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Author–date · 7th edition · 2026 Guide

APA citation style — in-text & references format

The American Psychological Association author–date style (7th edition): how to cite in the text, build the References list and format the DOI.

Updated June 2026·6-min read·By LivoDraft
Quick answer

APA is an author–date style (7th edition, 2020). In the text you cite the author surname and year — e.g. (Sharma, 2023), adding a page number for direct quotes (Sharma, 2023, p. 45). Full sources are listed alphabetically under a centred References heading, each with a hanging indent and a full https://doi.org/ link. APA is standard in psychology, education and the social sciences.

Overview

What is APA citation style?

APA is the citation style of the American Psychological Association, currently in its 7th edition (2020). It is an author–date system: every claim is credited in the text with the author's surname and the publication year, and every in-text citation maps to a complete entry in an alphabetical References list.

It is the dominant style in psychology, education, nursing and the social sciences. For the full set of styles see the citation-styles hub.

In-text

APA in-text citations

Two forms are allowed. Parenthetical puts both elements in brackets; narrative weaves the author into the sentence and brackets only the year.

Parenthetical(Sharma, 2023)   ·   with a quote: (Sharma, 2023, p. 45)
NarrativeSharma (2023) found that…

Two authors are joined with & in brackets (Sharma & Rao, 2023) but "and" in narrative. Three or more authors use et al. from the first citation: (Sharma et al., 2023).

References

The References list

Start a new page titled References (centred, bold). Order entries alphabetically by first author surname, apply a 0.5″ hanging indent, and end a journal article with the DOI as a full link. APA 7 drops "Retrieved from" and the publisher's city.

Journal articleSharma, R., & Rao, P. (2023). Machine learning for structural health monitoring. Journal of Civil Engineering, 12(3), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1234/jce.2023.0456
BookMehta, A. (2022). Foundations of research design (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
At a glance

APA vs the other styles

APA is one of six styles LivoDraft generates. Pick the one your department or journal requires:

APA (Author, Year)MLA (Author 45)HarvardIEEE [1]ChicagoVancouver (1)
When to use

Who uses APA?

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Use APA for

Psychology, education, sociology, nursing, business and most social-science theses and papers. If your guide names "APA 7th edition", this is it. Engineering/CS → IEEE; medicine → Vancouver; humanities → MLA.

Cite in APA — automatically & verified

LivoDraft formats every in-text citation and the full References list in APA 7th edition, building the bibliography from real, DOI-verified papers — never fabricated entries.

Draft & cite my document  →All styles
FAQ

APA citation FAQ

What is APA citation style?+
The author–date style of the American Psychological Association (7th edition, 2020). In-text citations show author surname and year — (Sharma, 2023) — and full sources sit alphabetically in a References list with a hanging indent.
How do you write an APA in-text citation?+
Put author and year in brackets: (Sharma, 2023). Add a page for a quote: (Sharma, 2023, p. 45). If the author is in the sentence, bracket only the year: Sharma (2023).
What changed in APA 7th edition?+
It drops "Retrieved from" before URLs, lists up to 20 authors before an ellipsis, omits the publisher's city for books, and shows the DOI as a full https://doi.org/ link.
Which subjects use APA?+
Psychology, education, nursing, social sciences and business. Engineering/CS use IEEE, medicine uses Vancouver, humanities use MLA or Chicago.