© 2016 by Sierra College. This handout may be freely reproduced for educational purposes, but it may not be published for profit.
Creating a Reference List (APA 7
th
Edition) in Microsoft Word
Adding a Page
1. To start your reference list on a new page, click after the last sentence of your paper.
2. Click the Insert tab and click Page Break in the Pages group. (Or click Pages and choose
Page Break.)
Typing the Title
1. Click the Home tab.
2. Click the Center button in the Paragraph group.
3. Type the title “References” in bold.
4. Press the Enter key.
5. Click the Align Left button in the Paragraph group.
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Setting a Hanging Indent (Option 1)
The first line of each citation starts on the left margin, but all lines after the first are indented ½
inch. There are two ways to set this hanging indent:
1. Click the Home tab.
2. Click the lower right
corner of the Paragraph group.
3. Under Indentation, set Special to Hanging, and click OK.
Setting a Hanging Indent (Option 2)
1. Click the View tab. Click the Ruler box. A ruler will appear at the top of your document.
2. At the left margin on the ruler, place the tip of the pointer (cursor) on the lower
triangle-shaped indent marker. (The words Hanging Indent will appear when the cursor
is in the right position.)
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3. Drag the lower marker ½ inch to the right.
Typing Citations
Type the information about your first source. When you get to the end of a line, do not press
the Enter key. Continue typing and the text will wrap around to the next line, which will be
automatically indented. Press the Enter key one time at the end of each citation.
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Setting a Hanging Indent after Typing Citations
• If you have already typed the information about your sources without a hanging indent,
drag the mouse over the citations to select them, and follow the above directions for
“Setting a Hanging Indent.”
• If a line that should be indented is not, click the Show/Hide button (¶) in the Paragraph
group on the Home tab. Delete the paragraph symbols (¶) at the ends of the lines,
keeping one ¶ symbol at the end of each citation.
Updated March 2021. The instructions on this handout apply to Microsoft Word 2019 and Office 365. Your
desktop may look different depending on your computer’s settings, as well as the version of Word.
Delete ¶ symbol
that is not at the
end of a citation.
