APA Citation List: Reference Page Format & Examples
Your bibliography
0 sourcesAPA Citation List is the alphabetised “References” page at the end of an APA paper. It lists every source cited in the text, formatted with a hanging indent, double spacing, and the author–date–title–source order defined by APA 7th edition.
What is an APA citation list?
An APA citation list is the References page that closes an APA-style paper. It records the full publication details of every work cited in the body text, giving readers enough information to locate each source. In APA, this list is titled “References,” never “Bibliography” or “Works Cited.”
Only sources that appear as in-text citations belong on the list, and every in-text citation must have a matching reference. Personal communications, such as private emails or interviews, are cited in text but excluded from the reference list because readers cannot retrieve them.
How do you format an APA reference list?
Start the reference list on a new page. Center and bold the word “References” at the top, then list entries alphabetically with a hanging indent and double spacing throughout. Do not add extra blank lines between entries.
| Element | APA 7th edition rule |
|---|---|
| Page start | New page after the main text, before appendices |
| Heading | “References” — bold, centered, top of page |
| Spacing | Double-spaced, no extra space between entries |
| Indent | Hanging indent of 0.5 in (first line flush left, rest indented) |
| Order | Alphabetical by first author’s surname |
| Author names | Surname first, then initials (e.g., Grady, J. S.) |
| Title case | Sentence case for article/book titles; title case for journal names |
| Italics | Journal names, volume numbers, and book titles |
| DOI/URL | Presented as a clickable hyperlink with no “Retrieved from” |
- Author — surname then initials; ampersand before the final author
- Date — publication year in parentheses, followed by a period
- Title — article title in sentence case, not italicised
- Source — italicised journal, volume, issue, and page range
- DOI — digital object identifier as a full https link
How are entries ordered in an APA reference list?
Order entries alphabetically by the first author’s surname, letter by letter. When several works share the same first author, order them by the surnames of subsequent authors, then by year for identical author groups. Nothing precedes something, so “Brown, J.” comes before “Browning, T.”
- Same author, different years: arrange from earliest to latest year.
- Same author, same year: add lowercase letters (2020a, 2020b) ordered by title.
- Group or organisation authors: alphabetise by the first significant word of the name.
- No author: move the title into the author position and alphabetise by its first word.
APA reference list examples by source type
Formatting shifts slightly by source type, but the author–date–title–source sequence stays constant. The copy-ready examples below use real, correctly formatted references you can adapt directly.
BookSapolsky, R. M. (2017). Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst. Penguin Books.
Journal articleGrady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent diverse racial groups. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185
Book chapterAron, L., Botella, M., & Lubart, T. (2019). Culinary arts: Talent and their development. In R. F. Subotnik, P. Olszewski-Kubilius, & F. C. Worrell (Eds.), The psychology of high performance (pp. 345–359). American Psychological Association.
WebpageCenters for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018, January 23). People at high risk of developing flu-related complications. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/index.htm
Newspaper articleRoberts, S. (2020, April 9). Early exposure to nature is good for children. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/well/family/nature-children.html
ReportWorld Health Organization. (2021). Global technical strategy for malaria 2016–2030. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240031357
How is the citation list different from an in-text citation?
The reference list gives the full source details, while the in-text citation is a brief pointer inside the sentence. APA uses the author–date system, so an in-text citation shows only the author surname and year, such as (Sapolsky, 2017), which readers then match to the full entry.
Every in-text citation must correspond to exactly one reference entry, and every reference must be cited at least once in the text. Direct quotations add a page number in the in-text citation, for example (Sapolsky, 2017, p. 42), but the reference list format does not change for quoted material.
How accurate is this guide, and what are its limits?
These rules reflect APA 7th edition, the current version since October 2019. They are accurate for the vast majority of published sources, but edge cases exist. Sources with missing dates use (n.d.), and works with more than 20 authors follow a special truncation rule that lists the first 19, an ellipsis, then the final author.
Instructors and journals sometimes impose house styles that override defaults, such as requiring DOIs for every source or a specific font. A generator handles the mechanical formatting reliably, but you should still verify author spellings, publication years, and italics against the original source, since automated tools inherit errors from imperfect metadata.
APA citation list FAQ
Is an APA reference list the same as a bibliography?
No. An APA reference list includes only sources cited in the text, whereas a bibliography may list background reading that was never cited. APA papers use a reference list titled “References,” not a bibliography.
How do I alphabetise entries with the same author?
List works by the same author chronologically, earliest year first. If the year is also identical, add lowercase letters (2020a, 2020b) assigned by the alphabetical order of the titles.
What is a hanging indent?
A hanging indent keeps the first line of each entry flush left and indents every following line by 0.5 inch. It visually separates entries and is required for APA reference lists.
Do I include a URL or DOI?
Include a DOI whenever one exists, formatted as a full https link. Use a URL for online sources without a DOI. APA 7th edition no longer requires the phrase “Retrieved from.”
How many authors do I list before using “et al.” in the reference list?
In the reference list you list up to 20 authors in full. For 21 or more, list the first 19, insert an ellipsis, then add the final author’s name. “Et al.” is only used in in-text citations.
Where does the reference list go in my paper?
Place the reference list on its own new page after the main text and before any appendices or tables, with “References” bold and centered at the top.