APA Form Checklist: References

The APA manual gives detailed information about formatting references, and you should consult it frequently. Here is a list to help you avoid some common errors:

• Title "References" should be centered, only "R" capitalized, not underlined. (Do not call this section "Bibliography" or "Works Cited" or anything else: simply "References.")
• Begin this section on a separate page of your paper.
• Double space throughout.
• Do not add extra spacing between references or after the title. (Simply double space.)
• Use hanging indent for each reference. (That is, the first line is to the left margin and the remaining lines, if any, are indented a half inch.)
• Alphabetize the reference list by authors' names. (Do not change the order of authors within a specific citation!)
• Use initials for authors' first and middle names (not full name).
• Space between the initials of the author's name.
• If there are two or more consecutive citations with the same author(s), you still must repeat the author for each citation. (Do not use hyphens or lines as some other formats require.)
• Use ampersand (&) before last author (not "and") in the References section. [In the paper itself, though, spell out "and," except use the ampersand within parenthetical citations.]
• List all authors; do not use "et al." except under the special circumstances described by the APA manual.
• Omit the issue number (except in the rare case of noncontinuous pagination of the issues of a journal).
• Italicize the volume, and the comma that goes after it.
• Separate journal and volume with a comma.
• Separate volume and page numbers with a comma.
• Put a period at the end of the citation.
• Don't capitalize title of article (first word and first word after a colon only, and any proper names, such as names of specific tests).
• Do not include any "special issue" information after a title (though it does appear in PsycLit).
• Capitalize all the major words of the journal name.
• Do not include "The" as the first word of a journal name. (Simply omit it.)
• Spell out all the words in the journal name; don't abbreviate.
• Spell out "and" instead of using an ampersand (&) in the journal name.
• For books, capitalize only the first word (and the first word after the colon in a subtitle).
• For books, include publishing information: city, state (abbreviated, using the standard 2-letter abbreviations on p. 218 of the APA manual), publisher. Omit the state for well-known major cities (which are listed in the APA manual). Include countries if other than the US. Omit unnecessary words from the name of the publisher (such as "Inc." and "Publisher").
• On-line (electronic) references require special formatting; see the APA manual, pp. 268-281.
• Omit the hyphens that PsycLit searches use to connect words in authors' names, journals, etc.
• Check spelling!

Try to get the formatting correct early in the semester. It will pay off later!

Here's a web page that is helpful: Russ Dewey's APA Research Style Crib Sheet:

• http://www.wooster.edu/psychology/apa-crib.html

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