The reference page is a crucial element of your research paper. It helps your readers find the sources that you cited in your paper so they can learn more about your topic if they choose to do so. The reference page is formatted differently than the rest of your research paper and requires specific elements spelled out by the American Psychological Association (APA) stylistic guidelines.
Your reference page begins on its own page at the end of the paper with the centered heading “References” without quotation marks. Every source you cited in the body of your paper must appear in alphabetical order on the reference page using hanging indents for subsequent lines of each source citation. The reference page doubles as an opportunity to showcase your research and provide credibility to your analysis and conclusions by linking readers directly back to the literature.
Different source types require slightly different elements in their citations on the reference page. For a book, the basic format includes the author’s last name, first initial, publication year, book title in sentence case and italics, location, and publisher. For example:
Smith, J. (2015). Understanding APA style. New York, NY: Pearson.
If the book has multiple authors, their names will be in order as they appear on the title page with the last name listed first connected by an ampersand before the last author’s name. The publication year goes in parentheses followed by a period.
For an authored book chapter, the basic format includes the chapter author’s last name and initials, publication year, chapter title in sentence case and enclosed in quotation marks, book editor initials and last names (if provided), book title and subtitle in italics, volume number (if applicable), page range of the chapter, location, and publisher. For example:
Jones, S. A., & Johnson, H. D. (2017). “Studying reference styles.” In C. Brown & A. Green (Eds.), Research writing techniques (2nd ed., pp. 55-78). New York, NY: Routledge.
For a journal article retrieved online or in print, the basic format includes the author’s last name and initials, publication year, article title in sentence case and enclosed in quotation marks, periodical title in italics, volume number, issue number (only include if each issue begins with page 1), page range of the article. For example:
Smith, B. T. (2019). “An in-depth analysis of APA style guidelines.” Journal of Scholarly Writing, 23(4), 45-67.
If the journal article was retrieved online, include the URL or DOI at the end of the citation. If no DOI is available, close the citation with the homepage URL of the journal or database.
For webpages, include the author’s name (if provided), publication year (if provided), page title in sentence case and enclosed in quotation marks, webpage/site name in italics, URL. For example:
American Psychological Association. (2019). “APA style.” www.apa.org
Keep in mind some general APA reference page rules:
Use a “hanging indent” format for each citation; the first line of each citation aligns with the left margin and subsequent lines align further to the right.
Arrange all citations in alphabetical order by the first author’s or editor’s last name, or by title if no author/editor is provided.
Double space the entire reference page.
Italicize titles of books and journals. Place titles of articles and Web pages in quotation marks.
Capitalize only the first word and proper nouns in titles.
List all authors or editors surname first, followed by initials. Connect multiple authors with an ampersand before the last author.
Include the year in parentheses followed by a period.
For sources with multiple publication dates, a copyright date may come after the primary publication date separated by a comma.
Page numbers (or paragraph number for online sources lacking page numbers) are not necessary for paraphrases, but required for direct quotes.
Pay special attention to punctuation and capitalization. Consult the APA Publication Manual for any variations or exceptions.
Adhering precisely to APA style on the reference page validates your research efforts and reinforces the credibility of your analysis. It allows readers with access to your cited sources to easily verify your claims and findings. Mastering the APA reference page format will serve you well in your academic writing career and beyond. Let your reference page shine as the polished culmination of your term paper or research project!