01In-text citations
- One author: (Wang, 2023), or Wang (2023) argues that…
- Two authors: (Wang & Chen, 2023). Use "&" inside parentheses and "and" in running text.
- Three or more authors: use the first author plus "et al." from the first citation: (Wang et al., 2023).
- Direct quotes need a page number: (Wang, 2023, p. 15).
- No date: (Wang, n.d.).
02Reference list: journal article
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article in sentence case. Journal Name in Title Case, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxx
Tip Italicize the journal name and the volume number. Put the DOI last as a full https://doi.org link.
03Reference list: books, web pages and theses
- Book: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the book in italics (2nd ed.). Publisher.
- Web page: Author or Organization. (Year, Month Day). Title of the page. Site Name. URL
- Thesis: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the thesis [Master’s thesis, University Name]. Database Name. URL
- No date on a web page: use (n.d.).
04Sorting and layout of the reference list
- Sort entries alphabetically by the first author’s surname.
- Give each entry a hanging indent of 0.5 inch: in Word, open Paragraph and set Special to Hanging.
- Use the same line spacing as the body text, usually double.
- If you cite sources in Chinese, ask your instructor whether they go in a separate group, and how to sort them (by stroke count or by pinyin).
Q&AFAQ
What changed between APA 6 and APA 7?
APA 7 uses "et al." from the first citation for three or more authors, lists up to 20 authors in the reference list, drops the place of publication, and writes DOIs as full URLs.
Can software generate APA references?
Yes. Word’s Citations & Bibliography, Zotero and Google Scholar’s cite button all work, but they often get capitalization, punctuation or non-English sources wrong, so always check the result by hand. The free APA generator also handles Chinese and English sources.
Rather have it done for you?
Word formatting service, from about us$9. Reports, essays and proposals: headings, table of contents, page numbers and figures done for you, usually the same day.