How To Prepare A Reference List (APA)

The reference list should include all and only the sources cited or quoted in your assignment.

Any sources you refer to in-text must appear in the reference list and the reference list must only contain sources you have referred to in-text. Usually each reference entry has the same four basic ingredients:

Author	The person, persons, and/or group responsible for the work
Date	The date the work was published (or the indicator “n.d.” if no date of publication is available)
Title	The title of the work being cited in Italic font
Source	The location where readers can retrieve the cited work

For more details and examples click here

Click here to see an example of a correctly formatted paper with a reference list on page 10.

Formatting your reference list

Start on a new page
Put the title References on the top, centred and bold
Ensure your whole assignment is in Times New Roman, size 12 font
Ensure that the reference list is doubled spaced throughout (no extra space between each source)
Each entry starts with an author's last name
Start each entry (i.e. source) on a new line. Do not press enter in the middle of an entry, only at the end.
List the sources in alphabetical order according to the first author's surname
Apply the hanging indent to the page ie the second and subsequent line of each source is indented (1.27cm)
Use italics for the title of the book, website or the title of the journal.

The punctuation and font style are important in the reference list so make sure you check that you have put the full stops (.), commas (,), and colons (:) in the correct place; used correct capitalisation and italics as required by APA 7th edition.

Resources

students checking with APA Publication Manual 330

Formatting Checklist APA 7

This is a formatting checklist that gives a step by step guide on how to format. It provides screenshots and instructions on how to use the Microsoft word toolbar to achieve the APA standards.