APA 7th edition referencing
Psychology, nursing, education, business and the social sciences.
Short answer
What is APA 7 referencing?
APA 7 is an author–date system published by the American Psychological Association. In-text citations give author and year; the reference list is alphabetical and uses sentence case for article and book titles, an ampersand before the final author, and a DOI as a full https://doi.org/ link wherever one exists.
Worked examples
APA 7 for every source type
Each example below is produced by the same engine that powers our free generator.
book
Full guide →Reference list entry
Bolton, G. (2018). Reflective practice: writing and professional development (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
In-text
(Bolton, 2018)
journal article
Full guide →Reference list entry
Thomas, L. & Hill, M. (2024). Belonging and continuation among first-generation undergraduates. Studies in Higher Education, 49(3), 412-428. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2298471
In-text
(Thomas & Hill, 2024)
web page
Full guide →Reference list entry
Agency, Q. A. (2025). Academic integrity charter for uk higher education. QAA. https://www.qaa.ac.uk/academic-integrity
In-text
(Agency, 2025)
book chapter
Full guide →Reference list entry
Moon, J. (2013). Reflection in higher education learning. In Handbook of Reflective Practice (2nd ed.) (pp. 45-62). Routledge.
In-text
(Moon, 2013)
report
Full guide →Reference list entry
Students, O. F. (2025). Student outcomes and teaching excellence. Office for Students. https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/
In-text
(Students, 2025)
Watch out for
APA 7 quirks that cost marks
- Titles of articles and books use sentence case; journal names keep title case.
- Use '&' inside parentheses but 'and' in running text.
- Up to 20 authors are listed in full in the reference list — APA 7 raised this from 7.
- Publisher location was removed in APA 7; do not include it.
- Three or more authors use 'et al.' from the very first in-text citation.
APA 7 — FAQs
- What is APA 7 referencing?
- APA 7 is an author–date system published by the American Psychological Association. In-text citations give author and year; the reference list is alphabetical and uses sentence case for article and book titles, an ampersand before the final author, and a DOI as a full https://doi.org/ link wherever one exists.
- Who uses APA 7?
- Psychology, nursing, education, business and the social sciences. It is most common in United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada. Always confirm against your own module handbook, because departments within one university often differ.
- Is APA 7 an author–date or numeric system?
- APA 7 is an author–date system: in-text citations name the author and year, and the reference list is alphabetical.