How to Cite a Figure in APA
Every figure you borrow in APA 7 needs two things: a note directly under the image and a matching entry in your reference list. Miss either one and you've got an incomplete citation.
The two-part rule
APA 7 treats figures (charts, graphs, diagrams, photos, maps) the same way it treats quoted text. The image gets a caption-style note that credits the source, and the source shows up in your references like any other cited work. Your own original figures skip the note, but they still need a figure number and title.
Setting up the figure in your paper
Every figure gets four elements stacked in this order.
1. Figure number
Bold, flush left, above the figure. Number figures in the order they appear, starting with Figure 1. Don't use "Figure 1.1" style unless you're following a book-chapter format.
2. Title
One line below the number. Italicized, title case, flush left. Keep it short and descriptive, usually under 10 words.
3. The image
Placed below the title. Make sure it's legible at printed size, around 300 dpi for anything you'd print.
4. The note
Placed under the image. Starts with the word Note. in italics, followed by a period. This is where the copyright and source credit live.
Reprinted figures (you used it as-is)
If you copied the figure without changing it, use this note format:
Note. From "Title of Article," by A. A. Author and B. B. Author, 2022, Journal Name, 45(3), p. 217 (https://doi.org/xxxx). Copyright 2022 by the Copyright Holder. Reprinted with permission.
You only need "Reprinted with permission" if the source is copyrighted and you actually got permission. For public-domain or Creative Commons work, swap that phrase for the license (for example, "CC BY 4.0").
Adapted figures (you modified it)
Same structure, but change "Reprinted" to "Adapted":
Note. Adapted from Book Title (p. 45), by C. C. Author, 2021, Publisher. Copyright 2021 by Publisher.
"Adapted" covers redrawing, translating, combining data from multiple sources, or changing the visual style. If you pulled raw numbers from a paper and built your own chart, credit the data source in the note the same way.
Your own original figures
If you created the figure from your own data, you don't need a note at all. Just the figure number and title. If a reader might mistake it for borrowed work, add "Original work" in the note to be clear.
The reference-list entry
Every cited figure also needs a full reference. There's no separate "figure" reference type. You cite the source it came from: journal article, book, website, or dataset.
Worked example. You're using Figure 3 from Chen and Park's 2023 article in Journal of Applied Psychology. Your reference-list entry uses the standard journal-article format:
Chen, L., & Park, S. (2023). Workplace attention patterns in remote teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 108(4), 512–528. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0001045
The in-text signal is your figure note. You don't also need a separate "(Chen & Park, 2023)" parenthetical if the note already credits them.
Where the figure goes in the paper
APA 7 gives you two choices. You can embed the figure in the body near the first mention, or group all figures at the end after your references. Student papers usually embed. Manuscripts for publication often group at the end. Check what your instructor or journal prefers before you format.
Reference the figure in your text by number: "As shown in Figure 3, response times dropped 40% after week four." Don't write "the figure above" or "the figure below," since final layout can shift.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the note under the figure. The reference-list entry alone isn't enough.
- Using "Figure 1." with a period instead of "Figure 1" without one as the label.
- Italicizing the whole note text after Note. Only the word Note. itself is italic.
- Skipping the page number in the source. For book and journal figures, include the exact page you pulled from.
- Treating a table like a figure. Tables use their own label ("Table 1") and slightly different formatting rules.