APA 7 Citation Examples: 16 Source Types, Ready to Copy

Every example below follows the templates on the APA Style reference examples pages. The authors, titles, publishers and links are made up for illustration (Example University Press, example.org, DOIs starting with 10.1234), so swap in your own source's details. Each reference comes with its two in-text forms: parenthetical and narrative.

What are the four parts of an APA 7 reference?

APA Style builds every reference from the same four elements: author, date, title and source (APA Style). What changes from one source type to the next is mostly what gets italicized and what goes into the source element.

Titles of articles, books and webpages use sentence case in the reference list, even if the original used title case: capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns (APA Style). Journal and newspaper names keep title case and are italicized (APA Style).

How do you cite a journal article in APA 7?

Template: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Name, volume(issue), page–page. https://doi.org/xxxx

1. Journal article with a DOI

Rivera, A. M., & Okafor, D. (2023). Sleep duration and grade point average in first-year college students. Example Journal of Higher Education, 14(2), 115–131. https://doi.org/10.1234/ejhe.2023.0142

In-text: (Rivera & Okafor, 2023) · Rivera and Okafor (2023)

The journal name and the volume number are italic; the issue number in parentheses is not. APA says to always include the issue number when the journal has one and to include the DOI whenever the article has one (APA Style).

2. Journal article without a DOI, from a library database

Chen, L., Ortiz, M., & Walsh, K. (2021). Peer tutoring and persistence in introductory statistics. Example Review of College Teaching, 9(4), 44–58.

In-text: (Chen et al., 2021) · Chen et al. (2021)

If an article has no DOI and you found it in an academic research database, end the reference after the page range: no database name, no database URL (APA Style). If it has no DOI but sits on an open website, end with that URL instead. With three or more authors, the in-text citation uses the first surname plus "et al." from the very first citation.

3. Journal article with an article number

Patel, R. (2024). Reading on phones versus paper: A classroom comparison. Example Open Education, 6(1), Article e1042. https://doi.org/10.1234/eoe.2024.1042

In-text: (Patel, 2024) · Patel (2024)

Online journals often number articles instead of pages. Write the word "Article" and the number where the page range would go.

How do you cite a book or a chapter in APA 7?

Print books and ebooks use the same format; the format, platform or device (such as Kindle) is not included (APA Style).

4. Book

Lee, J. (2021). Writing in the social sciences: A practical guide (2nd ed.). Example University Press.

In-text: (Lee, 2021) · Lee (2021)

The edition goes in parentheses after the italic title, without italics and with no period between title and edition. Leave out the publisher's city.

5. Ebook with a DOI

Morgan, T. (2022). Reading data in everyday life. Example Academic. https://doi.org/10.1234/9781234567890

In-text: (Morgan, 2022) · Morgan (2022)

Add the DOI after the publisher when the book has one. An ebook from a library database with no DOI or stable URL ends after the publisher name, exactly like a print book.

6. Whole edited book

Brooks, S., & Patel, R. (Eds.). (2022). Research methods for undergraduates. Example Academic.

In-text: (Brooks & Patel, 2022) · Brooks and Patel (2022)

Use "(Ed.)" for one editor and "(Eds.)" for several, once, after all the names.

7. Chapter in an edited book

Nguyen, L. (2022). Coding qualitative interview data. In S. Brooks & R. Patel (Eds.), Research methods for undergraduates (pp. 88–112). Example Academic.

In-text: (Nguyen, 2022) · Nguyen (2022)

Here the editors' initials come before their surnames, and the chapter's page range follows the book title. If the book has an edition, it shares those parentheses: (3rd ed., pp. 88–112) (APA Style). Chapters of a book written entirely by the same author(s) don't get their own reference: cite the whole book.

How do you cite a website in APA 7?

Template: Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of the page. Site Name. URL

8. Webpage with an individual author

Alvarez, M. (2025, February 12). How to plan a semester-long research project. Example Study Hub. https://www.example.org/semester-research-plan

In-text: (Alvarez, 2025) · Alvarez (2025)

9. Webpage by an organization (author and site name are the same)

Example Sleep Institute. (2024, March 4). How much sleep do college students need? https://www.example.org/college-sleep

In-text: (Example Sleep Institute, 2024) · Example Sleep Institute (2024)

When the group author and the website name are the same, leave the site name out to avoid repeating it. The question mark ending the title replaces the period (APA Style).

10. Webpage with no date

Example Writing Center. (n.d.). Using commas in a series. https://www.example.org/commas-in-a-series

In-text: (Example Writing Center, n.d.) · Example Writing Center (n.d.)

Use "n.d." in both the reference and the in-text citation. Add a retrieval date ("Retrieved October 1, 2026, from https://...") only for pages that are designed to change and are not archived, such as a live data dashboard (APA Style). Ignore a "last reviewed" date; use a "last updated" date if it clearly belongs to the content you cite.

How do you cite reports, videos, news and other sources?

11. Report by a government agency

Example State Office of Higher Education. (2023). College readiness in rural high schools (Report No. ESHE-23-04). Example State Department of Education. https://www.example.org/reports/eshe-23-04.pdf

In-text: (Example State Office of Higher Education, 2023) · Example State Office of Higher Education (2023)

Name the specific agency as the author and put any parent agency in the source element as the publisher (APA Style).

12. YouTube video

Example Lab Channel. (2024, May 9). How peer review works, explained in three minutes [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxxxxxxxx

In-text: (Example Lab Channel, 2024) · Example Lab Channel (2024)

The account that uploaded the video is the author, the title is italic and "[Video]" follows it (APA Style). To quote someone in a video, give a time stamp instead of a page number, as in (Example Lab Channel, 2024, 1:42).

13. Newspaper article (online)

Kim, H. (2025, September 3). Colleges rethink early-morning exams. The Example Times. https://www.example.com/2025/09/03/early-exams

In-text: (Kim, 2025) · Kim (2025)

For a print article, put the pages after the newspaper name without "p." or "pp.", for example The Example Times, A1, A6. Articles from news websites that have no daily or weekly paper (CNN or HuffPost, for example) follow the webpage format instead, with an italic title (APA Style).

14. Magazine article

Okoro, B. (2024, April). Why rereading feels productive but testing yourself works better. Example Science Monthly, 58(4), 32–35.

In-text: (Okoro, 2024) · Okoro (2024)

Magazines follow the journal pattern with a more specific date. Leave out any volume, issue or page number the magazine doesn't have (APA Style).

15. Published dissertation or thesis

Ramirez, E. (2022). Study habits of first-generation college students [Doctoral dissertation, Example State University]. Example State University Repository. https://www.example.org/handle/12345

In-text: (Ramirez, 2022) · Ramirez (2022)

The bracketed description names the degree and the institution; write "Master's thesis" or "Undergraduate honors thesis" as needed. If the database assigns a publication number, it goes in parentheses before the brackets (APA Style).

16. Data set

Example Research Consortium. (2023). National survey of student sleep and study time (Version 2) [Data set]. Example Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.1234/exds.2023.2

In-text: (Example Research Consortium, 2023) · Example Research Consortium (2023)

Cite the data set itself only when you analyzed the data. If you are only reporting numbers someone else published, cite that article, report or webpage instead (APA Style).

What if the author, date or title is missing?

APA's rule set for missing information (APA Style):

Don't write "Anonymous" unless the work is actually signed that way. When a title takes the author's place in the text, write it in title case: italic for a stand-alone work, in quotation marks for an article or chapter.

How do you format the APA reference list?

These are the setup rules from APA Style's reference list page:

• Start the list on a new page after the text, labeled References in bold and centered (not "Works Cited" or "Bibliography").
• Double-space the whole list, with no extra space between entries, and give every entry a 0.5-inch hanging indent.
• Sort entries alphabetically by the first word, usually the first author's surname; an entry with no author is sorted by its title.
• List up to 20 authors. With 21 or more, list the first 19, then an ellipsis, then the final author, with no "&" (APA Style).
• Every work cited in the text must be in the list, and every entry must be cited in the text. Personal communications are the exception: they appear in the text only.

What do DOIs and URLs look like in APA 7?

According to APA Style:

• Write every DOI as a link, https://doi.org/ followed by the number, even if the article printed it as "doi:10..." or "http://dx.doi.org/...".
• If a work has both a DOI and a URL, give only the DOI.
• Don't put "Retrieved from" before a DOI or URL, and don't put a period after it.
• Don't include ISBNs or ISSNs.

Quick checks before you submit

• Each in-text citation matches exactly one reference, with the same spelling and year.
• Article and book titles are in sentence case; journal names are in title case and italic.
• Page ranges use an en dash (115–131), not a hyphen.
• No publisher city, no database names for ordinary database articles, no period after a DOI.

The rules for citing these sources inside your sentences, including page numbers for quotes, are in APA in-text citations. To format a reference from your own details, use the free APA reference generator. Still collecting sources? See how to find scholarly sources.