What does my paper suppose to look like when I put my references in APA format
When formatting your paper with references in APA format, there are a few guidelines to follow:
1. Start with a new page: Begin your reference list on a new page after the main body of your paper.
2. Title: Center the word "References" at the top of the page, without any additional formatting (e.g., bold or italics).
3. Format the references: Each reference should follow a similar format, with a hanging indent for each line after the first one. Here's how to structure individual references:
- Author name(s): List the last name followed by initials of each author. Use an "&" before the last author's name in a multiple author citation (e.g., Smith, J. R., & Brown, A.).
- Publication year: Enclose the year of publication in parentheses.
- Title of the work: List the title of the work in sentence case, capitalizing only the first word of the title, the first word after a colon, and any proper nouns.
- Journal or book title: Italicize the title of the book or journal.
- Volume and issue number (for journal articles): Include the volume number in italics, and in parentheses, include the issue number if applicable.
- Page range (for journal articles): List the page range on which the article appears. For example, (pp. 12-34).
- DOI or URL: If available, include the DOI (Digital Object Identifier), or if the source does not have a DOI, include the URL (web address) of the source.
- Example:
Last name, First Initial. (Year). Title of the work. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), Page Range. DOI or URL
4. Alphabetize the references: Arrange the references in alphabetical order according to the first author's last name. If there is no author, use the first significant word of the title to determine the order.
Remember that these are general guidelines, so it's important to refer to the official APA Publication Manual or use an online APA citation generator for specific formatting examples, especially for different types of sources (e.g., books, journal articles, websites).
By following these instructions, you should be able to format your references in APA style for your paper.