APA 7th Edition Format: The Complete 2026 Guide (With Examples)

APA Style is the most widely used citation and formatting style in psychology, nursing, education, social work, business and many other disciplines. If your instructor has asked for "APA format", they almost always mean the APA 7th edition.

This complete 2026 guide covers everything you need to format a student paper in APA 7: page setup, the title page, headings, in-text citations, the reference list, tables and figures, and the most common mistakes, with clear examples throughout.

Is APA 7th Edition Still Current in 2026?

Yes. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition, was published in October 2019 and remains the official APA Style guide. APA also publishes free guidance, sample papers and reference examples on its official APA Style website, which it updates periodically. If you see websites discussing an "APA 8th edition", treat them with caution and check the official APA Style website.

Student Papers vs. Professional Papers

APA 7 introduced separate guidelines for student papers and professional papers (those submitted for publication). Most students should follow the student paper format unless their instructor says otherwise.

General Page Setup

• Font: choose one legible font and use it consistently. Accepted options include 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, 11-point Georgia, 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode and 10-point Computer Modern.
• Line spacing: double-space the entire paper, including the title page, block quotations and reference list.
• Margins: 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all sides.
• Alignment: left-aligned text with a ragged right edge. Don't justify.
• Paragraph indentation: indent the first line of each paragraph 0.5 inch.
• Page numbers: in the top right corner of every page, starting with the title page as page 1.
• Page order: title page, abstract (if required), main text, references, then any tables, figures and appendices (unless your instructor asks you to place tables and figures within the text).

The Student Title Page

Your title page should include the following, centred on the page:

1. Paper title: bold, title case, three or four lines down from the top margin.
2. Author name(s): one double-spaced blank line below the title.
3. Affiliation: your department and university.
4. Course number and name: for example, PSYC 351: Multicultural Counseling.
5. Instructor's name: as your instructor prefers to be addressed.
6. Due date: in the format used in your country, such as October 1, 2026.
7. Page number: top right corner.

Some universities have their own title page requirements, so always check your course instructions.

The Abstract

Student papers only need an abstract if your instructor requires one. If you do include one:

• Place it on a new page after the title page.
• Write "Abstract" in bold and centred at the top.
• Write a single paragraph without indentation, usually no more than 250 words.
• Add keywords on a new line, indented, with the label Keywords: in italics.

APA 7 Heading Levels

APA uses five heading levels. Use them in order: you need at least two subsections before using a lower level. Don't use the heading "Introduction"; instead, repeat your paper title in bold at the top of the first page of text.

Most student papers only need Levels 1 and 2. Longer papers, such as dissertations, may use Level 3 and beyond.

In-Text Citations

APA uses an author-date citation system. Every source you cite in the text must appear in your reference list, and vice versa. The examples below use invented sources for illustration.

Parenthetical and narrative citations

• Parenthetical: (Smith, 2024)
• Narrative: Smith (2024) found that...

Number of authors

APA 7 uses "et al." for three or more authors from the very first citation, which was a key change from the 6th edition.

Direct quotations

• Include a page number: (Smith, 2024, p. 15) or a page range (pp. 15–16).
• For sources without page numbers, use a paragraph number (para. 4) or section name.
• Block quotations: quotes of 40 words or more start on a new line, indented 0.5 inch, with no quotation marks. The citation goes after the final punctuation.

APA encourages paraphrasing over frequent quoting. Paraphrases don't require page numbers, though including them is encouraged when it would help readers find the information. See how to paraphrase academic sources correctly.

Multiple works and same author

• Multiple sources: (Lee, 2023; Smith, 2024), in alphabetical order, separated by semicolons.
• Same author, same year: (Smith, 2024a, 2024b).

The Reference List

Formatting the reference page

• Start on a new page after the main text.
• Write "References" in bold, centred at the top.
• Double-space all entries.
• Use a 0.5 inch hanging indent.
• List entries alphabetically by the first author's surname.
• Include up to 20 authors in a reference.
• Present DOIs as hyperlinks: https://doi.org/xxxx.
• Don't include the publisher's location for books.
• Don't write "Retrieved from" before URLs unless you're including a retrieval date for content designed to change.

Capitalisation rules

• Article and book titles: sentence case (capitalise only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns).
• Journal names: title case and italics.
• Book titles: italics.

APA 7 Reference Examples

The following examples use invented sources to show the format.

Journal article

Smith, J., & Lee, M. (2024). Remote work and employee wellbeing. Journal of Workplace Studies, 12(3), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx

Book

Smith, J. (2023). Modern workplaces (2nd ed.). Example Press.

Edited book chapter

Lee, M. (2022). Supporting remote teams. In A. Brown & C. Green (Eds.), Leadership in practice (pp. 101–120). Example Press.

Report by a group author

World Health Organization. (2025). Title of the report. https://www.who.int/...

Webpage

Author, A. (2026, March 3). Title of webpage. Site Name. https://www.example.com

When the author and site name are the same, omit the site name.

YouTube video

Channel Name. (2025, May 10). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/...

Generative AI

If your instructor allows generative AI and you need to cite it, APA has published guidance on citing tools such as ChatGPT, generally treating the company as the author and including the version and a description such as [Large language model]. Because this guidance has been updated over time, check the latest advice on the official APA Style website. Learn more in our student's guide to AI writing tools.

Tables and Figures

• Number: in bold above the table or figure, such as Table 1 or Figure 1.
• Title: one double-spaced line below the number, in italic title case.
• Body: keep tables simple, with horizontal lines only where needed.
• Note: below the table or figure, to explain abbreviations or credit the source.
• Mention in text: refer to every table and figure in your writing, such as "as shown in Table 1".

Key APA Writing Style Rules

• Numbers: use words for zero to nine and numerals for 10 and above, with exceptions such as measurements, statistics and percentages.
• Bias-free language: use respectful, specific language about people, and person-first or identity-first language as preferred by the group described.
• Singular "they": APA 7 endorses the singular "they" for a person whose gender is unknown or who uses "they".
• One space after a period: at the end of a sentence.
• Abbreviations: define on first use, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
• Serial comma: use a comma before "and" in a list of three or more.

Common APA 7 Mistakes

• Adding a running head to a student paper.
• Using the heading "Introduction".
• Writing "et al." only after the first citation, which was the APA 6 rule.
• Including the publisher's location for books.
• Using title case for article titles in the reference list.
• Forgetting the hanging indent.
• Missing page numbers for direct quotes.
• In-text citations that don't match the reference list.
• Inconsistent fonts or line spacing.

APA 7 Formatting Checklist

• One consistent, accepted font throughout.
• Double-spaced, 1 inch margins, left-aligned.
• Page numbers top right on every page.
• Complete student title page.
• Abstract only if required.
• Paper title repeated in bold at the top of the first text page.
• Headings formatted correctly and used in order.
• Every citation matches a reference entry.
• References on a new page, alphabetical, hanging indent, DOIs as links.
• Tables and figures numbered, titled and mentioned in the text.

For other citation styles, see our complete guide to academic referencing and formatting. Before you submit, run through our academic proofreading checklist.

Get APA Formatting Help from Collepals

APA formatting has dozens of small rules, and small errors add up across a paper. Collepals offers human support to make sure your work meets APA 7 standards:

• APA referencing and formatting service: expert review of your title page, headings, citations and reference list.
• Editing and proofreading: polish your writing and formatting together, with tracked changes.
• Tutoring: learn APA style confidently with one-to-one help.
• 24/7 human support: real people ready to help.

Submit with confidence. Explore Collepals services.