Gather the list of references used in your research paper. Double-check your paper to make sure you included referencing information for each source you quote. If you find any sources quoted in your paper, but are missing reference information for these sources, return to your original research and retrieve your reference information for these sources.
Organize your list of reference in alphabetical order, based on the last name of the author of each source. If you have a source with multiple authors, use the last name of the first author listed to determine the proper order for your source. If you have a source without a listed author, double-check to make sure the source is legitimate and then alphabetize the source based on the first word in the title of the source.
Rewrite each source in the correct format for your research paper. For instance, the correct citation for a book in the Modern Language Association (MLA) format is author’s name (last name, first name), title of the book (italicized), place of publication (followed by a colon), publisher, year of publication and the type of publication (electronic or print). Divide each section of your citation by periods, as per the MLA format style. If your instructor did not specify a specific format, speak to her immediately and ask her which format she wishes you to use for your references.
Place your references as the last page of your research paper, with the proper title for the page. Make any necessary formatting changes to coincide with the format for your research paper. Double-check the information in each reference to ensure the information is correct. As an example, the Modern Language Association format requires you to title the page “Works Cited,” with the words centered and at the top of the page. It also requires you to use a hanging indent, where each line of the reference after the first is indented one tab.