How to Cite Sources in APA Format: An Easy Guide

TL;DR

• APA format uses author-date in-text citations (Smith, 2024) and a References page at the end
• The most important thing: every in-text citation needs a matching reference entry, and every reference entry should be cited in the text
• The APA 7th edition (current) eliminated many previous headaches — no more "Retrieved from" for most URLs, the running head is optional for students, and et al. kicks in after just one listing for 3+ authors
• Use a citation manager (Zotero, Mendeley) to save yourself from formatting nightmares

Table of Contents

• What Is APA Format and When Do You Use It?
• APA Paper Formatting Basics
• In-Text Citations: The Basics
• In-Text Citations: Special Cases
• The References Page
• How to Cite Common Source Types
• APA Format Quick Reference Cheat Sheet
• Common APA Mistakes That Cost You Points
• Tools That Make APA Formatting Easier
• Final Thoughts

What Is APA Format and When Do You Use It?

APA stands for the American Psychological Association, and APA format is the citation style they developed. It's the standard citation style for:

• Psychology
• Education
• Social sciences
• Nursing and health sciences
• Business and management
• Some STEM fields

If you're not sure whether your class uses APA, check your syllabus or ask your professor. Other common styles include MLA (humanities/literature), Chicago (history), and IEEE (engineering).

We're covering APA 7th edition, which is the current version (published in 2019, but still current in 2026). If your professor specifically requires 6th edition, some details will differ — but most have transitioned to 7th by now.

APA Paper Formatting Basics

Before we get into citations, let's cover the basic formatting requirements for an APA-style paper.

Page Setup

• Font: 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Calibri, or 11-point Arial (APA 7 allows multiple fonts — check your professor's preference)
• Spacing: Double-spaced throughout, including the reference list
• Margins: 1 inch on all sides
• Page numbers: Top-right corner, starting on the title page
• Paragraph indent: 0.5 inch for the first line of each paragraph

Title Page

For student papers (which is probably what you're writing), the title page includes:

1. Title of the paper — Bold, centered, positioned in the upper third of the page. Title case (capitalize major words).
2. Your name — Centered below the title
3. University/institution — Centered below your name
4. Course name and number — Centered below university
5. Instructor's name — Centered below course
6. Due date — Centered below instructor

Note: Student papers do NOT need a running head (that's only for professional papers submitted for publication). This is a big APA 7 change that many professors still don't know about.

Headings

APA uses five levels of headings:

• Level 1: Centered, Bold, Title Case
• Level 2: Left-aligned, Bold, Title Case
• Level 3: Left-aligned, Bold Italic, Title Case
• Level 4: Indented, Bold, Title Case, ending with a period. Text continues on the same line.
• Level 5: Indented, Bold Italic, Title Case, ending with a period. Text continues on the same line.

Most undergraduate papers only use Levels 1-3.

In-Text Citations: The Basics

In-text citations tell your reader where each piece of information came from. In APA, they use the author-date system.

Parenthetical Citation

The most common format. Place at the end of the sentence, before the period:

Social media use has been linked to increased anxiety in college students (Smith, 2024).

Narrative Citation

Use when you mention the author's name in the sentence:

Smith (2024) found that social media use increased anxiety in college students.

Notice: in narrative citations, only the year goes in parentheses.

Including Page Numbers

Add page numbers when you're quoting directly or referring to a specific passage:

"Students who used social media for more than 3 hours daily reported 40% higher anxiety levels" (Smith, 2024, p. 23).

According to Smith (2024), students with heavy social media use reported significantly higher anxiety (p. 23).

Two Authors

Use an ampersand (&) in parenthetical citations, "and" in narrative citations:

(Smith & Johnson, 2024) Smith and Johnson (2024) argued that...

Three or More Authors

As of APA 7, use "et al." from the very first citation when there are three or more authors:

(Williams et al., 2023) Williams et al. (2023) demonstrated that...

This is a big simplification from APA 6, which required listing all authors the first time.

In-Text Citations: Special Cases

These are the situations that trip students up the most.

Multiple Works by the Same Author, Same Year

Add lowercase letters after the year:

(Smith, 2024a) (Smith, 2024b)

List them in alphabetical order by title on the References page.

Multiple Works in One Citation

Separate with semicolons, listed alphabetically:

Several studies have confirmed this finding (Johnson, 2023; Smith, 2024; Williams et al., 2022).

Organization as Author

Use the full name the first time, with an abbreviation in brackets. Use the abbreviation in subsequent citations:

First citation: (World Health Organization [WHO], 2024) Subsequent: (WHO, 2024)

No Author

Use the title (or a shortened version) in place of the author. Italicize if it's a standalone work (book, report, webpage), use quotation marks if it's part of a larger work (article, chapter):

("Understanding Student Anxiety," 2024) (Student Mental Health Report, 2024)

No Date

Use "n.d." (no date):

(Smith, n.d.)

Secondary Sources (Source Cited in Another Source)

If Smith cited a study by Jones, and you read about it in Smith but didn't read Jones directly:

Jones's study (as cited in Smith, 2024) found that...

Use this sparingly. Whenever possible, find and cite the original source.

Personal Communications (Emails, Interviews, etc.)

Cite in-text only — do NOT include on the References page:

J. Smith (personal communication, March 15, 2024) confirmed that...

Websites with No Page Numbers

Use paragraph numbers, section headings, or a combination:

(Smith, 2024, para. 4) (Smith, 2024, "Methods" section)

The References Page

The References page lists every source you cited in your paper. It starts on a new page at the end of your paper.

Formatting Rules

• Title "References" — centered, bold, at the top of the page
• Double-spaced throughout
• Hanging indent: first line flush left, subsequent lines indented 0.5 inches
• Alphabetical order by first author's last name
• If no author, alphabetize by title (ignoring A, An, The)

The Basic Reference Format

Every reference entry follows this general template:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. Source. URL or DOI

The specifics vary by source type, but this is the backbone.

How to Cite Common Source Types

Journal Article (with DOI)

Williams, J. D., & Chen, L. (2024). Effects of AI tutoring on undergraduate learning outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 116(3), 412-428. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000XXX

Key elements:

• Author(s) — Last name, First initial.
• (Year).
• Article title — Sentence case, not italicized
• Journal name — Italic, Title Case
• Volume(Issue), page range.
• DOI as a URL (not "doi:" or "https://doi.org/")

Journal Article (without DOI, from a database)

Smith, R. T. (2023). Social media and college student mental health. Psychology Today, 45(2), 88-97.

If there's no DOI and you accessed it through a library database, don't include a URL. Just end with the page numbers.

Book

Anderson, K. M. (2023). The science of studying: Evidence-based strategies for students (3rd ed.). Academic Press.

Key elements:

• Author(s).
• (Year).
• Book title: Subtitle — Italic, Sentence case
• (Edition, if not the first). Publisher.

Chapter in an Edited Book

Taylor, S. (2024). Procrastination and academic performance. In P. Johnson & M. Lee (Eds.), Understanding student behavior (pp. 145-172). Oxford University Press.

Website

National Institute of Mental Health. (2024, June 15). Anxiety disorders. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders

Key elements:

• Author or Organization.
• (Year, Month Day — be as specific as the source allows).
• Page title — Italic, Sentence case
• URL (no period after URL)

Note: APA 7 removed "Retrieved from" before URLs unless the content might change (like a wiki). For most websites, just provide the URL.

Webpage on a Website (with Organization as Author)

When the author IS the website organization, don't repeat it:

World Health Organization. (2024). Mental health in adolescents. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health

YouTube Video

TED. (2023, September 14). How AI is transforming education [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXXX

Social Media Post

Gates, B. [@BillGates]. (2024, March 1). The future of AI in education is closer than we think [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/XXXX

ChatGPT or AI-Generated Content

Yes, APA has guidelines for citing AI! This is increasingly relevant:

OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (GPT-4) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com

In-text: (OpenAI, 2024)

Important: Include the specific prompt and output in an appendix or supplemental materials if your professor requires it. And always check your professor's policy on using AI first. For more on this topic, see our guide on whether using AI for homework is cheating.

Government Report

U.S. Department of Education. (2024). Digest of education statistics, 2024 (NCES 2024-009). National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/

PowerPoint / Lecture Slides

Johnson, M. (2024, October 3). Introduction to cognitive psychology [PowerPoint slides]. Canvas. https://canvas.university.edu/courses/12345

APA Format Quick Reference Cheat Sheet

In-Text Citations At a Glance

Situation	Parenthetical	Narrative
1 author	(Smith, 2024)	Smith (2024)
2 authors	(Smith & Jones, 2024)	Smith and Jones (2024)
3+ authors	(Smith et al., 2024)	Smith et al. (2024)
Organization	(WHO, 2024)*	WHO (2024)*
No author	("Short Title," 2024)	—
No date	(Smith, n.d.)	Smith (n.d.)
Direct quote	(Smith, 2024, p. 15)	Smith (2024, p. 15)

*After first full mention with abbreviation established

Reference Entry Essentials

• Double-spaced, hanging indent
• Alphabetical by first author's last name
• Sentence case for titles (only capitalize first word, first word after colon, and proper nouns)
• Italicize titles of standalone works (books, reports, webpages)
• Include DOI as URL when available
• No period after URLs/DOIs

Common APA Mistakes That Cost You Points

Mistake #1: Inconsistent Citation Style

Mixing MLA and APA formatting in the same paper is surprisingly common and an instant red flag. The most common mix-up: using MLA's author-page format (Smith 23) instead of APA's author-date format (Smith, 2024, p. 23).

Mistake #2: Missing References for In-Text Citations

Every source you cite in the text must appear on the References page, and vice versa. Do a cross-check before submitting. It takes 5 minutes and catches the #1 citation error.

Mistake #3: Title Case vs. Sentence Case Confusion

• Reference list titles: Sentence case (only capitalize first word and proper nouns)
• Journal names: Title Case AND italic
• Your paper's headings: Title Case

This is confusing, and even experienced writers mix it up. Double-check your References page.

Mistake #4: Wrong Hanging Indent

Reference entries should have a hanging indent — first line flush with the margin, subsequent lines indented 0.5 inches. In Google Docs: Format → Align & Indent → Indentation Options → Special indent → Hanging. In Word: Format → Paragraph → Special → Hanging.

Mistake #5: Using "Retrieved from" When You Shouldn't

APA 7 mostly eliminated "Retrieved from" before URLs. Just put the URL. The exception: content that might change (wikis, social media profiles that evolve).

Mistake #6: Not Including DOIs

If a journal article has a DOI, include it. Always. It's the permanent identifier for that article. Use the URL format: https://doi.org/10.XXXX/XXXXX

Mistake #7: Quoting Too Much, Paraphrasing Too Little

While not technically an APA formatting error, relying heavily on direct quotes instead of paraphrasing makes for a weaker paper. Paraphrase most of the time; quote when the exact words matter. Need help with paraphrasing? Check our guide on how to paraphrase without plagiarizing.

Tools That Make APA Formatting Easier

Manually formatting APA citations is tedious and error-prone. Use these tools:

Zotero (Free)

The best free reference manager. Save sources from your browser with one click, organize by project, and generate formatted bibliographies automatically. The Zotero connector browser extension is essential.

Citation Machine / EasyBib

Online citation generators where you paste in a URL, DOI, or title and get a formatted citation. Good for quick citations, but always double-check the output — automated tools sometimes make errors.

Google Docs Citation Tool

Google Docs has a built-in citation tool (Tools → Citations). It's basic but functional for undergrad papers. It supports APA, MLA, and Chicago.

Microsoft Word References Tab

Word has built-in citation management. It's clunkier than Zotero but doesn't require installing anything new.

Gradily

When you're working on research assignments, Gradily can help you understand proper citation formatting as part of its step-by-step learning approach. It's particularly helpful when you're unsure whether you need a citation for a specific piece of information.

General Advice

Whatever tool you use, always proofread the generated citation against APA guidelines. No tool is 100% accurate, and a professor will grade what's on the page, not what the tool was supposed to produce.

Final Thoughts

APA formatting feels overwhelming at first, but it's actually pretty logical once you understand the pattern: Author, Date, Title, Source, Location. Every citation is just a variation of that template.

The two most important rules to remember:

1. Cite everything that isn't common knowledge or your own original thought. When in doubt, cite it.
2. Every in-text citation needs a reference entry, and every reference entry needs an in-text citation. They're a matched set.

Don't let citation formatting be the thing that tanks your grade on an otherwise good paper. Use a reference manager, follow the patterns in this guide, and do a final check before submitting.

And remember: the purpose of citations isn't to make your life difficult. It's to give credit where it's due and let your reader find your sources. It's academic honesty in action.

For a comprehensive approach to writing a properly cited research paper from start to finish, check out our beginner's guide to writing a research paper.

Now go cite something properly. Your professor will be impressed.