APA 7th Edition Referencing Guide1

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What does an APA reference list entry look like? 

Unlike in-text citations, which require just a few basic details, each reference list entry is a detailed record of the source from which you have taken information. It typically consists of:

• The author's surname/family name and initials, or the name of the company, government department, or organisation. that authored the work.

• The date the work was published, typically the year but sometimes the month and day are required.

• The title of the work.

• The source of the work. This could be the name of a publisher, or a URL or DOI for online sources.

You may have to include additional information when referencing some sources (for example, edited book chapters and journal articles). It's best to check how to reference each resource in this guide or Publication Manual. 

How should I format my reference list?

These guidelines will help you properly format your reference list in APA style:

• Begin the reference list on a new page at the end of your assignment.

• Title the reference list References in bold and centred at the top of the page.

• Order your reference list alphabetically by author.

• Apply a hanging indent to each reference list entry. This means that the first line of each entry is left aligned, while the second and subsequent lines are indented (the Publication Manual recommends 0.5"—the default in Microsoft Word).

• The Publication Manual also recommends double-line spacing within and between reference list entries, but check your tutor or department's preferences.

How do I reference multiple sources from the same author?

Multiple information sources with no dates

• Any information sources with no dates should precede sources with given dates
• If more than two sources have the same author and no date, add an -a, -b, -c after the n.d. so they will be clearly distinguishable in the in-text citations

Multiple information sources with dates

• If a source has the same author and the same year (or same year, month and day) of publication, order the entry alphabetically by the title
• If a webpage has the same author and the same year of publication but different month/day, order the entry chronologically, with the oldest date first
• Add an a, b, c etc. immediately after the years which are the same so they will be clearly distinguishable in the in-text citations
• In-text citations for sources with full dates will need the year and letter, but not the month or day

Example with full dates

Example with no dates

Example for sources that only have a year 

More than one author with the same last name

Order authors that share the same surname alphabetically according to their first name.

How can I cite the same source multiple times in the same paragraph?

Including an in-text citation after every sentence that contains paraphrased material can be a little distracting. If you are citing from the same source in consecutive sentences within the same paragraph, you don't necessarily need to repeat the full in-text citation.

To avoid over-citation:

• Introduce the source of the information using author and date early in the narrative of the paragraph.
• Refer to the source by the author's name, description (e.g. "the research shows...") or pronoun (e.g. "they also state ...") in subsequent sentences.
• The year can be omitted from a citation only when multiple narrative citations to a work appear within a single paragraph.
• Ensure it is obvious to your reader that the information you are referring to comes from the same source.
• Do not include only a page number in your sentence.

Examples

Author with a middle name

The example below shows how to reference a book with a middle name. If you are given the full middle name, for example, Richard Karl Jones, use the first initial just like you would with the first name.

Examples

How do I reference a U.S. patent?

When referencing a US patent, give the name of the inventor, the year in which the patent was issued, the patent's title, patent number, and URL. For example:

Examples

Title Case and Sentence case

Title Case Means Each Word Starts With a Capital Letter (apart from minor words like "of", "and" "a").

Sentence case means only the first word starts with a capital letter, just like when you write a sentence. In a sentence, only the first word gets a capital. Note: if there are proper nouns, like people's names, place names, an organisation's name etc, they keep their capital.
 

Should I use the te reo Maaori or English name of a government department?

As both names are official, you can choose to use one or the other, or the full bilingual names (both). Make sure you are consistent throughout your assignment and that the name used in your in-text citations matches your reference list.

If you are using both, separate them with a hyphen. For example, Manatū Hauora-Ministry of Health.

What do I include for a bilingual title?

If the source has a bilingual title, you must have all parts of the title.

The order would be:

First language title: Second language title: Subtitle (if applicable).