An APA Reference Page is a reference page that is written in APA style. You may be asked to write a reference page as a stand-alone project, while researching sources for a term paper or essay, or as part of a research project.
The initials APA stand for the American Psychological Association, the author of the The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. APA style refers to the current writing rules outlined in that publication, which is the Sixth Edition.
APA style is usually used for the social and behavioral sciences, also known as the “soft” sciences. However, some professors may ask you to use APA style for other types of writing. In addition, some universities have even adopted APA style for all of their academic writing. The style is compatible with all types of writing, from essays to dissertations.
A reference page is a section at the end of a research paper that includes a list of all of the works referenced within the paper. Reference pages go by many names including: references, works cited, and bibliography.
Reference lists are alphabetized by author last name, and use basic information to identify sources. The information selected varies according to the type of source named, but generally includes: author last name, author initials, date of publication, title of the work, and the publisher.
The reference list immediately follows the conclusion of your paper, but begins on its own piece of paper. It is labeled References, and the heading is centered at the top of the page. The reference list is paginated along with the rest of the paper, and contains the same running head as the body of the paper.
Like the rest of the paper, your reference list should be double-spaced, in a 10 or 12-point serif-type font, left-justified, have one-inch margins, and use a one-half-inch indent. However, entries begin on the left margin, and are then indented for each additional line of the entry.
Simple Book Format
Author Last Name, A.A. (Year of Publication). Title of work: Subtitle. City, State: Publisher.
Example:
Stoker, B. (1897). Dracula: A mystery story. New York, N.Y.: W.R. Caldwell & Co.
Book with Multiple Authors
When there are multiple authors for a source, each author is mentioned, in the order that they are listed on the book. This rule applies up to 7 authors. After that point, after the sixth author’s name provide ellipses and then conclude with the last author’s name.
Last, A. A., & Last, B. B. (Year). Title: Subtitle. City, State: Publisher.
Example:
Pratchett, T. & Gaiman, N. (2006). Good omens: The nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes
Nutter, witch. New York, NY: Harpertorch.
Books with No Author or with a Corporate Author
Organization Name. (Year of Publication). Title of work: Subtitle. City, State: Publisher.
The in-text citation format becomes:
(Organization Name, Year, p. xx).
Translated or Edited Books with Authors
Author, A. A. (Year). Title. E. E. Editor (Ed.). City, State: Publisher.
The basic format for a translated book is:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title. (T. T. Translator, Trans.) City, State: Publisher. (Original work
published 1814)
Example:
Marquez, G.G. (2003). 100 years of solitude. (G. Rabassa, Trans.) New York, NY: Harper
Collins. (Original work published 1970).
E-Readers
Books accessed through Kindle or Nook have their own citation format:
Author, A. A. (Date of publication). Title of book [Kindle DX version].
Retrieved from Amazon.com
Author, A. A. (Date of publication). Title of book [Nook DX version].
Retrieved from Barnes and Noble
Website
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Article title. Retrieved from URL
Example:
Chemaly, S. (2014, December 8). 50 actual facts about rape. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/soraya-chemaly/50-facts-rape_b_2019338.html
Online Encyclopedias
Article name. (Date). In Encylopedia name. Retrieved from URL
Example:
William Shakespeare. (2017, May 9). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare
Article from an Online Periodical (Magazine or Non-Scholarly Journal)
Author, A.A., & Author, B.B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Online Periodical,
volume number (issue number). Retrieved from URL
Example:
Scherer, M. & Altman, A. (2017). Trump’s loyalty test. Time Magazine, 189 (20). Retrieved
from http://time.com/4783929/president-trump-loyalty-test/?xid=homepage&pcd=hp-magmod
Article from an Online Scholarly Journal
Author, A.A. & Author, B.B. (Date of publication). Title of article, Title of Journal, volume
number, page range. doi: xxxx/xxxxx or http://dx.doi.org/xxx.xxx.xxx
Example:
Yardimci, V. H. & Yardimci, A.H. (2017). An unusual first manifestation of Hodgkin
Lymphoma: Epitrochlear lymph node involvement- A case report and brief review of
literature. J Investig Med High Impact Case Rep, 5(2). doi: 10.1177/2324709617706709
Scholarly Journal with No DOI
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume
number. Retrieved from URL
Example:
Kovan, M. (2017). Capital punishment: a Buddhist critique. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 21.
Retrieved from http://blogs.dickinson.edu/buddhistethics/
Newspaper Articles (Online):
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper.
Retrieved from URL
Example:
Takahashi, J. (2017, May 19). Judge dismisses Ahmed Mohamed ‘Clock Boy’ suit against
Irving ISD. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved from http://www.chron.com/news/houston-
texas/article/Judge-dismisses-Ahmed-Mohamed-Clock-Boy-suit-11159334.php
Videos available on the internet
Author, A. A. [Screen name]. (Year, month day). Title of video [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://url or https://url
Example:
Rainbow, R. [Randy Rainbow]. (2017, May 15). The Russia connection [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2OuJYaz_oE
Motion Pictures
Producer, P. P. (Producer), & Director, D. D. (Director). (Date of Publication). Title of motion
picture [Motion picture]. Country of origin: Studio or distributor.
Example:
Lear, N. (Producer), & Reiner, R. (Director). (1987, October 9). The princess bride [motion
picture]. United States: Act III Communications.
Using the sources in our example, above, we have put together a sample APA Reference Page.
References
Chemaly, S. (2014, December 8). 50 actual facts about rape. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/soraya-chemaly/50-facts-rape_b_2019338.html
Kovan, M. (2017). Capital punishment: a Buddhist critique. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 21.
Retrieved from http://blogs.dickinson.edu/buddhistethics/
Lear, N. (Producer), & Reiner, R. (Director). (1987, October 9). The princess bride [motion
picture]. United States: Act III Communications.
Marquez, G.G. (2003). 100 years of solitude. (G. Rabassa, Trans.) New York, NY: Harper
Collins. (Original work published 1970).
Pratchett, T. & Gaiman, N. (2006). Good omens: The nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes
Nutter, witch. New York, NY: Harpertorch.
Rainbow, R. [Randy Rainbow]. (2017, May 15). The Russia connection [Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2OuJYaz_oE
Scherer, M. & Altman, A. (2017). Trump’s loyalty test. Time Magazine, 189 (20). Retrieved
from http://time.com/4783929/president-trump-loyalty-test/?xid=homepage&pcd=hp-
Stoker, B. (1897). Dracula: A mystery story. New York, N.Y.: W.R. Caldwell & Co.
Takahashi, J. (2017, May 19). Judge dismisses Ahmed Mohamed ‘Clock Boy’ suit against
Irving ISD. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved from http://www.chron.com/news/houston-
texas/article/Judge-dismisses-Ahmed-Mohamed-Clock-Boy-suit-11159334.php
William Shakespeare. (2017, May 9). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare
Yardimci, V. H. & Yardimci, A.H. (2017). An unusual first manifestation of Hodgkin
Lymphoma: Epitrochlear lymph node involvement- A case report and brief review of
literature. J Investig Med High Impact Case Rep, 5(2). doi: 10.1177/2324709617706709
If you are asked to write a paper in APA style, then you will need to include a reference page that provides correctly formatted APA style reference list citations. The above examples should help you create the perfect reference page. If you have any questions that are not cleared up by looking through our tutorials or referring to the 6th Edition of the The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, please feel free to contact us with them.
