Table of Contents
Reference List Basics
Every source you cite in the text of an APA 7 paper must have a matching entry in the reference list at the end of your paper. Conversely, every entry in the reference list must have at least one corresponding in-text citation.
The reference list is titled References — centred, bold, at the top of a new page. Do not write "Bibliography" or "Works Cited."
Page Setup & Formatting
| Element | Rule |
|---|---|
| Title | "References" — centred, bold |
| Spacing | Double-spaced throughout (no extra space between entries) |
| Indent | Hanging indent: first line flush left, subsequent lines indented 0.5 inch |
| Font | Same as body text (Times New Roman 12pt or similar) |
| Alignment | Flush left (do not justify) |
| Author names | Last name, initials only (not full first names) |
| Titles of works | Sentence case — only first word, proper nouns, and first word after a colon are capitalised |
Sentence case, not title case
APA 7 uses sentence case for article and book titles in the reference list — only the first word and proper nouns are capitalised. For example: "The effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance" — not "The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance."
Order of Entries
- Alphabetical by first author's last name
- If first author is the same: alphabetical by co-author's name
- If author is the same and year differs: earlier year first
- Same author, same year: add a, b, c after the year — e.g., 2021a, 2021b — and alphabetise by title
- No author: alphabetise by title (ignore "A," "An," "The")
Books
Single author
Last, I. (Year). Title of book: Subtitle in sentence case. Publisher.
Example
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Two authors
Last, I., & Last, I. (Year). Title. Publisher.
Deaton, A., & Case, A. (2020). Deaths of despair and the future of capitalism. Princeton University Press.
3–20 authors
List all authors separated by commas; use & before the last author.
Seligman, M. E. P., Walker, E. F., & Rosenhan, D. L. (2001). Abnormal psychology (4th ed.). W. W. Norton.
21+ authors
List first 19 authors, insert an ellipsis (…), then the last author.
Edition other than first
Last, I. (Year). Title (Xth ed.). Publisher.
Journal Articles
Print journal
Last, I. (Year). Article title in sentence case. Journal Name in Title Case and Italics, Volume(Issue), pages.
Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255.
Online journal with DOI
Last, I. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pages. https://doi.org/XXXXX
Chetty, R., Friedman, J. N., & Rockoff, J. E. (2014). Measuring the impacts of teachers I: Evaluating bias in teacher value-added estimates. American Economic Review, 104(9), 2593–2632. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.104.9.2593
Journal name in title case and italics
Only the journal name (not the article title) is italicised and in title case. The volume number is also italicised; the issue number in parentheses is not.
Websites & Webpages
Webpage with individual author
Last, I. (Year, Month Day). Page title. Website Name. URL
Ritchie, H. (2023, November 20). The world has lifted itself out of extreme poverty. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty
Webpage with organisation as author
Organisation Name. (Year, Month Day). Page title. URL
World Health Organization. (2024, January 12). Mental health. https://www.who.int/health-topics/mental-health
No access dates in APA 7
APA 7 eliminated the "Retrieved from" + access date requirement for most web sources. Include an access date only for sources that change regularly and are not archived (e.g., social media posts, Wikipedia).
Newspaper & Magazine Articles
Online newspaper article
Last, I. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Newspaper Name. URL
Kolata, G. (2023, September 14). New weight-loss drugs are reshaping medicine. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/14/health/obesity-drugs-medicine.html
Reports & Government Documents
Government report
Agency Name. (Year). Report title. Publisher. https://doi.org/XXXXX or URL
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Youth risk behavior survey: Data summary and trends report 2013–2023. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm
Edited Books & Chapters
Chapter in edited book
Last, I. (Year). Chapter title. In I. Last & I. Last (Eds.), Book title (pp. XX–XX). Publisher.
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. In R. F. Baumeister & K. D. Vohs (Eds.), Self and identity: Key readings (pp. 275–290). Psychology Press.
Theses & Dissertations
Published dissertation (ProQuest)
Last, I. (Year). Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. URL
Osei-Bonsu, K. (2020). Stereotype threat and academic performance in STEM [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2467831234
Videos & Podcasts
YouTube video
Creator Last, I. [Username if different]. (Year, Month Day). Video title [Video]. YouTube. URL
TED. (2009, June 3). The danger of a single story [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg
Podcast episode
Host Last, I. (Host). (Year, Month Day). Episode title (No. X) [Audio podcast episode]. In Podcast Name. Publisher. URL
Radiolab. (2017, March 10). On the edge [Audio podcast episode]. In Radiolab. WNYC Studios. https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab
Social Media
Twitter / X post
Last, I. [@username]. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of tweet [Tweet]. Platform. URL
Obama, B. [@BarackObama]. (2020, June 1). It's natural to wish for life to just get back to normal as [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1267469320500523008
No Author / No Date
| Situation | Reference list entry starts with |
|---|---|
| No author listed | Title of work. (Year). Publisher. |
| No publication date | Last, I. (n.d.). Title. Publisher. |
| No author + no date | Title of work. (n.d.). Publisher. |
DOI vs URL Rules
- Always include a DOI when available — format as a URL:
https://doi.org/10.XXXX/XXXXXX - Include a URL when there is no DOI and the source was accessed online
- Do not add "Retrieved from" before a DOI or URL
- Do not put a period after a DOI or URL at the end of a reference entry
- Use live hyperlinks (blue, underlined) or plain text — both are acceptable
Common Errors
| Error | Correct approach |
|---|---|
| Title case on article/book titles | Use sentence case: only first word + proper nouns capitalised |
| Full first names in author list | Initials only: Last, I. I. |
| Missing italics on journal name | Italicise journal name and volume number |
| Writing "Retrieved from" before URL | APA 7 dropped this — just list the URL |
| Forgetting hanging indent | First line flush left; second + lines indented 0.5 in. |
| Extra space between entries | Double-spaced throughout — no extra blank lines between entries |
| Listing sources not cited in text | Reference list only contains cited sources — not a general bibliography |