Formatting references in a reference list

Ensure that all in-text references are included in the reference list. Each reference must be complete – including the author, year of publication (but see Unpublished references) and title of the publication – and accurate. The reference list must be internally consistent.

All reference examples in this section:

  • omit punctuation between author names, except for a separating comma when there are 3 or more authors
  • use an ampersand before the last author, editor or publisher
  • enclose the year of publication in parentheses
  • use sentence case for the titles of articles, books and reports; apart from the first word of the title, capitals should only be used for proper nouns
  • have page numbers in full (see Refer readers to page numbers).

The reference examples indicate the additional information required and the style conventions to follow, depending on the publication.

Remember. Even if a document title is published in title case, it is presented in sentence case in the reference list and in an in-text citation; the case used when a work is published is a design choice.

Sentence case or minimal capitalisation means that only the first word and proper nouns start with a capital letter.

Title case means that each word, except prepositions and articles, starts with a capital letter.

This section describes how to present:

Download our quick guide for easy reference: Formatting references.

Remember. Check for consistent use of punctuation in references. In particular, check that each reference ends with a full stop.

User login

... or purchase now

An individual subscription is only A$60 per year

Group and student discounts may apply

Australian manual of scientific style Start communicating effectively

Purchase