In APA, it is necessary to cite your sources through brief in-text citations and then provide full citation entries on a separate References page. These complete entries allow readers to see which sources you used and look them up for additional information. All the sources you cite within the paper should correspond to the full entries you include on the References list. To format the References list:
- Insert a page break after the last line of your essay. On the next page, begin the References list. Maintain your heading with the next successive page number in the right corner.
- Center the title References in bold on the first line in the body of the page.
- Continue to double space the document. No extra space is needed between entries. If there is extra spacing automatically placed between entries, you will need to remove it.
- Cite sources alphabetically by author’s last name, or the first word of the source title if no person is listed as the author. If the title begins with a numeral (“8 Ways to Cut Fat”), place the entry before the letter “A” when alphabetizing.
- Format each citation with a hanging indent. This process ensures that the first line of each entry is left aligned, and the succeeding lines are indented one-half inch.
- To create a hanging indent in Word, highlight your citation entry. In the home tab, click the Paragraph expansion box (a small square on the bottom right). You will then see the Indents and Spacing tab. In the Indentation box, go to Special and select Hanging from the dropdown box. Finally, click Ok. You will see your entries correctly formatted with the hanging indent.
- To create a hanging indent in Google Docs, highlight your citation entry. Click Format and select Align and Indent. Scroll down and choose Indent Options. Under Special Indent, click Hanging and then Apply. You will see your entries correctly formatted with the hanging indent.
- When writing your citations, make sure to adhere to these APA formatting rules:
- Italics vs. quotation marks: The titles of larger works (i.e., books, albums, films, magazines, journals, newspapers, TED Talks, TV shows) should be italicized, while the titles of the smaller works contained within them (i.e., chapters, songs, articles, episodes) should not (nor should they be offset using quotation marks).
- Capitalization: Capitalize all major words in journal titles. When referring to the titles of books, chapters, articles, songs, webpages, or any other source, capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns. Note that the distinction here is based on the type of source being cited. Academic journal titles have all major words capitalized, while other sources' titles do not. Titles should NEVER appear in ALL CAPS.
- Order and organization: Make sure each item in the entry is in its proper place (i.e., author’s last name before the first initial, author information before the title of source, web address at the end of the entry, etc.).
Sources consulted: Upswing Writing Lab, Purdue OWL website
Guide created by: C. Jones, E. Raley 6/8/2021
Revised by: C. Jones 6/7/2024
