APA 7th Edition - Citation Formats and Style Guides - Canisius University - Andrew L. Bouwhuis, S.J. Library at Canisius University

Paper Formatting - APA 7th Edition

The 7th edition of APA (updated in 2019) is a citation and paper style most commonly used in social sciences fields (psychology, nursing, business, etc.).

In this section, you will find resources for formatting your paper and citations according to the most current APA style. If you are ever unsure of how to interpret a citation rule, reach out to your instructor or the library - we are here to help!

Last updated October 2025

APA 7th Edition Style Guide
The style and grammar guidelines pages present information about APA Style as described in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition and the Concise Guide to APA Style, Seventh Edition. Any updates to APA Style are noted on the applicable topic pages.

APA 7th Edition Paper Formatting Guide
Use this guide to set up an APA Style student paper. The basic setup directions apply to the entire paper. The annotated diagrams that follow illustrate how to set up the major sections: the title page or cover page, the text, tables and figures, and the reference list.

Type of Material	Format	Example
Book	Author, A. A. (year of publication). Title of book. Publisher.	Sapolsky, R. M. (2017). Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst. Penguin Books.
Chapter in an edited book.	Author, A.A. (year of publication). Chapter title. In Author, A.A. (Eds.), Book title (page range). Publisher.	Aron, L., Botella, M., & Lubart, T. (2019). Culinary arts: Talent and their development. In R. F. Subotnik, P. Olszewski-Kubilius, & F. C. Worrell (Eds.), The psychology of high performance: Developing human potential into domain-specific talent (pp. 345–359). American Psychological Association.
Notes for books and book chapters: Do not include the publisher location. If the print book or eBook has a DOI, include the DOI in the reference after the publisher name. Do not create references for chapters of authored books. Instead, write a reference for the whole book and cite the chapter in the text if desired (e.g., Kumar, 2017, Chapter 2).

Journal article	Author, A. A. (year of publication). Title of article. Journal Title, Volume(issue), page range. https://doi or URL	Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185
Notes for journal articles: Do not include database information in the reference unless the journal article comes from a database that publishes original, proprietary content, such as UpToDate. If the journal article does not have a DOI but does have a URL that will resolve for readers (e.g., it is from an online journal that is not part of a subscription database), include the URL of the article at the end of the reference. If the journal article has an article number (ie. Article e0193972) instead of a page range, include the article number instead of the page range. Up to and including twenty authors should be listed in the entry in the reference list.
Magazine or Newspaper Article	Author, A. A. (year of publication, Month date). Title of article. Publication Title, Volume(issue), page range. https://doi or URL	Schaefer, N. K., & Shapiro, B. (2019, September 6). New middle chapter in the story of human evolution. Science, 365(6457), 981–982. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aay3550 OR 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
Notes for magazines and newspaper articles If the article is from a news website (e.g., CNN, HuffPost)—one that does not have an associated daily or weekly newspaper—use the format for a webpage on a website instead.

Webpage from website, if content does not change over time.

Author, A. A. (year of publication, Month date). Webpage title. Website Title. https://url

National Institute of Mental Health. (2018, July). Anxiety disorders. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml

Webpage from website, if content changes over time.

Author, A. A. (year of publication, Month date). Webpage title. Website Title. Retrieved Month date, Year from https://url

Fagan, J. (2019, March 25). Nursing clinical brain. OER Commons. Retrieved November 26, 2019 from https://www.oercommons.org/authoring/53029-nursing-clinical-brain/view

Notes for websites:

Provide as specific a date as is available on the webpage. This might be a year only; a year and month; or a year, month, and day.
When the author of the webpage and the publisher of the website are the same, omit the publisher name to avoid repetition.
If the author is missing, the title moves to the beginning of the reference and is used in place of the author name.
Generally, a retrieval date is not required. Only include a retrieval date in the reference if the information is designed to change over time (e.g., Wikipedia). Only use “Retrieved from” when you are including a retrieval date. Including the date indicates to readers that that they are likely to access a different version of the webpage.
Use the webpage on a website format for articles from news websites such as CNN and HuffPost (these sites do not have associated daily or weekly newspapers).
Use the newspaper article category for articles from newspaper websites such as The New York Times or The Washington Post.
Do not create a reference or in-text citation for a whole website.

Publication Manual (OFFICIAL) 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association by American Psychological Association
Call Number: BF76.7 .P83 2010

ISBN: 9781433832161

Publication Date: 2019-10-01

A Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller. The newest official release of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition, includes four different formats—spiral-bound and tabbed, paperback, hardcover, and ebook—all of which are in full color. It is the official source for APA Style. With millions of copies sold worldwide in multiple languages, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition, is the style manual of choice for writers, researchers, editors, students, and educators in the social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences, nursing, communications, education, business, engineering, and other fields. Known for its authoritative, easy-to-use reference and citation system, the Publication Manual also offers guidance on choosing the headings, tables, figures, language, and tone that will result in powerful, concise, and elegant scholarly communication. It guides users through the scholarly writing process—from the ethics of authorship to reporting research through publication. The seventh edition is an indispensable resource for students and professionals to achieve excellence in writing and make an impact with their work. The seventh edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect best practices in scholarly writing and publishing. All formats are in full color, with a new tabbed spiral version. Easy navigation, with topics divided into numbered sections to help users quickly locate the information they need. Resources for students on writing and formatting annotated bibliographies, response papers, and other paper types; guidelines on citing course materials; and guidance on writing clearly, precisely, and concisely.

Dedicated chapter for new users of APA Style, covering paper elements and format, including sample papers for both professional authors and student writers. New chapter on journal article reporting standards (JARS) that includes updates to reporting standards for quantitative research and the first-ever qualitative and mixed methods reporting standards in APA Style. Updated chapter on bias-free language guidelines for writing about people with respect and inclusivity in areas including age, disability, gender, participation in research, racial and ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Updated chapter on essential style guidelines for scholarly writing, including punctuation, italics, capitalization, abbreviations, and numbers. More than 40 new sample tables and figures. Expanded guidance on ethical writing and publishing practices, including how to ensure the appropriate level of citation, avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism, and navigate the publication process. More than 100 new reference examples covering periodicals, books, audiovisual media, social media, webpages and websites, legal resources, and many other document types. Guidelines that support accessibility for all users, including simplified reference, in-text citation, and heading formats, as well as additional font options.

Style Guide

APA 7th Edition Quick Guide
Use this document as a guide to help you format the most common types of sources. It includes extra information to help you interpret some of the citation rules. All information is adapted from the official APA Style Manual.

*File uploaded 10/31/2025*