The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, recommends a system of brief in-text citations that refer to a list of references (with full publication information) at the end of the paper.
Some of the formatting instructions that follow reflect APA’s preferences for manuscripts submitted for publication rather than for the final versions printed in its journals. Before formatting your final draft, find out if your instructor has different preferences from the basic APA guidelines that follow. These differences might include the indentation style of the reference list and whether italics can be used instead of underlining.
In addition to following the general conventions described under manuscript form, APA style also covers other aspects of the appearance of the finished manuscript. Students who are preparing laboratory reports and technical papers may want to consult the APA manual for additional information about preparation...
Beginning on a separate page at the end of your paper, list in alphabetical order all the references you cite and give full publishing information for them. Title the list References and center this heading an inch from the top of the page. Double-space both within and between entries, and indent the first line five...
Parenthetical in-text citations should not distract the reader, but they must be complete enough to allow the reader to easily locate the corresponding entry in the reference list. If a specific passage is being quoted or referred to, include the page number (or numbers) in the citation; if the whole work is being referred to,...
In addition to following the general conventions described under manuscript form, APA style also covers other aspects of the appearance of the finished manuscript. Students who are preparing laboratory reports and technical papers may want to consult the APA manual for additional information about preparation...