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AUTHOR-DATE SYSTEM

Free APA 7th Edition Citation Generator

APA style uses author-date in-text citations with a corresponding alphabetical reference list at the end of the manuscript. The 7th edition emphasizes clarity, concise attribution, and DOI hyperlinks.

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Reference List / Bibliography Entry
In-Text Citation (Parenthetical or Numeric)

Core Formatting Rules (APA)

Standards derived directly from Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).

Author-Date In-Text

(Smith, 2024) or Smith (2024) within narrative sentences.

Three or More Authors

Immediately shorten to (Smith et al., 2024) from the first citation.

Sentence Case for Titles

Capitalize only the first word of the article title and any subtitle.

Italicize Periodicals

Journal titles and volume numbers are italicized: Journal of Academic Writing, 12(3).

Worked APA Example: Journal Article

Reference list entry and corresponding in-text citation correctly formatted in APA.

Reference List Entry
Alvarez, M., & Chen, L. (2024). Cognitive scaffolding in non-native academic writing. Journal of Second Language Studies, 18(2), 145–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsls.2024.01.004
In-Text Citation
(Alvarez & Chen, 2024)

Disciplines & Target Fields

Academic subjects and publications that require APA formatting.

PsychologyEducationSocial SciencesNursingBusiness

Compare with Other Citation Styles

Switch between style manuals to see different in-text patterns and bibliography rules.

MLA 9th Edition (MLA) Chicago 17th Edition (Notes & Bibliography) (Chicago) Harvard Referencing System (Harvard) IEEE Style (IEEE) Vancouver Style (Vancouver) ACS Style (American Chemical Society) (ACS) AMA Manual of Style (AMA) CSE Style (Council of Science Editors) (CSE) ASA Style (American Sociological Association) (ASA) The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (Bluebook) Turabian 9th Edition (Turabian) APSA Style (American Political Science Association) (APSA) NLM Style (National Library of Medicine) (NLM) ASME Style (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) (ASME)

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the golden rules of APA citation formatting?

Author-Date In-Text: (Smith, 2024) or Smith (2024) within narrative sentences. Three or More Authors: Immediately shorten to (Smith et al., 2024) from the first citation. Sentence Case for Titles: Capitalize only the first word of the article title and any subtitle. Italicize Periodicals: Journal titles and volume numbers are italicized: Journal of Academic Writing, 12(3).

Which academic fields use APA?

APA 7th Edition is primarily used across Psychology, Education, Social Sciences, Nursing, Business.

What official manual defines APA rules?

Official guidelines and standards are documented in "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.)".

How do I generate and copy a citation with this tool?

Select your source type (journal, book, website, etc.), fill in the metadata fields, and click "Copy Reference" or "Copy In-Text". It runs 100% in your browser without tracking.

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