Video:How to Make Reference Pages in APA Format

Transcript:How to Make Reference Pages in APA Format

Hi I'm Hollie Hancock, here with About.com to give you some information on how to make a reference page in APA format.

What Is APA Format?

Now just to review, the APA format is the American Psychological Association's formatting for publication for documents that might be published in journals or manuscripts. Also colleges and universities use this format as well for students in the social and behavioral science fields.

Basics About Reference Pages in APA Format

So, onward and upward, let's talk about reference pages. Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper. It provides the information necessary for the reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of your paper. Each source you cite must be in the reference list; and likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text. Your references should begin on a new page separate from the text of the essay or the article that you're writing; label this page "References" and that is going to be located centered at the top of the page.

Formatting Reference Pages in APA Format

Do NOT bold, underline, or use quotation marks for the title. On the reference page, all text should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay. Now for some basic rules regarding a reference page: First, all lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called a hanging indentation. Next, authors' names are inverted, meaning the last name comes first; give the last name and initials for all authors of a particular work or up to and including seven authors. Believe me, there are books out there and works that you will cite that will have more than seven authors, so for APA formatting purposes you will only need the first seven.

Exceptions to the Rules for Reference Pages in APA Format

If the work has more than seven authors, list the first six, and then use ellipsis after the sixth author's name to indicate that there are other authors listed. After the ellipsis, list the last author's name of the work. The reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work. If you have more than one article by the same author, single-author references or multiple-author references with the exact same authors in the exact same order are listed in order by the year of publication, starting with the earliest.

Next, italicize titles of longer works such as books and journals. Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essay collections. Please remember that while the APA manual provides many examples of how to cite common types of sources, it does not provide rules on how to cite all types of sources. Therefore, if you have a source that the APA does not include, APA suggests that you find the example that is most similar to your source and use that format.

For more information, see page 193 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, sixth edition, or visit us online at About.com.