APA 7th Edition: The Most Common Mistakes Students Make

APA 7th edition has been the standard in most social sciences, education, psychology, and business schools since 2020. That's long enough that most students have encountered it. It's also long enough that a lot of them have picked up habits from APA 6 — or from watching other people use APA incorrectly.

The mistakes in this guide are the ones that come up again and again. Some are small (a missing italics here, a comma there). Others are fundamental (citing the wrong source entirely). All of them cost marks — sometimes explicitly, sometimes through the vague sense examiners get that the work isn't quite polished.

Here's what to fix.

Why APA errors cost so much

Before getting into specifics, a word on why this matters more than it seems.

Academic writing has a formal register, and referencing is one of the clearest signals that a writer understands that register. When referencing is consistent and accurate, examiners stop noticing it. When it's inconsistent, they notice it constantly — every page becomes a small distraction from the actual argument.

The other reason is simpler: referencing demonstrates care. A student who cites correctly, formats consistently, and follows the style guide is signalling that they've paid attention to detail. That signal affects how examiners read everything else.

You don't need to be perfect. You need to be consistent enough that referencing stops being a source of friction.

In-text citation mistakes

Most APA 7 errors happen in-text. Here are the ones to fix.

Mistake 1 — Using "&" in narrative citations

APA distinguishes between two types of in-text citations:

Parenthetical: (Smith, 2020) Narrative: Smith (2020)

When the citation is parenthetical, use "&" — (Smith & Jones, 2020). When the citation is narrative, use "and" — Smith and Jones (2020).

Wrong: Smith & Jones (2020) argue that... Right: Smith and Jones (2020) argue that...

This is the single most common APA 7 error.

Mistake 2 — Wrong format for three or more authors

APA 7 changed this significantly from APA 6.

• One author: (Smith, 2020)
• Two authors: (Smith & Jones, 2020)
• Three or more: (Smith et al., 2020)

In APA 6, you'd have written all authors for the first citation. In APA 7, you use "et al." from the very first mention.

Wrong (APA 6 style): Smith, Jones, and Patel (2020) found... Right (APA 7): Smith et al. (2020) found...

Mistake 3 — Missing page number for direct quotes

Every direct quotation needs a page number (or paragraph number for online sources).

Wrong: "The results were significant" (Smith, 2020). Right: "The results were significant" (Smith, 2020, p. 45).

For online sources without pagination, use a paragraph number:

"The results were significant" (Smith, 2020, para. 6).

If the quote spans two pages: "The results were significant" (Smith, 2020, pp. 45–46).

Mistake 4 — Putting the period in the wrong place

When a citation is at the end of a sentence, the period goes after the closing parenthesis.

Wrong: This finding is well documented. (Smith, 2020) Right: This finding is well documented (Smith, 2020).

Mistake 5 — Missing year

Every in-text citation needs a year. Every single one, every time. If you're citing multiple works by the same author in the same paragraph, the year still appears with each new citation.

Wrong: Smith (2020) found X. Smith also argued Y. Right: Smith (2020) found X. Smith also argued Y.

Wait — actually, this is subtle. If the same author and same year are obvious from context (the sentence continues a discussion of the same source), repeating the year is technically optional after the first mention. But it's safer to include it. Inconsistency here is common, and examiners prefer over-clarity to under-clarity.

When in doubt, include the year.

Mistake 6 — Multiple citations in wrong order

When citing multiple works in one parenthesis, order them alphabetically, then by year.

Wrong: (Jones, 2019; Ahmed, 2021; Smith, 2018) Right: (Ahmed, 2021; Jones, 2019; Smith, 2018)

If two works by the same author: (Smith, 2018, 2020) — earliest first.

If the same author and year: add lowercase letters — (Smith, 2020a, 2020b).

Mistake 7 — Using "et al." incorrectly

"Et al." is short for "et alii" (Latin for "and others"). Two rules:

• It has no period after "et" — only after "al." — et al.
• It's not italicised

Wrong: et. al. or et al or et al., Right: et al. (period only after "al.")

Reference list mistakes

In-text errors are visible. Reference list errors can hide until someone looks. But they're just as costly. Here are the most common ones.

Mistake 8 — Italics in the wrong place

APA 7 uses italics for specific elements:

• Journal titles and volume numbers — italicised
• Book titles — italicised
• Article and chapter titles — not italicised

Wrong: Smith, J. (2020). The effects of teacher burnout on student outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(3), 456–470.

Right: Smith, J. (2020). The effects of teacher burnout on student outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(3), 456–470.

Notice: article title is not italicised. Journal name and volume are italicised. Issue number is not italicised, but is in parentheses.

Mistake 9 — Wrong capitalization in titles

APA 7 uses sentence case for article, book, and chapter titles. That means only the first word of the title, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized.

Wrong: Smith, J. (2020). The Effects of Teacher Burnout on Student Outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(3), 456–470.

Right: Smith, J. (2020). The effects of teacher burnout on student outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(3), 456–470.

But journal titles use title case. Journal of Educational Psychology keeps its capitals.

This distinction — sentence case for article/book titles, title case for journal names — is where most students make mistakes.

Mistake 10 — Missing or wrong DOI

APA 7 requires the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) for any source that has one. If there's no DOI but there's a URL, use the URL. If neither, omit.

Wrong: Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/1234567 Right: https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000389

DOIs are formatted as full URL strings: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx.

You don't need to write "Retrieved from" — just the DOI.

Don't include "Retrieved from" unless the source is designed to change over time (like a wiki or a live webpage).

Mistake 11 — Wrong number of authors

APA 7 reference list rules for authors:

• 1–20 authors: List all of them
• 21+ authors: List the first 19, then ellipsis, then the last author

1–20 example: Smith, J., Jones, P., & Patel, R.

21+ example: Smith, J., Jones, P., Patel, R., Kumar, S., Lee, M., ... (up to 19 authors) ... , & Final, A.

The 21+ rule is rare. Most students will never use it.

Mistake 12 — Missing issue numbers

APA 7 includes issue numbers for journals that have them.

Wrong: Journal of Educational Psychology, 112, 456–470. Right: Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(3), 456–470.

The volume number is italicised. The issue number goes in parentheses, not italicised, immediately after the volume.

Not all journals have issue numbers. If yours doesn't, omit the parentheses.

Mistake 13 — Missing publisher location confusion

APA 6 required the publisher's location (e.g., "New York, NY: Routledge"). APA 7 removed this. Only the publisher's name is needed.

Wrong (APA 6 style): Smith, J. (2020). The psychology of learning. New York, NY: Routledge.

Right (APA 7): Smith, J. (2020). The psychology of learning. Routledge.

If the author and publisher are the same (common for reports and organizational documents), omit the publisher.

Mistake 14 — Missing "https://" in URLs

APA 7 uses the full protocol for URLs.

Wrong: www.example.com Right: https://www.example.com

You should also avoid breaking long URLs across lines. If you must, break before a slash or hyphen, not in the middle of a word.

Mistake 15 — Wrong reference type

APA 7 has different formats for:

• Journal article
• Book
• Book chapter
• Edited book
• Website
• Report
• Dissertation / thesis
• Conference paper
• Newspaper article
• Personal communication

Using the wrong template is one of the most common errors. Always check which format applies.

For example, a dissertation in APA 7 looks like:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of dissertation (Publication No. xxxxx) [Doctoral dissertation, Name of Institution]. Database Name. URL

A book chapter looks like:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.

If your reference list mixes formats, examiners notice.

Formatting mistakes

Beyond citations and references, APA 7 has specific formatting requirements. These are the ones students get wrong most often.

Mistake 16 — Wrong margins or spacing

APA 7 requires:

• 1-inch margins on all sides
• Double-spacing throughout
• No extra spacing between paragraphs (just the double space)

Many word processors default to extra spacing before/after paragraphs. Turn this off in your document settings.

Mistake 17 — Wrong font

APA 7 allows several fonts, but the traditional default is:

• Times New Roman, 12pt
• Calibri, 11pt
• Arial, 11pt

Pick one and use it throughout, including in tables and figures.

Mistake 18 — Missing running head

APA 7 no longer requires a running head for student papers. If you're submitting for publication, a running head is required. If you're submitting a class paper, omit it.

Wait — this is a common source of confusion. Let me be precise:

Student papers (most class assignments):

• No running head
• Page number in the top-right corner
• Your name, institution, course, instructor, date on the title page

Professional papers (submissions to journals):

• Shortened running head in the top-left
• Page number in the top-right
• Title page formatted per journal requirements

Most students should not include a running head. Check your assignment brief to be sure.

Mistake 19 — Wrong heading style

APA 7 has five levels of headings:

• Level 1: Centered, Bold, Title Case
• Level 2: Flush Left, Bold, Title Case
• Level 3: Flush Left, Bold Italic, Title Case
• Level 4: Indented, Bold, Title Case, Ending With a Period.
• Level 5: Indented, Bold Italic, Title Case, Ending With a Period.

Level 1 is the most common. Most student papers use one or two levels only.

Mistake 20 — Wrong format for tables and figures

APA 7 tables and figures have specific requirements:

• Table number above the table in bold (Table 1)
• Table title on the next line, italicised
• Notes below the table, if needed
• Figures follow the same pattern (Figure 1, italicised title)

The table itself has no vertical borders — only horizontal lines at the top, under the header, and at the bottom.

Many students include vertical borders by default in Word. Remove them.

What's changed from APA 6

For students who learned APA 6 and are now using APA 7, the main changes are:

If you learned APA 6, most of your referencing will need updating. This is why APA 7 mistakes are so common — people apply APA 6 habits without realising they've changed.

Before you submit — the checklist

Run through this on your final draft:

In-text citations:

• "&" used in parenthetical citations, "and" in narrative ones
• "Et al." used from the first citation for 3+ authors
• Page numbers included for all direct quotes
• Period placed after the closing parenthesis
• Years included in every in-text citation
• Multiple citations ordered alphabetically, then by year

Reference list:

• Alphabetical order by author surname
• Italics used correctly (journal names + volumes; book titles; not article titles)
• Sentence case for article/book titles; title case for journal names
• DOIs included as full URLs where available
• Publisher locations omitted
• "https://" included in URLs
• Correct template used for each reference type

Formatting:

• 1-inch margins
• Double-spaced throughout
• No extra spacing between paragraphs
• Consistent font throughout
• Heading styles match APA 7 levels
• Tables and figures formatted per APA 7

If every box is ticked, your referencing will not cost you marks.

A note on style guides

This guide covers the most common errors. It's not a substitute for the official APA 7 manual — Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.) — or the APA's own resources at apastyle.apa.org.

For unusual sources, always check the manual directly. Most universities also have a library guide with examples — sometimes with local variations specific to your institution.

When in doubt:

1. Check the official APA 7 manual
2. Check your university's library guide
3. Check your assignment brief for any specific instructions
4. When still unsure, be consistent — consistency is better than any single "correct" answer

When to get help

APA 7 is fiddly. If you've done the work but referencing is costing you marks, or if your final draft just needs a professional check before submission, we can help.

Our editors do full APA 7 reviews — in-text citations, reference list, formatting, headings, tables — and provide a marked-up version with everything fixed, plus a summary of the recurring issues so you can avoid them next time.

If you'd like a review, create a free account and upload your document. We'll tell you what we find.

For related reading, see our guides on how to write a literature review and how to write a research proposal.

Further reading

• American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
• American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/
• Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition). https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/
• Lee, C. (2020). APA 7th Edition: A Guide for Students. (Various university library guides cover this well — check yours.)

The short version

APA 7 has more rules than most students realise, and the changes from APA 6 catch people out.

The mistakes that matter most: "&" vs "and" in citations, "et al." usage, page numbers for quotes, italics in the right places, sentence case vs title case, and skipping "Retrieved from" and publisher locations.

Fix those six things and your referencing will hold up. Everything else is polish.