APA Student Paper

Reference list

1. Begin the Reference list on a new page, right after the text

Write out the word References at the top of the page in Bold and centered. Press Enter to move on to a new line and start writing your references.

2. Use hanging indentation

This refers to the indentation of lines after the first line in a paragraph. This means that the first line of each reference list entry is left-aligned, while the second line, third line, etc. are indented one-half inch. To set up both, first highlight all the lines on your page.

On the Home tab go to Paragraph and click the arrow.

Under Indentation, change Special to Hanging. Make also sure that Spacing is set to 0 pt and that Line spacing is set to Double.

The default hanging indentation is set on 0.5” (half inch) or 1,27cm or which is what we want. Now, when you are making a reference, the first line will be flush-left, and then when you hit the second line of the entry, it will automatically indent until you start a new line by pressing Enter.

3. Alphabetize the Reference list entries

Order the reference entries alphabetically based on the first author’s last name. To do so, highlight the entire reference list.

On the Home tab go to the A-Z sort option.

Select Sort by Paragraphs and click ok.

Your references now appear in alphabetical order.

If you have taken all these steps you have successfully formatted your paper. If you need more information on how to format individual reference list entries, visit our Formatting the References page of the APA style guide. If you need to add additional elements at the end of your paper like footnotes, tables, figures, and/or appendices please visit the End matter section of the APA Professional Paper guide.