APA Format Guide (7th Edition)

APA style is used across psychology, education, nursing, business and the social sciences. This guide covers APA 7th edition for student papers: layout, headings, in-text citations and the reference list.

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Updated 21 October 2026 · EssayWriting.com editorial team

Key takeaways

APA 7 (2019) is the current edition of the APA Publication Manual.
Student papers need no running head unless your instructor asks for one.
For three or more authors, use the first author plus et al. from the first citation.

APA 7 student paper layout

Element	APA 7 student paper rule
Margins	1 inch on all sides
Fonts	Any widely available, legible font. APA lists examples such as 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, 12-point Times New Roman and 11-point Georgia
Spacing	Double-spaced throughout, including the title page and reference list
Page numbers	Top right of every page, starting with the title page
Running head	Not required for student papers (only for professional papers)
Paragraphs	First line indented half an inch, text aligned left (not justified)

The APA student title page

Centre these in the upper half of the page, each on its own line: the paper title in bold title case, then a blank line, then your name, your department and university, the course number and name, your instructor's name, and the due date. Your instructor may add or remove items, so check the assignment brief.

APA heading levels

Level	Format
1	Centred, bold, title case
2	Flush left, bold, title case
3	Flush left, bold italic, title case
4	Indented, bold, title case, ending with a full stop, text continues on the same line
5	Indented, bold italic, title case, ending with a full stop, text continues on the same line

Do not label your introduction "Introduction"; the paper title at the top of the first page does that job.

APA in-text citations

APA is an author-date style: (Nguyen, 2023) or Nguyen (2023) found that.... Add a page number for direct quotations: (Nguyen, 2023, p. 14).

Two authors: (Patel & Moore, 2021) in parentheses; Patel and Moore (2021) in your sentence.
Three or more authors: use the first author plus "et al." from the first citation: (Okafor et al., 2020).
Group author: (World Health Organization, 2022).
No date: (Author, n.d.).
Quotations of 40 words or more: use an indented block quote with no quotation marks.

APA reference list examples

Start the reference list on a new page titled References (centred, bold). List entries alphabetically by first author's surname, double-spaced, with a half-inch hanging indent. APA 7 lists up to 20 authors in a reference entry.

Journal article
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article in sentence case. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), page-page. https://doi.org/xxxx

Book
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the book in sentence case (2nd ed.). Publisher.

Web page
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL

Edited book chapter
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx-xx). Publisher.

Write DOIs as URLs (https://doi.org/...). Do not add "Retrieved from" unless the content is designed to change and you need a retrieval date.

Common APA mistakes

Using "et al." only from the second citation. In APA 7 it applies from the first citation for three or more authors.
Capitalising every word of article titles in the reference list. Article and book titles use sentence case.
Adding a running head to a student paper when it is not required.
Using "&" in narrative citations. Use "and" in your sentence and "&" only inside parentheses and in the reference list.

Related guides

APA worked examples by source type

All sources in these worked examples are fictional and were created to illustrate the format. Replace them with your real sources.

Book

Lopez, M. (2021). The quiet coast (2nd ed.). Harbor Press.

In-text: (Lopez, 2021, p. 34)

Chapter in an edited book

Okoro, J. (2019). Tides and trade. In A. Berg (Ed.), Coastal histories (pp. 45-62). Northfield University Press.

In-text: (Okoro, 2019)

Journal article with DOI

Shah, P., & Kim, D. (2023). Sleep and memory in first-year students. Journal of Student Health, 18(2), 101-118. https://doi.org/10.1234/jsh.2023.018

In-text: (Shah & Kim, 2023)

Newspaper article online

Reyes, T. (2024, March 4). City expands night bus routes. The Daily Ledger. https://www.dailyledger.example/night-buses

In-text: (Reyes, 2024)

Web page by an organisation

Sleep Facts Network. (2023, June 10). Healthy sleep habits. https://www.sleepfacts.example/habits

In-text: (Sleep Facts Network, 2023)

Online video

Study Lab. (2022, January 12). How to read a scientific paper [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxx

In-text: (Study Lab, 2022)

Report by an organisation

National Education Agency. (2023). Annual literacy report 2023. https://www.nea.example/report2023

In-text: (National Education Agency, 2023)

Dissertation from a database

Ahmed, S. (2020). Harbour towns and migration, 1850-1900 [Doctoral dissertation, Northfield University]. Northfield Research Repository.

In-text: (Ahmed, 2020)

How to build any APA reference, step by step

Write author surnames and initials; use & before the last author.
Add the year (and month and day for news, web pages and videos) in parentheses.
Write the title in sentence case; italicise stand-alone works.
Add the source: journal name and volume in italics with issue in parentheses, or publisher, or site name.
Add pages for articles and chapters.
End with the DOI as a URL, or the URL if there is no DOI.

Sample APA reference list

Here are the worked examples above assembled into a list the way they would appear at the end of an essay (alphabetical order).