What is a Reference Page? 

A reference page, also known as a bibliography or works cited, collects all of the sources used in writing a paper into one place. Usually, this page goes at the end of the paper. It is important to understand that a reference page is a part of the paper. In academic writing, you need to use sources as evidence to support your claims. 

What is the Point/Why do we Cite?

Properly citing the work of others is important for a few reasons. 

• Citations make your work more credible.
• Citations make sure you are not plagiarizing someone else's work.
• Citations allow the reader of your work to find the original sources for themselves.

Citations consist of both in-text citations and the reference page. 

In-text Citations 

In-text citations go right in the main text of your paper. These citations include the author, date, and sometimes the page numbers of the original source. 

• If you do not mention the author or the date in the sentence, your citation will look like this: Scientists say that cats are animals (Author, Date). 
• If the author is mentioned in your sentence, your citation will look like this: Author (Date) says that cats are animals. 
• If both the author and the date are mentioned in your sentence, you do not need a parenthetical citation: In Author's Date paper, they explain that cats are animals. 
• If you are directly quoting a piece of information, include the page numbers in your parentheses: She writes "Cats are animals" (Author, date, page number)

Formatting a Reference Page

• The reference page should have References written at the top, centered and bolded.
• References should be alphabetized by author's last name, or the first word of the title if there is no author for a source.
• The reference page should be double-spaced.
• Each source should have a hanging indent.

APA citations collect information from four main categories: Author/Creator, Date, Title, and Source. Each of these categories has subfields, that change based on what type of source is being cited. 

Citations in APA style use specific capitalization, punctuation, and formatting. 

• Author names are written Lastname, first initial. middle initial. 
• When writing a title, only the first word is capitalized UNLESS there is a subtitle, in which case the first word of the subtitle is also capitalized, or if there are proper nouns (names, countries, etc.) that need to be capitalized.
• The title of a work should be italicized.
• Citations should be double-spaced and should use a hanging indent. A hanging indent means that the first line of the citation is not indented, but every line after is indented. 

Example: Lastname, F.M. (Year of Publication). Title of work: Subtitle of work if applicable. Publisher name. DOI if available

Note about the Microsoft Word References Function

Although the references function on Microsoft Word can be a pretty helpful tool, I don't recommend relying on it for accuracy. Word still uses APA 6 for creating citations, so you will have to go in and edit any reference lists you create using this tool. If you want to experiment with the citations tool, or use it as a resource gathering tool, I think it's a decent starting point, but don't blindly trust it. Someday there may be a citation tool that never makes mistakes, but that day is not today.  

Adding Sources to Your List

1. Click References in Microsoft Word's toolbar. This option sits between Page Layout and Mailings.
2. In the middle of the menu, there is a section called "Citations and Bibliography." Click "Manage Sources" in this section.
3. A menu will appear which displays your current list of sources. If this is your first time using this option, your list will be blank.
4. To add a new reference, click the New... button in the center of the menu.
   • Make sure to set the source type at the top of the box.
   • Use the article's information to fill in the blanks. Knowing where to find this information is half the battle.
   • Many databases will provide a "citation" feature. Use this feature to copy/paste the necessary elements into the proper fields.
   • You will need to click the box labeled "Show All Bibliography Fields" to insert all of the required information.

In-Text Citations

1. Remember to cite all of the information you have used from external sources.  When in doubt, cite your source!
2. To cite your source, click Insert Citation.
3. Click the source you are citing.  This will add a parenthetical, in-text citation to your text.
4. Personal recommendation: Don't use the placeholder function!  It's too easy to forget where you found the information you found.  Don't do this!

Adding the Work Cited Page

1. Click Bibliography and select the appropriate option.
2. The References list will populate. At this point, you will need to change the spacing to double-spaced. 
3. If you are using APA 7, check your references and correct any errors in your citations, they will be there!