61 Chapter 39: Creating an APA References Section
Part 6: Chapter 39
This section from Successful Writing provides detailed information about how to create the references section of your paper. You will review basic formatting guidelines and learn how to format bibliographical entries for various types of sources. This chapter is meant to be used as a reference tool while you write
Formatting the References Section: The Basics
At this stage in the writing process, you may already have begun setting up your references section. This section may consist of a single page for a brief research paper or may extend for many pages in professional journal articles. As you create this section of your paper, follow the guidelines provided here.
To set up your references section, use the insert page break feature of your word-processing program to begin a new page. Note that the header and margins will be the same as in the body of your paper, and pagination continues from the body of your paper. (In other words, if you set up the body of your paper correctly, the correct header and page number should appear automatically in your references section.) See additional guidelines below.
Formatting Reference Entries
Reference entries should include the following information:
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The name of the author(s)
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The year of publication and, where applicable, the exact date of publication
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The full title of the source
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For books, the city of publication
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For articles or essays, the name of the periodical or book in which the article or essay appears
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For magazine and journal articles, the volume number, issue number, and pages where the article appears
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For sources on the web, the URL where the source is located
See the following examples for how to format a book or journal article with a single author.
Sample Book Entry
George, M. W. (2008). The elements of library research: What every student needs to know. Princeton University Press.
Andreff, W. (2000). The evolving European model of professional sports finance. Journal of Sports Economics, 1(3), 257–276. https://doi.org/10.1177/152700250000100304
The following box provides general guidelines for formatting the reference page. For the remainder of this chapter, you will learn how to format bibliographical entries for different source types, including multi-author and electronic sources.
Formatting Reference Entries for Different Source Types
As is the case for in-text citations, formatting reference entries becomes more complicated when you are citing a source with multiple authors, citing various types of online media, or citing sources for which you must provide additional information beyond the basics listed in the general guidelines. The following guidelines illustrate how to format different reference entries.
Print Sources: Books
For book-length sources and shorter works that appear in a book, follow the guidelines that best describe your source.
A Book by Two or More Authors
List the authors’ names in the or