7 APA Formatting Errors in Reference Lists — and How to Fix Them
When the 7th edition of the APA manual was released, academics and editors noticed some changes to reference citations. These changes streamlined citations, but they still took some time getting used to.
Some of my clients are still transitioning into APA 7th edition since many began their dissertation writing when the 6th edition was the latest and greatest version. Understandably, these manuscripts have some discrepancies as my clients work to update the style. Fortunately, part of my job is to catch these discrepancies and update reference list citations accordingly.
Here are the top 10 formatting errors I spot in reference lists, along with tips on how to fix them.
Publisher location – Books no longer require the publisher location, so skip the City, ST format from now on.
Italicized journal title/volume – Always remember to italicize the journal title and volume number (but not the issue number that’s enclosed in parentheses).
Listing only 7 authors – APA 7th edition now allows you to list up to 20 authors for any citation, so you can usually ditch the ellipses, unless your source has 21+ authors.
Retrieved from – The “Retrieved from” structure before the URL for an online source is no longer required. Now, just list the URL.
Missing periods in author names – Remember to add periods between the authors’ initials, along with a space.
Missing page numbers – A chapter in an edited book requires (pp. #-#) included after the book title and before the period.
Alphabetizing errors – Remember to alphabetize your reference list by author.
Not confident in your manuscript’s style and formatting? I’m here to help! Let’s chat about how my APA formatting service can polish your paper.