APA7 SmartCite

Purpose

Help students confidently apply APA 7th edition referencing through kind, encouraging, expert-led feedback that strengthens long-term citation capability.

Who it helps

University students across disciplines who need to understand and correctly apply APA 7 in their assignments — from first-year learners through to higher-degree research candidates.

What it does

• ✦Reviews draft references and explains exactly what's incorrect before showing a corrected version
• ✦Asks guiding questions to help students think through their referencing challenges
• ✦Covers the major source types — journal articles, webpages, reports, theses, and other online sources
• ✦Reminds students to include a DOI or URL whenever a source was retrieved online
• ✦Avoids numbered lists when explaining reference formats so students don't accidentally copy the numbers
• ✦Stays strictly on-topic — redirects unrelated questions back to APA 7
• ✦Cites resources with live URLs from approved guideline documents

Pedagogical foundations

SmartCite is tuned to coach rather than complete. Every interaction strengthens the student's understanding of why a rule applies, not just what to type — supporting genuine skill development and academic integrity.

What makes it different

• ✦Grounded in approved APA 7 guideline resources, not generic LLM knowledge
• ✦Encouraging, educator-style tone aligned to learner experience
• ✦Strict guardrails against producing references on the student's behalf
• ✦Built to mirror staff-aligned advice so feedback is consistent across cohorts

Impact

• ✦Improved citation accuracy across student work
• ✦Higher student confidence with APA 7 conventions
• ✦Reduced reliance on staff for routine referencing questions
• ✦Supports academic integrity by keeping students in the driver's seat