On this page
Updated . Example details checked against Crossref, doi:10.2147/NSS.S62907.
The APA format
Pattern
Last name, A. A., & Last name, B. B. (Year). Title of article in sentence case. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pages. https://doi.org/xx
- Up to 20 authors are all listed, with an ampersand before the last (APA 7, 9.8).
- Article title: plain text, sentence case, no quotation marks.
- Journal name and volume in italics; the journal keeps title case. The issue goes in parentheses, not italic. This journal has no issues.
- Pages with no “pp.” and an en dash: 73–84.
- DOI as a link, https://doi.org/..., with no period after it.
In the text
Use an ampersand in parentheses and “and” in your sentence: Hershner and Chervin (2014) found... Add a page for a quotation: (Hershner & Chervin, 2014, p. 75). With three or more authors, write the first and “et al.” from the first citation.
A real example
Reference entry
Hershner, S. D., & Chervin, R. D. (2014). Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college students. Nature and Science of Sleep, 6, 73–84. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S62907
In-text citation
(Hershner & Chervin, 2014, p. 75)
When details are missing
- No DOI: for an article from a library database, end after the pages. Give a URL only if it opens the article for any reader.
- No issue: leave out the parentheses.
- An article number instead of pages: write it as “Article 12.”
Common mistakes
- Title case for the article title. APA uses sentence case for articles and title case for journal names.
- Italicizing the issue. Only the volume is italic: Nature and Science of Sleep, 6(2).
- The database name or “Retrieved from.” APA 7 leaves out most database names and never says “Retrieved from” before a DOI.
- “et al.” only from the second citation. In APA 7, three or more authors take “et al.” every time.
Or let Format do it.
Paste the DOI and Format fetches the authors, title, journal, volume, issue, pages and year from Crossref. Format writes the References entry and the in-text citation in APA 7, exactly as shown above, and builds the References page when you export to Word or PDF. MLA and APA are free.
Questions
Do I need the DOI?
Yes, whenever the article has one, even if you read it in print.
How do I cite an article with 21 or more authors?
List the first 19, then an ellipsis, then the last author.
Where do I find the issue number?
On the article’s first page, the journal’s page for the issue, or the Crossref record for the DOI.
More citation guides
The same source in other styles
Similar sources in APA
Every source kind is on the APA page, and every style is on How to cite.