APA 7th Edition Citation Guide

Components

If paraphrasing, in parenthesis, list the author's last name followed by a comma and the year of publication. The punctuation at the end of the sentence goes after and outside the parenthesis. 

(Author's last name, year)

Example

Citing sources is very important (Smith, 2019).

Components

If directly quoting, in parenthesis, list the author's last name followed by a comma and the year of publication followed by a comma and the page number(s). 

(Author's last name, year, page number)

Example

It should be noted that "proper usage of citations is crucial" (Smith, 2019, p. 263)

Components

If paraphrasing the author in text, list the author in the sentence without parenthesis, include the year of publication in parenthesis immediately afterwards and then the paraphrased information.

List the Author's last name (year) and the paraphrased information in your sentence. 

Example

Smith (2019) states citing sources is very important.

Components

If directly quoting the author in text, list the author in the sentence without parenthesis, include the year of publication in parenthesis immediately afterwards and then the quoted information. List page number(s) at the end of the sentence in parenthesis.

List the Author's last name (year), "direct quotation inside quotation marks" (p. #). 

Example

In his article on citations, Smith (2019) states that "proper usage of citations is crucial" (p. 263).

Components

If there is no author, list a shortened version of the title in place of the author followed by a comma and the year of publication.

For example: If the article is entitled "Very long work can be exhausting to read," the title can be shortened to "Very long work." 

("shortened title", year)

Example

This article is very long ("Very long work," 2019).

Components

If paraphrasing two authors, list the last names of both authors connected with "&" followed by a comma and the year of publication.

(Author's last name & Second author's last name, year)

Example

Citations are academically honest (Smith & Jones, 2019).

Components

If paraphrasing three or more authors, list the first author followed by “et al.” followed by a comma and the year of publication. 

(Author's last name et al. year)

Example

Citations have saved millions of papers (Smith et al., 2019).

Components

If using a group or corporate author, list the name or abbreviation of the group/company/agency in place of the author; followed by a comma and the year of publication.

(Group name, year)

Example

It has been reported that failure to use citations is a threat to national security (Citation Security Agency, 2019).

Components

If you are using text generated by an AI, please use the company's name who owns the product and the year you used it.

(AI Company, year)

Example

The citation was long and written by ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2023).

Note: Always directly quote when AI is used, unless otherwise stated by your professor.

Components

If there is no date, put (n.d.) for year. Place a period after n and d with no spaces in between.

(Author last name, year)

Example

The citation was long but did not have a date (Smith, n.d.)

Note: If directly quoting, after the year of publication add a comma and put the page number

Note: The "n.d." stands for "No Date."  Be sure to use n.d. on the References page to match the in-text citation. 

Components

If there are two or more authors with the same last name, list the first name initial(s) and then the last name followed by a comma and then the year.

(First author first initial. last name, year). 

(Second author first initial. last name, year).

Example

The glass is half full (A. Smith, 2019). 

The glass is half empty (B. Smith, 2019).

Components

If multiple references have an identical author (or authors) and year of publication, list a lowercase letter after the year.

The References page for these citations needs to have the year of publication exactly match the in-text date with the added lowercase letter. 

(Author last name, yeara). 

(Author last name, yearb) 

Example

(Redd, 2017a).

(Redd, 2017b).

Components

If you are citing a work in translation, you write the year of initial publication followed by the year of the translation's publication, separated by a forward slash.

(Author last name, Year of Initial Publication/Year of Translation Publication).

Example

(Redd, 2017/2019).

Components

If referencing a source that has no page numbers; list the paragraph number, section title, table number, slide number, etc.

• Paragraph 3 changes to (para. 3). 
• Chapter 3 changes to (ch. 3). 
• Scene 3 changes to (sc. 3) 
• Line 3 stays as (line 3). 

Some other sources use the full word, such as Table, Graph, Chart.

Example

 There is some evidence to suggest that "citations have the potential to help grades" (Smith, 2019, para. 5).