APA 7th edition is an author–date referencing style: you cite the author's surname and year in the text — (Smith, 2020) — and list full source details alphabetically in a "References" section at the end. It's the standard style for psychology, education, nursing, health and many social science courses across UK universities. This guide covers how to do it correctly, with worked examples and the small rules that catch students out.
APA looks similar to Harvard at a glance, but it has its own precise conventions — and markers notice when those slip. The good news: once you know the handful of rules below, APA is one of the most consistent styles to apply.
The two parts of APA referencing
- In-text citation — a brief author–date pointer in the body: (Author, Year).
- Reference list entry — the full details under a "References" heading, alphabetical by surname, with a hanging indent.
Every in-text citation must have a matching reference, and every reference must be cited. Mismatches are the most common — and most avoidable — APA error.
In-text citations
Paraphrase:
Engagement rises in hybrid teams when managers communicate well (Kumar, 2021).
Narrative (author in the sentence):
Kumar (2021) found that communication drives engagement.
Direct quotation (add page number):
Engagement is "highly sensitive to managerial communication" (Kumar, 2021, p. 215).
Two authors — use "&" inside parentheses, "and" in narrative text:
(Smith & Jones, 2020) ... Smith and Jones (2020) argued ...
Three or more authors — use "et al." from the first citation (this is a key APA 7 change):
(Saunders et al., 2019)
Organisation as author:
(World Health Organization [WHO], 2022) on first use, then (WHO, 2022).
No date:
(Brown, n.d.)
The reference list
Head the section References (not "Bibliography"). List entries alphabetically by surname with a hanging indent. The four key APA quirks:
- Sentence case for the titles of articles, books and chapters — capitalise only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns.
- Title Case and italics for journal names.
- "&" before the final author (not "and").
- DOIs as full links: https://doi.org/...
Book:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the book: Sentence case for subtitle (2nd ed.). Publisher.
Example:
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research methods for business students (8th ed.). Pearson.
(APA 7 no longer includes the publisher's location.)
Chapter in an edited book:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In B. B. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.
Journal article (with DOI):
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx
Example:
Kumar, R. (2021). Employee engagement in hybrid work. Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 42(3), 210–228. https://doi.org/10.1000/joob.2021.0042
(The volume number is italicised; the issue number in brackets is not.)
Webpage:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL
Example:
Office for National Statistics. (2023, May 18). Homeworking in the UK labour market. ONS. https://www.ons.gov.uk/...
The mistakes that lose marks
- Title case where APA wants sentence case for article and book titles — the most common APA-specific error.
- "and" instead of "&" in the reference list.
- Forgetting "et al." from the first citation for three+ authors (carrying over an old APA 6 habit).
- DOIs written as "doi:10..." instead of the full https://doi.org/ link.
- Italicising the wrong element — italicise the journal name and book title, not the article or chapter title.
- "Bibliography" instead of "References" as the heading.
If your references have drifted across a long document, or you're converting from Harvard to APA after a course change, our Formatting & Referencing service rebuilds the whole list to APA 7th precisely.
APA vs Harvard — the quick version
Both are author–date and look similar, but APA 7 has stricter, more specific rules: sentence-case titles, "&" in references, "et al." from the first citation, and DOIs as links. Harvard is a looser family of styles with university-specific variants. If your course says APA, follow APA exactly — don't apply generic Harvard habits. See our Harvard referencing guide for the comparison.
A workflow that keeps APA consistent
- Record full source details as you write, not at the end.
- Add the reference entry the moment you add an in-text citation.
- Apply sentence case to titles as you go — it's the rule you'll forget last.
- Do a final pass reading the reference list alone, checking "&", italics, and DOI links.
- Cross-check every citation against the list and vice versa.
A reference manager helps, but always proof its output — they routinely get APA capitalisation wrong.
The bottom line
APA 7th is precise but predictable. Master the author–date in-text format, head your list "References", use sentence case for titles, "&" before the last author, and DOIs as links — and you'll keep the easy marks that careless referencing throws away.
Need it done right under deadline pressure? We'll format your references to APA 7th.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between APA 6 and APA 7? Key APA 7 changes: "et al." is used from the first citation for three+ authors, publisher location is dropped, DOIs are full https links, and up to 20 authors are listed in a reference (previously 7).
Do I use "and" or "&" in APA? Use "&" inside parentheses and in the reference list; use "and" when authors are named in your sentence text.
What case do APA titles use? Sentence case for article, book and chapter titles (capitalise only the first word, first word after a colon, and proper nouns). Journal names use Title Case and italics.
How do I cite a source with no author or date? Move the title to the author position for no author, and use "n.d." for no date — e.g. (Title of page, n.d.).
Is the heading "References" or "Bibliography" in APA? "References." APA uses a reference list of only the works you cited, not a wider bibliography.
Written by Dr Sarah M., PhD (Organisational Behaviour), academic editor with 9 years' experience supporting UK university students.