Style Guide: APA

Formatting references in APA style can be complicated and time-consuming, especially if you’ve already got a bibliography in another format such as MLA, Harvard, Vancouver, or Chicago. Each style has its own rules for punctuation, capitalization, italics, and ordering – and one small detail out of place can mean your work no longer meets APA standards.

Tools like Thrix and Merops can automate this process, saving you time and ensuring your references are accurate, complete, and in the correct APA format.

What is APA Style?

APA Style is a comprehensive set of editorial rules and guidelines created by the American Psychological Association (APA). It’s one of the most widely used style guides, particularly in psychology, education, business, and social sciences.

While the APA rules cover everything from spelling and grammar to numbers and tables, this guide focuses on one of the most important aspects of APA style: the in-text citations and the reference list.

Key features of APA references include:

• Author–date in-text citations, e.g. (Smith, 2025) or Smith (2025)
• Reference lists arranged alphabetically by author
• References with all necessary details, so the reader can find each work cited
• DOIs wherever possible

Every detail, like authors, journal name, and date, has specific rules for punctuation, spelling, capitalization, formatting, and sequence. Some specific editorial rules include:

• Journal titles should be in title case, italicized, and not abbreviated
• When there are more than 20 authors, include the first 19, followed by an ellipsis (…) then the last author’s name
• Present DOIs as hyperlinks

Manually checking every reference and applying these rules can be tedious, but Thrix automates the process, ensuring every entry follows APA guidelines.

APA reference examples

Journal article

Altschul, S. F., Madden, T. L., Schäffer, A. A., Zhang, J., Zhang, Z., Miller, W., & Lipman, D. J. (1997). Gapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST: A new generation of protein database search programs. Nucleic Acids Research, 25(17), 3389–3402. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/25.17.3389

Whole book

Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). Free Press.

Book chapter

Happé, F. (2001). Why success is more interesting than failure: Understanding assets and deficits in autism. In J. Richer & S. Coates (Eds.), Autism—The search for coherence (pp. 71–74). Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Web page

BBC News. (May 2024). Climate change: World’s oceans suffer from record-breaking year of heat. Retrieved 16/7/2024, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68921215

Thesis/dissertation

Harris, L. (2014). Instructional leadership perceptions and practices of elementary school leaders [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Virginia.

Conference paper

Zhang, Z., Chen, H., Zhong, J., Chen, Y., & Lu, Y. (June 2006). ZnO nanotip-based QCM biosensors. Paper presented at the IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium and Exposition. Miami, FL. https://doi.org/10.1109/FREQ.2006.275444

Tip: Thrix can automatically format all these reference types and more, ensuring all required details are present, and punctuation, formatting, DOIs, and sorting are correct.

Common challenges when formatting in APA

Even experienced writers and editors find APA formatting time-consuming. Common issues include:

• Incorrect use of periods and commas in author names.
• Capitalization errors in article or journal names.
• Missing details, like DOIs, issue numbers, or pages.
• The use of ‘et al.’ when all author names should be listed.
• Details that look perfect, but don’t match the source.
• Wrongly ordered references.
• Mixing formats from MLA, Chicago, or Harvard styles.

That’s where Thrix comes in. Thrix is an intelligent APA citation fixer and reference editor that can automatically check, correct, and make your references APA style in seconds. Whether you need to convert another style like MLA or Vancouver to APA, or simply format your bibliography, Thrix can handle it – saving hours of manual editing.

Thrix identifies your existing citation and references, corrects inconsistencies and errors, and converts everything into the correct APA format. It even checks your metadata against trusted databases like Crossref and PubMed to fix missing details.

How to convert your references to APA with Thrix

Thrix works as both an APA reference editor and an APA reference checker, meaning it not only converts but verifies – ensuring your bibliography is formatted precisely.

1. Got to https://www.thrix.ai and paste in your references, or upload a full document to cross-check and correct in-text citations along with your reference list.
2. Select APA (7th Ed.) or APA (6th Ed.) from the list of styles.
3. Tap Thrix it.

Thrix then automatically identifies and corrects each reference – fixing punctuation, capitalization, ordering, and DOIs. When Thrix finds something it doesn’t recognize, or it needs your input, it will add a comment. Thrix won’t guess or hallucinate like ChatGPT. For more help on how to review the output, check out the Quick Start Guide.

Common APA referencing questions

How do I convert my references to APA format?

You can manually change each citation to follow APA rules – but that’s time-consuming and error-prone. With Thrix, you can automatically convert any reference list (including from MLA, Harvard, or Chicago) into perfect APA format in seconds.

How do I arrange references in APA format?

APA style requires references to be listed alphabetically by the first author’s last name, using a hanging indent. Thrix ensures this ordering and indentation automatically.

How can I check if my citations follow APA correctly?

An APA citation checker like Thrix reviews your in-text citations and reference list for inconsistencies in punctuation, author names, and publication details.

Can Thrix convert DOIs into full APA references?

Yes! Paste a DOI, and Thrix can fetch metadata from Crossref or PubMed to create a complete APA-style reference in seconds.

How do I add a DOI to my APA references?

If your reference list is missing DOIs, Thrix can automatically find and insert them from reliable databases like Crossref and PubMed. It will also use metadata from those sources to add other missing details and make corrections, ensuring every article reference is complete and correctly formatted.

If Thrix doesn’t find your reference online, it won’t guess the DOI like other tools.

What’s the difference between APA 7th edition and APA 6th edition?

References in the 6th and 7th editions of APA are broadly the same, but APA 7 includes a few important changes:

• For in-text citations with 3 or more authors, always use the first name followed by ‘et al.’
• Include up to 20 authors in a reference (instead of 7 in the 6th edition).
• DOIs are now formatted as hyperlinks (e.g., https://doi.org/…), with no ‘doi:’ label.
• ‘Retrieved from’ before URLs is no longer required.
• Don’t include the publisher location.

Which edition of APA should I use?

If an institution or publisher states that it requires APA style, then you should use the 7th edition, because that’s the most recent. However, some journals or universities may still specify APA 6th edition, so you should always check their guidelines. (Thrix can automatically apply both APA 6 and APA 7).

Why use Thrix for APA formatting?

Unlike simple generators, Thrix doesn’t create new citations from scratch – it enhances, corrects, and formats the references you already have. That means:

• It keeps your original data, just perfects the formatting.
• It reduces human error when switching between citation styles.
• It adds missing metadata automatically where possible.
• It’s fast, secure, and easy to use – perfect for researchers, students, and editors alike.

Whether you need an APA citation editor, APA reference fixer, or a way to convert AMA references to APA, Thrix handles it accurately and efficiently.

Thrix ensures citations and references are consistent, clear, and professional, making it easier for readers to verify sources and for authors to maintain credibility.

Start formatting your APA references now

Visit Thrix.ai to fix, convert, and format your citations with confidence. Thrix ensures every citation is correct, consistent, and compliant with APA 7th edition in seconds.

Further reading and resources

If you’d like to explore APA guidelines in more detail, these official resources are helpful:

• APA Style official website
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th Edition)

And when you’re ready to automate the process, Thrix is here to help. It applies APA 7th edition rules in seconds, ensuring every detail is correct – so you can focus on writing, not formatting.

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