Psychological Association (APA) Format and Style

A Few Major Changes in the 7th Edition of American
Psychological Association (APA) Format and Style
Capella’s transition to the 7th edition will end on April 12, 2021,
at which point we will no longer use the 6th edition of APA.
You will now be graded on the information in the 7
th edition.
References and In-text Citations in APA Style
1. The in-text citation for sources with three or more authors is shortened to the first
author’s name and “et al.”
Previous edition
(Martinson, Anderson, & DeVries, 2005)
7
th edition
(Martinson et al., 2005)
Note: for two authors, still add both author names, which is the same as before.
(Paul & Elder, 2012).
2. The publisher location is no longer added to the reference. Please continue to add
the publisher name unless the author is the publisher (as is the case below).
Previous edition
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the
American Psychological Association. Washington D.C., Author
7
th edition
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the
American Psychological Association.
3. Surnames and initials for up to 20 authors (previously 7) should be provided in the
reference.
Previous edition
Goya, M., Singh, S., Sibinga, E. M., Gould, N. F., Rowland-Seymour, A.,
Sharma, R.,… Haythornthwaite, J. A. (2020).
7
th edition
Goya, M., Singh, S., Sibinga, E. M., Gould, N. F., Rowland, G., Seymour, A.,
Sharma, R., Berger, Z., Sleicher, D., Maron, D. D., Shihab, H. M.,
Ranasinghe, P. D., Linn, S., Saha, S., Bass, E. B., Nelson, T., Lee., G.,
Gray, P. E., James, H., … Haythornthwaite, J. A. (2020).
4. DOIs are formatted like URLs and the label “DOI:” is no longer necessary. For
citation generators, if “library.capella.edu” is part of the address, delete the part that
is “library.capella.edu”
Previous edition
doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6978.2001.tb01261.x
7
th edition
https:doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6978.2001.tb01261.x
5. The URL addresses are no longer preceded by “Retrieved from” unless a retrieval
date is needed (rare situations). Add the website name unless it is the same as the
author (as it is below).
Previous edition
Capella University. (n.d.). Evidence and APA. Retrieved from
https://campus.capella.edu/writing-center/evidence-and-apa
7
th edition (by the way, you can leave in the link now)
Capella University. (n.d.). Evidence and APA.
https://campus.capella.edu/writing-center/evidence-and-apa
Inclusive and Bias-free Language
Writing with inclusiveness and without bias is the writing standard. The APA guidelines
help writers reduce bias and become sensitive to labels, such as those relating to
gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, and racial and ethnic identity.
1. Use the singular “they” or “their” as a gender-neutral pronoun.
Previous edition
The child developed an anxious-avoidant attachment to his or her mother.
7
th edition
The child developed an anxious-avoidant attachment to their mother.
2. Instead of using adjectives to label groups of people, use descriptive phrases.
Previous edition
The disabled
7
th edition
People who have disabilities
3. Similarly, use specific age ranges instead of categories or labels
Previous edition
The elderly
7
th edition
People who are over 65 years old
APA Paper Format
In the 7th edition, APA outlined different paper format guidelines for professional and
student papers. Here are some notable changes.
1. You now have the choice to use multiple fonts. Previously, we only used Times
New Roman 12. Now you have the option to use Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans
Unicode 10, Georgia 11, and Times New Roman 12.
2. For student papers, you no longer need to add a running head to your paper.
APA Style
There are two notable changes in APA style.
1. Add only one space after a period at the end of each sentence (instead of the
previous two spaces). If you are accustomed to two spaces (as most are), I
recommend changing your Microsoft Word program editor to reflect one space (to
catch unintentional double spaces).
3. The gender neutral pronoun “they” is now used for one person as well as for more
than one person.
Additional Recommendations
For more specific APA assistance, I recommend the Capella Writing Center and the link
to Academic Writer (Capella University, n.d.).
Capella University. (n.d.). Evidence and APA.
https://campus.capella.edu/writing-center/evidence-and-apa
Mary Ann Fricko, April 12, 2021.