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APA Citation Generator
Paste a DOI or link and get a correct APA reference plus the in-text citation in seconds. Free for students, with no sign-up needed to try it.
What an APA reference looks like
APA style, published by the American Psychological Association, is one of the most widely used citation formats at universities. It uses author–date citations in the text and a detailed reference list, with strict rules for capitalization, DOIs and up to 20 listed authors.
Reference list entry (made-up example article)
Berg, L. (2023). Climate adaptation in coastal cities. Journal of Urban Studies, 18(2), 101–118.
In-text citation
(Berg, 2023) · narrative: Berg (2023)
Key APA rules
- In-text citations show author and year: (Berg, 2023). Add a page for direct quotes: (Berg, 2023, p. 105).
- Article and book titles use sentence case; journal names keep title case and italics.
- Include a DOI as a full https://doi.org/ link whenever one exists.
- List up to 20 authors in the reference; for 21 or more, list the first 19, then an ellipsis and the final author.
Frequently asked questions
How do you write an in-text citation in APA?
APA cites in the sentence itself, like this: (Berg, 2023) · narrative: Berg (2023)
What does an APA reference look like?
A journal article in APA style is formatted like this (the article is a made-up example): Berg, L. (2023). Climate adaptation in coastal cities. Journal of Urban Studies, 18(2), 101–118.
What are the main formatting rules in APA?
In-text citations show author and year: (Berg, 2023). Add a page for direct quotes: (Berg, 2023, p. 105). Article and book titles use sentence case; journal names keep title case and italics. Include a DOI as a full https://doi.org/ link whenever one exists. List up to 20 authors in the reference; for 21 or more, list the first 19, then an ellipsis and the final author.
Which subjects use APA style?
APA is most common in psychology, education, nursing, business and the social sciences. Always check your course guide, since departments sometimes use their own variant.
Which APA edition does CitApp follow?
CitApp follows the 7th edition (2020).
Is the APA citation generator free?
Yes. You can generate APA citations free of charge: paste a DOI or URL above and copy the result. A free account saves unlimited sources to projects, and the full reference list is free for everyone.
Keep every source organized
Save sources to projects, drag them into chapters and export a finished reference list. Free to start, no credit card.