An APA style bibliography is a list of all the sources you have cited in your paper, organized alphabetically by the author's last name. Here's a breakdown of how to format it:
1. Basic Formatting:
* Heading: "References" centered at the top of the page.
* Font: Times New Roman, 12pt.
* Spacing: Double-spaced throughout.
* Hanging Indent: The first line of each entry is flush with the left margin, and subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches.
2. Entry Structure:
Each bibliography entry contains the following information in a specific order:
* Author(s): Last name, first initial (and middle initial if available).
* For multiple authors, separate with an ampersand (&).
* If more than 20 authors, list the first 19 followed by "et al."
* Year of Publication: In parentheses after the author(s).
* Title: Capitalize only the first word and proper nouns.
* For journal articles, italicize the title.
* For books, italicize the title and capitalize all major words.
* Source:
* Journal articles: Journal title (italicized), volume number (italicized), issue number (if applicable), page numbers.
* Books: Publisher location: Publisher.
* Websites: URL in angle brackets (< >).
* Other sources: Use appropriate formatting depending on the type.
3. Examples:
Journal Article:
> Smith, J. D., & Jones, A. B. (2023). The impact of social media on mental health. *Journal of Social Psychology*, *100*(2), 123-145.
Book:
> Brown, L. M. (2022). *Psychology of learning: A guide for students*. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Website:
> American Psychological Association. (2023). *APA Style*. https://apastyle.apa.org/
4. Additional Notes:
* In-text citations: Use the author-date format (Smith & Jones, 2023) within your paper.
* Capitalization: Capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle, proper nouns, and the first word after a colon.
* Italics: Italicize journal titles, book titles, and volume numbers of journals.
* Page numbers: Include page numbers for journal articles and book chapters.
* URLs: Include URLs for websites.
* Consistency: Maintain consistent formatting throughout your bibliography.
Resources:
* Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA): The official guide to APA style.
* APA Style website: https://apastyle.apa.org/
Tools:
* Citation generators: Online tools like Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote can help generate citations and bibliographies.
* Word processor features: Microsoft Word and other word processors offer citation and bibliography features.
Remember to double-check your bibliography for accuracy and consistency before submitting your paper.