apa owl chapter in a book

APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Article or Chapter in an Edited Book

• General Style Guidelines
• One Author or Editor
• Two Authors or Editors
• Three to Five Authors or Editors

Article or Chapter in an Edited Book

• Article in a Reference Book
• Edition other than the First
• Translation
• Government Publication
• Journal Article with 1 Author
• Journal Article with 2 Authors
• Journal Article with 3–20 Authors
• Journal Article 21 or more Authors
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Basic Web Page
• Web page from a University site
• Web Page with No Author
• Entry in a Reference Work
• Government Document
• Film and Television
• Youtube Video
• Audio Podcast
• Electronic Image
• Twitter/Instagram
• Lecture/PPT
• Conferences
• Secondary Sources
• Citation Support
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Formatting Your Paper

About Citing Books

For each type of source in this guide, both the general form and an example will be provided.

The following format will be used:

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase) - entry that appears in the body of your paper when you express the ideas of a researcher or author using your own words.  For more tips on paraphrasing check out The OWL at Purdue .

In-Text Citation (Quotation) - entry that appears in the body of your paper after a direct quote.

References - entry that appears at the end of your paper.

Information on citing and several of the examples were drawn from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).

Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the manual.

Subject Guide

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Citation guides

All you need to know about citations

How to cite a chapter in a book in APA

To cite a chapter in a book in a reference entry in APA style 6th edition include the following elements:

• Author(s) of the chapter: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to seven authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For eight or more authors include the first six names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
• Year of publication: Give the year in brackets followed by a full stop.
• Chapter title: Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
• Editor(s) or Author of the book: Give the name of the author or editor of the book. If it is an editor, write the name (e.g. J. Smith), followed by (Ed.) or (Eds.) respectively. If not available, omit this part.
• Title of the book: Book titles are italicized. Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalised.
• Page numbers: Give the full page range.
• Place of publication: List the city and the US state using the two-letter abbreviation. Spell out country names if outside of the UK or the USA.
• Publisher: Give the name of the publisher but omit terms, such as Publishers, Co., and Inc. Retain the words Books and Press.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a chapter in a book in APA style 6th edition:

Author(s) of the chapter . ( Year of publication ). Chapter title . In Editor(s) or Author of the book (Eds.), Title of the book (pp. Page numbers ). Place of publication : Publisher .

To cite a chapter in a book in a reference entry in APA style 7th edition include the following elements:

• Author(s) of the chapter: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to 20 authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For 21 or more authors include the first 19 names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
• Editor(s) of the book: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to 20 editors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For 21 or more editors include the first 19 names followed by an ellipsis (…) and the last editor’s name. End with Ed. or Eds., respectively, in round brackets.
• Title of book: Book titles are italicized. Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalised.
• Edition number: Include information about the edition if it is not the first.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a chapter in a book in APA style 7th edition:

Author(s) of the chapter . ( Year of publication ). Chapter title . In Editor(s) of the book (Eds.), Title of book ( Edition number ed., pp. Page numbers ). Publisher .

APA reference list examples

Take a look at our reference list examples that demonstrate the APA style guidelines for a chapter in a book citation in action:

A chapter from a book of short stories with one editor

Edgeworth, M . ( 2010 ). The limerick gloves . In W. Trevor (Ed.) , The Oxford book of Irish short stories ( pp. 27–51 ). Oxford UK : Oxford UP .

Edgeworth, M . ( 2010 ). The limerick gloves . In W. Trevor (Ed.) , The Oxford book of Irish short stories ( pp. 27–51 ). Oxford UP .

A chapter from a book with two editors

Bengtson, D. A . ( 2003 ). Status of marine aquaculture in relation to live prey: Past, present and future . In J. G. Støttrup & L. A. McEvoy (Eds.) , Live feeds in marine aquaculture ( pp. 1-16 ). Oxford UK : Blackwell Science .

Bengtson, D. A . ( 2003 ). Status of marine aquaculture in relation to live prey: Past, present and future . In J. G. Støttrup & L. A. McEvoy (Eds.) , Live feeds in marine aquaculture ( pp. 1-16 ). Blackwell Science .

This citation style guide is based on the official Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association ( 6 th edition).

More useful guides

• OWL Purdue APA style guide on books
• Victoria University APA referencing guide on books
• Columbia College APA LibGuide on books

More great BibGuru guides

• MLA: how to cite an online journal article
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• AMA: how to cite a translated book

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General Example & Explanation

Image Credit: American Psychological Association. (2019). APA Style 7th ed. Quick Reference Guide . Copyright American Psychological Association 2019. Image used with permission. 

Variation - Multiple Authors?

Multiple Authors - 20 Authors or Less?

List all authors up to and including 20 authors. 

Clarke, N., D'Amato, A., Higgs, M., & Ramesh, V. (2018). Responsible leadership in projects: Insights into ethical decision making .  Project Management Institute.

Explanation

List each author's last name first followed by a comma. Then, add the initials for the first and middle names (if there is one). Add a period after each initial. Separate each author with a comma. Insert an ampersand (&) before the last author.

Parenthetical & Narrative Citations

For one or two authors, list all authors in the reference. For three or more authors, list the first author followed by et al. This includes the first time the source is used in the paper. 

Parenthetical Citation Example

(Clarke et al., 2018)

Narrative Citation Example

Clarke et al. (2018) found ......

Multiple Authors - 21 or More Authors?

List the first 19 authors' names, then insert an ellipse, and then add the last author's name.

Gilbert, J. R., Smith, J. D., Johnson, R. S., Anderson, A., Plath, S., Martin, G., Sorenson, K., Jones, R., Adams, T., Rothbaum, Z., Esty, K., Gibbs, M., Taultson, B., Christner, G, Paulson, L., Tolo, K., Jacobson, W. L., Robinson, R. A., Maurer, O., . . . White, N. (2014 ). Choosing a title (2nd ed.). Unnamed  Publishing.

(Gilbert et al., 2014)

Gilbert et al. (2014) ...

More Information

For more information about author format, see Section 9.8 on page 286 of the APA Manual, 7th edition.

Variation - Group Author?

American Psychological Association. (2019). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Group authors include the name of a study group, government agency, association, corporation, task force, hospital, organization, etc. Put the name of the group author in the author position followed by a period. Do not include an abbreviation for the group author within the reference. Abbreviations should only be introduced and used within the body of the paper.

Parenthetical Citation

(American Psychological Association, 2019)

Narrative Citation

American Psychological Association (2019) ....

More information

For more information about group authors, see Section 9.11 on pages 288-289 of the APA Manual, 7th edition.

Variation - Edition?

Smith, S. F., Duell, D. J., Martin, B. C. Aebersold, M. L., & Gonzalez, L. (2016). Clinical nursing skills: Basic to advanced skills (9th ed.). Pearson.

Place the edition number in parentheses after the book title. Follow by "ed." and a period outside the parentheses. There is no period after the book title.

For more information about editions or volumes, see Section. 9.28 on page 295 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

Chapter in an Authored Print Book or Authored Ebook From the CSS Library Ebook Collections Without a DOI

Introduction.

Identifying the format, platform, or device (e.g., ebook, Kindle book, etc.) of a chapter in an authored ebook is no longer needed. A chapter in an authored ebook from an academic collection should be treated as a chapter in an authored print book with the reference ending with the publisher. For a chapter in an authored print book or ebook with a DOI, see Chapter in an Authored Book with a DOI .

More Information:

For more information about citing books, see Section 10.2 on page 321-325 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

Mehrotra, C. M., & Wagner, L. S. (2019).  Aging and diversity: An active learning experience  (2nd ed.). Routledge.

To create a reference for a chapter in an authored book, just create a reference for the entire book. Follow the authored print book  example as a guide for creating the reference in the reference list. Do not include any chapter information within the reference. Instead, within the body of the paper, refer to the Chapter in the parenthetical or narrative citation. 

For more information, see Section 10.2 on page 321 (opening remarks) and Section 8.13 on page 264 of the APA Manual, 7th edition.

Parenthetical & Narrative Citation Examples

Parenthetical citation example:.

(Mehrotra & Wagner, 2019, Chapter 2)

Narrative Citation Example:

According to Mehrotra and Wagner (2019), active learning ..... (Chapter 2). 

More Information:  

For more information about authors in parenthetical and narrative citations, see Section 8.17 and Table 8.1 on page 266 of the APA Manual, 7th edition. 

Chapter in an Edited Print Book or Edited Ebook From the CSS Library Ebook Collections Without a DOI

Identifying the format, platform, or device (e.g., ebook, Kindle book, etc.) of a chapter in an edited book is no longer needed. A chapter in an edited ebook from an academic collection should be treated as a chapter in an edited print book. For a chapter in an edited print book or edited ebook from an academic collection that has a DOI, see Chapter in an Edited Book with a DOI .

Brotzman, S. B., & Novotny, S. R. (2018). Historical perspectives in orthopaedic manual physical therapy. In C. E. Giangarra &

R.  Manske (Eds.), Clinical orthopaedic rehabilitation: A team approach  (4th ed., pp. 2-15). ELSEVIER.

Authors of the Chapter:  Brozman, S. B., & Novotny, S. R.

Begin the reference with the first author's last name. Add a comma after the author's last name. Then, add the author's first and middle name always represented by initials. Add a period after each initial. If the author has a middle name, add a space between the first and middle initial. Add a comma after the middle initial. Add additional authors in order exactly as listed following the same steps. Do not change the order of the authors! Before the last author, add an ampersand (&).   

Year of Publication:  (2018).

Next, add the date the book was published. Examine the title page or the title verso page (back side of the title page) to determine the date of publication. Place in parentheses with a period following the parentheses.   

Title & Subtitle of the Chapter:  Historical perspectives in orthopaedic manual physical therapy.

Next, add the title and subtitle of the chapter. The title and subtitle are separated by a colon. Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle as well as any proper nouns. End with a period.  

Editor(s) of the Book:  In C. E. Giangarra  & R. Manske (Eds.),

Next, include the word "In" before the editor(s). List names of editors beginning with initials for the first and middle names. Add a period after each initial, and if there is a middle initial, add a space between the initials. Following the initials of each editor will be the editor's last name. List editors in the order as they appear on the title page. Place an ampersand (&) before the last editor followed by Eds. in parentheses (or Ed. if there is only one) with a comma after the parentheses.  

Title & Subtitle of the Book: Clinical orthopaedic rehabilitation: A team approach 

Next, add the title and subtitle of the book. The title and subtitle are separated by a colon. Capitalize only the first word of title and subtitle as well as any proper nouns. Italicize title and subtitle.  Do not add a period after the title!  

Edition & Page numbers:  (4th ed., pp. 2-15).

Next, add the edition of the book (if there is one) and the page numbers of the chapter. The edition is added by adding the number and the abbreviation for edition, which is "ed." Add a period and comma after ed. Then, add the page numbers of the chapter, which are preceded by the abbreviation for pages, which is "pp." Place in parentheses, and add a period after the parentheses.   

Source Information:  ELSEVIER.

Complete the reference with the source information, which is the publisher. The publisher's name should be listed exactly as it appears on the title page including retaining the capitalization and spelling as it appears on the title page. End the reference with a period. NOTE: Do not include designations of business structure (e.g., Inc., Ltd., LLC, etc.).

For more information about book citations, see page 326 of the APA Manual, 7th ed. For author format, title format, or source (publication) information, see pages 285-289, pages 291-293, and pages 293-301 respectively in the APA Manual, 7th ed.

Parenthetical Citation Example: 

(Brotzman & Novotny, 2018)

Narrative Citation Example:  

Brotzman and Novotny (2018) demonstrated .....  

Chapter in an Authored Print Book or Authored Ebook From the CSS Library Ebook Collections with a DOI

Identifying the format, platform, or device (e.g., ebook, Kindle book, etc.) of a chapter in an authored ebook is no longer needed. A chapter in an authored ebook from an academic collection should be treated as a chapter in an authored print book. For a chapter in an authored print book or ebook without a DOI, see Chapter in an Authored Book without a DOI .

Example 

Green, C. (2019). Incivility among nursing professionals in clinical and academic environments: Emerging research and opportunities .

IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-7341-8

To create a reference for a chapter in an authored book, just create a reference for the entire book. Follow the example of an  authored print book   as a guide for creating the reference in the reference list. Do not include any chapter information within the reference. Instead, within the body of the paper, refer to the Chapter in the parenthetical or narrative citation. 

At the end of the reference, after the publisher, add the DOI using the current DOI URL format. The current standard for the DOI begins with "https://doi.org/". Do not add a period after the DOI. 

For more information about book references with a DOI, see page 321 and page 322 of the APA Manual, 7th ed. For additional source (publication) information, see pages 293-301 in the APA Manual, 7th edition.

(Green, 2019, Chapter 5)

In Chapter 5, Green (2019) outlined ..... 

Green (2019) demonstrated ..... (Chapter 5).   

Chapter in an Edited Print Book or Edited Ebook From the CSS Library Ebook Collections with a DOI

Identifying the format, platform, or device (e.g., ebook, Kindle book, etc.) of a chapter in an edited ebook is no longer needed. A chapter in an edited ebook from an academic collection should be treated as a chapter in an edited print book. For a chapter in an edited print book or ebook without a DOI, see Chapter in an Edited Book without a DOI .

Example for a Chapter in an Edited Book with DOI

Jenkins, S. (2018). Perspectives on behavioral development. In R. Gibb & B. Kolb (Eds.),  The neurology of brain and

behavioral  development (pp. 29-80). Academic Press.  https://doi.org/10.1016/C2015-0-00695-5

To create a reference for a chapter in an edited book, follow the example for a chapter in an edited book without a DOI . At the end of the reference, after the publisher, add the DOI using the current DOI URL format. The current standard for the DOI begins with "https://doi.org/". Do not add a period after the DOI. 

(Jenkins, 2018)

Jenkins (2018) formulated .....  

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APA 7th referencing style

• About APA 7th
• Printing this guide
• In-text references
• Direct quotations
• Reference list
• Author information
• Additional referencing information
• Using headings

Referencing multiple chapters from same book

Chapter in an edited book, mental measurements yearbook.

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• Works in non-English languages
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• If there are different authors for each chapter, you need to reference EACH chapter you use.
• If you use multiple chapters from a book with different authors for each chapter, you still need to reference EACH chapter you use. (This is because you need to acknowledge who wrote the work you are using, not the person who edited/compiled the book).
• If the book does not have chapters written by different authors, you only need to reference the book. 

Only reference a chapter if it has individual authors  for each chapter in the book. Use book examples if there are not chapter authors.

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / APA Book Citation

How to Cite a Book in APA

Book – A written work or composition that has been published – typically printed on pages bound together.

Understanding how to cite books will provide you with the basis for citation conventions in APA style. Books are key components of many papers and are often an invaluable resource, so this guide will show you how to format reference page citations and in-text citations for APA 7th edition.

Citing a book in which the chapters are written by different authors is a little more involved than citing other types of books. You will find information on this type of book in this guide, but you can find also find more in-depth information here, in the article How to Cite a Chapter in a Book APA . That article is also helpful for in-text citations that include page numbers.

Guide Overview

What you need.

• Citing a book (print)
• Citing an E-book (online or digital book)
• Citing a book (found in a database)
• Citing an audiobook
• Citing a book with an editor credited on the cover
• Citing an edited book

Troubleshooting

In APA, a basic book citation includes the following information:

• Author’s name
• Title of the book
• Publisher of the book
• Year published

Additional information is needed when citing:

• DOI or stable URL if available
• Name of the translator or editor
• Title of the translator or editor (trans. or ed. respectively)
• Name of the chapter author
• Name of the chapter
• Name of the book editor or author
• Page numbers or ranges used
• Volume numbers and/or edition numbers
• New edition number
• Name of forward or introduction author if applicable
• Original publication date

Citing a book in APA (print)

View Screenshot

Note: Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title and any subtitles (the first word that follows a colon), as well as the first letter of any proper nouns. See our APA Citation Basics guide or the APA Publication Manual for more information.

Citing an E-book in APA (online or digital book)

An e-book is considered a written work or composition that has been digitized and is readable through computers or e-readers (Kindles, iPads,nooks etc.). As of the APA 7th edition, a special notation does not need to be made for e-reader versions. Simply include the book’s URL or DOI number at the end of the citation. However, if you’re citing an audiobook, scroll down this page to see the different citation structure for audiobooks.

Citing a book in APA (found in a database)

Some e-books may be available online through your library’s databases or catalogs. According to the 7th edition of APA style, most books found via academic databases do not need to include the database name or link in the citation. This is because these books are usually widely available in many place and resources.

Citing an audio book in APA

An audiobook is a book that has been converted into audio files or an audio format. They are also sometimes called “books on tape.”

Citing a book with an author and an editor

Citing an edited book (no single author credited).

Here is a video that reviews book citations in APA style:

Solution #1: How to cite a book in another language

Books written in another language should contain the translation in brackets next to the title. If the language contains characters that are different from the Roman alphabet, transliterate the alphabet into the Roman alphabet for your citation.

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year). Title of the book in original language [Translated title]. Publisher.

Sanchez, E. (2018).  Yo no soy tu perfecta hija Mexicana  [I am not your perfect Mexican daughter]. Vintage Espanol.

Solution #2: How to cite a republished translated book

For translated books, include the name of the original author at the start of the citation, but for the year, include the date of publication for the version you are using. After the title, include the translator’s name, and after the publisher, provide the original publication date. For in-text citation, two dates are required. Write the date of the original publication first, then add a slash followed by the current version that you are using.

Reference page structure:

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year). Title of the work (Translator’s F. Last name, Trans.; Edition number ed.). Publisher. (Original work published Year)

Reference page example:

Freud, S. (1950). Beyond the pleasure principle (J. Strachey, Trans., 2nd ed.). Liveright. (Original work published 1920)

In-text citation structure:

Parenthetical structure: (Author last name, date of original publication/date of current version) Narrative structure: Author last name (date of original publication/date of current version)

In-text citation example:

                  Parenthetical example: (Freud, 1920/1950)

        Narrative example: Freud (1920/1950)

Solution #3: How to cite an ancient Greek or Roman work

Much like translated versions, include the original date of publication after the publisher (or DOI link). However, for ancient texts, be sure to include “ca.” (which stands for “circa”) with the date, followed by B.C.E. or C.E. For the in-text citation, you will also need to include ca. and B.C.E. or C.E. after the author’s name, followed by the date of the current version.

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year). Title of the work (Translator’s F. Last name, Trans.; Edition number ed.). Publisher. (Original work published ca. date)

Homer. (1990). The odyssey (R. Fitzgerald, Trans.). Vintage Books. (Original work published ca. 8 B.C.E.)

Parenthetical structure: Author last name, original date of the work/current version date

                     Narrative structure: Author last name (original date of the work/current version date)

                   Parenthetical example: (Homer, ca. 8 B.C.E./1990)

Narrative example: Homer (ca. 8 B.C.E./1990)

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Parenthetical Citations
• Reference Page
• Sample Paper
• APA 7 Updates
• View APA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all APA Examples

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To cite a book in APA style, you need to have basic information including the authors, publication year, book title, and publisher. The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of a book written by a single author along with examples are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Author Surname (Publication Year)

Dean (2010)

Parenthetical

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Dean, 2010)

Reference list entry template and example:

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Book title: Subtitle of the book . Publisher Name.

Dean, J. (2010). Blog theory: Feedback and capture in the circuits of drive . Polity Press.

Set the book title in italics and sentence case. Capitalize the first word after a colon. If an edition number is given, place it after the title in parenthesis. The style should be, for example, (2nd ed.).

To cite a book chapter with multiple authors in APA style, you need to have basic information including the names of the authors, publication year, chapter title, editors, publisher, and place of publication. The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of a book chapter along with examples are given below:

When the source has 3–20 authors

In the text, use the first author’s surname followed by “et al.”

First Author Surname et al. (Publication Year)

Rong et al. (2017)

(Author Surname et al., Publication Year)

(Rong et al., 2017)

List the names of all authors in the reference list. Use “&” before the last author’s name. The book title is set in italics. The word “In” is used before the editor’s name. Note that the style for setting the editors’ names is the initial of the first name (and if applicable, the middle name) followed by the surname. Use “(Eds.)” after the editors’ name. Do not include the publisher’s location in the reference. The example below is for three author names.

Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F.M., &  Author Surname, F.M. (Publication Year). Chapter title: Subtitle. In F. Editor1 & F. Editor2 (Eds.), Book title (pp. #–#). Publisher Name.

Rong, X. L., Hilburn, J., & Sun, W. (2017). Immigration, demographic changes, and schools in North Carolina from 1990 to 2015. In X. Rong & J. Hilburn (Eds.), Immigration and education in North Carolina (pp. 1–24). Sense.

When the source has more than 20 authors

In the text, use the first author’s surname followed by et al.

Alvarez et al. (2019)

(Alvarez et al., 2019)

List the first 19 author’s names in the reference list followed by an ellipsis. Then add the last author’s name.

Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., . . . Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Chapter title: Subtitle. In F. Editor1 & F. Editor2 (Eds.), Book title (pp. #–#). Publisher Name.

Alvarez, L. D., Peach, J. L., Rodriguez, J. F., Donald, L., Thomas, M., Aruck, A., Samy, K., Anthony, K., Ajey, M., Rodriguez, K. L., Katherine, K., Vincent, A., Pater, F., Somu, P., Pander, L., Berd, R., Fox, L., Anders, A., Kamala, W., . . . Nicole Jones, K. (2019). Unsung psychology pioneers: A content analysis of who makes history (and who doesn’t). In R. Lerner & W. Overton (Eds.), The handbook of life-span development (pp. 509–553). Wiley.

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APA Citation Style, 6th Edition: Chapter in a Book

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Citing a Book Chapter: Print Version

(this libguide is for apa 6th edition, click   here   to visit our new   apa 7th edition libguide ).

General Format:

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Author's Last Name of Chapter, year)

In-Text Citation (Direct Quote):

(Author's Last Name of Chapter, year, page number)

References:

Chapter Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Chapter or article title. In Editor First Initial. Second Initial. Editor Last Name (Ed.).   Book title: Subtitle (edition number if not the first, pages of chapter). Location of publication: Publisher.

In-text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Murphy, 2014)

In-text Citation (Direct Quote):

(Murphy, 2014, p. 52)

Murphy, D.J., Jr. (2014). Coarctation of the aorta. In D.S. Moodie (Ed.). Clinical management of congenital heart disease: From infancy to adulthood  (pp. 142-170). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Cardiotext Publishing.

Citing a Book Chapter: Electronic Version

Chapter Author's Last Name , First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Chapter or article title. In Editor First Initial. Second Initial. Editor Last Name (Ed.).   Book title: Subtitle (number of edition if not the first, pages of chapter).   Location of publication: Publisher. doi (if applicable)

(Ebbesen, 2011)

In-text Citation (Direct Quote)

(Ebbesen, 2011, p. 172)

Ebbesen, M. (2011). Cross cultural principles for bioethics. In G.D. Gargiulo & A. McEwan (Eds.).  Advanced biomedical engineering (pp.157-183). InTech. doi:  10.5772/1017

Carrie Forbes, MLS

Page References

Citation information has been adapted from the APA Manual (6th Edition). Please refer to page 203 of the APA Manual (6th Edition) for more information.

Helpful Tips

Suffixes like "Jr." or "III" are not included in in-text citations but are included in the reference list.

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Q. How do I refer to a book by title in-text in APA format?

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Answered By: Gabe Gossett Last Updated: Jun 22, 2023     Views: 636974

The basic format for an in-text citation is: Title of the Book (Author Last Name, year).

One author: Where the Wild Things Are (Sendak, 1963) is a depiction of a child coping with his anger towards his mom.

Two authors (cite both names every time): Brabant and Mooney (1986) have used the comic strip to examine evidence of sex role stereotyping. OR The comic strip has been used to examine evidence of sex role stereotyping (Brabant & Mooney, 1986).

Three or more authors (cite the first author plus et al.): Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy (Clare et al., 2016) depicts a young man's experience at the Shadowhunter Academy, a place where being a former vampire is looked down upon.OR Clare et al. (2016) have crafted a unique story about a young man's journey to find himself.

No author: Cite the first few words of the reference entry (usually the title) and the year. Use double quotation marks around the title of an article or chapter, and italicize the title of a periodical, book, brochure, or report. Examples: From the book Study Guide (2000) ... or ("Reading," 1999).

Note: Titles of periodicals, books, brochures, or reports should be in italics and use normal title capitalization rules.

If you are citing multiple sources by multiple authors in-text, you can list all of them by the author's last name and year of publication within the same set of parentheses, separated by semicolons.

Example: (Adams, 1999; Jones & James, 2000; Miller, 1999)

For more information on how to cite books in-text and as a reference entry, see the APA Publication Manual (7th edition) Section 10.2 on pages 321-325 .

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Comments (13)

• This was very useful for me! I was having a really hard time finding information on how to mention an article title AND the author in text in APA so this was very helpful!!! by Ryan Waddell on Jun 27, 2019
• If I just mention that I used a book to teach a topic do I have to include it in the reference list? by Franw on Oct 17, 2019
• @Franw, if it is a source that informs your paper in any way, or if your reader would have reason to look it up, then you should include a full reference list entry for the book. by Gabe [Research & Writing Studio] on Oct 18, 2019
• Maybe I'm misunderstanding the question, but I think the OP is asking how to refer to a book title, not how to cite one. I believe APA uses quotation marks around book titles and MLA uses italics. by AB on Dec 12, 2019
• @AB: The first sentence has been tweaked to clarify title of book usage, reflecting the examples given. For APA style you should use italics for book titles. It would be quotation marks. by Gabe [Research & Writing Studio] on Dec 12, 2019
• Hi, can any one help me with in-text-citation of this, how can i cite it in the text Panel, I. L. (2002). Digital transformation: A framework for ICT literacy. Educational Testing Service, 1-53. by Milad on Aug 20, 2021
• @Milad: In that case it would be (Panel, 2002). If you are quoting, or otherwise choosing to include page numbers, put a comma after the year, then p. and the page number(s). by Gabe Gossett on Aug 20, 2021
• Hey, I'm a little bit curious, what if I'm mentioning a book and paraphrasing it but still want to give credit. Would I put the information into parenthesis instead? Like: Paraphrased info. ("Title in Italics" Author, year) by Kai on Sep 14, 2023
• @Kai: Apologies for not seeing your question sooner! (Our academic year has not started yet). If I am understanding your question correctly, what I suggest is referring to the book title in the narrative of your writing, rather than in the in-text citation. I do not see an examples of using a book title in an in-text citation except for rare circumstances including citing a classic religious text or using the title when there is no author information because it is the start of your reference list entry. Basically, APA's in-text convention is supposed to make it easy for your reader to locate the source being cited in the reference list. So the first part of the in-text citation, usually authors, comes first to locate it alphabetically. Putting the book title first when you have an author name can throw that off. by Gabe Gossett on Sep 21, 2023
• Perhaps this is along the lines of the response to Kai - Can you reference a book title as a common point of social understanding to demonstrate a common concept? Is official citing required if you use widely known titles such as "Where's Waldo" and "Who Moved My Cheese?" to make a point of illustration? by Chez Renee on Sep 30, 2023
• @Chez: Aside from some classical religious texts, if it is a published book, I'd try to make sure that it is appropriately cited for APA style. That said, I think I understand where it gets tricky with things like Where's Waldo, since that is a series of books and stating "Where's Waldo" is a cultural reference many people would understand, though you can't reasonably cite the entire series. I don't believe that APA gives guidance for this particular issue. If it is being referred to in order to back up a claim, it would help to cite a particular book. If not, then it might work to use a statement such as, "Hanford's Where's Waldo series . . ." by Gabe Gossett on Oct 02, 2023
• How to cite a dissertation thesis in apa form? by Elizabeth on Feb 05, 2024
• @Elizabeth: For citing a dissertation or thesis you can check out our page answering that here https://askus.library.wwu.edu/faq/153308 by Gabe Gossett on Feb 05, 2024

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Reference List: Basic Rules

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This resourse, revised according to the 7 th  edition APA Publication Manual, offers basic guidelines for formatting the reference list at the end of a standard APA research paper. Most sources follow fairly straightforward rules. However, because sources obtained from academic journals  carry special weight in research writing, these sources are subject to special rules . Thus, this page presents basic guidelines for citing academic journals separate from its "ordinary" basic guidelines. This distinction is made clear below.

Note:  Because the information on this page pertains to virtually all citations, we've highlighted one important difference between APA 6 and APA 7 with an underlined note written in red.  For more information, please consult the   Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , (7 th  ed.).

Formatting a Reference List

Your reference list should appear at the end of your paper. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the reference list must be cited in your text.

Your references should begin on a new page separate from the text of the essay; label this page "References" in bold, centered at the top of the page (do NOT underline or use quotation marks for the title). All text should be double-spaced just like the rest of your essay.

Basic Rules for Most Sources

• All lines after the first line of each entry in your reference list should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.
• All authors' names should be inverted (i.e., last names should be provided first).
• For example, the reference entry for a source written by Jane Marie Smith would begin with "Smith, J. M."
• If a middle name isn't available, just initialize the author's first name: "Smith, J."
• Give the last name and first/middle initials for all authors of a particular work up to and including 20 authors ( this is a new rule, as APA 6 only required the first six authors ). Separate each author’s initials from the next author in the list with a comma. Use an ampersand (&) before the last author’s name. If there are 21 or more authors, use an ellipsis (but no ampersand) after the 19th author, and then add the final author’s name.
• Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last name of the first author of each work.
• For multiple articles by the same author, or authors listed in the same order, list the entries in chronological order, from earliest to most recent.
• Note again that the titles of academic journals are subject to special rules. See section below.
• Italicize titles of longer works (e.g., books, edited collections, names of newspapers, and so on).
• Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as chapters in books or essays in edited collections.

Basic Rules for Articles in Academic Journals

• Present journal titles in full.
• Italicize journal titles.
• For example, you should use  PhiloSOPHIA  instead of  Philosophia,  or  Past & Present   instead of  Past and Present.
• This distinction is based on the type of source being cited. Academic journal titles have all major words capitalized, while other sources' titles do not.
• Capitalize   the first word of the titles and subtitles of   journal articles , as well as the   first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and   any proper nouns .
• Do not italicize or underline the article title.
• Deep blue: The mysteries of the Marianas Trench.
• Oceanographic Study: A Peer-Reviewed Publication

Please note:  While the APA manual provides examples of how to cite common types of sources, it does not cover all conceivable sources. If you must cite a source that APA does not address, the APA suggests finding an example that is similar to your source and using that format. For more information, see page 282 of the   Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7 th  ed.

• Plagiarism and grammar
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APA Citation Generator

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Create an account to save all of your citations

Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper

A comprehensive guide to apa citations and format, overview of this guide:.

This page provides you with an overview of APA format, 7th edition. Included is information about referencing, various citation formats with examples for each source type, and other helpful information.

If you’re looking for MLA format , check out the Citation Machine MLA Guide. Also, visit the Citation Machine homepage to use the APA formatter, which is an APA citation generator, and to see more styles .

Being responsible while researching

When you’re writing a research paper or creating a research project, you will probably use another individual’s work to help develop your own assignment. A good researcher or scholar uses another individual’s work in a responsible way. This involves indicating that the work of other individuals is included in your project (i.e., citing), which is one way to prevent plagiarism.

Plagiarism? What is it?

The word plagiarism is derived from the Latin word, plagiare , which means “to kidnap.” The term has evolved over the years to now mean the act of taking another individual’s work and using it as your own, without acknowledging the original author (American Psychological Association, 2020 p. 21). Plagiarism can be illegal and there can be serious ramifications for plagiarizing someone else’s work. Thankfully, plagiarism can be prevented. One way it can be prevented is by including citations and references in your research project. Want to make them quickly and easily? Try the Citation Machine citation generator, which is found on our homepage.

All about citations & references

Citations and references should be included anytime you use another individual’s work in your own assignment. When including a quote, paraphrased information, images, or any other piece of information from another’s work, you need to show where you found it by including a citation and a reference. This guide explains how to make them.

APA style citations are added in the body of a research paper or project and references are added to the last page.

Citations , which are called in-text citations, are included when you’re adding information from another individual’s work into your own project. When you add text word-for-word from another source into your project, or take information from another source and place it in your own words and writing style (known as paraphrasing), you create an in-text citation. These citations are short in length and are placed in the main part of your project, directly after the borrowed information.

References are found at the end of your research project, usually on the last page. Included on this reference list page is the full information for any in-text citations found in the body of the project. These references are listed in alphabetical order by the author's last name.

An APA in-text citation includes only three items: the last name(s) of the author(s), the year the source was published, and sometimes the page or location of the information. References include more information such as the name of the author(s), the year the source was published, the full title of the source, and the URL or page range.

Why is it important to include citations & references

Including APA citations and references in your research projects is a very important component of the research process. When you include citations, you’re being a responsible researcher. You’re showing readers that you were able to find valuable, high-quality information from other sources, place them into your project where appropriate, all while acknowledging the original authors and their work.

Common ways students and scholars accidentally plagiarize

Believe it or not, there are instances when you could attempt to include in-text and full references in the appropriate places, but still accidentally plagiarize. Here are some common mistakes to be aware of:

Mistake #1 - Misquoting sources: If you plan to use a direct quote, make sure you copy it exactly as is. Sure, you can use part of the full quote or sentence, but if you decide to put quotation marks around any words, those words should match exactly what was found in the original source. Here’s a line from The Little Prince , by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry:

“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.”

Here’s an acceptable option:

“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves,” stated de Saint-Exupéry (1943, p. 3).

Here’s a misquote:

“Grown-ups barely ever understand anything by themselves,” stated de Saint-Exupéry (1943, p. 3).

Notice the slight change in the words. The incorrect phrasing is an instance of accidental plagiarism.

Mistake #2 - Problems with paraphrasing: When we paraphrase, we restate information using our own words and writing style. It’s not acceptable to substitute words from the original source with synonyms.

Let’s use the same sentence from The Little Prince .

A correct paraphrase could be:

de Saint-Exupéry (1943) shares various ways adults frustrate children. One of the biggest being that kids have to explain everything. It’s too bad adults are unable to comprehend anything on their own (p. 3).

An incorrect paraphrase would be:

de Saint-Exupéry (1943) shares that adults never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for kids to be always and forever clarifying things to them (p.3).

Notice how close the incorrect paraphrase is from the original. This is an instance of accidental plagiarism.

Make sure you quote and paraphrase properly in order to prevent accidental plagiarism.

If you’re having a difficult time paraphrasing properly, it is acceptable to paraphrase part of the text AND use a direct quote. Here’s an example:

de Saint-Exupery (1943) shares various ways adults frustrate children. One of the biggest being that kids have to explain everything, and “it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them” (p. 3).

Information About APA

Who created it.

The American Psychological Association is an organization created for individuals in the psychology field. With close to 121,000 members, they provide educational opportunities, funding, guidance, and research information for everything psychology-related. They also have numerous high-quality databases, peer-reviewed journals, and books that revolve around mental health.

The American Psychological Association is also credited with creating their own specific citation and reference style. Today, this format is used by individuals not only in the psychology field, but many other subject areas as well. Education, economics, business, and social sciences also use APA style quite frequently. Click here for more information . This guide covers general information about the style, but is not affiliated with the American Psychological Association.

Why was this style created?

This format was first developed in 1929 to form a standardized way for researchers in science fields to document their sources. Prior to the inception of these standards and guidelines, individuals were recognizing the work of other authors by including bits and pieces of information in random order. There wasn’t a set way to format citations and references. You can probably imagine how difficult it was to understand the sources that were used for research projects!

Having a standard format for citing sources allows readers to glance at a citation or APA reference and easily locate the title, author, year published, and other critical pieces of information needed to understand a source.

The evolution of this style

The guide below is based on APA style 7th edition, which was released in 2020. In previous versions of APA format, researchers and scholars were required to include the publisher location for books and the date that an electronic resource was accessed. Both are no longer required to be included.

Details on the differences between the 6th and 7th editions is addressed later in this guide.

Citations & References

The appearance of citations & references.

The format for references varies, but most use this general format:

%%Author’s Last name, First initial. (Date published). Title . URL

Researchers and scholars must look up the proper format for the source that they’re attempting to cite. Books have a certain format, websites have a different format, periodicals have a different format, and so on. Scroll down to find the proper format for the source you’re citing or referencing.

If you would like help citing your sources, CitationMachine.com has a citation generator that will help make the APA citation process much easier for you. To start, simply click on the source type you're citing:

• Journal articles

In-text citations

An APA in-text citation is included in research projects in three instances: When using a direct quote, paraphrasing information, or simply referring to a piece of information from another source.

Quite often, researchers and scholars use a small amount of text, word for word, from another source and include it in their own research projects. This is done for many reasons. Sometimes, another author’s words are so eloquently written that there isn’t a better way to rephrase it yourself. Other times, the author’s words can help prove a point or establish an understanding for something in your research project. When using another author’s exact words in your research project, include an APA in-text citation directly following it.

In addition to using the exact words from another source and placing them into your project, these citations are also added anytime you paraphrase information. Paraphrasing is when you take information from another source and rephrase it, in your own words.

When simply referring to another piece of information from another source, also include a citation directly following it.

Citations in the text are found near a direct quote, paraphrased information, or next to a mention of another source. To see examples of some narrative/ parenthetical citations in action, look at the image above, under “All About Citations & References.”

Note: *Only include the page or paragraph number when using a direct quote or paraphrase. Page numbers have a p. before the number, pp. before the page range, and para. before the paragraph number. This information is included to help the reader locate the exact portion of text themselves. It is unnecessary to include this information when you’re simply referring to another source.

Examples of APA in-text citations:

“Well, you’re about to enter the land of the free and the brave. And I don’t know how you got that stamp on your passport. The priest must know someone” (Tóibín, 2009, p. 52).

Student teachers who use technology in their lessons tend to continue using technology tools throughout their teaching careers (Kent & Giles, 2017, p. 12).

If including the author’s name in the sentence, place the year in the parentheses directly next to his or her name. Add the page number at the end, unless it’s a source without any pages or paragraph numbers (See Section 8.10 of the Publication manual for more details).

In-text citation APA example:

According to a study done by Kent and Giles (2017), student teachers who use technology in their lessons tend to continue using technology tools throughout their teaching careers.

The full references, or citations, for these sources can be found on the last part of a research project, titled the “References.”

Here’s how to create in-text citations for specific amounts of authors:

APA citation with no author

When the source lacks an author’s name, place the title, year, and page number (if available) in the text. The title should be in italics if it sits alone (such as a movie, brochure, or report). If the source is part of a whole (as many web pages and articles are), place the title in quotation marks without italics (See Section 8.14 of the Publication manual ).

Structure of an APA format citation in the text narratively, with the author's name missing:

Title of Source (Year) or “Title of Source” (Year)

Structure of an APA style format citation, in parentheses at the end of the sentence, with the author’s name missing: (Title of Source, Year) or (“Title of Source,” Year)

Structure for one author

In the text, narratively: Last name of Author (Year)...(page number).

In parentheses, at the end of the sentence: (Last name of Author, Year, page number).

Structure for two authors

Place the authors in the order they appear on the source. Only use the ampersand in the parenthetical citations (see Section 8.17 of the Publication manual ). Use ‘and’ to separate the author names if they’re in the text of the sentence.

In the text, narratively: Last name of Author 1 and Last name of Author 2 (Year)....(page number).

In parentheses, at the end of the sentence: (Last name of Author 1 & Last name of Author 2, Year, page number).

Structure for three or more authors

Only include the first listed author’s name in the first and any subsequent citations. Follow it with et al.

(Last name Author 1 et al., Year, page number)

(Agbayani et al., 2020, p. 99)

Last name of Author 1 et al. (Year)...(page).

Agbayani et al. (2020)...(p. 99)

One author, multiple works, same year

What do you do when you want to cite multiple works by an author, and the sources all written in the same year?

Include the letters ‘a’ ‘b’ ‘c’ and so on after the year in the citation.

(Jackson, 2013a)

Jackson (2013a)

Writers can even lump dates together.

Example: Jackson often studied mammals while in Africa (2013a, 2013b).

On the APA reference page, include the same letters in the full references.

Groups and organizations

Write out the full name of the group or organization in the first citation and place the abbreviation next to it in brackets. If the group or organization is cited again, only include the abbreviation. If it doesn’t have an abbreviation associated with it, write out the entire organization’s name each and every time (see Section 8.21 of the Publication manual ).

First APA citation for an organization with an abbreviation: (World Health Organization [WHO], Year)

World Health Organization (WHO, Year)

Notice in the example directly above, the name of the organization is written out in full in the text of the sentence, and the abbreviation is placed in parentheses next to it.

Subsequent APA citations in the text for an organization with an abbreviation: (WHO, Year) OR WHO (Year)

All citations in the text for an organization without an abbreviation: (Citation Machine, Year) or Citation Machine (Year)

One in-text citation, multiple works

Sometimes you’ll need to cite more than one work within an in-text citation. Follow the same format (author, year) format but place semicolons between works (p. 263).

(Obama, 2016; Monroe et al., 1820; Hoover & Coolidge, 1928)

Reminder: There are many citation tools available on CitationMachine.com. Head to our homepage to learn more, check out our APA citation website, and cite your sources easily! The most useful resource on our website? Our APA citation generator, which doesn’t just create full references, it’s also an APA in-text citation website! It’ll do both for you!

Click here to learn more about crediting work .

Reference list citation components

References display the full information for all the citations found in the body of a research project.

Some things to keep in mind when it comes to the references:

• All references sit together on their own page, which is usually the last page(s) of a paper.
• Title the page ‘References’
• Place ‘References’ in the center of the page and bold it. Keep the title in the same font and size as the references. Do not italicize, underline, place the title in quotation marks, or increase the font size.
• The entire page is double spaced.
• All references are listed in alphabetical order by the first word in the reference, which is usually the author’s last name. If the source lacks an author, alphabetize the source by the title (ignore A, An, or The)
• All references have a hanging indent, meaning that the second line of text is indented in half an inch. See examples throughout this guide.
• Remember, each and every citation in the text of the paper MUST have a full reference displayed in the reference list. The citations in the text provide the reader with a quick glimpse about the sources used, but the references in the reference list provide the reader with all the information needed to seek out the source themselves.

Learn more about each component of the reference citation and how to format it in the sections that follow. See an APA sample paper reference list at the end of this entire section.

Author’s names

The names of authors are written in reverse order. Include the initials for the first and middle names. End this information with a period (see Section 9.8 of the Publication manual ).

Format: Last name, F. M.

• Angelou, M.
• Doyle, A. C.

Two or more authors

When two or more authors work together on a source, write them in the order in which they appear on the source. You can name up to 20 authors in the reference. For sources with 2 to 20 authors, place an ampersand (&) before the final author. Use this format:

Last name, F. M., & Last name, F. M.

Last name, F. M., Last name, F. M., Last name, F. M., Last name, F. M., & Last name, F. M.

Kent, A. G., Giles, R. M., Thorpe, A., Lukes, R., Bever, D. J., & He, Y.

If there are 21 or more authors listed on a source, only include the first 19 authors, add three ellipses, and then add the last author’s name.

Roberts, A., Johnson, M. C., Klein, J., Cheng, E. V., Sherman, A., Levin, K. K. , ...Lopez, G. S.

If you plan on using a free APA citation tool, like the one at CitationMachine.com, the names of the authors will format properly for you.

###No authors

If the source lacks an author, place the title in the first position in the reference (Section 9.12 of the Publication manual ). When the source’s title begins with a number (Such as 101 Dalmatians ), place the reference alphabetically as if the number was spelled out. 101 Dalmatians would be placed in the spot where ‘One hundred’ would go, but keep the numbers in their place.

Additionally, if the title begins with the words ‘A’, ‘An,’ or ‘The,’ ignore these words and place the title alphabetically according to the next word.

See the “Titles” section below for more information on formatting the title of sources.

###Corporate/Organization authors

On an APA reference page, corporate authors are always written out in full. In the text of your paper, you may have some abbreviations (such as UN for United Nations), but in the full references, always include the full names of the corporation or organization (following Section 9.11 of the official Publication manual ).

%%United Nations. (2019). Libya: $202 million needed to bring life-saving aid to half a million people hit by humanitarian crisis. https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/02/1031981

Publication date & retrieval date

Directly after the author’s name is the date the source was published. Include the full date for newspapers and magazine articles, and only the year for journals and all other sources. If no date is found on the source, include the initials, n.d. for “no date.”

%% Narducci, M. (2017, May 19). City renames part of 11th Street Ed Snider Way to honor Flyers founder. The Philadelphia Inquirer . http://www.philly.com/

If using our APA Citation Machine, our citation generator will add the correct format for you automatically.

Giving a retrieval date is not needed unless the online content is likely to be frequently updated and changed (e.g., encyclopedia article, dictionary entry, Twitter profile, etc.).

%%Citation Machine [@CiteMachine]. (n.d.). Tweets [Twitter profile]. Twitter. Retrieved October 10, 2019, from https://twitter.com/CiteMachine

When writing out titles for books, articles, chapters, or other non-periodical sources, only capitalize the first word of the title and the first word of the subtitle. Names of people, places, organizations, and other proper nouns also have the first letter capitalized. For books and reports, italicize the title in the APA citation.

Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Roots: The saga of an American family.

For articles and chapters in APA referencing, do not italicize the title.

Wake up the nation: Public libraries, policy making, and political discourse.

For newspapers, magazines, journals, newsletters, and other periodicals, capitalize the first letter in each word and italicize the title.

The Seattle Times.

A common question is whether to underline your title or place it in italics or quotation marks in the reference list. Here’s a good general rule: When a source sits alone and is not part of a larger whole, place the title in italics. If the source does not sit alone and is part of a larger whole, do not place it in italics.

Books, movies, journals, and television shows are placed in italics since they stand alone. Songs on an album, episodes of television shows, chapters in books, and articles in journals are not placed in italics since they are smaller pieces of larger wholes.

The Citation Machine citation generator will format the title in your citations automatically.

Additional information about the title

If you feel it would be helpful to include additional information about the source type, include a descriptive noun or two in brackets immediately following the title. Capitalize the first letter.

%%Kennedy, K., & Molen, G. R. (Producers), & Spielberg, S. (Director). (1993). Jurassic Park [Film]. USA: Universal.

Besides [Film], other common notations include:

• [Audio podcast]
• [Letter to the editor]
• [Television series episode]
• [Facebook page]
• [Blog post]
• [Lecture notes]
• [PowerPoint presentation]
• [Video file]

If you are using Citation Machine citing tools, additional information about the title is automatically added for you.

Publisher information

For books and reports, include the publisher name but not the location (see Section 9.29 of the Publication manual ). Older editions of the style required the city, state and/or country, but this hasn't been the case since the 7th edition was released.

It is not necessary to include the entire name of the publisher. It is acceptable to use a brief, intelligible form. However, if Books or Press are part of the publisher’s names, keep these words in the reference. Other common terms, such as Inc., Co., Publishers, and others can be omitted.

For newspapers, journals, magazines, and other periodicals, include the volume and issue number after the title. The volume number is listed first, by itself, in italics. The issue number is in parentheses immediately after it, not italicized. There is no space after the closing parenthesis and before the volume number.

%%Giannoukos, G., Besas, G., Hictour, V., & Georgas, T. (2016). A study on the role of computers in adult education. Educational Research and Reviews , 11 (9), 907-923. https://doi.org/10.5897/ERR2016.2688

After including the publisher information, end this section with a period.

Perseus Books.

Electronic source information:

For online sources, the URL or DOI (Direct Object Identifier) are included at the end of an APA citation.

DOI numbers are often created by publishers for journal articles and other periodical sources. They were created in response to the problem of broken or outdated links and URLs. When a journal article is assigned a DOI number, it is static and will never change. Because of its permanent characteristic, DOIs are the preferred type of electronic information to include in APA citations. When a DOI number is not available, include the source’s URL (see Section 9.34 in the Publication manual ).

For DOIs, include the number in this format:

http://doi.org/xxxx

For URLs, type them in this format:

http:// or https://

Other information about electronic sources:

• If the URL is longer than a line, break it up before a punctuation mark.
• Do not place a period at the end of the citation/URL.
• It is unnecessary to include retrieval dates, unless the source changes often over time (like in a Wikipedia article).
• It is not necessary to include the names of databases

If using the Citation Machine APA citation website autocite features, the online publication information will be automatically replaced by the DOI. The Citation Machine APA template will properly cite your online sources for you.

Make sure you run your completed paper through the Citation Machine Plus smart proofreader, which scans for grammar, spelling, and plagiarism. Whether it’s an adjective , verb , or pronoun out-of-place, our technology helps edits your paper for you!

Annotated bibliographies:

An APA annotated bibliography is a full bibliography that includes a small note for each reference citation. Each note should be short (1-2 paragraphs) and contain a summary or your evaluation about each source. When creating your citations on CitationMachine.net, there is a field at the bottom of each form to add your own annotations.

Follow the publication manual guidelines on paper format and writing style. Let your instructor guide other details about your annotations. Still confused? Read our guide on annotated bibliographies .

These types of projects look different depending on the style you’re using. Use the link at the top of the page to access resources related to the Modern Language Association’s style. Here’s information related to Chicago citation style .

Page formatting

Need help with the design and formatting of your paper? Look no further! This section provides the ins and outs of properly displaying the information in your APA essay.

• Times New Roman, 12-point size.
• Calibri, Arial, or Georgia, 11-point size
• Lucida, Sans Unicode, or Computer Modern, 10-point size
• Indents = Every paragraph should start with an indent.
• Margins = 1 inch around the entire document
• Spacing = Double space everything!

Arrange your pages in this order:

• Page 1 - APA Title Page (see below for information on the title page)
• Page 2 - Abstract (If your professor requests one)
• Page 3 - First page of text
• References begin on their own page. Include the list of references on the page after the text.
• Tables and figures

Keep in mind that the order above is the recommendation for papers being submitted for peer review. If you’re writing an APA style paper for a class, your professor may be more lenient about the requirements. Also, if you’re submitting your paper for a specific journal, check the requirements on the journal’s website. Each journal has different rules and procedures.

Just a little nudge to remind you about the Citation Machine Plus smart proofreader. Whether it’s a conjunction or interjection out of place, a misspelled word, or an out of place citation, we’ll offer suggestions for improvement! Don’t forget to check out our APA citation maker while you’re at it!

Running heads

In older editions of APA, running heads were required for all papers. Since the 7th edition, that’s changed.

• Student paper: No running head
• Professional paper: Include a running head

The running head displays the title of the paper and the page number on all pages of the paper. This header is found on every page of a professional paper (not a student paper), even on the title page (sometimes called an APA cover page) and reference list (taken from Section 2.8 of the Publication manual ).

It's displayed all in capital letters at the top of the page. Across from the running head, along the right margin, is the page number.

• Use the header feature in your word processor. Both Google Docs and Word have these features available.
• Use one for the recommended fonts mentioned under "Page formatting."

Title pages

A title page, sometimes called an APA cover page, graces the cover of an essay or paper. An APA title page should follow rules from Section 2.3 of the official Publication manual and include:

• Page number, which is page 1
• Use title case and bold font
• The title should be under 12 words in length
• The title should be a direct explanation of the focus of the paper. Do not include any unnecessary descriptors such as “An Analysis of…” or “A Study of…”
• Exclude any labels such as Mr., Ms., Dr, PhD...
• Name of the school or institution
• Course number and/or class name
• Name of your instructor, including their preferred honorifics (e.g., PhD, Dr., etc.)
• Paper’s due date
• If this is a professional paper, also include a running head. If this is a student paper, do not include one.

Follow the directions for the running head and page number in the section above. Below the running head, a few lines beneath, and centered in the middle of the page, should be the title. The next line below is the author’s name(s), followed by the name of the school or institution, the class or course name, your instructor’s name, and the paper’s due date.

All components on this page should be written in the same font and size as the rest of your paper. Double space the title, names, name of school or institution, and all other information on the page (except for the running head and page number).

Example - Student Title Page APA:

Example - Professional Title Page APA:

If you’re submitting your paper to a journal for publication, check the journal’s website for exact requirements. Each journal is different and some may request a different type of APA format cover page.

Looking to create an APA format title page? Head to CitationMachine.com’s homepage and choose “Title Page” at the top of the screen.

An abstract briefly but thoroughly summarizes dissertation contents. It’s found in the beginning of a professional paper, right after the title page. Abstracts are meant to help readers determine whether to continue reading the entire document. With that in mind, try to craft the lead sentence to entice the reader to continue reading.

Here are a few tips:

• Be factual and keep your opinions out. An abstract should accurately reflect the paper or dissertation and should not involve information or commentary not in the thesis.
• Communicate your main thesis. What was the examined problem or hypothesis? A reader should know this from reading your abstract.
• Keep it brief. Stick to the main points and don’t add unnecessary words or facts. It should not exceed 250 words.
• Consider your paper’s purpose. It’s important to cater your abstract to your paper type and think about what information the target audience for that paper type would want. For example, an empirical article may mention methodology or participant description. A quantitative or qualitative meta-analysis would mention the different variables considered and how information was synthesized.
• Use verbs over noun equivalents, and active voice. Example: “There was research into…” becomes “We researched…”

Formatting guidelines:

• The abstract goes after the title page.
• It should have the same font (size and type) as the rest of the paper.
• It should stick to one page.
• Double-space all page text.
• Center and bold the word “Abstract” at the top of the paper.
• Don’t indent the first line of the abstract body. The body should also be in plain text.
• For the keywords, place it on the line after the abstract and indent the first line (but not subsequent lines). The word “Keywords:” is capitalized, italicized, and followed by a colon. The actual keywords are sentence case and in plan font.
• List each keyword one after the other, and separate them by a comma.
• After the last keyword, no ending punctuation is needed.

Tables & Figures

If your paper includes a lot of numerical information or data, you may want to consider placing it into a table or a figure, rather than typing it all out. A visual figure or simple, organized table filled with numerical data is often easier for readers to digest and comprehend than tons of paragraphs filled with numbers. Chapter 7 of the Publication manual outlines formatting for tables and figures. Let's cover the basics below.

If you’d like to include a table or figure in your paper, here are a few key pieces of information to keep in mind:

• At the end of the paper after the APA reference page
• In the text after it is first mentioned
• The table first mentioned in the text should be titled ‘Table 1.’ The next table mentioned in the text is ‘Table 2,’ and so on. For figures, it would be 'Figure 1,' 'Figure 2,' and so forth.

• Even though every table and figure is numbered, also create a title for each that describes the information it contains. Capitalize all important words in the title.
• For tables, do not use any vertical lines, only use horizontal to break up information and headings.
• Single spacing is acceptable to use in tables and figures. If you prefer double spacing your information, that is okay too.
• Do not include extra information or “fluff.” Keep it simple!
• Do not include the same exact information in the paper. Only include the complete information in one area—the table or the text.
• All tables and figures must be referenced in the text. It is unacceptable to throw a table or figure into the back of the paper without first providing a brief summary or explanation of its relevance.

Publication Manual 6th Edition vs 7th Edition

The 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association was released in 2009. The current 7th edition came out in the fall of 2019 and was designed to be more student focused, provide more guidance on accessibility, and address changes that have developed over the last 10 years.

Below, we’ve listed what we feel are the most relevant changes related to APA format.

Journals and DOIs

DOI stands for “digital object identifier.” Many journal articles use and have a unique DOI that should be included in a full citation.

When including a DOI in a citation, format it as a URL. Do not label it “DOI.” Articles without DOIs from databases are treated as print works. For example:

6th edition:

%%Gänsicke, B. T., Schreiber, M. R., Toloza, O., Fusillo, N. P. G., Koester, D., & Manser, C. J. (2019). Accretion of a giant planet onto a white dwarf star. Nature, 576 (7785), 61–64. doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1789-8

7th edition:

%%Gänsicke, B. T., Schreiber, M. R., Toloza, O., Fusillo, N. P. G., Koester, D., & Manser, C. J. (2019). Accretion of a giant planet onto a white dwarf star. Nature, 576 (7785), 61–64. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1789-8

Citing Books

There are few new guidelines when you are citing a book. First, the publisher location no longer needs to be indicated.

%%Zack, P. O. (2001). The shoals of time. Bloomington, IN: First Books Library.

%%Zack, P. O. (2001). The shoals of time. First Books Library.

Second, the format of an ebook (e.g., Kindle, etc.) no longer needs to be indicated.

%%Niven, J. (2012). Ada Blackjack: A true story of survival in the Arctic [Kindle].

%%Niven, J. (2012). Ada Blackjack: A true story of survival in the Arctic .

Lastly, books from research databases without DOIs are treated the same as print works.

When using a URL in a citation, you no longer need to include the term “Retrieved from” before URLs (except with retrieval dates). The font should be blue and underlined, or black and not underlined.

6th Edition:

%%Flood, A. (2019, December 6). Britain has closed almost 800 libraries since 2010, figures show. The Guardian . Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/dec/06/britain-has-closed-almost-800-libraries-since-2010-figures-show

7th Edition:

%%Flood, A. (2019, December 6). Britain has closed almost 800 libraries since 2010, figures show. The Guardian . https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/dec/06/britain-has-closed-almost-800-libraries-since-2010-figures-show

Within a full APA citation, you may spell out up to 20 author names. For two to 20 authors, include an ampersand (&) before the name of the last author. For sources with 21 or more authors, structure it as follows:

Structure: First 19 authors’ names, . . . Last author’s name.

7th edition example: Washington, G., Adams, J., Jefferson, T., Madison, J., Monroe, J., Adams, J. Q., Jackson, A., Van Buren, M., Harrison, W. H., Tyler, J., Polk, J. K., Taylor, Z., Filmore, M., Pierce, F., Buchanan, J., Lincoln, A., Johnson, A., Grant, U. S., Hayes, R. B., Garfield, . . . Trump, D.

When creating an in-text citation for a source with 3 or more authors, use “et al.” after the first author’s name. This helps abbreviate the mention.

6th Edition: (Honda, Johnson, Prosser, Rossi, 2019)

7th Edition: (Honda et al., 2019)

Tables and Figures

Instead of having different formats for tables and figures, both use one standardized format. Now both tables and figures have a number, a title, name of the table/figure, and a note at the bottom.

If you’re still typing into Google “how to cite a website APA” among other related questions and keywords, click here for further reading on the style .

When you’re through with your writing, toss your entire paper into the Citation Machine Plus plagiarism checker , which will scan your paper for grammar edits and give you up to 5 suggestions cards for free! Worry less about a determiner , preposition , or adverb out of place and focus on your research!

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.) (2020). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Updated March 3, 2020

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Wendy Ikemoto. Michele Kirschenbaum has been an awesome school librarian since 2006 and is an expert in citing sources. Wendy Ikemoto has a master’s degree in library and information science and has been working for Citation Machine since 2012.

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