I have no references to list for the reference section in an APA paper. What do I do?

Answer

If you have written a paper and not cited anything from any source:

  • You have no direct, word-for-word quotations
  • You did not put anyone else's ideas into your own words
  • You did not use anyone else's statistics or numbers
  • You did not back-up or support anything you said with data or quality sources

then you can simply leave the reference page off of your paper.

However, please be aware, that part of writing like a professional and part of writing academic papers is providing back-up and support for your ideas. Even if you think you already know everything on your topic, part of being a professional is knowing that there is a lot you do not know. You may want to consider providing some support in your paper and then including both citations and references.

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  • Last Updated Jun 30, 2020
  • Views 15192
  • Answered By Ashley Librarian

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