title
   • author name(s)
   • author affiliation(s)
   • course name and number
   • instructor name
   • assignment due date
   • page number
2. Page numbers
3. Text
4. Reference List

Click here to download a sample student paper as a Word document.

Professional papers need the following:

1. Title page, which will include:
   • Page number
   • Running head 
   • Author note
   • Affiliation for each author
   • Name of each author of the paper
   • Title of the paper
2. Running head
3. Page numbers
4. Abstract
5. Text
6. Reference list

Click here to download a sample professional paper as a Word document.

APA has five different levels of headings to organize the body of your paper into sections and subsections. It is helpful to think about headings as being like an outline to a paper which has main topics, then subtopics, and subtopics to those. There are five heading levels in APA, starting with level 1 and ending with level 5. See the table below for sample formatting:

​​​

The general format of a reference list follows some basic rules:

• The reference list begins on a new page after the text and before tables, figures, or appendices.
• The page should begin with References in bold and centered.
• All text is double spaced.
• The first line of a reference should align with your left margin. After the first line the text should be indented 0.5 inches from the margin.
• List references alphabetically by the author last name.

• List authors by surname and initials.
  • Example: (Sheridan, C. P.)
• Use commas to separate multiple authors. For two to 20 authors, use an ampersand before the last author.
  • Example: (Sheridan, C. P. & Hughes, S. E.)
• If there are 20 or fewer authors, you must list out all of the authors.
• If there are 21 or more authors, you must list out the first 19, add an ellipsis, and then list the last author's name.
• If there is no author, move the title to the author position.

• Dates are listed in parentheses followed by a period.
• For journal articles, use the date of the volume.
• Books use the date listed on the copyright page.
• If no date is available, use (n.d.). 

• Use sentence case capitalization for titles.
• For references that have additional title/identifying information (e.g. edition, volume, etc.), place any additional information in parentheses after the title of the reference. Separate multiple pieces of information with commas.
• If your reference doesn't have a title, put a description of the work in square brackets in the title section.

• When using books, include the publisher's name and DOIs or URLs.
• For journal articles, include the journal's information such as the title, volume, issue, pages and DOIs or URLs.
• Websites need to include the website name and the URL.

An in-text citation is a citation within your writing that shows where you found your information, facts, quotes, and research. 

There are two types of in-text citations: parenthetical and narrative.

A parenthetical citation contains all citation information inside the parentheses. For example:

• To distribute up-to-date schedules is one layer of the solution, but to give staff notice of daily changes and meetings is a final piece of the puzzle in public services (Hughes, 2018).

A narrative citation will have some or all of the citation information within the text. For example:

• Hughes (2018) noted that another consideration for communication in public services departments is that staff members process information in a variety of ways.

Below are some more examples of in-text citations by different types of authors:

Paraphrasing is when you put information from a source in your own words.

• Page or paragraph numbers are not required but can be included.
• For paraphrases that extend for several sentences, put the in-text citation after the first mention of the source. 

When copying a sentence from another source, you must include the author, date, and page number where the information was found.

• A short quote is fewer than 40 words. An example looks like:

Librarians know that to offer exemplary customer service in a public service setting, "accurate and effective communication from the manager to staff is critical" (Hughes, 2018, p. 366).

• A block quote has 40 or more words.
  • The quote needs to start on new line and be indented 0.5 inch from the left margin.
  • Block quotes do not need quotation marks.

• To omit part of a quote, use an ellipsis (...) to indicate the omitted section.
• If you want to insert words into a quote, add the words with square brackets [insert words here]. 
• To emphasize part of a quote, italicize the part you want to emphasize and add [emphasis added].

A DOI (digital object identifier) is a unique alphanumeric string used to identify content and provide a persistent link to its location on the internet. 

The DOI is an important part of the citation because it will help direct users to a source.

Not all sources have a DOI, but more recently published material is likely to have one.

List DOIs as URLs in APA 7th style.

Correct format:  

• https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-8273-0
• http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-12-1

Incorrect:     

• doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099
• Retrieved from http://doi:10.1186/1471-2288-14

The DOI is often listed in the item record in a database, in the article citation, or on the first page of the document. It may also be found through the publisher website. 

You can also consult with CrossRef using their DOI lookup tool.

Print

Electronic

Print

Electronic

single author

Print

Electronic

multiple authors

Print

Electronic

Print

Electronic

Organizational group author

Individual author

No date

Government agency group author

Government agency single author

Government source with retrieval date

Government source with report

Album

Song

Podcast

Podcast episode