An APA reference page contains reference-list entries, which have the complete details of the sources cited in the text. With the help of the information available in the reference-list entry, the reader can track the source and use it to get more details. The reference-list entry is arranged in alphabetical order.
You can classify each entry of the reference into four fundamental parts: (i) author part, (ii) date, (iii) work’s title, and (iv) the reference source.
This part is important, as it decides the position and order of the entries on the reference page. Do not expand the first and the middle names of the authors. Suffixes are allowed in the author part. Here are some examples:
| TEMPLATE | EXAMPLE |
| Surname, F. | Brand, R. |
| Surname, F. M. | Wildeman, J. G. |
| Surname, F. M., Suffix. | Connell, M. R., III. |
The date is given after the author part. It is always given inside parentheses. The date field will take only the year or the month and year or the day, month, and year, according to the nature and medium of publication. If your type of publication requires all day, month, and year, the style to be followed is (Year, Month Day). If the date is unknown, “n.d.,” denoting “no date” is used. For multiple publications with the same author part and date, it is customary to add lowercase letters to the date. Use “in press” if a paper is still not published. See the below examples to get more clarity:
| DATE SCENARIO | TEMPLATE | EXAMPLE |
| Year only | (Year) | (1984) |
| Month & Year only | (Month Year) | (April 2013) |
| Full date | (Year, Month Day) | (2016, August 22) |
| No date | (n.d.) | (n.d.) |
| Same year and author | (Year followed by a lowercase letter) | (1986a) |
| Accepted for publication but not published yet | (in press) | (in press) |
The titles of different works are written in different styles and formatting as per the publication type. The journal title and the book title are italicized; however, the former follows the headline-case while the latter follows the sentence case. Both the journal article and the book chapter are given in plain text and sentence case. See the article on APA citation examples for more details.
Templates (T) and examples (E):
T: Title of the article: Subtitle. Journal Name
E: Performativity and pedagogising knowledge: Globalising educational policy formation, dissemination and enactment. Journal of Education Policy
T: Title of the chapter: Subtitle. Book title
E: Between neoliberalism and neoconservatism: Education and conservatism in a global context. Globalization and education: Critical perspectives
T: Website title
E: The creator of the world
T: Youtube title
E: How to be a successful businessman
This may be any of the page, volume, edition, publisher, and website you choose according to your reference type. For more details, see the article on APA citation examples.
Entries with one author are sorted by date. Entries having no dates come first, then those with publication dates in chronological order, and then entries that are in the press.
Esposito, N. A. (n.d.)
Esposito, N. A. (1968)
Esposito, N. A. (1979a)
Esposito, N. A. (1979b)
Esposito, N. A. (in press)
If you have multiple entries with the same surnames of the first author, give preference to entries with one author, even if the dates of multiple-author entries are earlier.
Flores, N., Jr. (2006)
Flores, N., Jr., & Baker-Ward, L. (2021)
Multiple-author entries are also arranged by date. Entries having no dates come first, then those with publication dates in chronological order, and, finally, entries that are in the press.
Katznelson, R. S., & Bernstein, K. A. (2013a)
Katznelson, R. S., & Bernstein, K. A. (2013b)
Katznelson, R. S., & Bernstein, K. A. (2014)
Entries with the same first author but different subsequent authors are listed as follows: first by the surname of the first author, then by the surname of the second author. If the surname of the second author is also the same, then by the surname of the third author, etc.
McDonald, M., Dupe, R., & Wing, S. E. (2020)
McDonald, M., & Rian, F. L. (2017)
Shin, D. P., Ching, W.-X., & Parker, S. F. (2018)
Shin, D. P., Ching, W.-X., & Wilson, F. P. (2018)
Note that if the first authors have the same surname but different initials, arrange the entries alphabetically by the first initial(s) of the authors irrespective of the number of authors.
Blake, D. M., & Nielson, H. K. (2015)
Blake, T. (2013)
A few example references and their templates are given for your understanding.
The website name is italicized. The format given in the template should be followed for writing the date.
Template:
Author or Organization Name. (Year, Month Day of Publication). Title of the Website. URL
Example:
Smith, K. (2021, June 1). PSYCOM.net. https://www.psycom.net/adhd-children
The book title is given in sentence case and italicized.
Template:
Author Surname1, F. M., Author Surname2, F. M., & Author Surname3, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the chapter in sentence case. In F. Editor1, & F. M. Editor2 (Eds.), Title of the book (pp. #–#). Publisher.
Example:
Shofer, S. (2017). The lost years of opportunity for North Carolina’s ESL students. In X. Rong & J. Hilburn (Eds.), Immigration and education in North Carolina (pp. 25–50). Sense.
The article title is added in sentence case. If page details are available for a journal article, a DOI is not necessary. Do not remove it if given. Include “https://” before the DOI.
Template:
Author Surname1, F. M. (Publication Year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal Title, Volume(issue), page range. URL or DOI
Example:
Valdes, G. (1997). Dual-language immersion programs: A cautionary note concerning the education of language-minority students. Harvard Educational Review, 67(3), 391–429.
The video title is added in sentence case and italicized. The word “Video” is given in brackets after the video title. Add “YouTube” to indicate to the reader that the video is taken from YouTube. Give the URL finally.
Template:
Uploader’s name. (Year, Month Day Published). Video title. [Video]. YouTube. URL
Example:
Smart Student. (2021, February 4). Annotated bibliography: APA format. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8nO9rezBNk