How do I format my APA 7th Edition paper?
Watch the video below to learn how to format your APA 7th Edition paper including:
Please note that papers for publication will require some different elements. Please check with your professor to inquire about the specific guidelines of your assignment or project. Students should follow any specific instructions provided by their individual instructors when it comes to formatting their title page. Unless instructed otherwise, these are the different components of the student title page:
Please note that papers for publication will require a running head. Please check with your professor to inquire about the specific guidelines of your assignment or project. Students should follow any specific instructions provided by their individual instructors when it comes to formatting their papers.
Please note that papers for publication will require an abstract. Please check with your professor to inquire about the specific guidelines of your assignment or project. Students should follow any specific instructions provided by their individual instructors when it comes to formatting their papers.
When you reference someone else's words or thoughts, use an in-text citation in the body of your paper. See examples below or watch the instructional video to learn more.
Basic Format:
(Author's Last Name, Year).
If you're quoting the exact words of someone else, introduce the quote with an in-text citation in parentheses. You must inlcude the page number(s) when incorporating a direct quote; place the page number directly after the quote. Any sentence punctuation goes after the closing parenthesis.
If you're directly quoting more than 40 words, use a blockquote. Block quotes don't need quotation marks. Instead, indent the text 1/2" as a visual cue that you are citing. The in-text citation in parentheses goes after the punctuation of the quote.
Shavers (2007) study found the following:
While research studies have established that socioeconomic status influences disease incidence, severity and access to healthcare, there has been relatively less study of the specific manner in which low SES influences receipt of quality care and consequent morbidity and mortality among patients with similar disease characteristics, particularly among those who have gained access to the healthcare system. (p. 1021)
Tip: Use direct quotes sparingly! Focus on summarizing the findings from multiple research studies. In the sciences and social sciences, only use the exact phrasing or argument of an individual when necessary.
Paraphrasing or summarizing the main findings or takeaways from a research article is the preferred method of citing sources in an APA paper. Always include the last name of the author(s) and the year of the article, so your reader can find the full citation in the reference list.
According to Shavers (2007), limitations of studying socioeconomic status in research on health disparities include difficulties in collecting data on socioeconomic status and the complications of classifying women, children, and employment status.
Author Type | Parenthetical Citation | Narrative Citation |
One author | (Mercer, 2020) | Mercer (2020) |
Author Type | Parenthetical Citation | Narrative Citation |
Two authors | (Morgan & Mattace, 2020) | Morgan and Mattace (2020) |
Author Type | Parenthetical Citation | Narrative Citation |
Three or more authors | (Ward et al., 2020) | Ward et al. (2020) |
Author Type | Parenthetical Citation | Narrative Citation |
Group author with abbreviation First citation Subsequent citations |
(Appalachian College Association [ACA], 2020) (ACA, 2020) |
Appalachian College Association (ACA, 2020) ACA (2020) |
Group author without abbreviation | (Lee University, 2020) | Lee University (2020) |
Include the complete citation at the end of your paper in the reference section. References are organized by the author's last name in alphabetic (A-Z) order. Use a hanging indent to separate each list item. See the examples below or watch the instructional video to learn more.
Basic Format:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date). Title of the work. Source where you can retrieve the work. URL or DOI if available
Ashing‐Giwa, K. T., Padilla, G., Tejero, J., Kraemer, J., Wright, K., Coscarelli, A., Clayton, S., Williams, I., & Hills, D. (2004). Understanding the breast cancer experience of women: A qualitative study of African American, Asian American, Latina and Caucasian cancer survivors. Psycho‐Oncology, 13(6), 408-428. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.750
Kennedy, M. (2018, October 15). To prevent wildfires, PG&E pre-emptively cuts power to thousands in California. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2018/10/15/657468903/to-prevent-wildfires-pg-e-preemptively-cuts-power-to-thousands-in-california
Schmidt, N. A., & Brown, J. M. (2017). Evidence-based practice for nurses: Appraisal and application of research (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.
McCormack, B., McCance, T., & Maben, J. (2013). Outcome evaluation in the development of person-centred practice. In B. McCormack, K. Manley, & A. Titchen (Eds.), Practice development in nursing and healthcare (pp. 190-211). John Wiley & Sons.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018, August 22). Preventing HPV-associated cancers. https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/hpv/basic_info/prevention.htm/
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. (2017, January). Key indicators of health by service planning area. http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/
Valentin, E. R. (2019, Summer). Narcissism predicted by Snapchat selfie sharing, filter usage, and editing [Master's thesis, California State University Dominguez Hills]. CSU ScholarWorks. https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/theses/3197xm925?locale=en
Check out more examples for citing dissertations and theses on the APA Style site.
Citing a letter, photograph, text document, graphic material, or ephemera? Consult the Gerth Archives APA Citation Guide for Archival Materials.
Formatting your Annotated Bibliography
Please note that your professor will typically set the parameters of your assignment, including the number of references to include, as well as the length and focus of each annotation. Always follow your professors instructions on class assignments. The formatting listed below is a general guideline to follow in the absence of any other specific instructions from your professor
This guide is a general overview of the American Psychological Association (APA) Style for references and citations. Be sure to consult the Publication Manual of the APA or the APA Style website for detailed standards and procedures.
This guide was based on the guide created by Tessa Withorn at CSUDH Library and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.