9+ Reference List Template for Academic Writing

You will definitely need an academic reference list template when you want to produce your own writing. If you want the writing to be legit and considered legal, you will have to consider such a template to help you produce the outcome.

Contents

What Is a Reference List?

There are different kinds of reference lists and their purposes. Some of them are used for job seeking while some are used for academic purposes. When you are writing, there are some sources that you will refer to. That’s called the reference list. The aim is to help your readers find your resources easily. The reference list also gives professional credits to the sources, especially the authors, that you have consulted to. If you have referred cites in the articles, texts, or works, they should have the reference list. What if you have personal communications via emails or conversations? Those are exceptions because you can’t retrieve the documents.

How to Format the Reference List

If you see the reference list template example, you will see a certain construction or structure. So, how do you compose the list?

  • Title, which also includes the word ‘References’
  • It is a hanging indent with 5 to 7 spaces for the second and also subsequent lines for each reference
  • Ampersand for 2 to 6 authors use. You need to use ‘&’ before writing the final author
  • Space between references which include double space in between
  • You should remove the underlines so the underscores will be seen
  • One author and two publications. You should write it by the publication year – the earlier year should be written first. If there are the same years of publications, use ‘a’ and also ‘b’ after the year and it should be written inside a bracket. For instance, Morrison, K. (1999a).
  • Upper case or capital letter. You need to use the headline style with all words being capitalized, except for the prepositions and articles if you are writing the journal title. If you are writing a title for the article or book, you only capitalize the first word.
  • The same first author but different second author. You need to arrange it in alphabetical order by the subsequent or second authors.
  • Place of publication. The full abbreviation city should be written.
  • Page range. When you are writing a page range, use an en dash instead of the hyphen. There shouldn’t be any gaps in between the en dash and the numbers.
  • Use the square bracket. The square brackets are included if the resource is considered important for the medium, format, and description.

Consulting the Right Sources

When you want to choose the right source, consider these things:

  • Be sure to choose different kinds of reference list template, especially with variations of forms, such as a reference for one author, one author with multiple works, three authors, or more than seven authors.
  • Choose reliable sources with easy way of downloading and keeping. Those with complicated procedure should be avoided, unless you don’t mind with it.
  • Be sure to choose the one with simple arrangement and extensive collections, especially with different layouts, formats, types, and such thing alike.

In the end, making the reference list doesn’t have to be complicated or difficult as long as you know which reference list template to choose.

Download Template

File Description File size Downloads
Reference List Template 820 KB 290

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