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APA 7th

Reference list

This page covers the general rules for creating a reference list. Refer to the tabs on the left for the format for each source type in your reference list.

Your reference list in APA 7th style needs to include all the works you have cited in your assignment (except for any personal communications). It is placed at the end of your essay on a new page and has a specific format you need to follow.

Setting up your list

Refer also to the Sample reference list (below) and an annotated section of a reference list.

Format Rule
Title of page References at top of page, centred and bold, beginning with a capital letter.
Indent Use hanging indents set at 1.27cm for each entry
Line spacing Double line spacing, no space between entries
Order of list Alphabetical by first author surname
Author names Preserve order of names in the publication. See the Formatting rules and examples below.
Punctuation
  • No full stops after DOIs/URLs
  • Capitalise the first word of the title/subtitle of the article, chapter or book, as well as any proper nouns (e.g. person, place or entity). For further details and examples, see Sentence Case Capitalization.
  • Capitalise each word of a journal title (e.g. Journal of Applied Psychology)
  • Use an en dash and no spaces between page numbers (e.g. 72–74)

 

Formatting rules and examples

Reference list

Format

Author, A. A.

Example

Beckett, S. T. (2008). The science of chocolate (2nd ed.). Royal Society of Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1039/9781847558053

Reference list

Format

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B.

Example

Hadgkiss, E. J., & Renzaho, A. M. (2014). The physical health status, service utilisation and barriers to accessing care for asylum seekers residing in the community: A systematic review of the literature. Australian Health Review, 38(2), 142–159. https://doi.org/10.1071/AH13113

Reference list

Format

List all author names.

 

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C., Author, D. D., Author, E. E., Author, F. F., Author, G. G., Author, H. H., Author, I. I., & Author, J. J.

Example

Wolchik, S. A., West, S. G., Sandler, I. N., Tein, J., Coatsworth, D., Lengua, L., Weiss, L., Anderson, E. R., Green, S. M., & Griffin, W. A. (2000). An experimental evaluation of theory-based mother and mother-child programs for children of divorce. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(5), 843–856. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.68.5.843

Reference list

Format

List the first 19 authors, then add a three-dot ellipsis, then the last author.

 

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C., Author, D. D., Author, E. E., Author, F. F., Author, G. G., Author, H. H., Author, I. I., Author, J. J., Author, K. K., Author, L. L., Author, M. M., Author, N. N., Author, O. O., Author, P. P., Author, Q. Q., Author, R. R., Author, S. S., ...Author, Z. Z.

Example

Griswold, M. G., Fullman, N., Hawley, C., Arian, N., Zimsen, S. R., Tymeson, H. D., Venkateswaran, V., Tapp, A. D., Forouzanfar, M. H., Salama, J. S., Abate, K. H., Abate, D., Abay, S. M., Abbafati, C., Abdulkader, R. S., Abebe, Z., Aboyans, V., Abrar, M. M., Acharya, P., ... Gakidou, E. (2018). Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2016: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. The Lancet, 392(10152), 1015–1035. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31310-2

Reference list

Format

Use the title in place of the author.

Example

500,000 Oregon residents evacuate statewide due to wildfires. (2020, September 10). HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/oregon-residents-evacuations-wildfire

Tips

  • If the title begins with “A”, “An", or “The”, file the entry in the reference list by the first significant word in the title (i.e. ignore “A”, “An” or “The”). See: How to alphabetize…
  • Where the title begins with a number or a year, file according to the pronunciation of the number- in the above example, “Five hundred thousand”.

Reference list

Format

APA 7th guidelines specify that secondary citations should ONLY be used where the original is unavailable (e.g. out-of-print). Wherever possible, read and cite the original source.


If the original source is not available, ONLY include in your reference list the details of the source that you actually read (in the following example the work by Ward and Decan).

Example

In-text: . . . (Farrow, 1968, as cited in Ward & Decan, 1988).


Reference list: Ward, D., & Decan S. K. (1988). The future of the urban city. Routledge.

Reference list

Format

Use author name for all entries, listing entries by year with the earliest first. Any references with no date (n.d.) are listed first.

Example

Jones, M. (n.d.). More than you bargained for. https//www.randomthoughts.org


Jones, M. (2015). Popular culture: The rise of the super hero. Palgrave Macmillan.


Jones, M. (2019). A guide to Australian graphic novels. Bloomsbury.

Reference list

Format

List alphabetically by title, assigning a suffix of a, b, c, d, etc. after the year.

Example

Smith, A. (2007a). Emerging in between: The multi-level governance of renewable energy in the English regions. Energy Policy, 35(12), 6266–6280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2007.07.023


Smith, A. (2007b). Translating sustainabilities between green niches and socio-technical regimes. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 19(4), 427–450. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537320701403334

Reference list

Format

Do not use acronyms for the author, spell out the full name.

Example

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2017, June). Childhood education and care, Australia. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/education/childhood-education-and-care-australia/latest-release

Tips

  • If the author name begins with “The”, file the entry in the reference list by the first significant word in the title. For example, file The Beatles in the “B”s. See: How to alphabetize…

Sometimes, some of the information needed to create a reference list entry (author, year/date, title, or source) may be missing- if so, see Missing Reference Information for how to proceed.

Unsure how to format a Western or Non-Western author name? Consult Author Name Format (Singapore Institute of Technology).

 

Sample reference list


References


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