APA 7th Edition Demo Paper: Walkthrough
This guide refers to our APA 7 demo paper
Demo paper explained
Introduction
In this guide, we'll walk through each of the issues highlighted, as if it were a real document that we were looking to improve.
This demo is a static document – it is not interactive; it is showing you the first time our demo document is being checked. When using Recite yourself, you will make changes to your document off-line and then re-upload to check for further issues. You can correct one issue at a time or do a block of 10-20 and then reupload, it really is up to you.
Note: The demo paper is checked here against APA 7th Edition
When loading the demo paper, we're presented with our results pages shown below.
In-text issues
We can see that Recite has detected 17 potential In-Text Citation issues, and 113 in total. If we click to expand that section, we get the below.
Note: By default, Recite hides all In-Text Citations that have an exact match with the reference list, allowing you to concentrate on the potential issues. The only exception is when a citation appears in a string in which there is a potential issue to highlight.
The dollar sign indicates a button or feature that is only available on a paid plan.
Check: No references for year (2019) match these author(s).
Recite shows this message for a citation, when it's likely that a reference list entry is missing completely.
If we scroll down to the reference list section and there is no entry for Aschemann-Witzel et al., 2019, this confirms there is no reference included for this citation in the document currently. When trying to find an entry like this, you can use the author search box at the top of the reference list - enter a few characters and you will see the list filter immediately.
If this citation should in fact be in your document, add it into your reference list in the offline document. If it's no longer needed, delete the citation from your offline document (as we should throughout the whole process, then reupload to check for no further issues).
Multiple Matches - check. More than one exact match found for the next reference!
Recite has detected more than one reference with the same leading author and same year of publication. In the demo there are two references which include Burgess as the lead author (and have the required number of authors for an "et al.") in the reference list, both published in 2022.
In APA 7, the 8.18 rule tells us we should name as many of the following authors as necessary to "disambiguate" (to make it clear to the reader which reference entry we are citing).
Include as many authors as needed so the reader knows which reference we are citing. In this case, we additionally need the second author. So depending on which is correct we would either use "(Burgess, Masclaux-Daubresse, et al., 2022)" or "(Burgess, Cano, & Parkes, 2022)." Note our latter option here doesn't have enough remaining authors to use "et al." so we have to revert to listing the author names in full.
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 266 (section 8.17), p. 267 (section 8.18)
- Example: Author–Date Citation System [APA Style].
Reference: American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).
Possible citation? Check: No references for year (2020) match these author(s)
Recite is highlighting something that it has marked as "Possible Citation" meaning it has encountered a date outside of parentheses (brackets), which may or may not be a citation.
However as we can see, this does just look like a year mentioned in a sentence. On occasions like this, the human eye wins over the computer, and we can see this can be safely ignored.
This is a completely normal thing for Recite to do erring on the side of caution.
If Recite is highlighting a section of text that is in fact not a citation (as is the case in this example), you can either overlook this issue knowing it's not valid, or it can be marked as "ignored" in the online results to stop it being highlighted, by clicking the stop sign icon on the right of the citation (as in the screenshot above).
"Ignore" is only available on a paid plan.
You can see more about the "Ignore" feature, in this ignore citations video
Style warning: For valid APA, use "et al."
Recite has found our first issue with an orange side bar, instead of red. This indicates this is a style issue, rather than a mismatch between our citation and reference list entry. The style issue here is indicating this citation should use an "et al." when citing this reference. The use of "et al." is correct, however, the author of the paper we are checking has missed a "." off the end.
Remedy: Include the dot "." where Recite is suggesting (on the end of the "et al").
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 266 (section 8.17)
- Example: Author–Date Citation System [APA Style].
Author mismatch:
Recite is highlighting a spelling mistake. Here we can see in the citation, the uploading author has included the name "Lotero;" whereas in the reference list it is spelt "Loreto."
To check the correct spelling, verify which is correct by checking the source you used in this citation but for users on a paid plan - follow the double arrow icon at the end of the relevant reference list entry to see the citation in full validated by our Crossref integration and correct accordingly.
Crossref is only available on a paid plan, otherwise you need to look it up manually using the GS button.
Year mismatch:
Recite is highlighting a year mismatch. Here we can see the year included in the citation (2021) is different to that which is in the reference list (2020).
To check the correct year, verify which is correct by checking the source you used in this citation but for users on a paid plan - follow the double arrow icon at the end of the relevant reference list entry to see the citation in full validated by our Crossref integration and correct accordingly.
Crossref is only available on a paid plan, otherwise you need to look it up manually using the GS button.
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: pp. 261-278 (sections 8.10–8.36)
- Example: Dates in a citation [APA Style].
Possible Citation? Check: No references for author(s) or year (2012)
This is another "possible citation" issue. This issue is very similar to number 3 above.
If Recite is highlighting a section of text that is in fact not a citation (as is the case in this example), you can either overlook this issue knowing it's not valid, or it can be marked as "ignored" in the online results to stop it being highlighted, by clicking the stop sign icon on the right of the citation (as in the screenshot above).
"Ignore" is only available on a paid plan.
Style warning: Possible Ambiguity - when more than one reference has the same lead author surname, even if they have different years of publication, use correct author initials before surname to avoid confusion.
Recite has detected more than one reference with the same surname as the leading author. In this paper there are two different lead author Zhangs, "F Zhang" and "Y Zhang."
In APA 7, the 8.20 rule tells us "If the first authors of multiple references share the same surname but have different initials, include the first authors" initials in all in-text citations, even if the year of publication differs. Initials help avoid confusion within the text and help readers locate the correct entry in the reference list."
Include initials before the surname for the lead author on any citations where you have any matching lead authors in your reference list. In this case we would include the initial "F" before the surname "Zhang" so the citation would read "(F. Zhang & Batley, 2020)."
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 267 (section 8.20); p. 306 (section 9.48)
- Example: Citing Authors With the Same Surname [APA Style].
Author mismatch:
Recite has picked up a mismatch between the spelling in the citation and that which has been included in the reference list. In this case it is the umlaut (or "diacritic") on the "O."
To check the correct author spelling, verify which is correct by checking the source you used in this citation but for users on a paid plan - follow the double arrow icon at the end of the relevant reference list entry to see the citation in full validated by our Crossref integration* and correct accordingly.
Crossref is only available on a paid plan, otherwise you need to look it up manually using the GS button.
Invalid "et al." (not enough authors: only 2 found) Year and author(s) match:
Recite is highlighting the APA rule which says "et al." should only apply if there are three or more authors included in the reference. This reference includes just two, so the use of "et al." (and others) is incorrect.
Use both author surnames in the citation with an ampersand (&) in between.
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 266 (section 8.17)
- Example: Number of authors to include in in-text citations [APA Style].
Style warning: Multiple citations should be in correct alphabetical order (as reference list)
Recite has found the order of citations does not reflect the same alphabetical order shown in the references, as "C" comes before "D".
Reorder your citation such that they match the correct order that should be in your reference list. In this case we would swap the order from "(Dring, 2005; Collén & Davison, 1999)", to "(Collén & Davison, 1999; Dring, 2005)".
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 263 (section 8.12)
- Example: Citing Multiple Works [APA Style].
Author mismatch:
Recite has found the author name "Blomme" has been misspelt.
To check the correct author spelling, verify which is correct by checking the source you used in this citation but for users on a paid plan - follow the double arrow icon at the end of the relevant reference list entry to see the citation in full validated by our Crossref integration and correct accordingly.
Crossref is only available on a paid plan, otherwise you need to look it up manually using the GS button.
Style warning: Multiple citations should be separated by a semicolon (and a space)
Recite has found a comma in the place of a semicolon. APA says that multiple citations in the same parentheses should be separated by a semicolon, whereas we're using a comma here.
Remove the comma and replace with a semicolon.
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 263 (section 8.12)
- Example: Citing Multiple Works [APA Style].
Author mismatch:
Recite has found an author is missing from the citation. The reference list has Chen, F., & Dixon, R. A. (2007), so it looks like we've missed "Dixon." Recite highlights the missing entry so that we can immediately see what's wrong.
See the missing author detected by Recite and add it into your citation. In this case we would need to add the author, "Dixon," so it would become "(Chen & Dixon, 2007; Van Acker et al., 2013)."
Multiple Matches - check. More than one exact match found for the next reference
Recite has detected more than one reference with the same leading author and same year of publication. This is much like number 2 above.
Include as many authors as needed so the reader knows which reference we are citing. In this case, we additionally need the second author. So depending on which is correct we would either use "(De Meester, Van Acker et al., 2022)" or "(De Meester, Vanholme et al., 2022)."
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 266 (section 8.17), p. 267 (section 8.18)
- Example: Author–Date Citation System [APA Style].
Style warning: Use "et al." when citing this reference
Recite has detected three author names included in this citation. APA 7th Edition states if there are three or more authors we must use "et al."
Delete author names "De Gara" and "Loreto" from the citation and replace them both with "et al."
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 266 (section 8.17), p. 267 (section 8.18)
- Example: Author–Date Citation System [APA Style].
Style warning: Use ampersand (" & ") (and no extra characters) to separate last 2 authors
Recite is saying that for a parenthetical citation, where there are only two authors, they should be cited using an ampersand "&" between the names "Muller" and "Martre" not the word "and."
Delete the word "and" from between "Muller" and "Martre" and replace it with an ampersand "&" - "Muller & Martre"
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 266 (section 8.17), p. 267 (section 8.18)
- Example: Author–Date Citation System [APA Style].
Reference list issues
We can see that Recite has detected that there are 30 potential reference list issues, out of 133 in total. These need reviewing and amending if necessary.
If we expand the "Reference List" section, those with issues are highlighted in red in the side bar.
When you hover over each reference list entry, the following options may be displayed (not all options are available for each reference):
More information about these features can be found in User Interface > Reference hover options.
Again, let's work through these one by one.
Note: With reference list issues, a red asterisk (*) indicates where Recite has found the potential issue it's highlighting.
Retraction!
By using our Retraction Watch integration, Recite has detected an error, correction or retraction after publication. You'll see a red button, as highlighted here. The text of which will tell you what it is - "retraction," "correction," "reinstatement" or "expression of concern" – in this case it's a retraction. Click the button to see the notice on the source.
APA 7 rules state you should "avoid citing retracted articles unless absolutely necessary" (American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 13) and if it is, that you should "reproduce the title of the retraction notice as shown on the work"
You can retrieve this exact wording by clicking the relevant button that has appeared by the retracted article and update your work accordingly.
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 13 (section 1.13)
Dot expected
Recite has detected there is a dot (period) missing in this reference entry, after the closing parenthesis (as highlighted by our asterisk).
Include a dot where Recite is suggesting.
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 289 (section 9.13)
- Example: Elements of Reference List Entries > Date [APA Style].
Expecting comma after initials
Recite has found a missing comma after the second initial in "Cohan's" name.
Include a comma where Recite is suggesting.
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 286 (section 9.8)
- Example: Elements of Reference List Entries > Author [APA Style].
Space expected
Recite has found a missing space after the first initial in ‘Davison's' name.
Include a space where Recite is suggesting.
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: pp. 286-291 (sections 9.8-9.17)
- Example: Elements of Reference List Entries [APA Style].
Expecting surname and then a comma
Recite has detected there is a comma missing in this reference entry, after the last author's surname and before the initial.
Include a comma where Recite is suggesting.
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 286 (section 9.8)
- Example: Elements of Reference List Entries > Author [APA Style].
Entry 32 has an alphabetisation issue indicated by the icon at the end, which affects entries 32 - 35.
The "DeHaan. L. R., …" reference needs to be moved 3 positions up so it appears above the "De Meester, B., de Vries, L., …" reference to fix these issues.
Move the "DeHaan. L. R., …" reference 3 positions up so it appears above the "De Meester, B., de Vries, L., …" reference.
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 303 (section 9.44)
- Blog post: Getting your references in order; APA Style
Expecting "..." following 19th author
Recite has detected there is an ellipsis (...) missing in this reference entry, after the 19th author.
APA 7 rules say for a work with up to 20 authors, include all of the names in the reference. When the work has 21 or more authors, include only the first 19 names, an ellipsis, and the final name.
Include an ellipsis where Recite is suggesting.
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 286 (section 9.8)
- Example: Elements of Reference List Entries > Author [APA Style].
[Orange DOI button]
Recite has found a possible DOI for this entry.
Click the DOI button to check what has been detected by Recite. In this case the DOI suggested by Crossref is correct (we can verify this by clicking the link to check it) and add this to the reference directly in our offline document.
Crossref is available on paid plans only
This is what we see when we click the DOI button (or the double orange arrows):
Not found in document
Recite has detected no corresponding citation at all. This happens occasionally when the person writing the paper that is being checked has simply forgotten to omit the reference after taking a citation out of their paper.
Check whether it is a citation that is missing for McFarland and include it in the correct section of the paper, or if this reference list entry should be deleted take it out altogether.
[Red DOI button]
Recite has detected an incorrect DOI.
The DOI button will confirm the link is incorrect. Click the double arrow button to check what has been detected by Recite. In this case the DOI reference has an error in it. We can see on close inspection the paper we are checking has "doi.org/10.1016/j.plant.sci.2021.111103" - an extra dot has been included between the "plant" and "sci." The correct DOI "doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2021.111103" can be copied directly from the Crossref suggestion box into the offline document being checked.
Crossref is only available on a paid plan, otherwise you need to look it up manually using the GS button.
This is what we see when we click the double orange arrow button:
Expecting comma
Recite has found a missing comma after the initial in "Dupree's" name.
Include a comma where Recite is suggesting.
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 286 (section 9.8)
- Example: Elements of Reference List Entries > Author [APA Style].
Use ampersand (&) rather than "and"
Recite has detected incorrect use of the word "and" where we should be using an ampersand (&).
Delete the word "and" between the two authors and include an ampersand (&).
Further reading:
- APA 7th Edition Manual: p. 286 (section 9.8)
- Example: Elements of Reference List Entries > Author [APA Style].
Closing summary
We've been through each In-Text Citation and Reference List issue and looked at each in detail explaining what needs doing to remedy any highlighted issues.
The "Annotated Article" section at the bottom simply outputs all the text that Recite checked, highlighting each citation (including possible ones) and colouring them to indicate whether they matched up correctly with the reference list.
If you want to get to know this section better, watch our annotated article video or see our annotated article guide which both cover this section in detail.
If we were editing this paper "live" we would reupload after making the corrections to check for any further issues.