APA reference list entry structure

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APA reference list entry structure

Name:
Date:
Class:
A

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which order does an APA reference list entry use?
A Author. (Year). Title. Source.
B Title. Author. Source. (Year).
2. How should entries in an APA reference list be arranged?
A Alphabetically by the author's surname (A-Z)
B In the order you used them in your work
3. Which entry has the year in the correct APA position?
A Smith, J. Teen screen time. (2023). Health Press.
B Smith, J. (2023). Teen screen time. Health Press.
4. What is a hanging indent?
A Only the first line is indented and later lines sit at the margin
B The first line starts at the margin and any later lines are indented
5. Which list is in correct alphabetical order for an APA reference list?
A Brown, A. then Nguyen, T. then Zhang, L.
B Zhang, L. then Brown, A. then Nguyen, T.
B

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left columnRight column
1Author. (Year). Title. Source. AThe year is in the wrong place. It must come straight after the author, before the title.
2Hanging indent BThe entries are not in alphabetical order. Adams should be listed before Smith.
3Entries in the reference list are sorted A-Z by the first author's surname CThe set order of parts in an APA reference list entry: who made it, when, what it is called, and where it came from
4An entry gives the author, then the year in brackets, then the title, then the source DThe first line of an entry starts at the left margin and any extra lines are indented
5Smith, J. Data privacy. (2021). Tech Press. ELee, A. (2023). Survey design basics. Learning Hub.
6Smith, J. (2021). Data privacy. Tech Press. Adams, R. (2020). Online safety. Net Books. FAustralian Bureau of Statistics. (2022). Census data. ABS. Smith, J. (2021). Data privacy. Tech Press.
C

Definitions

Author. (Year). Title. Source.
D

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

1.
______. (Year). Title. Source.
2.
Author. (____). Title. Source.
3.
Author. (Year). Title. ______.
4.
List entries in ____________ order
5.
Lines after the first use a _______ indent
E

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1
A Adams, J. (2019). Data. Wiley.
B Brown, K. (2020). Data. Sage.
C (2021). Chen, L. Data. Wiley.
Question 2
A Ali, S. (2018). Big data. ABS.
B Zhao, T. (2020). Data. Sage.
C Cole, P. (2021). Data. Wiley.
Question 3
A Patel, R. 2022. Cyber tips.
B Pearson.
C Smith, A. (2020). Web data.
D Wiley.
Question 4
A Lee, S. Data privacy. (2021).
B OAIC. https://oaic.gov.au
C Mills, T. (2019). Data ethics.
D Pearson.
Question 5
A Reid, A. (2019). Data. Sage.
B Smith, B. [2020]. Bias. ABS.
C Tran, C. (2021). Maps. Wiley.

Answer Key

APA reference list entry structure
Section A: Quick Questions
Q1
A — Author. (Year). Title. Source.
Q2
A — Alphabetically by the author's surname (A-Z)
Q3
B — Smith, J. (2023). Teen screen time. Health Press.
Q4
B — The first line starts at the margin and any later lines are indented
Q5
A — Brown, A. then Nguyen, T. then Zhang, L.
Section B: Match the Pairs
Q1
Author. (Year). Title. Source. → The set order of parts in an APA reference list entry: who made it, when, what it is called, and where it came from
Q2
Hanging indent → The first line of an entry starts at the left margin and any extra lines are indented
Q3
Entries in the reference list are sorted A-Z by the first author's surname → Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2022). Census data. ABS. Smith, J. (2021). Data privacy. Tech Press.
Q4
An entry gives the author, then the year in brackets, then the title, then the source → Lee, A. (2023). Survey design basics. Learning Hub.
Q5
Smith, J. Data privacy. (2021). Tech Press. → The year is in the wrong place. It must come straight after the author, before the title.
Q6
Smith, J. (2021). Data privacy. Tech Press. Adams, R. (2020). Online safety. Net Books. → The entries are not in alphabetical order. Adams should be listed before Smith.
Section C: Definitions
Q1
Author. (Year). Title. Source. — An APA reference list entry gives the author, year, title and source in that order. Entries are listed A-Z by author, with a hanging indent on any lines after the first.
Section D: Fill in the Blanks
Q1
Author. (Year). Title. Source.
Q2
Author. (Year). Title. Source.
Q3
Author. (Year). Title. Source.
Q4
List entries in alphabetical order
Q5
Lines after the first use a hanging indent
Section E: Spot the Error
Q1
C — The entry starts with the year instead of the author. An APA entry must follow the order Author. (Year). Title. Source. It should be: Chen, L. (2021). Data. Wiley.
Q2
B — Reference list entries must be in alphabetical order by author surname. Zhao would come after Cole, so it cannot sit between Ali and Cole. The line should start with Baker.
Q3
A — The year must be in round brackets followed by a full stop. It should be: Patel, R. (2022). Cyber tips.
Q4
A — The year goes straight after the author, before the title. The order is Author. (Year). Title. Source. It should be: Lee, S. (2021). Data privacy.
Q5
B — APA puts the year in round brackets, not square brackets. It should be: Smith, B. (2020). Bias. ABS.