What is APA Style?
What APA Style covers, why so many courses require it and what the 7th edition changed, in plain language.
In this guide
What APA Style is
APA Style is a set of guidelines for writing and presenting academic work. The American Psychological Association publishes it in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, now in its seventh edition.
When an instructor asks for “APA format,” they usually mean three things at once:
- Citing sources: the author–date system, with a short citation in the text, like (Rivera & Okafor, 2021), and a full entry in the reference list.
- Formatting the paper: margins, font, line spacing, indentation, headings, the title page and page numbers.
- Writing clearly: concise academic prose, bias-free language, numbers, tables and figures.
It began in psychology, but education, nursing, social work, business and many other fields use it too, which is why it shows up in so many course syllabi.
Why it matters
A shared style solves practical problems for writers and readers alike:
- Credit where it’s due. Every idea, figure or quotation you borrow is tied to its author. That is the foundation of avoiding plagiarism.
- Sources readers can find. A complete reference lets anyone track down the book, article or webpage you used.
- Easier reading. When papers share a structure, readers know where to look and can focus on your argument.
- Fair grading. Instructors and editors can check every paper against the same rules.
A short history
APA Style dates back to 1929, when a group of psychologists, anthropologists and business managers published a seven-page article of manuscript instructions in Psychological Bulletin. The goal was simple: make scientific reports easier to read and compare.
The first edition of the Publication Manual followed in 1952 as a supplement to the same journal. Each edition since has grown to meet the needs of researchers, students and teachers. The sixth edition came out in 2009; the seventh went on sale in October 2019 with a 2020 copyright date, which is why you will often see it cited as APA (2020).
What changed in the 7th edition
If you learned APA from the sixth edition, these are the changes you will notice most in a student paper:
- Works with three or more authors are cited with the first author and “et al.” from the very first citation: (Navarro et al., 2022).
- Book references drop the publisher’s location.
- DOIs are written as full links (https://doi.org/…), and “Retrieved from” before URLs is gone.
- References list up to 20 authors.
- Student papers get their own title page, and students no longer need a running head.
- More fonts are accepted, such as 11-point Calibri or Arial alongside 12-point Times New Roman.
Student papers and professional papers
The 7th edition distinguishes two kinds of paper. Student papers are written for a course: essays, reports, literature reviews. Professional papers are manuscripts submitted to a journal. The main differences are on the title page and in the page header: a student paper needs no abstract or running head unless your instructor asks for one.
Most of what a student needs is covered in the guides to the title page and to formatting in Word.
APA’s rules and your school’s rules
APA itself says that students should follow the guidelines of their instructor, department or institution, and that those guidelines take precedence over the manual. That is why two schools can ask for different things and both still be “APA.”
Your school may ask for something else
Some programs want a logo on the title page, wider margins for a bound thesis or an abstract on every paper. If your school publishes its own guide, follow it, and use APA for anything it doesn’t cover.
Where to start
If a paper is due soon, work in this order: learn how to cite your sources, build the reference list, then check the document’s formatting last.
Sources
- About APA StyleAmerican Psychological Association
- Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh EditionAmerican Psychological Association
- Seventh edition of APA’s best-selling Publication Manual to publish in OctoberAmerican Psychological Association
- Comparison of the Sixth and Seventh Editions of the Publication ManualAmerican Psychological Association
- Guide to What’s New in the Publication Manual, 7th Edition (PDF)American Psychological Association
- Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS), including the history of the 1952 edition (PDF)American Psychological Association
- Student Paper Setup Guide (PDF)American Psychological Association
We consulted these pages on October 31, 2026.
Editorial note
This guide was prepared by APAFly with the help of artificial intelligence and checked against the sources listed above. It is for educational purposes and does not replace the American Psychological Association’s Publication Manual or your institution’s own requirements.
The examples are illustrative: the authors, works and websites are fictitious.
APAFly is an independent tool and is not affiliated with the American Psychological Association.
Spotted a mistake? Write to contacto@apafly.app