APA 7
APA 7th Edition is the most commonly used referencing style here at the University of Portsmouth. Below you will find general guidance on how to reference and cite using APA 7th Edition, as well as examples for the specific sources you are likely to use in your assignments.
Your department or lecturer may prefer you to reference sources differently from the guidance given here. Always follow the requirements of your department or lecturer.
External visitors are welcome to use this guide, but note that your institution's requirements may differ from those suggested here.
Need More Help?
If, after looking at this guidance, you are still stuck, then we can help. If you have a quick question then chat to us online, and if you need more help then you can Book an online APA 7 referencing appointment.
We do not advise the use of the referencing tool in Word. It does not contain an option for the 7th edition. If you use this tool, references generated will need to be manually checked for accuracy and amendments made to ensure the references are in APA 7th style.
Online commercial or 'free' citation generators are also not recommended. There are many of these available, and they produce references of varying quality and accuracy. If you do decide to use an app to help you reference, we advise you treat this as a starting point and carefully check the references and citations generated for accuracy against our guidance.
If you wish to use an academic reference management tool, please see our information about these here. These can be very helpful but they only generate references based on the data they are given. It is essential that you still check and edit your references, and for this reason we encourage all students to familiarise themselves with the basic principles of referencing.
Always ensure you check and edit your references before submitting your work.