How to Reference APA 7: UK Guide (2026-2027)

Learning how to reference APA 7 correctly is essential if you are studying psychology, education, or social sciences at a UK university. The seventh edition of the American Psychological Association style introduced several changes from APA 6, and getting the details right can make a noticeable difference to your marks. This guide covers the key rules for APA 7 in-text citations and reference lists, so you can format your work correctly and avoid common errors.

In-Text Citations in APA 7

APA 7 uses author-date format such as (Smith, 2024), and you should include a page number for direct quotes, for example (Smith, 2024, p. 15). For sources with two authors, cite both names every time, joined with an ampersand in parentheses: (Smith & Jones, 2024). For three or more authors, use the first author’s surname followed by “et al.” from the very first citation, which is a change from earlier APA editions. When paraphrasing rather than quoting, a page number is not required, but many UK departments encourage including one anyway to help markers locate the source.

Formatting the Reference List

List sources alphabetically by author surname, using a hanging indent, with the reference list titled simply “References” on its own page at the end of your document. Each entry should follow the pattern of author, year, title, and source, with journal article titles in sentence case and journal names in title case. Italicise the journal name and volume number, but not the issue number, which should appear in parentheses immediately after the volume.

What Changed From APA 6 to APA 7

APA 7 allows up to twenty authors to be listed in a reference entry before you need to use an ellipsis and the final author, compared with a maximum of seven under APA 6. The rule for in-text citations with three or more authors also changed, now using “et al.” from the first citation rather than listing all authors initially. APA 7 additionally removed the requirement to include the publisher location for books and simplified the formatting of DOIs, which should now be presented as full URLs starting with https://doi.org/.

Common APA 7 Mistakes to Avoid

Watch out for inconsistent capitalisation in titles, missing DOIs for journal articles, and mixing APA with another referencing style within the same document. Students switching between modules that use different styles, such as MLA referencing in one course and APA in another, sometimes accidentally blend formatting conventions, so always double-check your reference list against your current module’s specific requirements before submission. For the definitive rules directly from the source, the official APA Style website is the most reliable reference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do UK universities commonly use APA 7?

Yes, APA 7 is widely used in psychology, education, and some social science departments across UK universities, though you should always confirm your specific department’s requirements, since some still specify APA 6 or another style entirely.

Is a DOI required for every journal article?

Include a DOI whenever one is available, formatted as a full URL. If no DOI exists for an online source, provide the direct URL instead; if the source is only available in print with no DOI, no URL is needed.

How many authors can I list before using et al. in APA 7?

In-text, use “et al.” from the first citation once there are three or more authors. In the reference list, list up to twenty authors by name before switching to an ellipsis followed by the final author’s name.

Once you understand how to reference APA 7 consistently across both in-text citations and your reference list, formatting becomes far less time-consuming, leaving you more time to focus on the substance of your argument rather than checking citation punctuation.