To cite a journal article in APA style, you need four core pieces of information: the author(s), the publication year, the article title, and the journal details (name, volume, issue, pages, and DOI). These elements follow a specific order and punctuation pattern in both your reference list and your in-text citations. Here’s exactly how to put it all together using APA 7th edition rules.
The Reference List Format
Every journal article citation in your reference list follows this template:
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Page range. https://doi.org/xxxxx
Here’s a real example from the APA Style website:
Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185
Notice the details: author last names come first, followed by initials. A comma separates each author, and an ampersand (&) appears before the final name. The year sits in parentheses followed by a period. The article title is in sentence case (only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized). The journal name and volume number are italicized, and the issue number sits in parentheses right after the volume with no space. Always include the issue number.
How to Format Author Names
The number of authors changes how you write the reference. For works with up to 20 authors, list every name. Use the format “Last name, First initial. Middle initial.” and separate authors with commas, placing an ampersand before the last author.
For works with 21 or more authors, list the first 19 names, then insert an ellipsis (three dots), then write the final author’s name. Do not place an ampersand before the ellipsis.
A single-author reference is the simplest case. You just write the one name followed by the year:
Martinez, R. (2021). Title of article. Journal Name, 12(4), 45–60. https://doi.org/xxxxx
DOI and URL Rules
A DOI (digital object identifier) is a permanent link assigned to most published articles. Include it for every work that has one, whether you read the article online or in print. Format it as a full URL starting with “https://doi.org/” followed by the DOI number.
If an article has both a DOI and a separate URL, include only the DOI. Do not write “Retrieved from” or “Accessed from” before it.
When no DOI exists, what you do depends on where you found the article:
- From a standard academic database (like EBSCO, ProQuest, or JSTOR): end the reference after the page range. Do not include the database name or a URL, because readers can find these widely available works on their own.
- From a website that isn’t a database (like an open-access journal with its own site): include the URL at the end of the reference.
- From a specialized database with proprietary content (like UpToDate): include the database name and the URL.
In-Text Citations
APA uses an author-date system for in-text citations. You have two options: parenthetical and narrative.
A parenthetical citation places all the information in parentheses at the end of the sentence:
Students frequently struggle with citation formatting in their first semester (Jones, 1998).
A narrative citation weaves the author’s name into the sentence and puts only the year in parentheses:
According to Jones (1998), students frequently struggle with citation formatting in their first semester.
When you quote directly, add a page number. In a parenthetical citation, that looks like (Jones, 1998, p. 199). In a narrative citation, place the page number in parentheses after the quoted text: Jones (1998) noted that “students often had difficulty using APA style” (p. 199).
In-Text Rules for Multiple Authors
For a work with two authors, name both every time you cite it, using an ampersand in parenthetical citations and “and” in narrative citations:
- Parenthetical: (Smith & Lee, 2020)
- Narrative: Smith and Lee (2020)
For a work with three or more authors, use only the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” every time, including the first citation:
- Parenthetical: (Grady et al., 2019)
- Narrative: Grady et al. (2019)
Articles With Article Numbers Instead of Pages
Some journals, especially online-only publications, assign article numbers rather than page ranges. When that’s the case, write “Article” followed by the number in place of the page range:
Author, A. A. (2022). Title of the article. Journal Name, 15(2), Article e1234. https://doi.org/xxxxx
If a journal doesn’t use volume numbers, issue numbers, or page numbers at all, simply leave out whatever is missing. Don’t invent placeholder information.
Seasonal or Monthly Journals
Most journals publish by volume and issue number, but some quarterly publications note a season or month instead. When that’s the case, include the season or month with the date:
Author, A. A. (2023, Fall). Title of the article. Journal Name, 10(3), 12–28.
Quick Checklist
Before you finalize your citation, run through these common formatting points:
- Article title: Sentence case, not italicized, ending with a period.
- Journal name: Title case and italicized.
- Volume number: Italicized.
- Issue number: In parentheses, not italicized, always included.
- Page range: Use an en dash (–) between numbers, not a hyphen.
- DOI: Formatted as a live hyperlink starting with https://doi.org/, with no period after it.
- Hanging indent: The first line of each reference is flush left, and subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches.