Answered By: Jonathan Faerber (he/him/his)
Last Updated: Jul 22, 2025     Views: 188

A reference list formatted to the APA Style rules only includes resources that are cited in-text, whereas a bibliography may list resources "for background or further reading" that are not cited in-text  (American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 281). Since every APA Style reference entry should correspond to a resource cited in-text, a reference list formatted to APA Style rules is not a bibliography. Please see Reference Lists Versus Bibliographies for an overview of this distinction; for more information on formatting a reference entries in a list, please see How should I format my reference in APA Style?How should I order my references in APA Style?, and the APA Style (7th ed.) references checklist

Reference

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000