---
name: citation-style-apa
description: Use when asked to cite sources, format in-text citations, or build a reference list in APA (American Psychological Association) citation style, 7th edition, used in psychology, education, the social sciences, nursing, and business; author-date like [[citation-style-harvard]], but with a fixed official manual; unlike the numbered [[citation-style-ieee]] and [[citation-style-vancouver]].
---

# APA Citation Style

APA (American Psychological Association) citation style, 7th edition is the style commonly required in psychology, education, the social sciences, nursing, and business. Family: Author-date.

## Input required

- The sources to cite, with author, title, date, publisher or journal, volume, issue, pages, and DOI or URL.
- The edition, institution, or journal whose rules apply.

## Questions to ask first

1. Which edition or institutional variant must the work follow?
2. Is the output in-text citations, reference-list entries, or both?
3. What type is each source (book, article, web page, report, legal authority)?
4. Is any information missing, such as the date, pages, or DOI?

## In-text citations

- Parenthetical: `(Smith, 2020)`; narrative: `Smith (2020)`.
- Two authors join with `&` in parentheses and `and` in narrative: `(Smith & Lee, 2020)`.
- Three or more authors: `(Smith et al., 2020)` from the first citation.
- Direct quotations add a page: `(Smith, 2020, p. 45)`.

## Reference format

Titled `References`, alphabetical by first author, hanging indent. Article titles in sentence case; journal title and volume in italics; include the DOI as a `https://doi.org/` link when one exists.

## Example pattern

The names, title, and numbers below are placeholders showing the pattern, not a real source.

```text
Smith, J. A., & Lee, K. (2020). Title of the article in sentence case. *Journal Name, 12*(3), 45–67. https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxxxx
```

## Ground rules

- Use only the details the user supplied or that can be checked. Never invent authors, dates, DOIs, page numbers, or sources.
- If a detail is missing, leave a clear placeholder and say so.
- Apply one style consistently throughout the document.
- When the user's institution or journal differs from this guide, follow theirs.

## Self-check before answering

- Does every in-text citation have a matching reference entry, and the reverse?
- Are the ordering, capitalization, punctuation, and italics consistent with this style?
- Were any details guessed? Remove or flag them.

## Common pitfalls

- **Mixing `&` and `and`** — `&` inside parentheses, `and` in running text.
- **Title case for article titles** — APA uses sentence case for article and book titles; only the journal title is title case.
- **Citing the 6th-edition way** — the 7th edition dropped the publisher location for books and no longer needs "Retrieved from" before URLs.
- **In-text entry with no reference-list entry** — every in-text citation needs a matching entry, and the reverse.

## Learn more

- Compare with the other styles: [[citation-style-mla]], [[citation-style-chicago]], [[citation-style-harvard]], [[citation-style-vancouver]], [[citation-style-ieee]], [[citation-style-ama]], [[citation-style-oscola]].
- Official guidance: [APA Style](https://apastyle.apa.org/).