How to Cite a Journal Article in APA Format

By the APACitations Editorial Team · Updated August 2026

Journal articles are the backbone of academic writing, and APA has precise rules for them: which parts are italicized, where the volume and issue go, and how to present the DOI. This guide covers the standard format plus every common variation.

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The basic APA format for a journal article

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article in sentence case. Journal Name in Title Case, Volume(Issue), page–range. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Example

Rasch, B., & Born, J. (2013). About sleep's role in memory. Physiological Reviews, 93(2), 681–766. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00032.2012

Notice the pattern of italics: the article title is NOT italicized and is in sentence case, while the journal name and volume number ARE italicized. The issue number sits in parentheses, not italicized, with no space after the volume.

DOIs and URLs

A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a permanent link to the article. APA 7 formats it as a full URL: https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00032.2012 — never as "doi:10.1152/…".

If the article has a DOI, always include it — even for print articles.
If there is no DOI and you read the article in an academic database (JSTOR, EBSCO), end the reference after the page range. No database name or URL is needed.
If there is no DOI and the article is freely available on the web, give the URL.

Online-only and advance articles

Articles published online ahead of the print issue may lack volume, issue, or page numbers. Use an article number if one exists, or "Advance online publication":

Chen, L., & Okafor, T. (2025). Microbreaks and sustained attention in remote work. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000999

Handling multiple authors

Authors	Reference list	In-text
1	Rasch, B.	(Rasch, 2013)
2	Rasch, B., & Born, J.	(Rasch & Born, 2013)
3–20	All listed, "&" before the last	(Rasch et al., 2013)
21+	First 19, ellipsis (. . .), final author	(Rasch et al., 2013)

Magazine and newspaper articles

These follow the same pattern with fuller dates:

Zimmer, C. (2023, October 3). A new clue to how memory works. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/science/memory.html

Common mistakes

Italicizing the article title (only the journal and volume are italic).
Writing "pp." before journal page numbers — APA only uses "pp." for chapters and newspaper articles.
Using an en dash vs hyphen incorrectly — page ranges take an en dash (681–766).
Dropping the DOI because you read the PDF — the DOI always belongs in the reference.

Preprints and dissertations

A preprint (an article not yet peer reviewed) is cited like an article, with the repository as the source:

Chen, L., & Okafor, T. (2025). Microbreaks and sustained attention in remote work. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/abcde

A dissertation names the institution in square brackets and the database as the source: Author, A. (2023). Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Special issues and supplements

Articles in supplements add the supplement to the issue: 93(Suppl. 2). An article number replaces the page range when the journal uses them: Journal of Sleep Research, 33(1), Article e13456.

Frequently asked questions

What if a journal article has no DOI?

If you found it in an academic database, end the reference after the page range — no URL or database name needed. If it's freely available on the journal's website, give that URL instead.

Do I italicize the issue number?

No. Only the journal name and the volume number are italic. The issue number sits in parentheses immediately after the volume, not italicized: Physiological Reviews, 93(2).

How do I cite an abstract only?

APA discourages citing just an abstract — locate and read the full article when possible. If you genuinely used only the abstract, cite the article normally; there's no special abstract format in APA 7.