APA 7 bibliography: how to create one with an example

What bibliography means in an APA paper

Some students confuse a bibliography with the list of sources at the end of a paper. In APA Style papers, a reference list is required and must include the cited sources that readers can retrieve.

A bibliography serves a different purpose. It brings together background or recommended reading and may include sources that were not cited in the text. It is optional in APA Style and should be added only when required by your instructor, institution, or assignment type.

When you need a bibliography

Prepare a bibliography when the instructions specifically request one of these outcomes:

• A list of every work consulted, including works that were not cited.
• Recommended reading for further study.
• An annotated bibliography with a description or evaluation below each work.
• A supplementary list required by your discipline or institution.

Some assignments use “bibliography” as a general name for cited sources. If the instructions do not say whether uncited works belong in the list, ask for clarification before creating two separate lists.

How to create a bibliography in APA Style

APA Style does not provide a separate universal template for a general bibliography because its standard paper format uses a reference list. If your assignment requests a bibliography in APA Style, follow these steps:

1. Confirm whether you should include all consulted works, recommended reading, or both.
2. Format each entry with the APA template for its source type, such as a book, article, or webpage.
3. Include cited sources and any additional reading allowed by the instructions.
4. Alphabetize all entries by author or, when no author is available, by title.
5. Apply double spacing and a 0.5-inch hanging indent.
6. Use the heading requested by the instructor, such as Bibliography or Annotated Bibliography.

The guide to APA reference types helps you choose the correct template for each work. When the assignment does not provide page-formatting directions, you can follow the order, spacing, and indentation used for a reference list.

APA bibliography example

Imagine that a paper cites Alvarez's (2022) book, Morales's (2024) journal article, and Green's (2024) webpage. The student also consults a guide from the Campus Writing Center (n.d.) and Rios's (2021) book for background but does not cite these last two works in the text.

The reference list would contain only Alvarez, Green, and Morales. A bibliography requested by the instructor could contain all five works.

The names and publication details below are illustrative. Notice the hanging indent: the first line of each entry begins at the margin, while subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches.

Bibliography example:

Bibliography

Alvarez, C. M. (2022). Critical reading for university students. Horizon Press.

Campus Writing Center. (n.d.). A practical guide to evaluating the reliability of sources used in university assignments. https://example.com/guides/evaluating-source-reliability

Green, T. P. (2024, April 16). How to determine whether a webpage is reliable for a university paper. Open Library. https://example.com/library/evaluating-webpages

Morales, J. P. (2024). Strategies for evaluating digital sources. Journal of Academic Writing, 12(2), 40-58.

Rios, L. A. (2021). An introduction to finding information. Campus Press.

The Campus Writing Center guide and Rios's book appear because they provided background reading and the assignment allows uncited sources. If the paper required only a reference list, these two entries would not belong there.

The Campus Writing Center and Green entries demonstrate two common webpage formats. See the guide to webpages in APA Style to learn what changes when a date is missing, an organization is the author, or the content changes over time.

What changes in an annotated bibliography

An annotated bibliography adds a paragraph below each entry to summarize, evaluate, or explain the usefulness of the work. References remain in alphabetical order and follow APA formatting. The purpose, length, and content of each annotation depend on the assignment instructions.

Do not turn a regular bibliography into an annotated bibliography automatically. Add annotations only when the assignment requests them.

How to check your bibliography

• You confirmed that the assignment requires a bibliography rather than only a reference list.
• You know whether to include consulted works, recommended reading, or both.
• Every entry follows the APA template for its source type.
• Entries are alphabetized, double-spaced, and use a hanging indent.
• Uncited works provide relevant background or further reading and are allowed by the instructions.
• Annotations appear only when requested.