A reference entry is a form with four fields in a fixed order: who, when, what, where. Read the metadata off the source card, type it into the slots, and the APA 7 entry assembles itself on the right with a hanging indent. An inspector grades every field as you type and tells you which rule the field is testing.
Step 1 · What kind of source is it?
Step 2 · The source, as it actually appears
Step 3 · Fill the four fields 0 of 0 clean
Your entry hanging indent, half an inch
Fields passing inspection 0%
The other half · what this entry answers to in your text
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A reference entry with no in-text marker anywhere in the draft reads to an instructor as padding. A marker with no entry is an orphan. Both halves, both directions, every time.