APA · 7th Edition
How to Cite an Article in APA 7th Edition
Learn to cite magazine and newspaper articles in APA format with examples and formatting rules.
Quick Answer
To cite a magazine or newspaper article in APA 7th edition, use: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Publication Name, Volume(Issue), Pages. URL. Unlike journal articles, include the full date (month and day) for newspapers and magazines. Italicize the publication name but not the article title, which should be in sentence case. Include the URL for online articles — do not add "Retrieved from" (this was dropped in APA 7). If no author is listed, move the article title to the author position. For in-text citations, use (Author, Year): for example, (Schultz, 2023). Example reference: Schultz, S. (2023, December 28). The year in science: Breakthroughs that shaped 2023. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-year-in-science/. CiteMe identifies whether your source is a magazine, newspaper, or journal article and applies the correct APA formatting rules for each.
Quick answer: To cite a article in APA (7th Edition), use this template: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Publication Name, Volume(Issue), Pages. URL
Citation template
Full example
Reference / Bibliography
Schultz, S. (2023, December 28). The year in science: Breakthroughs that shaped 2023. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-year-in-science/
In-text citation
(Schultz, 2023)
Source breakdown
- author
- Schultz, S.
- title
- The year in science: Breakthroughs that shaped 2023
- site
- Scientific American
- year
- 2023, December 28
- url
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-year-in-science/
Tips
- ✓Include full date for magazine/newspaper articles
- ✓Italicize publication name
- ✓Use sentence case for article title
- ✓Include URL for online articles
Common mistakes
- ⚠Using only the year for dated articles
- ⚠Title case for article titles
- ⚠Forgetting the URL for online articles
- ⚠Adding "Retrieved from" (not needed in APA 7)
Before & after
Year-only date for a magazine article
Wrong
Schultz, S. (2023). The year in science. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-year-in-science/
Correct
Schultz, S. (2023, December 28). The year in science. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-year-in-science/
Magazine and newspaper articles require the full date (month and day) in APA, not just the year. Only journal articles use the year alone.
Using "Retrieved from" for online article
Wrong
Schultz, S. (2023, December 28). The year in science. Scientific American. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/
Correct
Schultz, S. (2023, December 28). The year in science. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/
"Retrieved from" was required in APA 6 but is no longer used in APA 7. Simply place the URL at the end of the reference.
Article title in title case instead of sentence case
Wrong
Schultz, S. (2023, December 28). The Year in Science: Breakthroughs That Shaped 2023. Scientific American.
Correct
Schultz, S. (2023, December 28). The year in science: Breakthroughs that shaped 2023. Scientific American.
APA requires sentence case for article titles — only capitalize the first word, proper nouns, and the first word after a colon.
Frequently asked questions
How do I cite a newspaper article in APA?
Use full date, article title in sentence case, newspaper name in italics, and URL if online.
What if the magazine article has no author?
Start with the article title in italics, followed by the date and other elements.