Jenkins Academy of Applied Technology
APA 7 Writing & Citation Guide
Give credit clearly. Help readers find your evidence. Build confidence in your academic writing.
The Academy standard • APA 7th edition
From a useful source to a well-supported paper.
The Academy uses APA 7 for citations and academic writing. Begin with your assignment instructions, then use this guide as you write. This guide focuses on student work; professional manuscripts have some additional requirements.
01 / Paper setup
Make the document easy to read.
Leave one inch on every side of the page.
Options include 11-point Arial or Calibri and 12-point Times New Roman. Keep the font consistent.
Double-space the body and reference list. Remove extra paragraph spacing.
Use a ragged right edge. Indent the first line of body paragraphs by half an inch.
Number each page at the top right, starting with the title page as page 1.
A running head is unnecessary unless requested. Include an abstract only when the assignment calls for one.
Build the title page
Center the title, make it bold, and place it three or four lines below the top margin. Leave one double-spaced blank line before your name. Follow with your affiliation, course, instructor, and due date on separate double-spaced lines.
Use the school or institution and course details shown in your assignment. The example shows the order of information, not a page-size template.
APA title page guidance ↗Your Name
School, Jenkins Academy of Applied Technology
Course Code: Course Name
Instructor Name
Assignment Due Date
Use headings to show structure
Start with level 1 and move down in order as you add subsections. Short papers may not need headings. Repeat the paper title at the beginning of the text; normally, the opening paragraphs do not need an “Introduction” heading.
| Level | Appearance | Where the text starts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Centered, bold, title case | New paragraph |
| 2 | Left aligned, bold, title case | New paragraph |
| 3 | Left aligned, bold italic, title case | New paragraph |
| 4 | Indented, bold, title case, ending with a period | Same line as the heading |
| 5 | Indented, bold italic, title case, ending with a period | Same line as the heading |
02 / In-text citations
Credit the idea where you use it.
An in-text citation usually gives the author and year. Use the author in your sentence, or place the details in parentheses. The reader should be able to match the citation to its reference entry.
| Source authors | In parentheses | In your sentence |
|---|---|---|
| One | (Rivera, 2025) | Rivera (2025) |
| Two | (Rivera & Chen, 2025) | Rivera and Chen (2025) |
| Three or more | (Rivera et al., 2025) | Rivera et al. (2025) |
| Organization | (Learning Practice Institute, 2025) | Learning Practice Institute (2025) |
Use the first author plus “et al.” from the first citation for three or more authors, unless that creates ambiguity. Use & inside parentheses and “and” in your sentence for two authors.
Have a quotation?
Add a location: (Rivera, 2025, p. 14). For an unpaginated webpage, use a paragraph number, heading, or both. For spoken words in a video, use the starting timestamp, such as (Learning Practice Institute, 2025, 2:18).
APA guidance for sources without page numbers ↗03 / References
Make every source findable.
Identify the work itself: an article, a book, a report, a webpage, or a video. Finding a journal article online does not turn it into a webpage. Collect its author, date, title, and publication or source details while you read.
Webpage
Pattern — replace the labels with your source’s details.
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of webpage. Site Name. URL
Copy uses plain text; preserve the italics shown here in your document.
Fictional example • formatting practice only
Rivera, M. (2025, March 12). Preparing for a learning conversation. Learning Practice Institute. https://example.org/learning-conversation
Use the page’s publication or content-update date when available. If the organization is both the author and the site name, omit the repeated site name. Use n.d. when no date is available.
Check this source type with APA Style ↗Arrange the reference list
- Start a new page with References centered and bold.
- Alphabetize by the first author’s surname or organization name.
- Double-space entries and use a half-inch hanging indent.
- Use surnames and initials. Include all authors up to 20; for 21 or more, use the first 19, an ellipsis, and the last author.
- Use sentence case for article, book, report, and webpage titles: capitalize the first word, the first word of a subtitle, and proper nouns.
- Use the journal’s full title and capitalization. Italicize its name and volume.
Check links and identifiers
- Include a DOI when the work has one, using https://doi.org/ followed by the actual identifier.
- Use the DOI instead of a separate URL when both exist.
- For most database articles without a DOI, omit the database name and login link.
- For a public web source without a DOI, use a link that leads to the work.
- Do not add a period after a DOI or URL.
When details are missing
No date is shown
Use n.d. in the reference and in-text citation. Do not substitute the website’s general copyright year. A retrieval date is normally needed only for content designed to change over time without an archived version.
No individual author is named
First check whether an organization is responsible. If there is truly no author, move the title into the author position and use the title, shortened when appropriate, in the citation. Do not invent an author or use “Anonymous” unless the work is signed that way.
I only read a source quoting another source
Try to locate and read the original. If you cannot, identify it with “as cited in” the source you actually read. Fictional example: (Lee, 2018, as cited in Rivera, 2025). Only Rivera’s work belongs in the reference list in this example.
Use a generator as a starting point
Check its result against the source: author, date, title, source type, and DOI or URL. Correct formatting cannot establish that a source is credible or that it supports your claim.
Open the APA citation tool in the Research Library →04 / Working with evidence
Keep your voice. Preserve the meaning.
Paraphrase an idea
Read the passage, set it aside, and explain the idea in your own words and sentence structure. Compare your version with the original for accuracy, then cite it. Replacing a few words is not a sound paraphrase.
A paraphrase needs an author–date citation. A page or paragraph number is optional, but useful when it helps readers locate the idea in a long work.
APA paraphrasing guidance ↗Quote exact words
For fewer than 40 words, keep the quotation in your paragraph, use quotation marks, and add the author, year, and location. Put the sentence’s closing period after the citation.
Fictional wording for practice
“A useful question creates space for explanation” (Rivera, 2025, p. 14).
At 40 words, switch to a block quotation
Start a new line, indent the whole quotation half an inch, and keep it double-spaced. Omit quotation marks. Place the parenthetical citation after the quotation’s closing punctuation, without another period after the citation.
APA short and block quotations ↗05 / Clear academic writing
Help the reader follow your reasoning.
Give each paragraph a clear purpose. State the point before adding supporting evidence.
After presenting evidence, explain what it means for your question, task, or work setting.
Distinguish findings from your interpretation. Avoid claiming more than the evidence supports.
Describe people precisely and respectfully. Avoid unnecessary labels and broad claims about groups. Review language about disability, age, gender, race, and other personal characteristics with the same care you give spelling and references.
06 / Final review
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Keep learning
Go to the source for the unusual cases.
This original Academy guide covers common student tasks. Use the official resources for specialized references, tables, figures, and professional manuscripts.
Guide reviewed October 18, 2026 against the linked APA Style and Purdue OWL resources. Original explanations and fictional practice examples by Jenkins Academy of Applied Technology.
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