APA Citation Example: Real 7th Edition Samples
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0 sourcesAPA Citation Example: An APA reference lists the author, year, title, and source. A journal example is: Grady, J. S. (2019). Emotions in storybooks. Developmental Psychology, 55(1), 207–217. Each source type follows the same author–date order.
What does an APA citation example look like?
A complete APA reference names the author, gives the year in parentheses, states the title, and ends with the source. This four-part author–date pattern stays constant across books, articles, and web pages. The figure below labels each colour-coded element of a real journal reference.
(2019).
Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups.
Developmental Psychology, 55(1), 207–217.
https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000605
- Authors — surname then initials; use an ampersand before the final name.
- Year — publication year in parentheses, followed by a period.
- Title — article title in sentence case, not italicised.
- Source — italic journal name, volume, issue, and page range.
- DOI — a live https link with no full stop after it.
How do you format an APA reference?
APA orders every reference as author, date, title, and source. Authors are inverted to surname-plus-initials, titles use sentence case, and journal or book titles are italicised. The reference list is alphabetised and each entry uses a hanging indent.
| Element | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Surname, First initial. Middle initial. | Kahneman, D. |
| Date | (Year). in parentheses | (2011). |
| Title (article/chapter) | Sentence case, no italics | The psychology of choice. |
| Title (book/journal) | Italicised | Thinking, fast and slow |
| Source | Publisher or journal + DOI/URL | Farrar, Straus and Giroux. |
Capitalise only the first word of a title, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns. Give up to 20 authors in the reference list; for 21 or more, list the first 19, insert an ellipsis, then the final author.
What are APA citation examples for each source?
The pattern adapts to each source type by swapping the final element. Books end with a publisher, journal articles end with volume details and a DOI, and web pages end with a site name and URL. Real formatted samples follow.
BookKahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Edited book chapterDillard, J. P. (2020). Currents in the study of persuasion. In M. B. Oliver, A. A. Raney, & J. Bryant (Eds.), Media effects (4th ed., pp. 115–129). Routledge.
Journal articleGrady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups. Developmental Psychology, 55(1), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000605
Website (with author)Chandler, N. (2020, April 9). How the flu works. HowStuffWorks. https://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/cold-flu/flu.htm
Web page (organisation)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, May 4). Coping with stress. https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/stress-coping/cope-with-stress/index.html
Newspaper article (online)Roberts, S. (2020, April 9). Early string ties us to Neanderthals. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/science/neanderthals-fiber-string-math.html
Web pages carry extra rules the pattern above does not show — missing authors, missing dates and when a retrieval date is required. The APA website citation guide covers those cases in full.
What does an APA in-text citation example look like?
An APA in-text citation gives the author surname and year: (Grady, 2019) parenthetically, or Grady (2019) narratively. Add a page number for direct quotations: (Kahneman, 2011, p. 24).
Every in-text citation must match a reference-list entry, and every reference must be cited at least once in the text. For the full rules on author counts, missing dates, repeated authors and multiple works in one parenthesis, see the APA in-text citation guide.
How accurate are these APA examples?
These examples mirror the official APA 7th edition sample references, so the structure is reliable. Accuracy still depends on the details you enter. A generator cannot verify a misspelled author name, a missing DOI, or a title in the wrong case.
Watch three common issues. First, sentence case is often applied incorrectly to titles. Second, DOIs should appear as full https://doi.org/ links, not bare numbers. Third, retrieval dates are only needed for content designed to change, such as a live map or wiki. Always check a formatted reference against your source before submitting.
APA citation example FAQ
What is a basic APA citation example?
A basic APA book reference is: Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It follows the author, date, title, source order used across all APA references.
How do you write an APA in-text citation?
Place the author surname and year in parentheses, such as (Grady, 2019). For a direct quotation, add the page number: (Grady, 2019, p. 210). Narrative citations put the year directly after the author name.
What is the difference between APA 6 and 7?
APA 7 omits the publisher location, uses “et al.” for three or more authors on the first citation, and lists up to 20 authors before an ellipsis. It also drops “Retrieved from” before most URLs.
Do you italicise the title in an APA citation?
Italicise book titles, journal names, and report titles. Article titles and book chapter titles stay in plain sentence case. Only the container of a work, not the standalone piece within it, is italicised.
How do you cite a website in APA?
Give the author or organisation, the full date, the italicised page title, the site name, and the URL. Example: Chandler, N. (2020, April 9). How the flu works. HowStuffWorks. URL.
Does APA use a DOI or a URL?
Use a DOI whenever one exists, formatted as a live https link. If no DOI is available, use a stable URL. Never include both, and never add a period after the link.