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Full references in APA 7

Learn how to format full references in APA 7 style. Follow correct order, punctuation, and layout to cite sources accurately in your academic work.

In APA 7, every source you cite should be in a reference list at the end of your work. Only include the sources you have cited.

The rules of APA determine:

  • which elements are included (e.g. author, title, publisher)
  • the order in which the elements appear
  • punctuation (e.g. full stops, commas, colons, etc.)
  • use of capital letters
  • font format (e.g. italics).

Ensure you are following the template precisely, including the punctuation, spaces, capital letters and font format, as these form part of the style.

Elements of an APA reference

This identifies the creator(s) of the source. It could be a person or a group (such as an organisation or government body).

Author format Instructions Example
One author Give the author’s surname, a comma, and the initials of their given names. Mayrick, M. (2024). Theatre & Australia. Methuen Drama
2–20 authors Name all authors. Separate by commas and join the last author by an ampersand (&). Cope, A., & Oattes, G. (2018). Shine: Rediscovering your energy, happiness and purpose…
21 or more authors Name the first nineteen authors and the last author. Join the last author by three dots (. . .). Wiskunde, B., Arslan, M., Fischer, P., Nowak, L., Van den Berg, O., Coetzee, L., Juárez, U., Riyaziyyat, E., Wang, C., Zhang, I., Li, P., Yang, R., Kumar, B., Xu, A., Martinez, R., McIntosh, V., Ibáñez, L. M., Mäkinen, G., Virtanen, E., . . . Kovács, A.
Group author (e.g. name of government body or organisation) Give the name of the group in full, even if you have abbreviated it within the text. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2022). Australia’s health …

The date identifies the year or specific date the source was made available in the version you accessed.

Date format Instructions Example
Basic format
  • Enclose the year of publication in round brackets.
  • Add the month and day for sources with specific publication dates, such as newspapers, reports or blog posts. (Include only the year in the corresponding in-text citation).

Winton, T. (2018). The shepherd’s hut. Penguin Books.

O’Malley. N. (2024, June 12). Dutton quiet on 2030 climate goal. The Age, 3.
Same author, same year
  • List each work alphabetically by title and add a lower-case letter (e.g. ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’, etc.) to the year to reflect the order the entry appears in the reference list, (e.g., ‘a’ for the first entry, ‘b’ for the second entry, etc.).
  • Use the same letter for each corresponding in-text citation.
 Anderson, A. (2021a). Job seeking and daily workforce...
Anderson, A. (2021b). Exploring the workforce...
No date If no date is available for the item, use 'n.d.'. Tacidine can be used for the treatment of benign gastic ulcers (MIMS Australia, n.d.)

Title format Instructions Example
Basic format
  • Give the full title in the exact wording and spelling shown in the source.
  • Use initial capitals for the first word of the title, subtitle, and any proper nouns. This is called sentence case. 
 American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).
Title and subtitle If there is a subtitle, separate the title and subtitle with a colon (:). Hoskins, I. (2021). Rivers: The lifeblood of Australia…
Part and whole of work
  • Include both titles if the source is part of a larger work (e.g. a book chapter or an article from a journal or newspaper).
  • Write the title of the whole work (e.g. book, journal or newspaper) in italics.
  • Don't use italics  for parts of works (e.g. a book chapter or journal article).
 Horgan, D. (2017). Child participatory research methods: Attempts to go ‘deeper’. Childhood...

You need to include the source for print books and physical or broadcast media. This information can usually be found with the copyright information.

Source format Instructions Example
Basic format Name the publisher who made the source available in the format you used. Goodall, H. (2022). Georges River blues: Swamps, mangroves and resident action, 1945-1980. ANU Press.
If the publisher is also the author Omit the publisher from the reference instead of repeating the name. City of Melbourne. (2022). Annual report.

DOI

  • The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) acts as a permanent link to an item.
  • Always include the DOI if there is one. Not all online material has a DOI. If a DOI has been assigned, you should find it with the copyright information, or with other details on database or catalogue lists.
  • Prefix the DOI with http:// or https:// There is no full stop at the end of a DOI. Make the hyperlinks live in DOIs if your work is to be published or read online. This enables the reader to access the source easily.
DOI format Example
Template https://doi.org/xxxxx
Full reference

Bukhary, D. M., & Alshali, R. Z. (2022). A simulation model used in teaching denture border adjustment: Randomized controlled trial. Journal of Dental Education, 86(1), 98-106. https://doi.org/10.1002/jdd.12784

Website link (URL)

  • If an online source does not have a DOI, include the direct link (URL) to the source.
  • If the author of the webpage is different to the name of the webpage, give the website name before the URL.
  • Only include the retrieval date for content that is designed to change over time, such as social media posts. In this case, preface the URL with ‘Retrieved Year, Month Day, from http://xxxxx’
  • There is no full stop at the end of a URL.
  • Make the URL or DOI a hyperlink (i.e. a link that allows the reader to access the source by clicking on it).
Website link format Example
Template https://www.xxxxx
Full reference

Walker, A. (2019, November 14). Germany avoids recession but growth remains weak. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50419127

Consult the APA style website for more information on DOIs and URLs.