APA Format Citation Page Example | Sample Student Page

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An APA format citation page example shows a double-spaced, alphabetized reference list on a new page with hanging indents and full source details.

The reference page is often the last thing you build in a paper and the first place instructors check for accuracy. A clear citation page makes your research easy to follow and helps you avoid point losses for formatting errors.

In APA Style, that last page is called the reference list. This guide walks through what an APA citation page is, how it should look, a full APA format citation page example, and simple templates you can copy for your own assignments.

What Is An APA Citation Page?

An APA citation page is the final page of your paper where you list every source you cited in the text. In APA 7th edition, this page is titled References and follows a clear, repeatable pattern so readers can find your sources quickly.

The reference page usually:

  • Starts on a new page right after the main text of your paper.
  • Uses the single heading References, centered and in bold.
  • Lists entries in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name.
  • Uses a hanging indent so the first line of each entry is flush left and the rest are indented.
  • Includes every work you cited in the paper and nothing extra.

When this page is set up well, anyone who reads your work can see at a glance who wrote the sources you used, when they were published, and where those sources came from.

APA Format Citation Page Example Layout

When you search for an apa format citation page example, what you usually want is a mental picture of the finished page before you start typing. Layout comes first, then the small details inside each entry.

Use these layout rules as your base. Once they are in place, you can drop in references for books, articles, websites, and more without reshaping the page every time.

Core Rules For An APA Reference Page
Layout Feature Requirement Extra Notes
Page Start Begin on a new page after the main text. Keep the same running head and page number style as the rest of the paper.
Page Title Use the heading References, centered and in bold. No underline, quotation marks, or extra styling.
Order Of Entries Alphabetical by first author’s last name. Use the title if there is no author; ignore “A,” “An,” and “The.”
Spacing Double-space the entire list. No extra blank lines between entries.
Indentation 0.5 in. hanging indent for each entry. First line flush left; next lines indented.
Font And Size Same as the rest of the paper (e.g., 12 pt Times New Roman, 11 pt Calibri). Pick a legible font and stay consistent.
Margins Standard 1 in. margins on all sides. Let your word processor handle this in the page setup.
DOIs And URLs Include DOIs or stable URLs for online sources when available. Links can be blue and underlined or plain text, but choose one style for the page.

The official APA reference list setup page shows this same structure with a sample student paper, and the Purdue OWL reference list basic rules page backs up the same layout rules for assignments in APA Style.

Sample References Page In APA Style

The sample below shows how a finished reference page might look once you apply those layout rules. In your document, everything stays double-spaced with the hanging indent applied. 

References

Brown, L. M., & Davis, R. T. (2022). Study habits and grade outcomes in first-year students. Journal of College Learning, 18(3), 45–63. https://doi.org/10.1234/jcl.2022.0045

Garcia, P. R. (2020). Writing research papers in the social sciences. Hilltop Press.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2021). Undergraduate enrollment trends, 2010–2020 (NCES 2021-345). U.S. Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2021/2021345

Nguyen, A. K. (2019). Online collaboration tools for group projects. In S. Patel & J. Hill (Eds.), Teaching in the digital classroom (pp. 89–108). Skybridge Academic.

University Writing Center. (2023, May 5). Creating an APA reference page. Campus Writing Resources. https://writingcenter.example.edu/apa-reference-page

Every entry follows the same pattern: author, year in parentheses, title, source, and DOI or URL when needed. Notice that only specific parts are in italics and that periods and commas fall in the same spots from one entry to the next.

Apa Citation Page Example For Students

A student-friendly apa format citation page example usually starts from the stack of sources you already used in your draft. The goal is to turn that rough list into a clean page that matches your in-text citations and uses the right template for each source type.

From Rough List To Finished Reference Page

  1. Gather Every Source You Cited.
    Pull your books, articles, websites, and any class handouts you quoted or paraphrased. If it appears in the text, it must appear on the reference page.
  2. Identify The Source Type.
    Decide whether each item is a journal article, print book, e-book, webpage, report, chapter in an edited book, or something else. The pattern you use depends on this step.
  3. Match Each Source To A Template.
    Use a template for that source type and plug in the author, year, title, and source details in the right order.
  4. Draft Each Entry.
    Type each reference on its own line as a regular paragraph. Do not number the list or use bullet points.
  5. Alphabetize The List.
    Sort entries by the first author’s last name. If the same author has more than one work, order them by year.
  6. Apply Hanging Indents And Final Spacing.
    Turn on double spacing for the page and set the hanging indent to 0.5 inches so your list looks like the sample above.

Frequent Student Mistakes To Watch For

  • Using the title “Work Cited” or “Bibliography” instead of References.
  • Forgetting the hanging indent so every line starts at the left margin.
  • Leaving entries in the order they were used instead of alphabetical order.
  • Mixing fonts or font sizes between the paper and the reference page.
  • Dropping DOIs or URLs for online articles and reports when they are available.
  • Listing works that never appear as in-text citations or missing works that do.

A quick check for these common errors before you turn in your paper can save you easy points and make your work look polished.

Step-By-Step Setup In Your Document Editor

Once you know what a good reference page should include, the next step is to set up your document so the layout takes care of itself. Most of the work comes from just a few settings in Word or Google Docs.

Setting Up An APA Reference Page In Microsoft Word

  1. Create a new page after your last paragraph by inserting a page break.
  2. Type the heading References, center it, and make it bold.
  3. Place your cursor on the next line, change alignment back to left, and keep the text in plain style.
  4. Select all future reference entries, open the Paragraph dialog, and set line spacing to “Double” with no extra space before or after paragraphs.
  5. In the same dialog, set “Special” indentation to “Hanging” and “By” to 0.5 inches.
  6. Check that your font and margins match the rest of the paper (for example, 12 pt Times New Roman, 1 in. margins).

Setting Up An APA Reference Page In Google Docs

  1. Insert a page break after the end of your paper so the reference page stands alone.
  2. Type References, center it, and make it bold. Then press Enter and switch back to left alignment.
  3. Select the text you will use for the reference entries, open the “Line & paragraph spacing” menu, and choose “Double.”
  4. With the same text selected, open “Format > Align & indent > Indentation options,” set “Special indent” to “Hanging,” and choose 0.5 inches.
  5. Confirm that your document still uses standard 1 in. margins and a readable font, such as 11 pt Calibri or 12 pt Times New Roman.

Once these settings are in place, you can focus on the content of each entry instead of wrestling with spacing and tabs.

Common Source Templates For Your Citation Page

APA Style explains that almost every reference entry grows from four basic parts: the author, the date, the title, and the source. Once you see those parts, it becomes easier to pick the right pattern and shape each reference so it matches the rest of your apa format citation page example.

Common APA Reference Templates
Source Type Basic Format Quick Example
Journal Article Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Article title. Journal Title, volume(issue), page–page. https://doi.org/xxxxx Lopez, J. P. (2021). Study skills in online courses. Online Learning Review, 9(2), 33–47. https://doi.org/10.0000/olr.2021.0092
Print Or E-Book Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book. Publisher. Harris, D. R. (2020). College writing made clear. Summit Press.
Chapter In Edited Book Author, A. A. (Year). Chapter title. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Book title (pp. xx–xx). Publisher. Kim, L. S. (2019). Peer review in writing classes. In T. Brown (Ed.), Teaching first-year writing (pp. 55–74). Hillside Press.
Webpage On A Site Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Page title. Site Name. URL Singh, R. (2022, August 10). Managing time during exam weeks. Campus Learning Hub. https://www.campushub.edu/time-management
Online Report Organization Name. (Year). Title of report (Report No. xxx). Publisher. URL World Education Council. (2021). Student reading habits 2020–2021 (Report No. 18). World Education Council. https://www.wec.org/reports/18
YouTube Or Streaming Video Author, A. A. [Channel Name]. (Year, Month Day). Video title [Video]. Platform. URL Rivera, C. [Rivera Studies]. (2023, March 4). How to format an APA reference page [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/xxxx
Dataset Author, A. A. (Year). Title of dataset (Version) [Data set]. Publisher. DOI Lee, S. J. (2020). Student study time and grades (Version 2) [Data set]. Campus Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.0000/cda.ssg.v2

You can compare your own entries to these patterns and to official examples on APA Style and Purdue OWL pages whenever you are unsure about punctuation or italics.

How To Choose The Right Template

  • Look at the item in your hands or on your screen. Is it a whole book, a chapter, an article, a page on a site, a video, or a dataset?
  • Check for clues: journal name, volume and issue numbers, page range, publisher, or report number.
  • Match those clues to the closest row in the template table and follow that format step by step.
  • If a detail is missing (such as a date), follow the APA Style rule for that gap, such as using “n.d.” for “no date.”

Final Tips For A Clean Reference Page

At this point, your reference page should have the right title, layout, and source patterns. Before you submit your paper, take a short pass through the list with these checks in mind.

  • Every in-text citation has a matching entry on the reference page, and every entry is cited in the text.
  • Author names follow the “last name, initials” pattern and use the same spelling everywhere.
  • Years are correct and appear right after the authors in parentheses.
  • Titles follow sentence case (only the first word and any proper nouns capitalized), with italics used only where the template calls for them.
  • Punctuation is consistent: commas, periods, and parentheses appear in the same places across similar entries.
  • DOIs and URLs work, are not broken across lines in odd ways, and use a single style on the page.

When your reference list looks like the sample apa format citation page example in this guide, you give your reader a clear map of your research and show that you have taken care with every part of the assignment.