How to Format APA Reference Lists the Right Way (Without Losing Your Mind)

Whether it’s your first psychology paper or your fifth, formatting the reference list in APA 7th edition is one of those tasks that always takes longer than expected. You think it’s done — and then:

  • The hanging indents are off

  • Something isn’t alphabetized

  • One DOI has an underscore... the next has a period

  • A web source is missing its publisher

  • And worst of all? You’re losing marks for formatting, not content

This guide will walk you through how to organize APA references manually — and when it makes sense to automate it.

What APA 7 Requires in a Reference List

Here’s what your reference list must follow:

  • Alphabetical order by first author's last name

  • Hanging indents (first line flush left, others indented)

  • Double spacing throughout

  • Correct punctuation, author formats, italics, and DOI links

  • Different formatting rules for journals, books, websites, etc.

Example – Journal Article

Smith, J. A., & Nguyen, T. B. (2020). The psychology of routines. Journal of Cognitive Studies, 24(2), 115–127. https://doi.org/10.1037/abc1234

Example – Book

Adams, L. (2019). Foundations of Behavioral Research (2nd ed.). Insight Press.

Example – Webpage

American Psychological Association. (2021). Stress and student life. https://www.apa.org/student/stress-guide

How to Do This Manually (Step by Step)

1. Alphabetize the references

  • Ignore "The" in titles or organization names

  • If the same author has multiple works, order them by year (earliest first)

2. Apply hanging indents

  • In Word or Google Docs, use the paragraph formatting menu

  • Set “Indentation: Special” to “Hanging” at 0.5 inches

3. Ensure double spacing

  • The entire reference list should be double-spaced, including between entries

4. Format each reference by source type

This is where it gets tedious — APA has different rules for:

  • Journal articles (with or without DOIs)

  • Online articles

  • Books

  • Edited volumes

  • Webpages

  • PDFs and reports

  • ... and more

Each has its own rules for italics, publisher details, retrieval info, and DOI formatting.

Why It’s So Easy to Get Wrong

Even if you know the rules, APA formatting is:

  • Time-consuming: especially for long lists

  • Repetitive: you’re adjusting punctuation, spacing, italics... over and over

  • Inconsistent: if you’re copy-pasting from different sources or databases, formats clash

  • Frustrating: you can lose marks for formatting errors, even if your citations are correct

That’s where using a formatting tool can be a real lifesaver — especially when deadlines loom.

A Smarter Approach: The APA Reference Organizer & Formatter (Pro)

If you want accurate, APA-formatted references without spending hours adjusting every entry, the APA Reference Organizer (Pro) can help.

What it does:

  • 📚 Sorts alphabetically (even with messy inputs)

  • 📏 Applies hanging indents and double spacing

  • 🧠 Detects source type (journal, book, website)

  • 🔗 Cleans up DOIs and links automatically

  • 📝 Gives feedback if something’s broken or missing

  • 📄 Lets you copy as styled text, RTF, or plain .txt

You paste your references (even if they’re inconsistent), and the tool re-formats them cleanly — ready to drop into your paper.

When Should You Use It?

  • You’ve gathered your references but don’t want to manually format them

  • You’re worried about losing marks for spacing or punctuation

  • You want to see feedback on what might be missing or incorrect

  • You’re working with mixed reference types and need them styled correctly

You still need to ensure your sources are correct — but this tool handles the fiddly formatting so you can focus on what matters: your writing.

Simply Put

APA reference formatting is a skill — but it’s also a chore. Learn the rules once, and then use tools that respect those rules to save your time.

👉 Try the APA Reference Organizer Pro

References

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).

Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). APA formatting and style guide (7th edition). Purdue University.

APA Style Blog. (n.d.). Style and grammar guidelines: Tables and figures. American Psychological Association.

Table of Contents

    JC Pass

    JC Pass is a specialist in social and political psychology who merges academic insight with cultural critique. With an MSc in Applied Social and Political Psychology and a BSc in Psychology, JC explores how power, identity, and influence shape everything from global politics to gaming culture. Their work spans political commentary, video game psychology, LGBTQIA+ allyship, and media analysis, all with a focus on how narratives, systems, and social forces affect real lives.

    JC’s writing moves fluidly between the academic and the accessible, offering sharp, psychologically grounded takes on world leaders, fictional characters, player behaviour, and the mechanics of resilience in turbulent times. They also create resources for psychology students, making complex theory feel usable, relevant, and real.

    https://SimplyPutPsych.co.uk/
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