Citation Guides
APA 7th Edition Citation Guide: Rules, Examples & Common Mistakes
Everything you need to format in-text citations and reference lists correctly — with real examples, not just rules.
SwiftTutorsPro Editorial Team
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APA (American Psychological Association) style is the most widely used citation format in psychology, education, nursing, business, and the social sciences. The 7th edition, released in 2019, simplified several rules from the 6th edition — but it's also where most of the small, point-costing mistakes happen. This guide covers the core rules with real examples.
1. The two things every APA citation needs
APA uses an author-date system, which means every source needs two matching pieces: a short in-text citation where you use the source, and a full entry in the References list at the end of your paper. If either one is missing, it counts as a citation error — even if the other is correct.
Quick rule of thumb: if it's in your reference list, it must appear at least once in your text. If it's cited in your text, it must appear in your reference list. No orphans either way.
2. In-text citations: parenthetical vs. narrative
APA gives you two ways to cite a source in your sentence:
- Parenthetical citation: Cognitive load theory suggests learners retain less when overwhelmed with information (Sweller, 1988).
- Narrative citation: Sweller (1988) argued that cognitive load directly affects information retention.
For direct quotes, always add a page number: (Sweller, 1988, p. 261). For paraphrased ideas, a page number is encouraged but not strictly required.
Multiple authors
- One author: (Sweller, 1988)
- Two authors: (Sweller & Chandler, 1994)
- Three or more authors: (Sweller et al., 1998) — use "et al." starting from the very first citation, not just the second one (a common 6th-edition holdover mistake).
3. Building the reference list entry
The general formula for a journal article is:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the article in sentence case. Journal Name in Title Case, Volume(Issue), page range. https://doi.org/xxxx
Example:
Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257–285. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15516709cog1202_4
For a book
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher.
For a website
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL
4. The five mistakes that lose the most points
- Title case in the wrong place. Article and page titles use sentence case (only the first word capitalized); journal names use title case. Mixing these up is the single most common APA error.
- Alphabetizing by first name. Reference lists are always alphabetized by the author's last name, regardless of how many authors a source has.
- Forgetting the hanging indent. Every reference entry after the first line should be indented 0.5 inches — most instructors deduct points for a flush-left reference list.
- Citing a source you didn't actually read. If you found a quote inside another article, use "as cited in" format rather than citing the original source directly.
- Inconsistent et al. usage. Some students switch between listing all authors and using "et al." within the same paper — pick the correct rule (3+ authors → et al. from the first citation) and stay consistent.
Getting it right, every time
Citation accuracy is one of the easiest ways to lose points on an otherwise strong paper — and one of the easiest to get completely right once you know the pattern. If you're working against a tight deadline and want a second pair of eyes on your formatting, a SwiftTutorsPro tutor familiar with your subject area can review your citations alongside the rest of your paper.