APA Reference List
Full citations listed at the end of a paper that provide complete publication details for each source referenced in the text.
Explore APA reference list entries →
APA Citation (7th Edition)
Generate APA citations and learn the rules of APA 7th edition.
Journal article
Example result
What is APA citation style?
APA citation is a standardized method for crediting sources in academic writing, developed by the American Psychological Association. It is commonly used in psychology, education, and the social sciences.
APA citations help readers identify and locate the original sources used in a paper, ensuring clarity, consistency, and academic integrity.
APA citations consist of two main parts
APA In-text Citations
Brief citations that appear within the text to indicate the author and year of a source. In-text citations are used when paraphrasing or directly quoting information.
Explore APA in-text citations →APA reference list entries
APA reference list entries provide complete publication details for every source cited in the text. The reference list appears at the end of a paper and allows readers to identify and locate the original sources.
In APA 7th edition, the required elements and their order depend on the type of source being cited. Books, journal articles, and websites each follow different formatting rules.
Common APA reference list formats
In APA style, reference list formats vary by source type. Each type requires a specific set of elements and a defined order.
APA Book Citation
Used for print books and ebooks, including authored books, edited volumes, and book chapters.
Typical elements include the author, publication year, book title, and publisher.
View an example of this format in use:
APA Website Citation
Used for webpages and online articles published on websites, including organizational pages and blog posts.
Common elements may include the author or organization, publication date, page title, website name (when different from the author), and URL.
View an example of this format in use:
APA Journal Citation
Used for scholarly articles published in academic journals and periodicals.
Journal references typically include the article title, journal title, volume, issue, page range, and DOI.
View an example of this format in use:
APA in-text citations
APA in-text citations appear within the body of a paper to indicate the source of an idea, paraphrase, or direct quotation.
In APA 7th edition, most in-text citations follow the author–date format, allowing readers to connect citations in the text with entries in the reference list.
Two ways to write APA in-text citations
Parenthetical citation
Parenthetical citation places the author and year in parentheses, usually at the end of a sentence.
(Taylor, 2020)
Narrative citation
Narrative citation integrates the author’s name into the sentence, with the year shown in parentheses.
Taylor (2020)
Common author scenarios
One author
For a work by one author, include the author’s last name and the publication year.
(Taylor, 2020)
Two authors
For two authors, include both last names. Use “&” in parenthetical citations and “and” in narrative citations.
(Taylor & Nguyen, 2020)
Three or more authors
For works with three or more authors, include the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” and the year.
(Taylor et al., 2020)
For detailed rules and examples, see APA in-text citations with multiple authors .
No author
When no author is listed, use a shortened title in quotation marks, followed by the publication year.
("Climate Trends," 2020)
Tip: Every APA in-text citation must correspond to a full entry in the reference list.
Common APA citation mistakes
APA mistakes usually come from small details that are easy to miss. Use the checks below to review both your in-text citations and your reference list before you submit.
In-text citations and reference list entries do not match
Applies to: In-text citations & Reference list
In APA style, every in-text citation must point to a reference list entry, and every reference list entry must be cited in the text.
How to check: Go through your reference list one entry at a time and confirm each one is cited in the text at least once. Then scan your paper for parenthetical citations and confirm each one has a matching reference list entry.
In-text citations are missing the year
Applies to: In-text citations
In APA, the year is part of the citation. Parenthetical citations always include the year. Narrative citations include the year the first time you cite the work in a paragraph.
How to check: Check every parenthetical citation and confirm it includes a year. For narrative citations, confirm the first citation of the work in each paragraph includes the year and that any later omission of the year is still clear and unambiguous to a reader.
Incorrect use of “et al.”
Applies to: In-text citations
A common APA error is switching between listing all authors and using “et al.” for the same source within a single document.
In APA 7th edition, works with three or more authors must use the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” in every in-text citation.
How to check: For each source with three or more authors, review all in-text citations and confirm they consistently use the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” and the year. Do not alternate formats for the same source.
Mixing parenthetical and narrative citation formats
Applies to: In-text citations
APA allows both formats, but a single citation should follow one format clearly.
How to check: In parenthetical citations, the author and year belong inside parentheses. In narrative citations, the author name is part of the sentence and the year belongs in parentheses immediately after the author name.
Putting a URL or the full page title inside an in-text citation
Applies to: In-text citations
In-text citations should be brief. URLs do not belong in an in-text citation. When there is no author, use a shortened title instead of pasting the full title.
How to check: Search your document for “http”, “https”, and “www”. If any appear inside parentheses as part of a citation, remove the URL. If there is no author, replace it with a shortened title and the year. Format the shortened title based on the type of work, such as italics for a standalone work and quotation marks for a part of a work.
Missing or incorrect publication dates
Applies to: Reference list entries
Dates are part of APA reference entries. When a date is not available, APA requires a placeholder rather than leaving the date blank or guessing.
How to check: Confirm each reference entry has a date element. If the source provides no date, use “n.d.” in the date position.
Incorrect capitalization in titles
Applies to: Reference list entries
In the reference list, most work titles use sentence case. Journal titles keep their original capitalization.
How to check: For article, webpage, and book titles in the reference list, use sentence case. Capitalize only the first word of the title, the first word of the subtitle, and any proper nouns. Journal titles are treated differently and should keep their original capitalization.
Inconsistent author name formatting
Applies to: Reference list entries
APA reference entries use last names and initials. Mixing full first names with initials creates inconsistent formatting.
How to check: Confirm every author is formatted as last name, followed by initials. Do not spell out first names in the reference list.
Missing DOIs or using the wrong DOI format
Applies to: Reference list entries
When a work has a DOI, APA treats it as the preferred identifier and it should be presented as a DOI URL.
How to check: If your source provides a DOI, include it in the format https://doi.org/…. Do not replace a DOI with a database URL.
Adding a publisher location in book references
Applies to: Reference list entries
APA 7th edition does not include publisher location in book reference entries.
How to check: Scan your book references for a city, state, or country placed before the publisher name. If you see a location, remove it and keep only the publisher name.
Tip: Use this section as a final pass. If a citation looks unusual, verify the source details before you submit.
APA 7th Edition Citation Rules
A concise overview of essential APA 7th edition citation rules for in-text citations and reference lists.
Author rules
- For a work by one author, include the author’s last name and the publication year.
- For two authors, include both last names. Use “&” in parenthetical citations and “and” in narrative citations.
- For works with three or more authors, use the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” and the year in every in-text citation.
- When no author is listed, use a shortened title in quotation marks, followed by the publication year.
Date rules
- APA in-text citations always include the publication year.
- If a source does not provide a publication date, use “n.d.” in place of the year.
- When citing multiple works by the same author published in the same year, add letter suffixes such as 2020a and 2020b.
Title capitalization rules
- In the reference list, article titles, webpage titles, and book titles use sentence case.
- Capitalize only the first word of the title, the first word of the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
- Journal titles keep their original capitalization and are not converted to sentence case.
DOI and URL rules
- When a source has a DOI, APA treats it as the preferred identifier.
- Present DOIs in URL format beginning with https://doi.org/
- Do not replace a DOI with a database or library URL.
- Use a URL only when no DOI is available for the source.
Reference list formatting rules
- Arrange reference list entries alphabetically by the first author’s last name.
- Format author names as last name followed by initials.
- Use a hanging indent for each reference list entry.
APA 7th edition specific rules
- APA 7th edition does not include publisher location in book reference entries.
- In-text citations for works with three or more authors always use “et al.”.
- Reference list entries may include up to 20 authors before using an ellipsis.
Use this section as a quick check. If a citation does not follow one of the rules above, review the full reference entry or consult the detailed APA guidelines.
APA Citation Examples
Common APA in-text and reference list examples you can use for quick comparison and verification.
APA In-text Citation Examples
One author
Parenthetical citation
(Taylor, 2020)
Narrative citation
Taylor (2020)
Two authors
Parenthetical citation
(Taylor & Nguyen, 2020)
Narrative citation
Taylor and Nguyen (2020)
Three or more authors
Parenthetical citation
(Taylor et al., 2020)
Narrative citation
Taylor et al. (2020)
Three or more authors
Parenthetical citation
("Climate Trends," 2020)
APA Reference List Examples
Book
Taylor, J. A. (2020). Understanding climate change. Greenfield Press.
Journal article
Ryczkowski, J. (1993). Polish journal of environmental studies. Applied Catalysis A: General, 106(1), N3–N4. https://doi.org/10.1016/0926-860x(93)80167-o
Website
World Health Organization. (2023, October 12). Climate change. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health
When Should You Use an APA Citation Generator
When APA citation data is incomplete or formatting rules branch based on missing elements, using an APA citation generator can help reduce avoidable errors.
Why APA citations often become error-prone in practice
Under the APA 7th edition guidelines published by the American Psychological Association, APA citation is not a single fixed template.
Citation requirements change depending on whether key source elements are present or missing.
In real-world sources, the following situations are common:
- Missing publisher information
- Missing publication dates
- Incomplete or group author data
- Mixed source types (books, journal articles, websites)
When required elements are absent, manual citation often involves judgment calls about whether and how to “fill in” missing information, which increases the risk of formatting and data integrity errors.
Scenarios where APA citations are most likely to go wrong
APA citation errors frequently occur in these situations:
- Books or reports with missing publisher information
- Sources with incomplete metadata that is manually “filled in”
- Reference lists containing sources with varying levels of data completeness
- Citations that appear correct in format but do not reflect the original source data
In these cases, the issue is not citation style knowledge, but how missing source data is handled.
When using an APA citation generator is the safer choice
Using an APA citation generator is recommended when:
- Source metadata contains explicit missing fields
- It is unclear whether a specific element is required or optional under APA rules
- You need citations that preserve original source data without alteration
- Consistency and traceability are more important than cosmetic completeness
In such scenarios, automated tools help apply APA rules consistently without introducing guessed or fabricated information.
How YesCite handles missing citation data
Unlike tools that automatically complete missing fields, YesCite follows a strict data integrity principle:
Missing source elements are explicitly marked, not inferred or fabricated.
When required citation elements (such as a publisher) are absent from the original source, YesCite will:
- Preserve the original source structure
- Clearly label missing fields (for example, Missing: Publisher)
- Generate the citation using all available data according to APA 7th edition rules
This approach reduces the risk of introducing inaccurate or unverifiable information into academic citations.
When manual citation may still be appropriate
Manual APA citation can be reasonable when source information is complete, the format is familiar, and the number of references is small.
An APA citation generator does not replace understanding the citation rules. Its primary value is reducing judgment errors when citation data is incomplete or rule conditions vary across sources.
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