Identify the source type (book, journal article, website, report, etc.)
Find the required elements for APA 7:
Author(s)
Publication year
Title
Source (journal name, book publisher, website name, etc.)
Volume/issue/pages (for journal articles)
DOI or URL (if available)
Use title capitalization rules:
Sentence case for article/book chapter titles (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns)
Title case for journal/book titles (capitalize major words)
Format author names:
Use the last name, followed by initials (e.g., Smith, J. A.)
Use an ampersand for two authors (e.g., Smith, J. A., & Lee, R.)
Use “et al.” for three or more authors in in-text citations
Use hanging indents in the reference list:
First line flush left; subsequent lines indented
Follow APA reference list punctuation:
Author. (Year). Title. Source.
Journal: Title of Article. *Title of Journal, volume*(issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxx
Create in-text citations:
Parenthetical: (Author, Year)
Narrative: Author (Year)
Two authors: (Author & Author, Year)
Three or more authors: (FirstAuthor et al., Year)
No author: (Title, Year) or (Organization, Year)
Direct quote: add page number (Author, Year, p. X) or (Author, Year, para. X)
Use APA 7 formats for common sources:
Journal article with DOI:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. *Title of Journal, volume*(issue), page–page. https://doi.org/xxxx
Journal article without DOI:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. *Title of Journal, volume*(issue), page–page. URL
Book:
Author, A. A. (Year). *Title of book*. Publisher.
Book chapter:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), *Title of book* (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.
Web page (no date):
Organization or Author. (n.d.). *Title of page*. Site Name. URL
Order the reference list:
Alphabetize by author last name
Use chronological order for same author and year (a, b, c)
Ensure consistency:
Same spelling, capitalization, and punctuation across entries
Use italics for journal/book titles and volume numbers
Use citation tools when needed:
APA citation generator or library database export (then verify formatting manually)