A citation page is the final page of an academic paper where you list every source you referenced in your writing. The exact name, layout, and formatting rules depend on which citation style your assignment requires, but the core process is the same: gather your source information, format each entry according to the style’s template, alphabetize the list, and apply the correct spacing and indentation. Here’s how to build one from scratch.
Know What Your Style Calls It
The first step is identifying which citation style you need, because even the page title differs between them. In MLA, the citation page is called “Works Cited.” In APA, it’s called “References.” Chicago style uses either “Bibliography” or “References” depending on whether you’re using notes-bibliography or author-date format. Your instructor or assignment guidelines will specify which style to follow. If nothing is specified, MLA and APA are the most common in undergraduate coursework.
Center the title at the top of a new page. Don’t bold, italicize, or underline it. It should be in the same font and size as the rest of your paper.
Set Up the Page Format
Regardless of style, citation pages share a few universal formatting rules. Double-space every line, both within entries and between them. Do not add extra space between entries beyond the standard double spacing. Use the same one-inch margins you used throughout your paper.
Every entry after the first line needs a hanging indent: the first line of each entry sits flush with the left margin, and every subsequent line is indented 0.5 inches. This is the opposite of a normal paragraph indent, and it makes it easy for a reader to scan down the left margin and find a specific author or title. In most word processors, you can set a hanging indent through the paragraph formatting menu rather than pressing Tab manually on each line.
For page numbers and headers, the styles diverge slightly. In MLA, your last name and the page number appear right-aligned at the top of every page, including the citation page. In APA, only a right-aligned page number appears at the top of each page.
Build Each Entry
Every citation follows a template that depends on the source type (book, journal article, website, video) and the citation style. The core pieces of information you need for almost any source are the author’s name, the title of the work, the publication date, and where the reader can find it (publisher, journal name, URL, or DOI).
Books
In MLA format, a basic book entry looks like this: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year. In APA, the same book would be formatted as: Last Name, Initials. (Year). Title of book. Publisher. Notice APA uses only the author’s initials, puts the year right after the name in parentheses, and capitalizes only the first word of the title (plus proper nouns).
Journal Articles
Journal entries add the article title, the journal name, volume and issue numbers, and page numbers. In APA: Last Name, Initials. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), page range. https://doi.org/xxxxx. In MLA: Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Journal Name, vol. #, no. #, Year, pp. page range.
Websites
For a webpage, include the author (if available), the page title, the site name, the publication or last-updated date, and the URL. If no author is listed, start with the title of the page. If no date is available, MLA uses “n.d.” isn’t standard but you can note access dates, while APA uses “(n.d.)” in place of the year.
Alphabetize Your Entries
Sort every entry alphabetically by the first word that appears in the citation, which is usually the author’s last name. When a source has no identified author, move the title to the beginning of the entry and alphabetize by the first significant word of the title (ignore “A,” “An,” and “The”).
When you have multiple works by the same author, list them in chronological order with the earliest publication first. If two works by the same author were published in the same year, sort them alphabetically by title and add lowercase letter suffixes to the year: (2023a), (2023b), and so on. This applies in APA. In MLA, you replace the author’s name with three hyphens followed by a period for the second and subsequent entries by that author.
When the same person appears as a sole author in one entry and as the first author of a group in another, list the solo-author entry first. If two entries share the same first author but have different co-authors, alphabetize by the second author’s last name.
Format Tips for Word Processors
Most formatting headaches come from fighting your word processor rather than misunderstanding the rules. Here are the settings to adjust before you start typing entries.
- Hanging indent: In Google Docs, highlight your entries, go to Format > Align & Indent > Indentation Options, and set “Special indent” to “Hanging” at 0.5 inches. In Microsoft Word, right-click the selected text, choose Paragraph, and set “Special” to “Hanging” by 0.5 inches.
- Line spacing: Set spacing to 2.0 (double) and make sure “Add space after paragraph” is set to 0pt. Otherwise your word processor may insert extra gaps between entries.
- Font: Use the same readable font as the body of your paper. APA recommends 12-point Times New Roman, Calibri (11pt), or Arial (11pt). MLA calls for a legible 12-point font like Times New Roman.
If you’re using a citation manager like Zotero, Mendeley, or the built-in tool in Google Docs, it can generate entries automatically. These tools are helpful but not perfect. Always review the output against the style guide, especially for capitalization, italics, and punctuation. Automated tools frequently mishandle details like capitalizing every word in an APA title (where you should only capitalize the first word and proper nouns on the reference list).
Checklist Before You Submit
Once your citation page is drafted, run through these checks. Confirm that every source you cited in the body of your paper has a matching entry on the citation page, and that every entry on the page corresponds to an actual in-text citation. A citation page is not a reading list of everything you consulted; it only includes sources you directly referenced.
Verify that the page starts at the top of a new page, not tacked onto the last paragraph of your paper. Check that the title (“Works Cited” or “References”) is centered and not formatted differently from the body text. Scan each entry to make sure author names are in the correct order (last name first), dates are in the right position for your style, and titles use the correct combination of italics and quotation marks. Books and journals get italicized; article and chapter titles get quotation marks in MLA or no special formatting in APA.
Finally, read through the entries in order to confirm they are truly alphabetical. It’s easy to accidentally sort by first name instead of last name, or to misplace an entry that starts with a title rather than an author.