APA 7th edition (published 2020) is the current standard used by most universities, psychology journals, and social science publications. Here's everything you need to format citations correctly — with copy-ready examples for every source type.
APA citation basic structure
Every APA citation follows the same core pattern: Author(s). (Year). Title. Source. URL or DOI.
Authors are listed Last, F. I. (last name, then first and middle initials). The year always goes in parentheses immediately after the authors. Titles use sentence case — only the first word, proper nouns, and the first word after a colon are capitalized.
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Journal article citation
Format: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Page–Page. https://doi.org/xxxxx
Example: Müller, J., & Chen, L. (2023). The role of sleep in memory consolidation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 35(4), 112–128. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01234
Key rules: Journal name and volume number are italicized. Issue number in parentheses is not italicized. Include DOI when available — preferred over URL.
Book citation
Format: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter after colon (Edition ed.). Publisher.
Example: Brown, T. (2022). Thinking in systems: A primer (2nd ed.). Chelsea Green Publishing.
Key rules: Book title is italicized. Edition information in parentheses is not italicized. Publisher name drops 'Inc.', 'Ltd.', or 'Co.' unless needed for clarity.
Website citation
Format: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL
Example: World Health Organization. (2024, March 15). Global influenza surveillance. WHO. https://www.who.int/influenza/surveillance
Key rules: Include the exact date if visible on the page. Use 'n.d.' if no date is shown. Site name is italicized. No period after the URL.
YouTube video citation
Format: Channel Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. URL
Example: Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell. (2024, February 10). Why most diets fail [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxx
Key rules: Use the channel name as the author. Add [Video] in square brackets after the italicized title. Include the full URL. No period at the end.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does APA 7th edition require a running head?
No — APA 7th edition removed the running head requirement for student papers. Only manuscripts submitted for publication still need it.
What changed from APA 6th to 7th edition?
Key changes: DOIs now use https://doi.org/ format, 'et al.' is used for 3+ authors (was 6+ in 6th ed.), URLs no longer need 'Retrieved from,' and the running head was dropped for student papers.
How do I cite a tweet in APA 7th?
Author, A. [@username]. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of tweet [Tweet]. Twitter/X. URL
What is 'n.d.' in APA citations?
'n.d.' means 'no date.' Use it when a source has no publication or update date visible on the page.