Mistakes Checklist
Common APA Article Citation Mistakes
Published studies report citation/reference error rates between 25-54%. Use this page to catch the most frequent formatting failures before submission.
Top mistakes to avoid
- ⚠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)
Wrong vs correct examples
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.
Fix checklist
- ✓Include full date for magazine/newspaper articles
- ✓Italicize publication name
- ✓Use sentence case for article title
- ✓Include URL for online articles
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.
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