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APA Citation Guide (7th edition) : Reference List and Sample Paper

This guide shows you how to cite using APA 7th edition.

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Quick Rules for an APA Reference List

Your research paper ends with a list of all the sources cited in your paper. Here are some quick rules for this Reference list:

  1. Begin the reference list on a new page after the text.
  2. Name it "References," and center the section label in bold at the top of the page.
  3. Order the reference list alphabetically by author (last name of the first author followed by the initials of the author's given name(s)).
  4. Alphabetize entries by authors who have the same given name and last name with suffixes indicating birth order chronologically, oldest first.
  5. Double-space the entire list (both within and between entries).
  6. Apply a hanging indent of 0.5 in. to each entry. This means that the first line of the reference is flush left and subsequent lines are indented 0.5 in. from the left margin.

Sample Paper with Reference List

The American Psychological Association (APA) has created a sample paper that includes explanations of the elements and formatting in APA 7th ed. 

Headings and Title Pages

APA Running Head 
This resource discusses how to format running heads in APA style.

APA Title Page: Format and Templates 
This article discusses how to format APA title pages and provides templates for MS Word.