How to Write an APA Style Bibliography_ 10 Steps

7/25/2019 How to Write an APA Style Bibliography_ 10 Steps

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How to Write an APA Style Bibliography

A bibliography provides an alphabetized list of all of the sources that were used to create an article. It

is a necessary component of any piece of academic research or writing. APA style is most commonly

used to site sources in essays that cover social science topics. It's easy to compile and write an APA-

style bibliography if you put in a little time and effort.

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Steps

1

Begin a new page separate from the text for your bibliography or reference list.A reference

list is different from a bibliography. Find out which one you need. The only difference is that a

reference list includes what you have cited within the text, and sources you have used, but nothing

else. Any other sources you have read or seen, but later discarded because they are irrelevant,

outdated, etc., should never be included in a reference list, but can be included in the bibliography.

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2

Title the page.Center your text, and write "References" or "Bibliography." Don't italicize or

underline the text. Also leave out the quotation marks and period.

3.

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Create an alphabetized list of your sources based upon the authors last name. If the

source you are using contains two or more authors, use the last name of the author listed first on

the title page. According to the 2010 APA manual, list up to 7 authors' names. For 8 or more, list

the first 6 followed by a comma, an ellipsis (or 3 periods), then the last author's name. If a book is

edited and there is no author named, type the editor's name followed by (Ed.). If your source does

not list an author, use the first word of the title to alphabetize the work (not counting words such as

"An" or "The").

4

For each source, list the authors last name and first initials, with a comma separating the

names and initials and periods after the initials. APA calls for initials only to reduce bias. For

example: Smith, M.A.

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5

After the authors name, list the date of publication in parentheses, with a period following

the closing parenthesis.Ex. (2005).

Abbreviate all months except May, June and July. January, for example, becomes Jan.

Follow a consistent dating format. Both "4 Jan. 2007" and "Jan 4, 2007" are acceptable, but be

consistent in all your entries.

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6

List the title of the article.Capitalize only the first word of the title unless subsequent words are

proper nouns. End with a period. This step does not apply if you are referring to an entire book.

Do not put the title in quotation marks or italics.

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7

List the title of the work (book or journal) in italicized text, with a period following the title.

If it is a book (or any other source except a journal), you will capitalize only the first word of the title

unless subsequent words are proper nouns or the first word after a colon, and end it with a period.

For example: How to write an APA-style bibliography. If it is a journal, capitalize all major words,

insert a comma, add the volume number, issue number (in parentheses, if applicable -- if the

journal starts the page numbering of each issue with 1, then include this if the journal continues

page numbering issue to issue for a volume, do not include this), another comma, the page

number(s) and a period to end the journal citation. For example: The Statesman Journal, 59(4),

286-295.

8

List the place of publication of the book (city, state or just city) and then the name of the

publisher, with a colon separating them.Follow the publisher with a period. For example:

Boston, MA: Random House.

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Indent all except the first line of every entry.This is known as a hanging indent.

10.

10

See the APA website or manual for other questions.

ExamplesBook

Morales, L. (1987). The history of Cuba. New York: Franklin Watts.

Ellington, W., Jr., & Henrickson, E.B. (1995). The elements of dance (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan.

Oregon State University Soil Ecology Center (1982).A directory of Community Supported Agriculture
http://www.apastyle.org/


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(CSA) Farms.Columbus, OH: Natural Resources Institute.

Book Chapter

Tizol, W.P. (1976). Brain function and memory. In J.M.O. Corney & H.L. Center (Eds.),An inside look

at what we think we know.(pp. 154-184). Springfield, IL: American Psychiatric Press.

Journal Article

Bauz, R.H. (1982). Manitoba nematodes. Journal of Cool Nematodes, 10, 252-264.

Gillespie, R.C., & Tupac, R.M. (1976). How confident people dance. American Dancing, 225, 82-90.

The lamb business. (11 Sept. 1992). Willamette Valley Lamb, 97, 47-48.

Magazine Article

Pozo, E. R. (19 Nov. 2008). The way she loved me. Personal Literature, 290, 1113-1120.

Encyclopedia Article

Parker, S.A. (1947). Fetal development. In International encyclopedia of pregnancy (Vol. 7, pp. 202-

207). New York: Aesculapius Publishers.

Newspaper Article

Amazing women. (12 Jan. 1955). The Journal News, pp. D11, D14.

Electronic Journal Article From a Database

Tjader, J.W., Coltrane, J.A., & Taylor, A.A. (1995). A history of mockery. American Psychologist, 50,

750-765. Retrieved from PsycINFO database.

Electronic Journal Article (print version)

Rodriguez, G., Puente, S., & Mayfield , J. (2001). Role of upbringing in family attitudes. [Electronic

version]. Journal of Family Research, 5, 117-123.

Website

Summers, M. (2007) Cool scenes. Retrieved August 27, 2007.

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Tips

APA is only one of many bibliography styles commonly used for research papers. If your teacher,

professor, or editor requires a different style, check out the online or in related wikiHow articles for

more information on different citation styles.

Depending upon the style of your research paper, you may need to use citations within the text of

the paper to reference quotations or unique ideas. See How to Cite Sources.

As you compile your research, you may use information from sources other than books. To view

the modifications you will need to make in order to reference other types of sources, visitAPA

Online.
http://www.apastyle.org/http://www.wikihow.com/Cite-Sources

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How to Write an APA Style Bibliography_ 10 Steps