References and in-text citations in APA Style

When it comes to citing sources, more guidelines have been added that make citing online
sources easier and clearer.

In total, 114 examples are provided, ranging from books and periodicals to audiovisuals and
social media. For each reference category, an easy template is provided to help you understand
and apply the citation guidelines. The biggest changes in the 7th edition are:

1. The publisher location is no longer included in the reference.

o Covey, S. R. (2013). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in personal
change. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
o Covey, S. R. (2013). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in personal change.
Simon & Schuster.
2. The 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.”.
o (Taylor, Kotler, Johnson, & Parker, 2018)
o (Taylor et al., 2018)
3. Surnames and initials for up to 20 authors (instead of 7) should be provided in
the reference entry.
o Miller, T. C., Brown, M. J., Wilson, G. L., Evans, B. B., Kelly, R. S., Turner, S. T., . . . Lee, L. H.
(2018).
o Miller, T. C., Brown, M. J., Wilson, G. L., Evans, B. B., Kelly, R. S., Turner, S. T., Lewis, F.,
Nelson, T. P., Cox, G., Harris, H. L., Martin, P., Gonzalez, W. L., Hughes, W., Carter, D., Campbell,
C., Baker, A. B., Flores, T., Gray, W. E., Green, G., . . . Lee, L. H. (2018).
4. DOIs are formatted the same as URLs. The label “DOI:” is no longer necessary.

o doi: 10.1080/02626667.2018.1560449
o https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2018.1560449
5. URLs are no longer preceded by “Retrieved from,” unless a retrieval date is needed.
The website name is included (unless it’s the same as the author).
o Streefkerk, R. (2019, October 11). APA 7th edition: The most notable changes [Blog
post]. Retrieved from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-seventh-edition-changes/
o Streefkerk, R. (2019, October 11). APA 7th edition: The most notable
changes. Scribbr. https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-seventh-edition-changes/
6. For ebooks, the format, platform, or device (e.g. Kindle) is no longer included in the
reference, and the publisher is included.
o Brück, M. (2009). Women in early British and Irish astronomy: Stars and satellites [Kindle
version]. https:/doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2473-2
o Brück, M. (2009). Women in early British and Irish astronomy: Stars and satellites. Springer
Nature. https:/doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2473-2
7. Clear guidelines are provided for including contributors other than authors and
editors. For example, when citing a podcast episode, the host of the episode should
be included; for a TV series episode, the writer and director of that episode are
cited.
8. Dozens of examples are included for online source types such as podcast
episodes, social media posts, and YouTube videos. The use of emojis and hashtags is
also explained.
Inclusive and bias-free language
Writing inclusively and without bias is the new standard, and APA’s new publication manual
contains a separate chapter on this topic.

The guidelines provided by APA help authors reduce bias around topics such as gender, age,
disability, racial and ethnic identity, and sexual orientation, as well as being sensitive to labels
and describing individuals at the appropriate level of specificity. Some examples include:

9. The singular “they” or “their” is endorsed as a gender-neutral pronoun.

o A researcher’s career depends on how often he or she is cited.
o A researcher’s career depends on how often they are cited.
10. Instead of using adjectives as nouns to label groups of people, descriptive phrases
are preferred.
o The poor
o People living in poverty
11. Instead of broad categories, you should use exact age ranges that are more relevant
and specific.
o People over 65 years old
o People in the age range of 65 to 75 years old

APA Paper format

In the 7th edition, APA decided to provide different paper format guidelines for professional and
student papers. For both types, a sample paper is included. Some notable changes include:

12. Increased flexibility regarding fonts: options include Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida
Sans Unicode 10, Times New Roman 12, and Georgia 11.
13. The running head on the title page no longer includes the words “Running head:”.
It now contains only a page number and the (shortened) paper title.
o Running head: THE EFFECT OF GOOGLE ON THE INTERNET
o THE EFFECT OF GOOGLE ON THE INTERNET
14. The running head is omitted in student papers (unless your instructor tells you
otherwise).
15. Heading levels 3-5 are updated to improve readability.

Mechanics of style
In terms of style, not much has changed in the 7th edition. In addition to some updated and better
explained guidelines, there are two notable changes:

16. Use only one space after a period at the end of a sentence.
17. Use double quotation marks instead of italics to refer to linguistic examples.
o APA endorses the use of the singular pronoun they
o APA endorses the use of the singular pronoun “they”
APA citation guidelines
APA Style is widely used by students, researchers, and professionals in the social and
behavioral sciences. The Scribbr APA Citation Generator automatically generates
accurate references and in-text citations for free.

This citation guide outlines the most important citation guidelines from the 7th
edition APA Publication Manual (2020). We also offer a 6th edition guide.

APA in-text citations

The basics
APA in-text citations include the author’s last name, publication date, and, if relevant, a
locator such as a page number or timestamp. For example (Smith, 2021, p. 170). See it
as a shorter version of the entry in the reference list.

You should include in-text citations every time you’re quoting or paraphrasing someone

else’s ideas or words. In doing so, you give credit to the original author and avoid
plagiarism.

Parenthetical vs. narrative citation

The in-text citation can take two forms: parenthetical and narrative. Both types are
generated automatically when citing a source with Scribbr’s APA Citation Generator.

 Parenthetical citation: According to new research … (Smith, 2020).

 Narrative citation: Smith (2020) notes that …

Multiple authors and corporate authors

The in-text citation changes slightly when a source has multiple authors or an
organization as an author. Pay attention to punctuation and the use of the ampersand
(&) symbol.

Author type Parenthetical citation Narrative citation

One author (Smith, 2020) Smith (2020)

Two authors (Smith & Jones, 2020) Smith and Jones (2020)

Three or more authors (Smith et al., 2020) Smith et al. (2020)

Organization (Scribbr, 2020) Scribbr (2020)

Author type Parenthetical citation Narrative citation

Missing element What to do Parenthetical citation

Missing information
Author Use the source title.* (Source Title, 2020)
When the author, publication date or locator is unknown, take the steps outlined below.

Date Write “n.d.” for “no date”. (Smith, n.d.)

Page number Either use an alternative locator or (Smith, 2020, Chapter 3) or

omit the page number. (Smith, 2020)

*Format the title in the same way as in the corresponding reference entry (either italicized or, if the title
in the reference entry is not italicized, placed in quotation marks). Use title case capitalization.

APA references
The basics
APA references generally include information about the author, publication date, title,
and source. Depending on the type of source, you may have to include extra
information that helps your reader locate the source.

Reference examples
Citing a source starts with choosing the correct reference format. Use Scribbr’s Citation
Example Generator to learn more about the format for the most common source types.
Pay close attention to punctuation, capitalization, and italicization.

Generate APA citations for free

Missing information
It is not uncommon for certain information to be unknown or missing, especially with
sources found online. In these cases, the reference is slightly adjusted.

Missing What to do Reference format

element

Author Start the reference entry with the source Title. (Date). Source.
title.

Date Write “n.d.” for “no date”. Author. (n.d.). Title. Source.
Missing What to do Reference format
element

Title Describe the work in square brackets. Author. (Date). [Description].

Source.

Formatting the APA reference page

The basics

On the reference page, you list all the sources that you’ve cited throughout your paper.
Place the page, right after the main body and before any appendices.

On the first line of the page, write the section label “References” (in bold and centered).
On the second line, start listing your references in alphabetical order.

Apply these formatting guidelines to the APA reference page:

 Double spacing (within and between references)

 Hanging indent of ½ inch
 Legible font (e.g. Times New Roman 12 or Arial 11)
 Page number in the top right header