APA · 7th Edition
How to Cite a Journal Article in APA 7th Edition
Complete guide to citing journal articles in APA format. Examples with DOIs, volumes, issues, and page numbers.
Quick Answer
To cite a journal article in APA 7th edition, use: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx. List all authors up to 20, separated by commas with an ampersand before the last. The article title uses sentence case and is not italicized. The journal name is italicized and uses title case. Italicize the volume number but not the issue number (which goes in parentheses). Always include the DOI as a full URL when available — for example, https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185. For in-text citations with three or more authors, use the first author followed by et al.: (Grady et al., 2019). Example reference: Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelber, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207-217. CiteMe retrieves journal metadata from PubMed, OpenAlex, and CrossRef to build your APA citation with verified data.
Quick answer: To cite a journal article in APA (7th Edition), use this template: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx
Citation template
Full example
Reference / Bibliography
Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelber, 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
In-text citation
(Grady et al., 2019)
Source breakdown
- author
- Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelber, J.
- title
- Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States
- site
- Psychology of Popular Media Culture
- year
- 2019
- pages
- 207-217
- url
- https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185
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Tips
- ✓Include DOI as a URL (https://doi.org/...)
- ✓Italicize journal name AND volume number
- ✓Use sentence case for article titles
- ✓Do not italicize issue number (in parentheses)
Common mistakes
- ⚠Not italicizing the volume number
- ⚠Italicizing the issue number
- ⚠Using title case for article titles
- ⚠Omitting the DOI when available
Before & after
Volume number not italicized
Wrong
Grady, J. S., et al. (2019). Emotions in storybooks. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207-217.
Correct
Grady, J. S., et al. (2019). Emotions in storybooks. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207-217.
In APA 7, the journal name AND the volume number must be italicized. The issue number in parentheses is not italicized.
Article title in title case
Wrong
Grady, J. S., et al. (2019). Emotions in Storybooks: A Comparison of Ethnic Groups. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207-217.
Correct
Grady, J. S., et al. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of ethnic groups. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207-217.
Article titles use sentence case in APA — capitalize only the first word, proper nouns, and the first word after a colon. Journal names use title case.
Missing DOI when available
Wrong
Grady, J. S., et al. (2019). Emotions in storybooks. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207-217.
Correct
Grady, J. S., et al. (2019). Emotions in storybooks. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207-217. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185
Always include the DOI as a full URL when available. Most journal articles have DOIs — check CrossRef or the publisher page.
Frequently asked questions
How do I cite a journal article with no DOI?
If accessed online, include the journal homepage URL. For print-only with no online presence, end after page numbers.
How do I use et al. in APA?
For 3+ authors, use first author et al. for all in-text citations: (Grady et al., 2019).
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