APA 7th Edition Quick Style Guide
Full Citations by Format
Full citation formatting for common publication types are listed below. For a full list of publication types see Publication Manual for the American Psychological Association, 7th edition, located in Course Reserves in the library.
Common Library Sources
| Publication Type | Citation Format | Citation Example |
|---|---|---|
| Books and Reference Works (e.g. dictionaries, encyclopedias) |
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Copyright Year). Title of book (x ed.). Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxx Note: Include URL/DOI if present. Make sure the link is active. |
Buikema, R., Buyse, A., & Robben, A. (2019). Cultures, citizenship and human rights. Taylor & Francis. http://www.oapen.org/download/?type=document&docid=1006489 |
| Chapter of an Edited Book |
Author, A.A. (Copyright Year). Title of chapter in book. In E. E. Editor & F. F. Feditor (Eds.), Title of book (page range of chapter). Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxx |
Dillard, J. P. (2020). Currents in the study of persuasion. In M. B. Oliver, A. A. Raney, & J. Bryant (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (4th ed., pp. 115–129). Routledge. |
| Journal Article from a Periodical (e.g. academic journal, magazine, newspaper) |
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Name of Periodical, volume(issue), page range. https://doi.org/xxxx Note: Include URL/DOI if present. Make sure the link is active. |
Chen, M. (2019). Hate was not a winning ticket. Dissent, 66(1), 70-72. https://doi.org/10.1353/dss.2019.0011 |
Online Sources
| Publication Type | Citation Format | Citation Example |
|---|---|---|
| Webpage with a Group Author |
Author(s). (Year, Month Day). Title of page. http://webpageURL Note: Make sure the link is active. The author is often the name of the website. |
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, January 31). Diabetes and our heart. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/library/features/diabetes-and-heart.htm |
| Webpage with an Individual Author |
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of work. Title of Website. http://webpageURL Note: Make sure the link is active. |
Lugo, D. (2016, August 11). Virus infected plants and more alluring to bumble bees. American Association for the Advancement of Science. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/08/virus-infected-plants-are-more-alluring-bumble-bees |
| YouTube or Other Streaming Video |
Contributor(s). (Year, Month Day). Video title [Video]. Streaming video service. http://webpageURL Note: Make sure the link is active. |
Green, J. (2015, July 22). Paper towns and why learning is awesome [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgDGlcxYrhQ |
Personal Communications
Personal communications cannot be accessed by readers, so they are not listed in the Reference page at the end of your work. They still needed to be cited in the text of your work.
For personal communications, make sure the full name of your source is in your text (either in the in-text citation or in the narrative of your work), and provide as exact a date as you can. If the communication took place over time (e.g. over email), you can provide a more general date or a range of dates.
| Source Type | In-Text Format | In-Text Example | Narrative Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers |
(E. Elder, nation or Indigenous group, location or other details as relevant, personal communication, date.) |
(A. Grant, Haida Nation, lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, personal communication, April 2019) |
Anna Grant (Haida Nation, lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, personal communication, April 2019) described... |
| Other Personal Communications (e.g. interview, email, text) |
(S. Source, personal communication, date) |
(T. Nguyen, personal communication, February 24, 2020) |
We spoke with Ted Nguyen (personal communication, February 24, 2020), who commented that... |
How to Create a Reference When Information is Missing
You may come across references missing elements of the traditional citation. Use this table to create the reference.
|
Missing element |
Solution |
Reference list entry |
In-text citation |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Nothing--all elements present |
Provide author, date, title, and source of the work. |
Author. (Date). Title. Source |
(Author, year) Author (year) |
|
Author |
Provide the title, date and source. |
Title. (Date). Source. |
(Title, year) Title (year) |
|
Date |
Provide the author, write “n.d.” for “no date,” and then provide the title and source. |
Author. (n.d.). Title. Source. |
(Author, n.d.) Author (n.d.) |
|
Title |
Provide the author anddate, describe the work in square brackets, and then provide the source. |
Author. (Date). [Description of work]. Source. |
(Author, year) Author (year) |
|
Author and date |
Provide the title, write “n.d.” for “no date,” and then provide the source. |
Title. (n.d.) Source. |
(Title, n.d.) Title (n.d.) |
|
Author and title |
Describe the work in square brackets, write “n.d.” for “no date,” and then provide the source. |
[Description of work]. (Date). Source. |
([Description of work], year) [Description of work] (year) |
|
Date and title |
Provide the author, write “n.d.” for “no date,” and then provide the source. |
Author. (n.d.). [Description of work]. Source. |
(Author, n.d.) Author (n.d.) |
|
Author, date, and title |
Describe the work in square brackets, write “n.d.” for “no date,”and then provide the source. |
[Description of work]. (n.d.). Source. |
([Description of work], n.d.) [Description of work] (n.d.) |
|
Source |
Cite as a personal communication or find another work to cite. |
No reference list entry |
(C.C. Communicator, personal communication, month day, year) |
In-Text Citations: Basic In-Text Citation Styles
The format of the in-text citation varies based on the number of authors. See table below for examples.
|
Author type |
Parenthetical citation |
Narrative citation |
|---|---|---|
|
One author |
(Totura, 2019) |
Totura (2019) |
|
Two authors |
(Bandelay & Herrera, 2020) |
Bandelay and Herrera (2020) |
|
Three or more authors |
(Ligier et al., 2020) |
Ligier et al. (2020) |
|
Group authors with abbreviation First citation* Subsequence citations |
(Center for Disease Control [CDC], 2020) (CDC, 2020) |
Center for Disease Control (CDC, 2020) CDC (2020) |
|
Group author without abbreviation |
(University of Rochester, 2020) |
University of Rochester (2020) |
*Define the abbreviation for a group author once in the text, using either the parenthetical or narrative format. Thereafter, use the abbreviation for all mentions of the group in the text.
Citing AI Sources
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (such as ChatGPT) in academic work is currently under discussion. LWTech does not have a campus-wide policy on the use of AI. Instead, instructors have their own policies for each class. Before using AI in any assignment, check your syllabus or ask your instructor about their policy. Violating your instructor's policy on the use of AI may be considered an act of academic dishonesty, to be treated similarly to plagiarism or cheating.
Because some instructors permit the use of AI in class assignments, the Library does offer guidance on how to cite AI sources according to different style guides. Visit the LWTech AI Citation Quick Guide (on Canvas) to learn how to cite AI in APA style.
About This Guide
Rules and explanations are taken from:
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).
Additional APA resource:
Find more rules and source forms for reference list and in-text citations at the APA Guide at Purdue OWL.
Quick Guide Version
Version 4.3 (07/08/2025) webpage edition by Greg Bem, Sue Wozniak, Katherine Kelley, and Stirling Holland-Stone.