APA Referencing Guide
APA style is widely used in psychology, education, and many social science dissertations. This guide covers the essentials of APA (7th edition) in-text citation and reference list formatting.
In-Text Citations
Like Harvard, APA uses an author-date format, though with some specific formatting differences.
- Standard citation: (Smith, 2022)
- Citing a direct quote: (Smith, 2022, p. 45)
- Two authors: (Smith & Jones, 2022) — note the ampersand within parentheses
- Three or more authors: (Smith et al., 2022)
- Citing the author's name in your sentence: Smith (2022) argues that...
Reference List Formatting
APA reference lists are titled "References" and arranged alphabetically by author surname, with a distinctive hanging indent format.
| Source Type | General Format |
|---|---|
| Book | Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher. |
| Journal article | Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), page range. DOI (if available). |
| Website | Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL |
| Book chapter | Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. page range). Publisher. |
Key Differences From Harvard Referencing
- APA uses an ampersand (&) between authors within parentheses; Harvard typically uses "and"
- APA reference lists are titled "References"; Harvard lists are often titled "Reference List" or "Bibliography"
- APA places a comma before the year in in-text citations; some Harvard variants omit it
- APA has more standardised formatting overall, given its centrally published style manual
Common APA Referencing Mistakes to Avoid
- Using "and" instead of "&" within parenthetical citations
- Missing DOIs for journal articles where one is available
- Inconsistent capitalisation in reference list titles
- Citing secondary sources without indicating this using "as cited in"
Key Takeaways
- APA uses an author-date format similar to Harvard, but with specific formatting differences
- Use "&" within parenthetical citations, but "and" when naming authors directly in a sentence
- Include DOIs for journal articles where available
- Always check your specific department's expected APA edition and any local variations
APA Referencing Guide FAQs
Most UK universities now expect APA 7th edition, but it's always worth confirming with your department, particularly if your course handbook doesn't specify.
Include a DOI where one is available; if a journal article doesn't have a DOI, a URL is often used instead, or the citation can be left without one.
Yes, this is a common request we support directly within our Referencing service, converting both in-text citations and the reference list consistently.