How to do sources in apa format

It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results.

There are two parts to referencing: the citations within the text of your paper and the reference list at the end of your paper.

The APA referencing style is an "author-date" style, so the citation in the text consists of the author(s) and the year of publication given wholly or partly in round brackets.

Use only the surname of the author(s) followed by a comma and the year of publication. Include page, chapter or section numbers if you need to be specific, for example if you are quoting, paraphrasing or summarising:

How to do sources in apa format
 

No distinction is made between books, journal articles, internet documents or other formats except for electronic documents that do not provide page numbers. In this case use the paragraph number, if available, with the abbreviation para.

The full details of the source are given in a reference list at the end of the document:


How to do sources in apa format

Reference list entries contain all the information that is required to follow up your source. Reference lists in APA are arranged alphabetically by author.

See Reference List Entries or All Examples for details on how to construct references for specific resources such as books, journals and web pages.

It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results.

How to do sources in apa format

In-text references should immediately follow the title, word, or phrase to which they are directly relevant, rather than appearing at the end of long clauses or sentences. In-text references should always precede punctuation marks. Below are examples of using in-text citation.

Author's name in parentheses:

One study found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic (Gass & Varonis, 1984).

Author's name part of narrative:

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic.

Group as author:

First citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2015)
Subsequent citation: (APA, 2015)

Multiple works: (separate each work with semi-colons)

Research shows that listening to a particular accent improves comprehension of accented speech in general (Gass & Varonis, 1984; Krech Thomas, 2004).

Direct quote: (include page number)

One study found that “the listener's familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 85).

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (p. 85).

Note: For direct quotations of more than 40 words, display the quote as an indented block of text without quotation marks and include the authors’ names, year, and page number in parentheses at the end of the quote. For example:

This suggests that familiarity with nonnative speech in general, although it is clearly not as important a variable as topic familiarity, may indeed have some effect. That is, prior experience with nonnative speech, such as that gained by listening to the reading, facilitates comprehension. (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 77)

On the APA reference page, you list all the sources that you’ve cited in your paper. The list starts on a new page right after the body text.

Follow these instructions to set up your APA reference page:

  • Place the section label “References” in bold at the top of the page (centered).
  • Order the references alphabetically.
  • Double-space all text.
  • Apply a hanging indent of 0.5 inches.

Generate accurate APA citations with Scribbr

Webpage Book Video Journal article Online news article

Cite

The Scribbr Citation Generator will automatically create a flawless APA citation

Cite

The Scribbr Citation Generator will automatically create a flawless APA citation

Cite

The Scribbr Citation Generator will automatically create a flawless APA citation

Cite

The Scribbr Citation Generator will automatically create a flawless APA citation

Cite

The Scribbr Citation Generator will automatically create a flawless APA citation


Table of contents

  1. Setting up the APA reference page
  2. APA alphabetization guidelines
  3. Which sources to include on the reference page
  4. Annotated bibliography
  5. Creating APA references

Setting up the APA reference page

APA alphabetization guidelines

References are ordered alphabetically by the first author’s last name. If the author is unknown, order the reference entry by the first meaningful word of the title (ignoring articles: “the”, “a”, or “an”).

Word processors like Word or Google Docs and citation generators can usually order the reference list automatically. However, ordering becomes challenging when citing multiple works by the same author or works by authors with the same last name.

Our in-depth article on ordering references in APA Style explains what to do in these situations.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

Try for free

Which sources to include on the reference page

Only include references for sources cited in the body text (with an APA in-text citation). Don’t include references for:

  • Sources that you only consulted;
  • Personal communications (e.g., emails or phone calls);
  • General mentions of websites or periodicals;
  • Common knowledge.

Annotated bibliography

For some student papers, it’s common to describe or evaluate the source in an annotation. These annotations are placed on a new line below the corresponding reference entry. The entire annotation is indented 0.5 inches.

If an annotation consists of multiple paragraphs, the first line of the second and any subsequent paragraphs is indented an additional 0.5 inches.

How to do sources in apa format

Creating APA references

The format of an APA reference differs depending on the source type. Play around with the options in the Scribbr Example Generator to get familiar with APA Style.

Scribbr Citation Generator

With Scribbr’s free APA citation generator you can easily cite your sources according to the new 7th edition guidelines. It’s accurate, fast, and easy to use. Give it a try!

APA Citation Generator

APA citation examples

Check out Scribbr’s citation examples to learn more about citing each type of source, ranging from books and journals to podcasts and tweets!

Periodicals

  • Journal article
  • Newspaper article

Reports and gray literature

  • Report
  • Brochure
  • PDF
  • Press release
  • Dissertation or thesis
  • Conference paper

Books and reference works

  • Book
  • Bible
  • Dictionary entry
  • Encyclopedia entry

Audiovisual works

  • Movie or documentary
  • Podcast
  • Ted talk
  • TV show
  • YouTube video
  • Image
  • Powerpoint

Online media

  • Tweet
  • Webpage

Other

  • Personal communication
  • Tables and figures
  • Patent
  • Speech
  • Survey
  • Interview
  • Court case

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2022, August 23). Setting Up the APA Reference Page | Formatting & References (Examples). Scribbr. Retrieved December 21, 2022, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/apa-reference-page/