APA 7th Edition Journal Article Citation Generator
Enter a DOI, PMID, article title, or journal URL to generate an APA 7 journal article citation with the correct reference and in-text format.
Auto-filled from the article record
- Authors
- Publication year
- Article title in sentence case
- Journal name
- Volume, issue, and pages
- DOI as a full URL
Smith, J. A., & Doe, M. B. (2024). The effects of climate change on coastal ecosystems. Journal of Environmental Science, 45(3), 234-251. https://doi.org/10.1234/jes.2024.045
(Smith & Doe, 2024)
+7 more variations covered below
Sample formatted to the official APA 7th edition rules. Your real citation fills in from any URL, DOI, or ISBN.
Enter a DOI, PMID, article title, or article URL
Added citations open in the full bibliography generator, where you can copy, edit, or export them.
APA 7 journal article citation format
Use this template as the structure for every journal article citation in APA 7.
Reference list template
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Article title in sentence case. Journal Title, Volume(Issue), Pages. https://doi.org/xxxx
In-text citation template
(Author & Author, Year, p. PageNumber)
- Italicise the journal title (using title case) and the volume number, but not the issue number or pages.
- DOI goes at the end as a plain URL with no 'DOI:' prefix.
- Always include a DOI when one is available, even if the article is also openly accessible.
Common journal article citation variations
Real journal articles do not always fit the standard template. Use these examples for the edge cases you will hit most often.
Article with a DOI (standard case)
Reference list
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124-1131. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.185.4157.1124
In-text
(Tversky & Kahneman, 1974)
Online article with no DOI
Reference list
Patel, R. (2023). Open-access publishing in the social sciences. Journal of Scholarly Communication, 12(2), 88-104. https://www.journalsc.example.org/articles/12-2-patel
In-text
(Patel, 2023)
When no DOI exists, end with the article URL. Use a stable URL (publisher or repository), not a search result link.
Print-only article (no DOI, no URL)
Reference list
Garcia, M. (1998). Memory consolidation during sleep. Cognitive Neuroscience Quarterly, 6(4), 211-228.
In-text
(Garcia, 1998)
Older or print-only articles may have neither a DOI nor an accessible URL. End the reference at the page range.
Three or more authors
Reference list
Mehl, M. R., Vazire, S., Holleran, S. E., & Clark, C. S. (2010). Eavesdropping on happiness. Psychological Science, 21(4), 539-541. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610362675
In-text
(Mehl et al., 2010)
Use 'et al.' in-text from the first citation onward when there are three or more authors.
Advance online publication
Reference list
Lee, S. (2024). Effects of remote work on team trust. Journal of Organizational Behavior. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2810
In-text
(Lee, 2024)
Replace volume/issue/pages with 'Advance online publication' for articles published online before their print issue.
Special issue article
Reference list
Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). The concept of flow [Special issue]. Journal of Positive Psychology, 9(5), 401-415. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2014.890570
In-text
(Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2014)
Add [Special issue] in brackets after the article title.
Preprint
Reference list
Hansen, T. (2024). Large language models in education [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/abc123
In-text
(Hansen, 2024)
Use [Preprint] in brackets and cite the repository (PsyArXiv, bioRxiv, SSRN) as the source.
How to cite a journal article in APA 7, step by step
1. List the authors
Use Last name, First initial. Middle initial. for each author, separated by commas, with an ampersand before the final author: Smith, J. A., Doe, M. B., & Lee, S. C. List all authors up to 20; for 21+, list the first 19, an ellipsis, then the final author.
2. Add the publication year
Use only the year in parentheses for journal articles: (2024). Month and day are not included for articles published in regular journal issues. For advance online publication, still use the year of online posting.
3. Write the article title in sentence case
Capitalise only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns. Do not italicise the article title. End the title with a period: 'Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases.'
4. Italicise the journal title in title case
Unlike the article title, the journal name uses title case AND is italicised: Journal of Environmental Science. Capitalise major words in the journal title.
5. Add volume, issue, and page range
Italicise the volume number along with the journal title: 45(3). The issue number sits in parentheses immediately after the volume, not italicised. Pages follow with no 'pp.' prefix: 234-251. Use an en dash or hyphen between page numbers.
6. Add the DOI as a URL
Format the DOI as https://doi.org/[doi number]. No 'DOI:' prefix, no 'Retrieved from'. If there is no DOI and the article is freely accessible online, use the article URL instead.
7. Build the in-text citation
Use (Author, Year) for paraphrased material and (Author, Year, p. X) for direct quotes. For three or more authors, use the first author plus 'et al.' from the first citation: (Mehl et al., 2010, p. 540).
Common APA 7 journal article citation mistakes
Avoid: Italicising the issue number
Correction: Italicise the volume number, but not the issue number. The issue goes in parentheses without italics: 45(3).
Avoid: Using title case for the article title
Correction: Article titles use sentence case in APA 7. Only the journal title uses title case (and italics).
Avoid: Writing 'DOI:' or 'Retrieved from' before the DOI
Correction: APA 7 formats DOIs as plain URLs: https://doi.org/.... No prefix, no 'Retrieved from'.
Avoid: Adding 'pp.' before page numbers
Correction: Journal article page numbers in APA 7 do not get 'pp.' (that's the chapter/book section format). Write 234-251 directly.
Avoid: Including a retrieval date for a DOI
Correction: DOIs are permanent, so no retrieval date is needed. Retrieval dates are only for content that changes without archive.
Avoid: Using a database name when there is a DOI
Correction: APA 7 no longer includes the database name (e.g., 'Retrieved from PsycINFO') when a DOI exists. The DOI is enough.
Avoid: Using 'et al.' from the first author in the reference list
Correction: 'et al.' only appears in in-text citations. The reference list shows all authors up to 20.
When this format does not apply
The journal article format is not always the right choice - use these notes to pick the right citation style for adjacent source types.
The article is in a magazine or newspaper, not a journal
Use the periodical (magazine/newspaper) format, which includes month and day in the date and may not have volume/issue numbers in the same way.
The 'article' is actually a book review
Add [Review of the book Title, by Author] in brackets after the review title, before the journal name.
It's a preprint or working paper
Use [Preprint] in brackets and cite the preprint repository (PsyArXiv, bioRxiv, SSRN). Update the citation to the published version once it exists.
The article is an editorial or commentary
Add [Editorial], [Commentary], or [Letter to the editor] in brackets after the title.
You only have a PMID, not a DOI
Use the article's DOI if you can find one (search PubMed for the article and check the citation). If no DOI exists, use the PubMed URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PMID/.
Quick APA 7 rules
- Use sentence case for the article title.
- Italicize the journal title and volume number.
- Put the issue number in parentheses without italics.
- Format DOIs as https://doi.org/... URLs.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
Does APA 7 require DOIs for journal articles?v
Yes - include a DOI when one is available, formatted as a URL beginning with https://doi.org/. Even open-access articles still need their DOI.
How do I cite an online journal article in APA 7?v
Use the same format as a print article, then add the DOI at the end. Use a URL only when there is no DOI and the article is openly available online.
What if the article has no DOI?v
Use the article's stable URL (the publisher's page or a repository link). For print-only articles with no online version, end the reference at the page range.
Should the journal title be in italics or quotation marks?v
APA 7 italicises journal titles. Quotation marks are not used. The article title itself gets neither italics nor quotation marks - just sentence case.
How do I cite a preprint in APA 7?v
Add [Preprint] in brackets after the title and cite the preprint repository (PsyArXiv, bioRxiv, SSRN) instead of a journal. Include the DOI when the preprint has one.
How do I cite multiple authors in-text?v
Two authors: list both with an ampersand - (Smith & Doe, 2024). Three or more: use 'et al.' after the first author from the first citation onward - (Mehl et al., 2010).