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APA Citation Guide: Magazine Articles

This guide shows you how to cite references in current (7th edition) APA style

How Do I Know if it's a Magazine?

Not sure whether your article is from a magazine? Look for these characteristics:

Popular magazines:

  • Main purpose is to entertain, sell products or promote a viewpoint.
  • Appeal to the general public.
  • Often have many photos and illustrations, as well as many advertisements.
  • Author may or may not have subject expertise.
  • Name and credentials of authors are often NOT provided.
  • Articles tend to be short – less than 5 pages.
  • Unlikely to have a bibliography or references list.

Trade magazines:

  • Main purpose is to update and inform readers on current trends in a specific industry or trade.
  • Audience is members of a specific industry or trade or professors and students in that trade or industry.
  • May have photos and numerous advertisements, but still assume that readers understand specific jargon of the profession.
  • Often published by an association.
  • Authors are professionals working in the specific industry or trade.

TIPS

Author

If an item has no author, start the citation with the article title.

If, and only if, the article is signed Anonymous, put the word Anonymous where you would normally place the author's name.

Titles

Italicize titles of journals, magazines and newspapers. Do not italicize the titles of articles.

Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the article title. If there is a colon in the article title, also capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon.

Dates

If an item has no date, use the short form n.d. where you would normally put the date.

Retrieval Dates

Most articles will not need these in the citation. Only use them for online articles from places where content may change often, like a free website or a wiki.

Page Numbers

If an article has no page numbers provided, leave that part of the citation out in the References List.

If an article doesn't appear on continuous pages, list all the page numbers the article is on, separated by commas. For example (4, 6, 12-14).

Magazine Article from a Library Database or in Print - Single Author

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication, Month Day if Given). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of

Magazine, Volume Number(Issue Number), first page number-last page number. 

Example

Abramsky, S. (2021, May 14). The other America 2012. Nation, 294(20), 11-18. 

In-Text Paraphrase

(Author's Last Name, Year)

Example: (Abramsky, 2021)

In-Text Quote

(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number)

Example: (Abramsky, 2021, p. 14)

Magazine Article from a Library Database or in Print - Two to Twenty Authors

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given, & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication, Month Day if Given). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Magazine, Volume Number(Issue Number), first page number-last page number if given. 

Note:

Must spell out up to twenty author names. Separate the authors’ names by putting a comma between them. For the final author listed add an ampersand (&) after the comma and before the final author's last name. 

Example

Gross, A., & Murphy, E. (2020, January/February). Seal of disapproval. E: The Environmental Magazine, 21(1), 34-37. 

In-Text

See chart

Magazine Article from a Library Database or in Print - Unknown Author

Article title: Subtitle if any. (Year of Publication, Month Day if Given). Name of Magazine, Volume Number(Issue Number), first page number-last page number if given. 

Example

Syria's free army. (2021, June 11). Newsweek, 159(24). 

Note: No page numbers were provided for this article.

In-Text Paraphrase

("One two or three words from title," Year)

("Syria's," 2021)

In-Text Quote

("One two or three words from title," Year)

("Syria's," 2021, para. 1)

Note: This entry has no page numbers, so a paragraph number is used instead.

Magazine Article from a Library Database or in Print - Signed Anonymous

Anonymous. (Year of Publication, Month Day if Given). Article title: Subtitle if any. Name of Magazine, Volume Number(Issue Number), first page number-last page number if given. 

Note:

If and only if the work is signed Anonymous, use "Anonymous" where you'd normally put the author's name. If the work has no named author but is not signed "Anonymous", follow the example for Unknown Author.

Example

Anonymous. (2021). I was going to cheat. Glamour, 109(2), 166-167. 

In-Text Paraphrase

(Anonymous, Year)

Example: (Anonymous, 2021)

In-Text Quote

(Anonymous, Year, p. Page Number)

Example: Anonymous, 2021, p. 166)

Magazine Article from a Website

Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of article: Subtitle if any. Name of Magazine, Volume Number(Issue Number if given), first page number-last page number if given. URL

Example

Freedman, D. H. (2020, June). The perfected self. The Atlantic. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/06/the-perfected-self/8970/4/?single_page=true

Note: If no volume, issue and/or page numbers are provided, skip them in the citation.

In-Text Paraphrase

(Author's Last Name, Year)

Example: (Freedman, 2020)

In-Text Quote

(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number or Paragraph Number or Section Heading)

Example: (Freedman, 2020, para. 1)

Note: This entry has no page numbers, so a paragraph number is used instead.

In-Text Citation for Two or More Authors/Editors

Number of Authors/Editors

First Time Paraphrased

Second and Subsequent Times Paraphrased

First Time Quoting

Second and Subsequent Times Quoting

Two

(Case & Daristotle, 2021)

(Case & Daristotle, 2021)

(Case & Daristotle, 2021, p. 57)

(Case & Daristotle, 2021, p. 57)

Three or More

(Case et al., 2021)

(Case et al., 2021)

(Case et al., 2021, p. 57)

(Case et al., 2021, p. 57)