Academic writing

How to cite in APA 7 and export to Word or PDF

From rough citations to a delivered file: normalize author-year, match every reference, and export without rework.

Draft with rough citations

Write with author plus year placeholders so formatting never interrupts thinking. Argument first, italics later.

Confirm every parenthetical against your sources. Three or more authors take first author plus et al. from the first citation.

Build the reference list backwards from the citations: every in-text citation earns an entry, every entry is cited.

Title page, headings, double spacing, inch margins, page numbers top right — in a single pass with the text final.

Number them in order of mention, add the italic title line, and include the note when you adapted the data.

Export to Word or PDF, reopen the file, and verify hanging indents, characters, and page breaks before submitting.

Academic writing

From rough citations to a delivered file: normalize author-year, match every reference, and export without rework.

Write with author plus year placeholders so formatting never interrupts thinking. Argument first, italics later.

Confirm every parenthetical against your sources. Three or more authors take first author plus et al. from the first citation.

Build the reference list backwards from the citations: every in-text citation earns an entry, every entry is cited.

Title page, headings, double spacing, inch margins, page numbers top right — in a single pass with the text final.

Number them in order of mention, add the italic title line, and include the note when you adapted the data.

Export to Word or PDF, reopen the file, and verify hanging indents, characters, and page breaks before submitting.