How to Cite a Journal Article in APA 7

Updated May 14, 2026

APA 7 journal article references follow one core pattern: Author(s). (Year). Article title. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Pages. https://doi.org/xxxx. Get that order right and the rest is detail work.

The basic format

For a journal article with a DOI:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. Title of the Journal, Volume(Issue), Pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Worked example:

Tomasello, M., & Carpenter, M. (2007). Shared intentionality. Developmental Science, 10(1), 121–125. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00573.x

Italicize the journal name and the volume number. Do not italicize the issue number, parentheses, or page range. Use an ampersand (&) before the final author, not the word "and."

Authors

APA 7 changed the cutoff for "et al." in references. List up to 20 authors by name in the reference list. If there are 21 or more, list the first 19, then an ellipsis, then the final author's name (no ampersand before it).

In-text, the rule is different:

One or two authors: always list both. (Smith & Jones, 2020)
Three or more authors: first author plus "et al." from the first citation onward. (Smith et al., 2020)

Format each name as "Last, F. M." Use initials with periods and a space between initials: "Patel, R. K.," not "Patel, RK."

Year

Use the year of publication in parentheses after the author list: (2023). For advance online or in-press articles, use (in press) with no year, and italicize nothing.

Article title

Sentence case. Capitalize only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns. No quotation marks, no italics. End with a period.

Wrong: The Effect of Sleep on Memory Consolidation Right: The effect of sleep on memory consolidation.

Journal name, volume, issue

Journal name in title case and italics. Volume number italicized. Issue number in parentheses, not italicized, no space between volume and parenthesis.

Journal of Experimental Psychology, 148(3),

Always include the issue number when one is given, even if the journal paginates continuously across an issue. APA 7 dropped the old "omit issue if continuous pagination" rule.

Page range

Use an en dash between page numbers, no "pp." prefix: 121–125. Do not abbreviate repeated digits (write 121–125, not 121–25).

For articles without page numbers (common in online-only journals), use the article number instead: Article 42 or Article e0123456.

DOI vs URL

This trips people up most.

If a DOI exists, use it. Format as a hyperlink: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx. Do not write "doi:" or "DOI:" in front.
No DOI, article from an academic database (JSTOR, ProQuest, EBSCO): end the reference at the page range. Do not include the database URL.
No DOI, article freely available online: include the URL of the article's landing page.
No DOI, no public URL: end at the page range. Treat it like a print article.

DOIs and URLs do not need to be preceded by "Retrieved from" unless the source is expected to change.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the issue number. Always include it if one is given.
Italicizing the issue or the comma after it. Only the journal name and volume are italicized.
Using "and" instead of "&" in the reference. References use the ampersand.
Hyperlinking the DOI as dx.doi.org (old format). Use https://doi.org/.
Capitalizing every word in the article title. Sentence case only.
Adding "Vol." or "Issue" labels. The format is Volume(Issue), no words.

In-text citation

Parenthetical: (Tomasello & Carpenter, 2007) Narrative: Tomasello and Carpenter (2007) found...

Page numbers are required for direct quotes, optional for paraphrases: (Tomasello & Carpenter, 2007, p. 122).

Quick checklist

Before you submit, scan the reference for:

Authors in Last, F. M. format with ampersand before the last
Year in parentheses with a period after
Article title in sentence case
Journal name and volume italicized, issue not italicized
Page range with en dash, no "pp."
DOI as https://doi.org/... link

Source: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition (2020), sections 9.25 to 10.1.

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