An APA 7 reference list gives full details of every source you cited, in alphabetical order by the first author's surname. It starts on a new page headed "References".
This guide covers page setup, ordering rules and the formats for the source types students use most, all based on the APA Publication Manual, 7th edition.
The Rules Every APA 7 Reference List Follows
- New page, with the heading References centered and bold.
- Double spacing throughout, with a 0.5-inch hanging indent on each entry.
- Entries in alphabetical order by the first author's surname.
- Author, date, title and source in that order; DOIs written as https://doi.org/ links.
- Only sources you cited in the text, and every cited source included.
Page Setup and Formatting
The reference list goes at the end of the paper, after the main text and before any tables, figures or appendices placed at the end. Use the same font and size as the rest of your paper.
| Element | APA 7 rule |
|---|---|
| Heading | References, centered, bold, not italic or underlined |
| Spacing | Double spaced within and between entries |
| Indent | Hanging indent of 0.5 inch (1.27 cm) |
| Italics | Book titles, journal names and volume numbers, report titles, webpage titles |
| Capitalization of titles | Sentence case for article, book and webpage titles; title case for journal names |
| Links | Live or plain text is fine; no full stop after a DOI or URL |
A reference list is different from a bibliography. APA uses a reference list of cited works only; background reading you did not cite stays out.
Order of Entries
Alphabetize letter by letter using the first author's surname, then initials. Treat "nothing comes before something", so Brown, J. comes before Browning, A.
- Same author, different years: earliest year first, with n.d. works before dated ones.
- Same author, same year: alphabetize by title and add a, b, c after the year.
- One author before a group: Lee, K. (2019) comes before Lee, K., & Patel, S. (2017).
- Same first author, different co-authors: order by the second author's surname, and so on.
- Group authors: alphabetize by the full name, such as American Psychological Association.
- No author: move the title to the author position and alphabetize by its first significant word.
A correctly ordered sample list
Brown, J. (n.d.). Notes on coastal erosion. ...
Brown, J. (2018). Shoreline change. ...
Brown, J. (2021a). Sea walls revisited. ...
Brown, J. (2021b). Tidal energy and habitat. ...
Brown, J., & Akande, T. (2016). Dune restoration. ...
Browning, A. (2020). Estuaries. ...
The coastal atlas. (2019). ...
Notice how the undated Brown entry comes first, the two 2021 works carry letters assigned by title, and the jointly written work follows all of Brown's solo works. The no-author entry files under "coastal", ignoring "The".
Author Names in References
Write surnames first, then initials. Separate authors with commas and put an ampersand before the last author. APA 7 lists up to 20 authors in full.
| Authors | Reference format |
|---|---|
| One | Osei, K. A. |
| Two | Osei, K. A., & Ruiz, M. |
| Three to 20 | Osei, K. A., Ruiz, M., & Tanaka, H. |
| 21 or more | First 19 names, an ellipsis, then the final author's name |
| Group | National Institute of Mental Health. |
Use "(Ed.)" or "(Eds.)" after editors' names when an edited book has no overall author.
Books and Book Chapters
APA 7 dropped the publisher location. Give the publisher name only, and add a DOI if the book has one.
Authored book: Hammond, L. D. (2020). Classroom talk that builds understanding. Harvard Education Press.
Edition other than the first: Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics (5th ed.). SAGE.
Edited book: Ruiz, M., & Osei, K. A. (Eds.). (2022). Community health in practice. Routledge.
Chapter in an edited book: Tanaka, H. (2022). Rural clinics and access. In M. Ruiz & K. A. Osei (Eds.), Community health in practice (pp. 45–67). Routledge.
Editors' names in a chapter reference appear with initials first. The page range follows the book title in parentheses.
Journal Articles
Journal articles are the most common source in student papers. Include volume, issue (if any), page range or article number and the DOI.
Article with DOI: Mensah, A., Liu, Y., & Fischer, D. (2021). Peer feedback and writing confidence in first-year students. Journal of Writing Research, 13(2), 211–236. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
Article number instead of pages: Lindqvist, E. (2023). Night-shift work and sleep quality. PLOS ONE, 18(4), Article e0284412. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
The names and DOIs above are illustrative; copy the real DOI from the article page. If an article has no DOI and came from a database, end the reference after the page range. Add a URL only for articles from websites that readers can reach.
Webpages, Reports and Media
Online sources follow the same author, date, title, source pattern. Leave out the site name when it is the same as the author.
Webpage: Sleep Health Foundation. (2023, February 10). Insomnia in shift workers. https://www.example.org/...
Government report: Office for Rural Education. (2022). Teacher supply in rural districts (Report No. 2022-14). Department of Education. https://www.example.gov/...
Newspaper article: Rao, P. (2024, January 8). City adds late-night bus routes. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/...
YouTube video: Khan Academy. (2019, May 2). Introduction to cell biology [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/...
Dissertation from a database: Bose, R. (2021). Teacher retention in rural schools (Publication No. 28412345) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Leeds]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
In the webpage example, the organization is both author and site owner, so the site name is left out. The shortened URLs stand in for full links; in your list, always give the complete URL.
Missing Information and Retrieval Dates
APA 7 gives a fixed substitute for each missing element, so you can cite almost anything.
| Missing | Reference format |
|---|---|
| Author | Move the title to the author position, before the date |
| Date | Write (n.d.) |
| Title | Describe the work in square brackets, e.g. [Map of rail lines in Kenya] |
| Changing content | Add "Retrieved Month Day, Year, from" before the URL |
Retrieval dates are only for pages designed to change, such as a live dashboard or a frequently updated profile. Most webpages and all articles do not need one.
DOI and URL Rules
Include a DOI for every source that has one, even if you read a print copy. Format it as a full https://doi.org/ link, not "doi:" followed by the number.
- Do not write "Retrieved from" before a URL unless you are giving a retrieval date.
- Do not add database URLs; readers cannot use them without your login.
- Do not put a full stop after a DOI or URL.
- Shortened DOIs from shortdoi.org are acceptable if you prefer them.
Common APA Reference List Errors
| Error | Fix |
|---|---|
| Publisher city included | Remove it; APA 7 uses the publisher name only |
| Article titles in title case | Use sentence case: capitalize only the first word, proper nouns and the first word after a colon |
| Journal volume not italic | Italicize the journal name and volume number, not the issue |
| Entries numbered or bulleted | Use plain entries with a hanging indent |
| "doi:10..." format | Write https://doi.org/10... |
| Uncited sources included | Remove them, or cite them in the text |
For single entries, our free citation generator builds APA 7 references with auto-fill from a DOI, ISBN or URL. Always check the result against the source.
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Frequently Asked Questions
List up to 20 authors. For 21 or more, give the first 19, then an ellipsis, then the final author.
No. APA 7 removed publisher locations. Give only the publisher's name.
Yes. Double space within and between entries, with a 0.5-inch hanging indent.
Yes. If the work has a DOI, include it, whatever format you read.
Put the earlier year first. For the same year, alphabetize by title and add a, b and so on after the year.
Yes. In APA 7, the heading is centered and bold.
Not in an APA reference list. It contains only works cited in your text.
Only when the content is designed to change over time. Most webpages do not need one.
Write the organization's full name in the author position, followed by a full stop, for example World Health Organization. Use any abbreviation only in the text, never in the reference.
No. Article, chapter, book and webpage titles use sentence case. Only journal, magazine and newspaper names use title case.