Introduction
If you’ve ever struggled with formatting papers, citing sources, or making your reference list look “just right,” you’re not alone. The American Psychological Association (APA) 7th Edition was created to make writing and referencing clearer and more consistent for students, researchers, and professionals. Whether you’re preparing your first college essay or polishing up a thesis, this guide highlights the essential updates and rules from APA 7th Edition in a simple, practical way.
Key Formatting Rules
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Fonts: Acceptable fonts include 12-pt Times New Roman, 11-pt Calibri, 11-pt Arial, or 10-pt Lucida Sans Unicode.
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Margins & Spacing: Use 1-inch margins on all sides, double-spacing throughout, and indent paragraphs.
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Page Numbers: Place them in the upper right-hand corner of each page.
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Title Page: Student papers require the title (bold, centered, in the top two-thirds of the page), author name(s), affiliation (school/college), course details, instructor name, and due date. A running head is optional unless required by your professor.
Headings and Titles
APA 7 makes headings easier:
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Use bold for section headings.
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Capitalize major words (except short prepositions, articles, and conjunctions).
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Keep titles concise, ideally 12 words or fewer.
In-Text Citations
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For one or two authors: list all names (Smith & Jones, 2020).
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For three or more authors: use the first author followed by et al. (Williams et al., 2021).
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Always include the year in the first narrative citation of a paragraph. If you cite again in the same paragraph, you don’t need to repeat the year unless it’s a parenthetical citation.
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Example (Narrative): Smith (2018) found that students experienced anxiety before entering the clinical setting.
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Example (Parenthetical): (Smith, 2018).
Reference List Basics
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Only include sources you cited in your paper.
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Alphabetize by the first author’s last name.
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Use a hanging indent (the first line flush left, subsequent lines indented).
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Follow the format: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the work. Publisher/Journal. DOI or URL.
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Example: 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
Special APA Updates in 7th Edition
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No “Running head:” label on student papers (unless required).
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The words “Retrieved from” before URLs are no longer necessary.
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Up to 20 authors are listed in a reference before using an ellipsis.
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Singular “they” is now acceptable as a gender-neutral pronoun.
Useful Resources
Conclusion
APA style may seem intimidating at first, but once you understand the structure, it becomes second nature. Think of it as a toolkit that helps your writing look professional, credible, and consistent. By mastering these rules—formatting, citations, and references—you can focus less on technical details and more on sharing your ideas with confidence.
So, the next time you sit down to write a research paper or essay, let APA 7th Edition be your guide to clear, polished, and professional work.
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