Question

Which of the following statements are true about listing authors in your APA references? (Choose all that are correct.)

a) Use initials for the first and middle names of authors.
b) List authors in alphabetical order by their last names.
c) Use an ampersand (&) instead of "and" when listing multiple authors.
d) Italicize the titles of books and journals.

Answer 1

The statements (a), (c), and (d) about using initials for first and middle names, using an ampersand for multiple authors, and italicizing titles of books and journals in APA references are true. Statement (b) is partially accurate; references are alphabetized by authors' last names in the reference list.

Step-by-step explanation:

In APA references, you should use initials for the first and middle names of authors, which means statement (a) is true. Your citation should look something like this: Author's Last Name, Initials. (Year of Publication). Title of the book. Publisher.

The correct way to list multiple authors in an APA reference includes using an ampersand (&) instead of "and" before the last listed author's name, so statement (c) is also true. For instance: Author's Last Name, Initials., & Author's Last Name, Initials.

The statement (d) about italicizing the titles of books and journals is also correct. The format should be: Title of the Book or Journal.

Regarding statement (b), authors are not listed in alphabetical order by their last names in the citation itself; rather, the reference list should be alphabetized by authors' last names. However, within a single citation, if multiple works by the same author are cited, they should appear in chronological order of publication, not alphabetically.