Adding References to a Paper (APA 7)

A clear reference list makes a paper easier to verify and grade. It also provides clear evidence that the writer is basing their paper on well-researched evidence. Good references begin with good source details. A steady process – gather, choose the correct type, then format – prevents most errors.

This guide explains a simple workflow for APA 7 papers and shows where common mistakes tend to appear.

What this article covers

• What to gather before formatting

• How to pick the correct reference type

• A steady add-review-sort workflow

• A quick checklist for accuracy

Step-by-step workflow

1. Gather source details
   When you are doing your research, make sure you take note of the work's author, date, title, and publisher information. For journal articles, also collect the volume number, issue number, page numbers, and DOI. For webpages, add the website name and URL.

2. Choose the reference type
   Books, journal articles, webpages, and every other APA reference type follow different rules and have slightly different formats. In the APA 7th Edition, you pick the reference type based on the original form of the source – not where it was found. For example, an journal article you read on a website is still a journal article.

3. Format the entry
   APA references are broken into four parts: Author part, Date part, Title part, & Source part. We have a full lesson on book, journal article, and webpage references coming up next.

4. Add to the References page
   Place each reference entry on it's own line under the References heading, double spaced, with a 0.5″ hanging indent.

5. Sort alphabetically
   Order entries by the first author’s last name. If there is no author, sort by the first significant word of the title. There are a lot of smaller

6. Run a quick punctuation pass
   Check for periods, commas, parentheses, and spacing. For DOIs and URLs, present active links and omit the period at the end.

Tip: A short note in the draft for each source (for example, “supports claim in paragraph 4”) helps match citations to references later.

Quick checklist

▢ Author, date, title, and source details gathered
▢ Correct reference type chosen
▢ Entry formatted to type rules
▢ Added with double spacing and 0.5″ hanging indent
▢ Alphabetical order confirmed
▢ DOIs/URLs active, with no period at the end

With PERRLA

PERRLA takes care of the entire workflow above. We help you find the reference information, create & format the reference, and build your reference section from scratch. We handle all of the nuanced, complicated formatting rules for every single type of APA reference.

Check out how PERRLA works below:

Download PERRLA's APA 7 Checklist

It's a lot to remember all the rules, and if you aren't letting PERRLA do the formatting for you, use our brief checklist for your next APA 7 paper. Click here to get your copy now!

Next Article: Formatting a Book Reference

Related articles

• APA 7 References Page (Student Papers)

• Formatting a Book Reference (APA 7)

• Formatting a Journal Article Reference (APA 7)

Note for instructors & students: This article follows APA 7 student paper conventions.