Read through the report. Use a highlighter and mark any place where the work of another is referenced.
Use post-it notes and write down all critical information for each and every author or reference used in the report, if they were not compiled in advance.
Insert the references in the report using the author-date method. APA requires using this method of in-text citation in the text of a report for any place in the text where another work is referenced, even indirectly. To do this, when referencing or summarizing a source, insert the author's last name, a comma, and the year of publication for the source enclosed with parentheses at the end of the sentence, (Randall, 2011).
Read through the report and ensure that the language is in past tense or present perfect tense when earlier research of another researcher is referenced. For example, Randall (1998) researched or Jones (1998) has researched ...
Cite direct quotes or concepts from a source by including the specific page or paragraph number following the author's last name and the year of publication at the end of the sentence where the text appears; for example, (Randall, 2011, p. 5) or (Randall, 2011, p. 5, para. 6).
Ensure that your report references direct quotes of less than 40 words by integrating the quotes directly into the text with the use of quotation marks. Start quotations of more than 40 words on a new line. Indent the quote 1/2-inch from the left margin. The author's last name and the page number(s) follow in parenthesis at the end of the quotation.
Compile a complete list of all of the in-text citations in the report into a references section. List all references alphabetically by the authors' last name and first initial. All lines after the first line of each entry should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. Single-space references.
Format the citations in the references section according to the type of publication. However, every citation will contain the name of the author(s), publication date, title, and publication information.
Cite a book by listing the last name of the author, comma, the author's first initial, period. Include the date of publication in parentheses followed by a period. Write the title of the book in italics, capitalizing only the first word and proper nouns. Capitalize only the first letter of the subtitle. List the location of publication, putting the city first and then the abbreviated state or the full country name (e.g. San Diego, Calif., or Budapest, Hungary). For example:
Last name, I. (Year). Title of book (italicized): Only capitalize the first letter of the subtitle. City, abbreviated state name: Publisher.
Reference an article in magazine or journal similarly. Write the last name of the author and their first initial. List other authors by their first initial and their last names, using the serial comma. Write the date of publication in parentheses with a period at the end. Write title of the article in sentence-case, capitalizing the first word after the colon and proper nouns. Write the periodical title and the volume number in italics. Include the issue number in parentheses, followed by a comma, space and the relevant pages. For example:
Author, A., Author, B., & Author, C. (Year). Title of article. <i>Title of Periodical, volume</i> number (issue number), pages.
Reference an online article by following the same guidelines for printed articles. Include all information the online host makes available, including an issue number in parentheses and include either the URL or the DOI, if available, and the date the article was last accessed. For example:
Author, A. (Date of publication). Title of the article. Title of the Online Publication, volume number(issue number). Retrieved from http://www.website.com/URL/address
Review the in-text citations in the report. Check that each reference in the body of the report has an accompanying bibliographic citation at the end of the report in the references section.
Print the report or save as a PDF. Turn in to a professor or distribute to the intended audiences or publications.