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APA Style

Formatting the references

The bibliographic entries of a reference list follow specific formatting rules for consistency purposes. These guidelines refer to the following stylistic aspects of entries:

  • alphabetization,
  • capitalization,
  • italicization,
  • abbreviations,
  • punctuation.

Click on the collapsible panel to find out details about how to format your references.

  Alphabetization

Put reference entries in alphabetical order. Alphabetize letter by letter by the author's last name or the title of the work when no author is available.
Variations How to order Examples
Names Alphabetize letter by letter. Fuchs, L. H.

Gilroy, M.

Glenn, N. E.
Names with numeral suffixes Order chronologically from oldest to youngest. Smith, J., II

Smith, J., III
Names with prefixes Alphabetize disregarding spaces and punctuation marks in last names. MacDonald, H.

M’Carthy, P.

McCaffery, F.
Same name of author, different works Order from oldest to newest work. Stern, J. (2003).

Stern, J. (2009).
Same name of author, different works in the same year Alphabetize by title; number citations with “a”, “b”, “c”, etc. next to the date. Chomsky, N. (2002a).

Chomsky, N. (2002b).
Same name of author, multiple works Order n.d. first, then dates from oldest to newest, and then works in press. Park, G. (n.d.).

Park, G. (2000).

Park, G. (2002a).

Park, G. (2002b, September).

Park, G. (in press).

  Capitalization

Capitalize source titles in the list of references using sentence case capitalization. This means that you should capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle as well as proper nouns. Capitalize titles of journals, magazines, newspapers, and newsletters using title case. This means that you should capitalize all major words or minor words of more than four (4) letters.
Variations Examples
Titles of sources
(e.g., books, chapters, articles, reports) 		First and second generation immigrant educational attainment and labor market outcomes: A comparison of the United States and Canada.
Journal titles American Sociological Review
Magazine titles Education Digest
Newspaper titles Washington Post

     Italicization

Italicize stand-alone titles, such as books, periodicals, reports, films, etc. Also italicize numbers of volumes following periodical titles. Do not italicize titles that make up parts of a greater whole, such as articles, chapters, blog posts, episodes, etc. Do not italicize comments and supplementary information that appears in parentheses or brackets.
Variations Examples
Book Handbook of research on multicultural education (2nd ed.)
Periodical, volume American Sociological Review, 76
Report Statistics in brief: New Americans in postsecondary education: A profile of immigrant and second-generation American undergraduates (NCES 2012-213)
Webpage Is it safe to date during the coronavirus pandemic?
Article | Chapter Negotiating blame as a fat child's parent: A case study.
Comment on a periodical article News outlets illustrated pandemic articles with (often distorted) photos of beaches, even though open-air spaces offer low-risk ways for people [Comment on the article "America is trapped in a pandemic spiral"]

  Abbreviation

The APA manual suggests the following abbreviations.
Abbreviation Term
ed. | 2nd ed. edition | second edition
Rev. ed. revised edition
Ed. | Eds. editor | editors
Narr. | Narrs. narrator | narrators
Trans. translator(s)
n.d. no date
p. | pp. page | pages
Vol. | Vols. volume | volumes
No. number
Pt. part
Tech. Rep. technical report
Suppl. supplement
para. | paras. paragraph | paragraphs

  Punctuation

Use punctuation marks in reference list entries to separate elements or group parts within the same element.
Variations Where to use punctuation Example
Period . after initials in authors' names

after dates

after titles

after the final locational element, but not after DOIs or URLs.



after reference abbreviations		 Fuchs, L. H.

(2017).

Psychology crime.

Roudledge.
OR
American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000168-000

Vol. 3 OR 3rd ed., OR p. 210
Comma , between each author's last name and initials

between author names

between periodical title and volume number

between periodical issue number and page numbers

between year and month or season



between cities and countries or cities, states, and countries


between elements appearing within the same parentheses		 Fuchs, L. H.

El-Sheikh, M., Beauchaine, T. P., & Moore, G. A.

Review of Educational Research, 71


Review of Educational Research, 71(1), 171-217.

(2016, Spring)
OR
(2018, May 2)

Athens, Greece.
OR
Washington, DC, United States.

(Vol. 3, pp. 221–232).
Parentheses ( ) around dates

around issue no. in periodicals

around edition statements

around a role that describes a contributor other than the author		 (2001)

Journal of Applied Psychology, 65(2)

(2nd ed.)

Fabian, R. (Director)
OR
(B. M. Gulati, Trans.)
Colon : between titles and subtitles Engagement and disengagement at work: Drivers and organizational practices to sustain employee passion and performance.
Semicolon ; to separate co-publishers ACPA College Student Educators International; Stylus
Brackets [ ] around descriptions of sources

around usernames

around title translations		 The godfather [Film].

[@APAeducation]

Ē Amerikanikē poiēsē stēn Ellada [American poetry in Greece].
En Dash– in page ranges pp. 84–92