All citations used in the body of the paper must appear in a more detailed format on the reference list.
- Every resource cited in the text of your paper must be listed alphabetically in the Reference List. Likewise, every resource in the Reference List must be cited in-text (see the In-Text Citation tab for examples). The only exceptions are classical works such as the Bible and personal communications, like an interview.
- Keep in mind that no other references should appear in this list, only those that have been cited in the paper. The reference list starts on a new page after the last page of the body of the paper. Use the page break feature in your word processor to start this new page.
- Title the page “References,” centered at the top of the page but not in bold. Do not use titles such as Bibliography or Works Cited.
- References are always listed in alphabetical order by the author’s last name and initial of first name or the title of a web page or organization, if the organization is listed as the author of a resource.
- References are double-spaced with the first line of a reference flush with the left margin and each additional line indented 5 spaces to the right or 1/2 inch. This is called a hanging indent. Use the hanging indent tool in your word processor (found under paragraph formatting).
All Reference List resources follow a formula. See the Purdue OWL for Reference List examples, watch their vidcast or click on the subpages in order to see the formula and specific examples.