Featured Snippet — How To Cite A Paper Under Review APA 7: Author. (Year). Title of manuscript [Manuscript submitted for publication]; cite a public preprint with its DOI or URL.
When a source is not yet published, APA 7 gives clear labels. If a draft sits on a preprint server, cite the preprint. If the draft was sent to a journal and is being assessed, write the title as a manuscript and add the bracketed status note. If it’s already accepted, use “in press.” Pick the label that matches the stage you can verify for readers.
What “Under Review” Means In APA 7
APA style doesn’t print the words “under review” in the reference. Instead, it treats that stage as a manuscript submitted for publication. That wording tells readers the work was sent to a journal, not yet accepted, and not publicly archived. If a draft lives on a trusted repository (e.g., PsyArXiv, OSF, bioRxiv), cite the preprint with author, year, title, site name, and the DOI or URL. Once a paper is accepted, switch to “in press” and name the journal; the year becomes “in press,” not a number.
| Status You Have | Reference List Label | How Readers Can Get It |
|---|---|---|
| Draft posted in a public repository with DOI or URL | Preprint (cite repository; include DOI/URL) | Direct link to the preprint page |
| Submitted to a journal, not posted anywhere | Manuscript submitted for publication | Not retrievable; rely on accurate in-text citation |
| Still being written or revised privately | Manuscript in preparation | Not retrievable; in-text citation only |
| Accepted but not yet published | In press (name the journal) | Forthcoming; include journal title in the entry |
Two quick anchors if you want to check the wording straight from the source: APA’s page on preprint references and APA’s guidance on citing unpublished works.
Citing A Paper Under Review In APA 7: Quick Patterns
Below are clean templates you can adapt. Replace placeholders with your details, keep sentence case for titles, and use italics only where shown.
Template: Manuscript Submitted For Publication (Not Publicly Available)
Reference entry
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of manuscript [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Department, Institution.
In-text
Parenthetical: (Author & Author, Year)
Narrative: Author and Author (Year)
Notes — Include a department and institution if that helps identify the source; leave out a retrieval link because the draft is not public.
Template: Preprint In A Repository (Publicly Available)
Reference entry
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of preprint (Version, if shown) [Preprint]. Repository Name. https://doi.org/xxxxx
In-text
Parenthetical: (Author et al., Year)
Narrative: Author et al. (Year)
Notes — Prefer the DOI link when available; if only a URL exists, include the stable repository URL.
Template: In Press (Accepted)
Reference entry
Author, A. A. (in press). Title of article. Journal Title.
In-text
Parenthetical: (Author, in press)
Narrative: Author (in press)
In-Text Citations For Under-Review Work
Use the standard author–date format. Add letters a, b, c to the year if you cite multiple works by the same author in the same year. For three or more authors, use the first author’s name plus “et al.” from the first citation onward. If the surname duplicates another author in your paper, include initials to avoid confusion. Page or paragraph numbers are optional for paraphrases; include them for direct quotes from a preprint you can access.
Formatting Details That Prevent Headaches
Titles And Capitalization
Use sentence case for titles in the reference list: capitalize only the first word of the title, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns. Do not italicize article titles; italicize the journal title when you have an “in press” entry.
Dates
For manuscripts in preparation or submitted, use the year the draft was written, not the submission month. For preprints, use the year shown on the repository page. For accepted work, write “in press” in place of the year.
DOIs And URLs
For preprints, include the DOI as a clickable URL (https://doi.org/xxxx). If no DOI exists, include the persistent repository URL. Do not add retrieval dates for stable sources.
Bracketed Descriptors
The bracketed note clarifies status: [Preprint], [Manuscript submitted for publication], or [Manuscript in preparation]. Place the bracketed phrase right after the title. This brief tag keeps readers from assuming a published, peer-reviewed version.
Worked Examples With Commentary
Example 1 — Private Submission
Reference
Mahmood, R., & Sarker, T. (2024). Fine-grained entity linking in Bangla news [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Department of Computer Science, Northbridge University.
Why this works — The status is not public, so there’s no link. The department helps readers place the work.
Example 2 — Public Preprint
Reference
Green, J. L., Patel, V., & Moretti, A. (2023). Sleep timing and glucose variability: A preregistered replication [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/abcd1
Why this works — The repository and DOI make the draft findable. Keep the title in sentence case.
Example 3 — Accepted Article
Reference
Rahman, S. (in press). Measuring resting heart rate from wrist sensors in humid climates. Journal of Biomedical Informatics.
Why this works — “In press” replaces the year; the journal is named, with no volume or page numbers yet.
Second Table Of Templates And In-Text Examples
| Scenario | Reference Template | In-Text Example |
|---|---|---|
| Under review, not public | Author, A. A. (Year). Title [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Department, Institution. | (Author, Year) or Author (Year) |
| Preprint with DOI | Author, A. A. (Year). Title [Preprint]. Repository. https://doi.org/xxxxx | (Author et al., Year) or Author et al. (Year) |
| In press | Author, A. A. (in press). Title. Journal Title. | (Author, in press) or Author (in press) |
Ethical And Practical Notes
- Prefer retrievable sources when you can. If a preprint is allowed, cite that version so readers can read the draft you referenced.
- Be consistent across versions. If you cite a preprint and the paper later appears in a journal during your revision, update the entry to the published version or “in press” as appropriate.
- Avoid padding a list with many private manuscripts. Cite enough to support your claims, but lean on sources readers can access.
- Match the wording to the stage you know. Do not label a piece “in press” unless it has been accepted.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Writing “under review” in the reference instead of the standard bracketed note.
- Title case in the reference list. Keep sentence case for article titles.
- Missing the bracketed descriptor after the title.
- Linking to a submission portal or personal cloud storage. Only link to a public repository page or DOI.
- Inventing a publisher field for a manuscript. Don’t add a journal name until the entry is “in press.”
Checklist Before You Submit
- Pick the right label. Preprint, manuscript submitted, manuscript in preparation, or in press.
- Format the title. Sentence case; italicize only if required by the template.
- Add the bracketed status. Place it immediately after the title.
- Provide a DOI or URL for preprints. Use the DOI link when available.
- Write clean in-text citations. Author–date, with initials only when needed to disambiguate.
- Update entries if the status changes. Switch to “in press” or to the full published article when that happens.
Quick Copy-Paste Starters
Manuscript submitted for publication
Lastname, A. A., & Lastname, B. B. (2025). Title of manuscript [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Department, University.
Preprint with DOI
Lastname, A. A., Lastname, B. B., & Lastname, C. C. (2025). Title of preprint [Preprint]. Repository Name. https://doi.org/xxxxx
In press
Lastname, A. A. (in press). Title of article. Journal Title.
Use these starters as scaffolds, then swap in the real names, dates, titles, and links. Keep your entries short, clear, and consistent with the stage you can verify.