APA Article Citation
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0 sourcesAPA Article Citation lists the author, year, article title, italicized journal name, volume(issue), page range, and a DOI or URL. In-text, cite the author surname and year, for example (Grady et al., 2019). This follows APA 7th edition.
What is the APA format for an article citation?
The APA reference for a journal article follows a fixed order: author, date, title, source, and location. Each element is separated by a period and formatted precisely. The base pattern is: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. Title of the Journal, Volume(Issue), page range. https://doi.org/xxxx
Capitalize only the first word of the article title, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns (sentence case). The journal name and volume number are italicized and use title case. The issue number in parentheses is not italicized, and no space separates it from the volume.
- Authors — surname, then initials; ampersand before the last author
- Year — publication year in parentheses, followed by a period
- Article title — sentence case, not italicized
- Source — italic journal name and volume, then (issue), pages
- DOI — formatted as a clickable https://doi.org/ link
How do I cite a journal article in APA?
Cite a journal article with the author, year, article title, italic journal title, volume, issue, page range, and DOI. Include the DOI whenever one exists, even for print articles. List up to 20 authors before using an ellipsis.
One authorSapolsky, R. M. (2018). The health–poverty connection in primates. Nature Human Behaviour, 2(4), 245–247. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0324-5
Two authorsMcCauley, S. M., & Christiansen, M. H. (2019). Language learning as language use. Psychological Review, 126(1), 1–51. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126
Three to twentyGrady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185
How do I cite magazine and newspaper articles?
Magazine and newspaper articles add the month and day to the date and, for newspapers, drop the volume and page structure in favor of a section reference or URL. The publication name is italicized in both cases.
MagazineWeir, K. (2020, March 1). Nurture your nature. Monitor on Psychology, 51(2), 36–40.
Newspaper (online)Hess, A. (2019, January 3). Cats who take up work in the office. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/03/arts/design/cats-emoji.html
| Article type | Date shown | Location element |
|---|---|---|
| Journal | Year only | Volume(issue), pages, DOI |
| Magazine | Year, Month Day | Volume(issue), pages or URL |
| Newspaper | Year, Month Day | URL or section (no volume) |
| Web article | Year, Month Day | URL (site name as source) |
How do I cite an online article without a DOI?
For an online article with no DOI, end the reference with the direct URL instead. If the article sits on a news or content website rather than a journal, use the website name as the source and add a retrieval-style URL. No “Retrieved from” label is needed in APA 7.
Web article, no DOIBologna, C. (2019, October 31). Why some people with anxiety love watching horror movies. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anxiety-love-watching-horror-movies_l_5d277587e4b02a5a5d57b59e
No authorThe Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. (2019). Health and well-being at work. https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/well-being/health-well-being-work
How do I cite a news article in APA?
News articles are the most error-prone article type in APA, because APA does not treat all news the same way. A newspaper is a periodical; a news website with no print edition is a standalone webpage. That single distinction changes which element is italicised, and getting it backwards is the most common APA news citation mistake.
| Element | Newspaper NYT, WSJ, The Guardian |
News website BBC, CNN, Reuters, Vox |
|---|---|---|
| Article title | Not italicised | Italicised |
| Source name | Italicised | Not italicised |
| Treated as | Periodical | Webpage |
| Page numbers | Included for print editions | None — URL only |
The test is simply whether the outlet publishes an associated print edition. Outlets that follow the news website pattern include BBC News, Bloomberg, CNN, HuffPost, MSNBC, Reuters, Salon, and Vox, because none of them publishes a daily or weekly newspaper.
The news reference template
A news reference lists four elements in order: author, date, title, source. News uses a full year-month-day date because the material is time-sensitive, unlike a journal article which carries the year alone.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Newspaper Name. https://xxxxx
Article titles take sentence case — capitalise only the first word and proper nouns. Never write Retrieved from before the URL, and never place a full stop after a URL.
News citation examples
| Source type | Reference |
|---|---|
| Online newspaper | Carey, B. (2019, March 22). Can we get better at forgetting? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/22/health/memory-forgetting-psychology.html |
| Print newspaper | Harlan, C. (2013, April 2). North Korea vows to restart shuttered nuclear reactor. The Washington Post, A1, A4. |
| News website | Bologna, C. (2019, October 31). Why some people with anxiety love watching horror movies. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anxiety-love-watching-horror-movies_l_5d277587e4b02a5a5d57b59e |
| Wire service | Associated Press. (2024, May 8). Global shipping rates climb after canal closure. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/shipping-rates-canal |
Compare the last two rows against the first: in the print newspaper the source is italicised, while in the news-website reference the article title is italicised and the site name is plain. That is the rule from the table above, applied.
News articles with no author
When no individual is bylined, move the article title into the author position, followed by the date, source, and URL. Do not write Anonymous unless the byline literally says so.
Global temperatures set a new record in 2023. (2024, January 12). The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/12/global-temperatures-record
If the byline names an organisation rather than a person — Associated Press, Reuters, a government press office — use that organisation as the author. When the author and the site name are identical, omit the site name rather than repeating it.
News in-text citations
News follows the standard author-date pattern, using only the year even though the reference carries the full date: (Carey, 2019). For a title-in-author-position reference, use a shortened title in quotation marks: (“Global temperatures set,” 2024). Quoting directly from an online news article with no page numbers calls for a paragraph number or section heading — (Bologna, 2019, para. 4).
How do I write an APA in-text citation for an article?
An APA in-text citation names the author surname and publication year, added parenthetically or narratively. Use “et al.” for works with three or more authors from the first citation. Add a page number for direct quotations, formatted as p. 12 or pp. 12–14.
- One author: (Sapolsky, 2018) or Sapolsky (2018)
- Two authors: (McCauley & Christiansen, 2019)
- Three or more: (Grady et al., 2019)
- Direct quote: (Weir, 2020, p. 38)
Use the ampersand inside parentheses but write “and” in narrative text: McCauley and Christiansen (2019) argued that learning is use.
Should I include a DOI or a URL?
Include a DOI whenever the article has one, presented as a full https://doi.org/ link. Use a URL only when no DOI exists. Do not add a period after the DOI or URL, and do not write “Retrieved from” unless the content is designed to change over time and a retrieval date is required.
Both DOIs and URLs are live hyperlinks in APA 7 and need no angle brackets. For database articles with a DOI, do not name the database. Only name a database when it is the sole source of a work, such as ERIC or a proprietary archive.
How accurate is this guide, and what are its limits?
This page reflects APA 7th edition, the current manual since 2020, and its examples match the official templates. It cannot cover every edge case, such as advance-online publications, articles in press, retracted works, or non-English titles that need a bracketed translation. Always confirm the exact volume, issue, and DOI against the article’s own record.
Automated tools, including ours, speed up formatting but can inherit errors from imperfect metadata. Verify author order, capitalization, and page ranges before submission. When your instructor or journal specifies a house style, follow that over the general rule.
Frequently asked questions
Do I italicize the article title in APA?
No. In APA, the article title is set in plain sentence case. Only the journal, magazine, or newspaper name and its volume number are italicized.
How many authors before using et al. in APA 7?
Use “et al.” in every in-text citation for works with three or more authors, starting from the first mention. In the reference list, list up to 20 authors in full.
Is “Retrieved from” still used in APA?
No. APA 7th edition removed “Retrieved from” for most sources. Add a retrieval date only when the content is expected to change and is not archived.
What if a journal article has no DOI and no URL?
Cite it like a print journal article and simply end after the page range. Do not invent a URL or add database information for a widely available work.
How do I cite an article with no author?
Move the title to the author position. In text, cite a shortened title in quotation marks or italics, matching how the source is styled in the reference list.
Do I include the issue number in APA?
Yes, include the issue number in parentheses directly after the volume with no space, such as 8(3). This applies even when the journal paginates continuously across issues.