1

APA 7TH EDITION

(Student Guide)

Syeda Maliha Zainab Hashmi

(English Lecturer)
email: [email protected]

Sarhad University of Science & Information Technology, Peshawar.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1....................................................................................................................................................... 4
1.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 4
1.2 BASIC SETUP ........................................................................................................................................ 4
1.3 TITLE PAGE ELEMENTS ........................................................................................................................ 5
1.4 TITLE PAGE LINE SPACING: .................................................................................................................. 6
1.5 TITLE PAGE ALIGNMENT: ..................................................................................................................... 6
1.6 TITLE PAGE FONT: ................................................................................................................................ 7
1.7 TEXT ELEMENTS .................................................................................................................................. 7
1.8 TEXT LINE SPACING ............................................................................................................................. 7
1.9 TEXT ALIGNMENT ................................................................................................................................ 8
1.10 BLOCK QUOTATION ALIGNMENT....................................................................................................... 9
1.11 TEXT FONT ......................................................................................................................................... 9
1.12 HEADINGS FORMAT........................................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 2..................................................................................................................................................... 11
2.1 APA CITATION BASICS ........................................................................................................................ 11
2.2 SHORT QUOTATIONS ......................................................................................................................... 11
2.3 LONG QUOTATIONS ........................................................................................................................... 12
2.4 QUOTATIONS FROM SOURCES WITHOUT PAGES .............................................................................. 13
2.5 SUMMARY OR PARAPHRASE ............................................................................................................. 14
2.6 A WORK BY ONE AUTHOR ................................................................................................................. 14
2.7 A WORK BY TWO AUTHORS .............................................................................................................. 15
2.8 A WORK BY THREE OR MORE AUTHORS ........................................................................................... 15
2.9 ORGANIZATION AS AN AUTHOR........................................................................................................ 15
2.10 TWO OR MORE WORKS IN THE SAME PARENTHESES ..................................................................... 16
2.11 AUTHORS WITH THE SAME LAST NAME ......................................................................................... 16
2.12 TWO OR MORE WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR IN THE SAME YEAR .............................................. 17
Chapter 3..................................................................................................................................................... 18
3.1 APA REFERENCING BASICS ................................................................................................................ 18
3.2 BASIC RULES FOR MOST SOURCES .................................................................................................... 18
3.3 BASIC FORMAT FOR BOOKS............................................................................................................... 19
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3.31 EDITED BOOK, NO AUTHOR ............................................................................................................ 19

3.32 EDITED BOOK WITH AN AUTHOR OR AUTHORS ............................................................................. 19
3.33 A TRANSLATION............................................................................................................................... 20
3.34 EDITION OTHER THAN THE FIRST .................................................................................................... 20
3.35 ARTICLE OR CHAPTER IN AN EDITED BOOK .................................................................................... 20
3.36 MULTIVOLUME WORK..................................................................................................................... 21
3.4 BASIC FORMAT FOR ARTICLES ........................................................................................................... 21
3.41 ARTICLE IN PRINT JOURNAL ............................................................................................................ 21
3.42 ARTICLE IN ELECTRONIC JOURNAL .................................................................................................. 22
3.43 ARTICLE IN A MAGAZINE ................................................................................................................. 23
3.44 ARTICLE IN A NEWSPAPER............................................................................................................... 23
3.5 BASIC FORMAT FOR FILM OR VIDEO ................................................................................................. 23
3.51 FILM OR VIDEO IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE ....................................................................................... 23
3.52 TV SERIES ......................................................................................................................................... 23
3.53 TV SERIES EPISODE .......................................................................................................................... 24
3.54 YOUTUBE VIDEO .............................................................................................................................. 24
3.55 MUSIC ALBUM................................................................................................................................. 25
3.56 SINGLE SONG OR TRACK ................................................................................................................. 25
3.57 PODCAST ......................................................................................................................................... 25
3.58 SINGLE PODCAST EPISODE .............................................................................................................. 26
References................................................................................................................................................... 27
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Chapter 1

1.1 INTRODUCTION

1.2 BASIC SETUP

Seventh edition APA Style was designed with modern word-processing programs
in mind. Most default settings in programs such as Academic Writer, Microsoft
Word, and Google Docs already comply with APA Style. However, you may need
to make a few adjustments before you begin writing. These are mentioned below.

1. Margins: Use 1-in. margins on all sides of the page (top, bottom, left, and
right).
2. Font: Use a legible font. Many fonts are acceptable, including 11-point
Calibri, 11-point Arial, 12-point Times New Roman, and 11-point Georgia.
The default font of your word-processing program is acceptable.

3. Line Spacing: Use double-spacing for the entire paper (including block
quotations and the reference list). Do not add blank lines before or after
headings. Do not add extra spacing between paragraphs.

4. Paragraph Alignment and Indentation: Align paragraphs of text to the left

margin. Leave the right margin ragged. Do not use full justification. Indent
the first line of every paragraph of text 0.5 in. using the tab key or the
paragraph-formatting function of your word-processing program.

5. Page Numbers: Put a page number in the top right corner of every page,
including the title page or cover page, which is page 1. Student papers do not
require a running head on any page.
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1.3 TITLE PAGE ELEMENTS

✓ The affiliation consists of the department of the course and the name of the
university.
✓ Write the course number and name and instructor name as shown on course
materials.
✓ Use the date format used in your country for the assignment due date.
✓ Page number 1 appears in the top right of the page in the page header.
✓ No running heads are required for student papers.
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1.4 TITLE PAGE LINE SPACING:

1.5 TITLE PAGE ALIGNMENT:

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1.6 TITLE PAGE FONT:

1.7 TEXT ELEMENTS

✓ Repeat the paper title at the top of the first page of text.
✓ Begin with an introduction to provide background and context.

1.8 TEXT LINE SPACING

➢ Double-space all text, including
✓ headings and section labels
✓ paragraphs of text
✓ block quotes
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1.9 TEXT ALIGNMENT

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1.10 BLOCK QUOTATION ALIGNMENT

1.11 TEXT FONT

✓ Use the same font throughout the entire paper.
✓ Write body text in standard (nonbold, nonitalic) font.
✓ Use italics carefully, for instance, to highlight a key term on first use.

1.12 HEADINGS FORMAT

1. Alignment:
✓ Center Level 1 headings.
✓ Left-align Level 2 and Level 3 headings.
✓ Indent Level 4 and Level 5 headings like a paragraph.

2. Font:
✓ Boldface all headings.
✓ Also italicize Level 3 and Level 5 headings.
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Chapter 2

2.1 APA CITATION BASICS

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This
means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should
appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for
each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

1. If you are referring to an idea from another work but NOT directly quoting
the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work,
you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and
not the page number in your in-text reference.

2. On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another
work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical
citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple
pages) before listing the page number(s). Use a hyphen (-) for page ranges.
For example, you might write (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp.
199–201).

3. Regardless of how they are referenced, all sources that are cited in the text
must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

2.2 SHORT QUOTATIONS

1. If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author,
year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p." for
a single page and “pp.” for a span of multiple pages, with the page numbers
separated by a hyphen).

2. You can introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the
author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.
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✓ According to Jones (1998), "students often had difficulty using APA style,
especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

✓ Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199);
what implications does this have for teachers?

3. If you do not include the author’s name in the text of the sentence, place the
author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in
parentheses after the quotation.

✓ She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p.
199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

2.3 LONG QUOTATIONS

1. Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block
of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new
line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you
would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin,
and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2
inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout, but do not
add an extra blank line before or after it. The parenthetical citation should
come after the closing punctuation mark.

2. Because block quotation formatting is difficult for a student to replicate, a

screenshot of a generic example is simply provided below.
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2.4 QUOTATIONS FROM SOURCES WITHOUT PAGES

1. Direct quotations from sources that do not contain pages should not
reference a page number. Instead, you may reference another logical
identifying element; a paragraph, a chapter number, a section number, a table
number, or something else. Older works (like religious texts) can also
incorporate special location identifiers like verse numbers. In short: pick a
substitute for page numbers that makes sense for your source.

✓ Jones (1998) found a variety of causes for student dissatisfaction with

prevailing citation practices (paras. 4–5).
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✓ A meta-analysis of available literature (Jones, 1998) revealed inconsistency

across large-scale studies of student learning (Table 3).

2.5 SUMMARY OR PARAPHRASE

1. If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make
reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference and
may omit the page numbers.

2. APA guidelines, however, do encourage including a page range for a

summary or paraphrasing, as it will help the reader find the information in a
longer work.

✓ According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-
time learners.

✓ APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998, p.
199).

2.6 A WORK BY ONE AUTHOR

1. The APA manual recommends the use of the author-date citation structure
for in-text citation references. This structure requires that any in-text citation
(i.e., within the body of the text) be accompanied by a corresponding
reference list entry.

✓ As Ahmed (2016) mentions...

✓ (Ahmed, 2016)
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2.7 A WORK BY TWO AUTHORS

1. Name both authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses each time you cite
the work. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and
use the ampersand (&) in parentheses.

✓ Research by Wegener and Petty (1994) supports...

✓ (Wegener & Petty, 1994)

2.8 A WORK BY THREE OR MORE AUTHORS

1. List only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in every citation, even
the first, unless doing so would create ambiguity between different sources.

✓ (Kernis et al., 1993)

✓ Kernis et al. (1993) suggest...

2. In et al., et should not be followed by a period. Only "al" should be followed

by a period.

2.9 ORGANIZATION AS AN AUTHOR

1. If the author is an organization or a government agency, mention the
organization in the signal phrase or in the parenthetical citation the first time
you cite the source, just as you would do with an individual person.

✓ According to the American Psychological Association (2000),...

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2. If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, you may include the

abbreviation in brackets the first time the source is cited and then use only
the abbreviation in later citations. However, if you cite work from multiple
organizations whose abbreviations are the same, do not use abbreviations (to
avoid ambiguity).

✓ First citation: (Mothers Against Drunk Driving [MADD], 2000)

✓ Second citation: (MADD, 2000)

2.10 TWO OR MORE WORKS IN THE SAME PARENTHESES

1. When your parenthetical citation includes two or more works, order them
the same way they appear in the reference list (viz., alphabetically),
separated by a semi-colon.

✓ (Berndt, 2002; Harlow, 1983)

2. If you cite multiple works by the same author in the same parenthetical
citation, give the author’s name only once and follow with dates. No date
citations go first, then years, then in-press citations.

✓ (Smith, n.d., 1995, 2002, in press)

2.11 AUTHORS WITH THE SAME LAST NAME

1. To prevent confusion, use first initials with the last names.

✓ (E. Johnson, 2001; L. Johnson, 1998)

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2.12 TWO OR MORE WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR IN THE

SAME YEAR
1. If you have two sources by the same author in the same year, use lower-case
letters (a, b, c) with the year to order the entries in the reference list. Use the
lower-case letters with the year in the in-text citation.

✓ Research by Berndt (1981a) revealed strong correlations. However, a

parallel study (Berndt, 1981b) resulted in inconclusive findings.
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Chapter 3

3.1 APA REFERENCING BASICS

• Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper. It provides the
information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite
in the body of the paper. Each source you cite in the paper must appear in
your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in
your text.

• Your references should begin on a new page separate from the text of the
essay; label this page "References" in bold, centered at the top of the page
(do NOT underline or use quotation marks for the title). All text should be
double-spaced just like the rest of your essay.

3.2 BASIC RULES FOR MOST SOURCES

1. All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be
indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging
indentation.
2. All authors' names should be inverted (i.e., last names should be provided
first).
3. Authors' first and middle names should be written as initials. For example,
the reference entry for a source written by Jane Marie Smith would begin
with "Smith, J. M."
4. If a middle name isn't available, just initialize the author's first name:
"Smith, J."
5. Give the last name and first/middle initials for all authors of a particular
work up to and including 20 authors. Separate each author’s initials from the
next author in the list with a comma. Use an ampersand (&) before the last
author’s name.
6. If there are 21 or more authors, use an ellipsis (but no ampersand) after the
19th author, and then add the final author’s name.
7. Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first
author of each work.
8. For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order,
list the entries in chronological order, from earliest to most recent.
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3.3 BASIC FORMAT FOR BOOKS

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle.
Publisher Name. DOI (if available)

EXAMPLE

Stoneman, R. (2008). Alexander the Great: A life in legend. Yale University Press.

3.31 EDITED BOOK, NO AUTHOR

Editor, E. E. (Ed.). (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle.
Publisher. DOI (if available)

EXAMPLE

Leitch, M. G., & Rushton, C. J. (Eds.). (2019). A new companion to Malory. D. S.

Brewer.

3.32 EDITED BOOK WITH AN AUTHOR OR AUTHORS

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (E.
Editor, Ed.). Publisher. DOI (if available)

EXAMPLE

Malory, T. (2017). Le morte darthur (P. J. C. Field, Ed.). D. S. Brewer. (Original work
published 1469-70)
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3.33 A TRANSLATION
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (T.
Translator, Trans.). Publisher. (Original work published YEAR) DOI (if available)

EXAMPLE

Plato (1989). Symposium (A. Nehamas & P. Woodruff, Trans.). Hackett Publishing
Company. (Original work published ca. 385-378 BCE)

Note: When you cite a republished work, like the one above, in your text, it should
appear with both dates: Plato (385-378/1989)

3.34 EDITION OTHER THAN THE FIRST

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (#
edition). Publisher. DOI (if available)

EXAMPLE

Belcher, W. (2019). Writing your journal article in twelve weeks: A guide to academic
publishing success (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.

3.35 ARTICLE OR CHAPTER IN AN EDITED BOOK

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor
& F. F. Editor (Eds.), Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (pp. pages of
chapter). Publisher. DOI (if available)

Note: When you list the pages of the chapter or essay in parentheses after the book
title, use "pp." before the numbers: (pp. 1-21). This abbreviation, however, does
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not appear before the page numbers in periodical references. List any edition
number in the same set of parentheses as the page numbers, separated by a
comma: (2nd ed., pp. 66-72).

EXAMPLE

Armstrong, D. (2019). Malory and character. In M. G. Leitch & C. J. Rushton

(Eds.), A new companion to Malory (pp. 144-163). D. S. Brewer.

3.36 MULTIVOLUME WORK

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (Vol.
#). Publisher. DOI (if available)

EXAMPLE

David, A., & Simpson, J. (Eds.). (2006). The Norton anthology of English literature:
The Middle Ages (8th ed.,Vol. A). W. W. Norton and Company.

3.4 BASIC FORMAT FOR ARTICLES

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of
Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy

3.41 ARTICLE IN PRINT JOURNAL

Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(3), 5–13.

Note: APA 7 advises writers to include a DOI (if available), even when using the
print source. The example above assumes no DOI is available.
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3.42 ARTICLE IN ELECTRONIC JOURNAL

✓ As noted above, when citing an article in an electronic journal, include a

DOI if one is associated with the article.

EXAMPLE

Baniya, S., & Weech, S. (2019). Data and experience design: Negotiating community-
oriented digital research with service-learning. Purdue Journal of Service-Learning
and International Engagement, 6(1), 11–
16. https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284316979

✓ DOIs may not always be available. In these cases, use a URL. Many
academic journals provide stable URLs that function similarly to DOIs.
These are preferable to ordinary URLs copied and pasted from the browser's
address bar.

Denny, H., Nordlof, J., & Salem, L. (2018). "Tell me exactly what it was that I was
doing that was so bad": Understanding the needs and expectations of working-class
students in writing centers. Writing Center Journal, 37(1), 67–
98. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26537363

✓ Note that, in the example above, there is a quotation in the title of the article.
Ordinary titles lack quotation marks.
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3.43 ARTICLE IN A MAGAZINE

Peterzell, J. (1990, April). Better late than never. Time, 135(17), 20–21.

3.44 ARTICLE IN A NEWSPAPER

Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to strengthen state energy policies. The
Country Today, 1A, 2A.

3.5 BASIC FORMAT FOR FILM OR VIDEO

Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture [Film].
Production company.

EXAMPLE

Loyd, P. (Director). (2008). Mamma mia! [Film]. Universal Pictures.

3.51 FILM OR VIDEO IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE

Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of publication). Title of motion picture in original
language [Translated title] [Film]. Production company.

EXAMPLE

Del Toro, G. (Director). (2006). El laberinto del fauno [Pan’s labyrinth] [Film].
Warner Bros. Pictures.

3.52 TV SERIES
Executive Producer, P. P. (Executive Producer). (Date range of release). Title of
series [TV series]. Production company(s).
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EXAMPLE

Sherman-Palladino, A., Palladino, D. (Executive Producers). (2017-present). The

marvelous Mrs. Maisel [TV series]. Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions;
Picrow, Amazon Studios.

3.53 TV SERIES EPISODE

Writer, W. W. (Writer), & Director, D. D. (Director). (Original air date). Title of
episode (Season number, Episode number) [Tv series episode]. In P. Executive
Producer (Executive Producer), Series title. Production company(s).

EXAMPLE

Korsh, A. (Writer & Director). (2019, September 25). One last con (Season 9, Episode
10) [TV series episode]. In D. Liman & D. Bartis (Executive Producers), Suits.
Untitled Korsh Company; Universal Content Productions; Open 4 Business
Productions.

3.54 YOUTUBE VIDEO

Person or group who uploaded video. (Date of publication). Title of video [Video].
Website host. URL

EXAMPLE

Tasty. (2018, March 7). 7 recipes you can make in 5 minutes [Video].
Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_5wHw6l11o
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3.55 MUSIC ALBUM

Recording artist. (Year of release). Title of album [Album]. Record label.

EXAMPLE

The National. (2019). I am easy to find [Album]. 4AD.

Note: if you are referencing a re-recorded version of a classical work, list that
album title in brackets following the name of the album.

3.56 SINGLE SONG OR TRACK

Recording artist. (Year of release). Title of song [Song]. On Title of album [Album].
Record label.

EXAMPLE

Dacus, L. (2018). Night shift [Song]. On Historian [Album]. Matador Records.

Note: If the song is a piece of classical music, you can list the composer instead of
the recording artist, or if the song does not have an associated album, simply omit
the section with the album.

3.57 PODCAST
Executive Producer, E. P. (Executive Producer). (Range of publication). Title of
podcast [Audio podcast]. Production company. URL

EXAMPLE
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Bae, P. (Executive Producer). (2017-present). The big loop [Audio podcast].

QRX. https://www.thebiglooppodcast.com/

Note: In place of the executive producer, you can also list the host of the podcast.
If you did not access the podcast via an online source (e.g., if, you used a podcast
app), omit the URL.

3.58 SINGLE PODCAST EPISODE

Executive Producer, E. P. (Executive Producer). (Date of publication). Title of podcast
episode (Episode number) [Audio podcast episode]. In Title of podcast. Production
company. URL

EXAMPLE

Koenig, S. (Host). (2014, October 3). The alibi (No. 1) [Audio podcast episode].
In Serial. WBEZ Chicago. https://serialpodcast.org/

Note: In place of the executive producer, you can also list the host of the podcast.
If you did not access the podcast via an online source (e.g., if you used a podcast
app), omit the URL.
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References

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Student Paper Setup Guide

[PDF]. APA Style. Retrieved from https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-

aids/student-paper-setup-guide.pdf

Delavega, J. F. (n.d.). Introduction to APA Style [Format]. SlideShare. Retrieved

from https://www.slideshare.net/justinefaithdelavega/introduction-to-apa-

style

Purdue University Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). Reference List: Audiovisual

Media. OWL Purdue. Retrieved

from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_forma

tting_and_style_guide/reference_list_audiovisual_media.html

Tacderas, A. P. (n.d.). APA citation and reference [PDF]. SlideShare. Retrieved

from https://www.slideshare.net/100002406493412/apa-citation-and-

referencepdf

Victoria University Library. (n.d.). Books. APA Referencing Guide. Retrieved

from https://libraryguides.vu.edu.au/apa-referencing/7Books
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