citing an essay within a book apa

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How to Cite an Essay Within a Book in the APA Format

Writers must correctly acknowledge the sources of borrowed words and ideas when writing research papers in order to avoid charges of plagiarism, which, apart from the ethical concerns, can also have serious consequences ranging from loss of credit on the assignment to expulsion from school. Citing an essay within a book requires proper formatting both within the text of your paper and on the References page.

APA in-text citations, whether they appear in signal phrases or parenthetical citations, typically include the author's last name and the year of publication. As explained in the sixth edition, second printing of the "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association," when you cite an essay within a compilation, you should give the last name of the author of the essay in the citation along with the year the book was published with a comma between. For an article written by Kelly James appearing in a book published in 2011, the citation would appear like this: (James, 2011).

The References page entry begins with the information that appears in the citation, so start with the author of the essay, the last name followed by the first initial with a comma between. After a period, you should place the publication date, in parentheses, ending with a period. The title of the essay appears next followed by a period. Capitalize the first word but no others except proper nouns, and you should not use italics or quotation marks around it. Next write "In" (without the quotation marks) and give the editor, first initial followed by last name. Use "&" (without the quotation marks) between them if you have more than one. Put (Ed.) and a comma to indicate this is an editor, and then give the title of the book, italicized. The page numbers for the essay appear next, in parentheses, after "pp." (without the quotation marks). After a period, the location, a colon and the company appear for print sources. Such an entry might look like this: James, K. (2005). The article's title. In D. Evans & E. Raines (Eds.), The name of the compilation (italicized) (pp. 133-152). New York: Penguin.

Web pages give "Retrieved from" (without the quotation marks) and the URL instead of the publisher details.

Need help with a citation? Try our citation generator .

• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition, 2nd printing); American Psychological Association
• APA Style: Books and Book Chapters: What to Cite
• Purdue Online Writing Lab: Reference List: Books

Kristie Sweet has been writing professionally since 1982, most recently publishing for various websites on topics like health and wellness, and education. She holds a Master of Arts in English from the University of Northern Colorado.

APA 7th Edition Citation Examples

• Volume and Issue Numbers
• Page Numbers
• Undated Sources
• Citing a Source Within a Source

Citing a Source within a Source

• In-Text Citations
• Academic Journals
• Encyclopedia Articles
• Book, Film, and Product Reviews
• Online Classroom Materials
• Conference Papers
• Technical + Research Reports
• Court Decisions
• Treaties and Other International Agreements
• Federal Regulations: I. The Code of Federal Regulations
• Federal Regulations: II. The Federal Register
• Executive Orders
• Charter of the United Nations
• Federal Statutes
• Dissertations and Theses
• Interviews, E-mail Messages + Other Personal Communications
• Social Media
• Business Sources
• PowerPoints
• AI: ChatGPT, etc.

Scenario: You read a 2007 article by Linhares and Brum that cites an earlier article, by Klein. You want to cite Klein's article, but you have not read Klein's article itself.

Reference list citation

Linhares, A., & Brum, P. (2007). Understanding our understanding of strategic scenarios: What role do chunks play? Cognitive Science , 31 (6), 989-1007. https://doi.org/10.1080/03640210701703725

Your Reference list will contain the article you read, by Linhares and Brum. Your Reference list will NOT contain a citation for Klein's article.

In-text citation

Klein's study (as cited in Linhares & Brum, 2007) found that...

Your in-text citation gives credit to Klein and shows the source in which you found Klein's ideas.

See  Publication Manual , p. 258.

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APA 7th referencing guide: How to cite sources within the text

• Referencing and APA style
• How to cite sources within the text
• How to reference sources in your reference list
• Paraphrasing
• Using the style with EndNote software
• More information

In-text citations

An in-text citation is required if you paraphrase (use someone else's ideas in your own words), summarise (use a brief account of someone else's ideas), quote (use someone else's exact words) or copy (use someone else's figures, tables or structure).  When citing references within the text of an assignment, you need the author’s surname/family name or organisation name plus the year of publication and potentially a page number :

(Oliver, 2003)             (Cruttenden, 2014, p. 89)

How to use in-text citations when paraphrasing an idea

"As Cottrell (2011) suggests, it is important to appreciate the difficulties that students can sometimes face when trying to order their thoughts in a more reasoned and logical way. Consequently, critical thinking is a skill which may have to be developed over a long period of time, and which will require a great deal of practice to fully grasp (Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2013)."

N.B – notice how you can use in-text citations in different ways depending on whether you want the emphasis on the author (the first in-text citation above) or whether you want the emphasis on the idea (the second in-text citation).

How to use in-text citations when using a direct quotation

If the author is not referred to as part of the sentence, put the citation and page number in brackets:

"Critical thinking is argued to be the skill “to make careful judgements about information and to evaluate its quality" (Drew and Bingham, 2001, p. 282)."

N.B – notice that with a direct quotation you need to use double quotation marks and, where possible, you must include the page number so that your quotation can be verified.

If the source you are referring to has no date, for example, on a website, use n.d. instead:

(Lancaster University, n.d.)

If there is an instance in which an author published different texts in your reference list, use letters to denote the difference so that the reader can differentiate in the reference list.

(Smith, 2008a) (Smith, 2008b)

How to cite works with more than 1 author

How to cite multiple publications by the same author/s in the same year.

There may be times when you have to cite two publications by an author published in the same year. To do this, you need to distinguish between the items in the text and the reference list by allocating letters.

Example: 

"The results of the survey showed that the standard of living was higher in the coastal regions (Williams, 2004a). Further research revealed that employment figures were also higher (Williams, 2004b)."

In your reference list, the publications would be shown as:

Williams, A. (2004a).  Survey of living standards in the coastal regions . London: Survey Press. 

Williams, A. (2004b).  Employment figures for the coastal regions . London: Survey Press.

How to cite works which have no obvious author

If possible, try to avoid citing works where the author is not obvious. However if you do need to cite a work which appears to have no author, use the following guidance:

Journal article, website or newspaper article with no author:

Use the first few words of the article title in double quotation marks, with "headline-style" capitalisation

("Barcelona to Ban Burqa," 2010)

Works with an anonymous author:

If the work you are referring to is designated as anonymous, the in-text citation should use the word Anonymous, followed by a comma and the date.

(Anonymous, 2019)

How to cite works with no date

If the source you are referring to has no date, for example, on a website, use n.d. instead.

How to cite a website

To cite a website or web page within the text of an assignment, cite by the author if there is one clearly stated. If there is no author you should cite by the website name or organisation name.

(World Health Organization, 2018)

How to cite a secondary source

This is when you are citing the work of an author which is mentioned in a book or journal article by another author. You should always try to read the original work where possible, but if not, you must make it clear that you have not read the original work by using the phrase ‘cited in’ and then include the reference for the source from which the information is taken. 

Within the text you would present this as follows:

"There have been many in-depth comparisons (Kazmer and Xie, 2008 as cited in Robson, 2011)…"

In the reference list, you would provide the full reference for Robson’s (2011) work, not Kazmer and Xie’s (2008) work.

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• Citing Part of a Book or Ebook

Citing Part of a Book (Chapter, Essay, Entry, etc.) (APA)

When you use a book source, you do not always need to use the entire book. Sometimes, you will only use a certain chapter or section of a book for your research. Below are some other examples of parts of books that you might need to cite instead of the book as a whole:

• Book chapters

Note: If you have a book with author(s) but no editor(s), you would cite the whole book even if you only use a part of the book.

• General Rules

Print Book or Ebook with a DOI given

• Ebook from a Database - no DOI
• Ebook from the Internet (Not a from a Database) - no DOI
• Help Resources

Format:  Author(s) of Part. (Year). Title of part. In Editor's Name (Ed.),  Title of book in italics  (Edition ed., Vol. volume number, pp. page numbers of part). Publisher. DOI/URL

Information for APA Citations

Author / editor:.

If no author given, skip the author and move the title in front of the date; alphabetize entry by title.

If group author (company, association, organization, etc.) and publisher are the same, list group author in the author position and skip the publisher (to avoid repetition).

If more than one editor, list all names (following the same rules as multiple authors) and put (Eds.) in parenthesis.

If no date is given, use (n.d.).

In the citation, capitalize proper nouns and the first words of title and subtitle - this is for both the title of the part and the title of the entire book (however the title of the entire book will also be italicized).

Note: If you mention a title in your paper, all major words  should be  capitalized. If it is part of a book, it should be in quotation marks and if the title of the book, it should be in italics.

List the publisher's name as shown in the source. Do not abbreviate (unless shown that way). Follow capitalization as shown in source.

Use imprints or divisions as the publisher if listed (instead of the larger company).

Do not include business structures like Inc., Ltd., LLC, etc. even if they appear as part of the publisher's name.

Page Numbers

Use pp. for a page range where listed, but use a single p. for sources on one page.

DOI versus URL:

Always list the DOI if given. DOI is preferred rather than a URL.

If a DOI is not given, but the source can be found in a library database, then there is no need to include a URL (simply cite the entry the same way you would a print entry). However, if a DOI is not given, and the source is not in a library database - rather found on the internet - then include a URL (to help people find it).

URLs should be as specific as possible (i.e. take the reader directly to the page you used). So use the full URL (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/us/politics/william-barr-house-judiciary-hearing.html) rather than the home page (https://www.nytimes.com).

Present DOI’s and URL’s as hyperlinks beginning with http:// or https:// (Links can be ‘live’ if your writing is going to be viewed electronically or online).

Formatting:

Double space entries. If an entry runs more than one line, use a hanging indent which indents any additional lines beyond the first (there is a button in Microsoft Word and other programs to do this; do not use the tab button or the space bar).

Acceptable abbreviations can be found on pp. 306-7 of the APA manual.

If what you are citing is not listed in APA manual, choose the example in the manual most like your source.

Example:  Yaklin, S. S., & Halter, M. J. (2022). Impulse control disorders. In M. J. Halter (Ed.),  Varcarolis foundations of psychiatric-mental health nursing: A clinical approach Gale encyclopedia of medicine  (9th ed., pp. 391-405). Elsevier.

Example:  Turner, J. B. (2006). Diaper rash. In J. L. Longe (Ed.),  The Gale encyclopedia of medicine  (3rd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 1169-1171). Thomson Gale. https://doi.org/10.1002/97804560 

Ebook from a Database with no DOI given

Example:  Weinstock, R., Leong, G. B., & Silva, J. A. (2003). Defining forensic psychiatry. In R. B. Rosner & J. R. Gilbert (Eds.),  Forensic psychiatry  (2nd ed., pp. 7-13). Mosby.  

Ebook from the Internet (Not from a Database) with no DOI given

Example:  Stockton, L., Smith, F. B., & Fields, J. A. (2020). Dementia. In  Aging conditions  (p. 13). Parsons. http://www.dementiabook.com

• How to Cite a Part of a Book in APA This worksheet will break down how to cite parts of books (chapters, sections, etc.) in APA format.

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• Formatting the Author & Title
• Citing a Book or Ebook
• Citing an Encyclopedia
• Citing a Journal Article
• Citing an Article Written for a Database
• Citing a Magazine or Newspaper Article
• Citing Interviews, Emails, etc.
• Citing a Website Article or Page
• Citing a Video
• Citing Images in a Project
• In-text Citations
• Annotated Bibliography - APA
• Formatting Your Title Page and Paper in Word
• Formatting Your Reference Page in Word
• APA Handouts
• More APA Resources
• APA Workshop (Mar. 2022)

Questions? Ask a Librarian

• Last Updated: Mar 7, 2024 10:20 AM
• URL: https://libguides.sccsc.edu/APA

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APA Style Guide: Citing a Book

• APA Style: Home
• Getting Started
• Citing a Book
• Citing an Article
• Citing a Website
• In-Text Citations
• Reference Page
• Terms & Definitions
• APA Frequently Asked Questions
• Handouts & Tutorials
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• Research Center
• Writing Center

Book Citations

• Basic Format
• Electronic Book
• Edited Book
• Translation

Author' Last Name, Author's first initial. (Year of publication) . Title of work: Capital letter also

For subtitle . publisher., book with a single author.

Gore, A. (2006). An Inconvenient Truth: The planetary emergency of global warming and what we can do about it . Rodale Press.

• List author last-name first, followed by the author's initials.

Book With Multiple Authors

Bartlett, J.G.& Gallant, J.E. (2007). Medical Management of HIV Infection. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, Dept. Of Infectious Diseases.

• List authors last-name first, followed by authors' initials. Authors should be separated by the ampersand (&) instead of "and".

Editions Other Than the First

Helfer, M. E., Kempe, R. S., & Krugman, R. D. (1997). The battered child (5th ed.). University of Chicago Press.

Author's Last Name, Author's First Initial. (Year). Title of book: Capital letter also for subtitle .

[type/version of e-book] . retrieved from: url..

De Huff, E. W. (n.d.). Taytay’s tales: Traditional Pueblo Indian tales . Retrieved from http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/dehuff/taytay/taytay.html

Author' Last Name, Author's first initial.   (Year of publication) . Chapter Title . In book editors

(eds.), title of book: capital letter also for subtitle . location: publisher ., edited book with author.

Plath, S. (2000). The unabridged journals . K. V. Kukil (Ed.). New York, NY: Anchor.

Edited Book, No Author

Duncan, G. J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (Eds.). (1997) . Consequences of growing up poor . New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation .

• When citing a book that has editors but no author, place the editor(s) name first, before the publication date.

Chapter in An Edited Book

O'Neil, J. M., & Egan, J. (1992). Men's and women's gender role journeys: A metaphor for healing, transition, and transformation. In B. R. Wainrib

(Ed.), Gender issues across the life cycle (pp. 107-123) . New York, NY: Springer.

• When citing a chapter within an edited book, add the chapter title immediately after the date of publication, then include the names of any editors, and then continue with the book title and publication information.

Author's Last name, Author's First Initial. (Year). Title of Book: Capital letter also for subtitle .

(translator's first initial and last name). location, publisher. (date of original publication).

Laplace, P. S. (1951). A philosophical essay on probabilities . (F. W. Truscott & F. L. Emory, Trans.). New York, NY: Dover. (Original work published

The citation examples on this page and on subsequent pages have been borrowed from the Purdue Online Writing Lab ( https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/1/ ), and from the Defiance College Pilgrim Library Writing Center APA Style Guide ( http://library.defiance.edu/c.php?g=333902&p=2243144 ).

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• Instruction

APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Article in a Reference 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.).

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Author Surname [of Article], Year)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

(Author Surname [of Article], Year, page number)

References (Quotation):

Author Surname [of Article], First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Article title. In Editor First Initial. Second Initial. Surname (Ed.), Reference book title: Subtitle (# ed. edition, Vol. volume #, pp. page range of article). Publisher.

(Lindgren, 1994)

(Lindgren, 1994, p.468)

References:

Lindgren, H. C. (1994). Stereotyping. In Encyclopedia of psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 468-469). Wiley.

Subject Guide

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APA Citation Style, 7th Edition: Chapter in a Book

• APA 6/7 Comparison Guide
• New & Notable Changes
• Student Paper Layout
• Journal Article with One Author
• Journal Article with Two Authors
• Journal Article with Three or more Authors
• Help?! I can't find the DOI
• One Author/Editor
• Two Authors/Editors
• Chapter in a Book
• Electronic Books
• Social Media Posts
• YouTube or other streaming video
• Podcast or other audio works
• Infographic, Powerpoint, or other visual works
• Government Websites & Publications, & Gray Literature
• Legislative (US & State House & Senate) Bills
• StatPearls, UpToDate, DynaMedex
• Dissertations & Thesis
• Interviews & Emails
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Datasets, Software, & Tests
• Posters & Conference Sessions
• Photographs, Tables, & PDF's
• Canvas Posts & Class Discussion Boards
• In-Text Citations & Paraphrasing
• References Page
• Free APA 7th edition Resources, Handouts, & Tutorials

Citing a Book Chapter

References:

Thompson, C. (2012). How can we develop an evidence-based culture? In J. V. Craig & R. L. Smith (Eds.), The evidence-based practice manual for nurses  (3rd ed. ,  pp. 323-357). Churchhill Livingstone Elsevier.  https://www.elsevier.com/books/the-evidence-based-practice-manual-for-nurses/craig/978-0-7020-4193-8

In-text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Thompson, 2012)

In-text Citation (Direct Quote):

(Thompson, 2012, p. 326)

Carrie Forbes, MLS

Page References

Citation information has been adapted from the APA Manual (6th Edition). Please refer to page 326-327 of the APA Manual (7th Edition) for more information.

Helpful Tips

-Be mindful of hyphenated names, particularly hyphenated first names in your reference list. If an author or editor has a hyphenated first name, include first initials for both separated by a hyphen. For example: Lamour, J.-B. for Jean-Baptiste Lamour.

-If your reference list includes publications by two or more authors with the same last name, you should include the first initial in all in-text citations in order to help the reader avoid confusion.

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

- Electronic books and books from electronic databases are cited exactly the same way print books are, there is no difference. The only time you differentiate is if you use an audio version of the book. 

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / How to Cite a Chapter in a Book APA

How to Cite a Chapter in a Book APA

Creating citations for entire books in APA is one thing, but what happens when you need to cite a specific chapter within that book? This EasyBib citation guide will go over the correct way to create an APA chapter citation for chapters from both printed books and digital books, as well as how you can use this information to cite things like sections, paragraphs, pages, and more. The information provided here references the 7th edition of the American Psychological Association’s Publication Manual (this guide is not affiliated with the association).

Looking for lessons about something other than citing a book chapter? At EasyBib, you will find citation tools and an extensive collection of reference guides to help you finish that essay or research paper.

Guide Overview

• Two parts to citations for chapters

What you need

How to cite a chapter in a printed or online book with all contents written by the same author(s), how to cite a chapter in an edited book, how to cite a chapter in an edited book in another language (not translated), how to cite a chapter in an edited and translated book, two parts to citations for chapters .

Any source used in your paper should have the corresponding citations:

• In-text citation
• Full citation in the reference page

In-text citations

The in-text citation is included within the text of your paper. There are two types:

• Parenthetical citations
• Narrative citations

Parenthetical citations are placed at the end of a quote or paraphrase. These citations include a few details on the source (usually the author’s name or source title and the year published) within parentheses.

“When two cultures come together, the words of their languages compete for survival” (Crystal, 2013).

Narrative citations are when part of the source’s information is included within the sentence, so only the year needs to be indicated in parentheses.

Crystal wrote that “when two cultures come together, the words of their languages compete for survival” (2013).

Next, let’s take a look at how to create full citations or references for a specific chapter.

The general structure of a full reference for a chapter includes this information:

• Author’s name or the name of the group author
• Year published
• Title of the chapter
• Editor(s) names
• Title of the book
• Publisher name
• Edition and/or volume number (if applicable)
• Pages of chapter (pp. #-#)
• DOI or URL (if applicable)

Let’s look at how these elements fit into different types of source citations.

If you’re using information from a chapter of a book where one author or a group of authors equally share credit for all contents of the book, then you just cite the book — there’s no need to cite the chapter!

Author Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year Published). Title of book in sentence case. Publisher name. DOI or URL

Ray, R.B. (1985). A certain tendency of the Hollywood cinema, 1930-1980. Princeton University Press.

In-text citation:

Parenthetical citation: (Ray, 1985)

Narrative citation: Ray (1985)

Note that parenthetical in-text citations for direct quotes from the book should also include page numbers:

Parenthetical citation for direct quote: (Lee & Brown, 2000, pg. 44)

For a narrative citation, you can format your citation the same way you would an in-text citation, as long as you include the page number in the sentence. If you do not include the page number in the sentence, place it at the end, like this:

Narrative citation for direct quote:

Mia Lee and Paulo Brown (2000) assert that “future generations will thank us for the care we have taken here” (p. 44).

If the chapter you are trying to cite has been published within an edited book, then it’s necessary to provide both the author(s) of the chapter and the editor of the book, as well as the appropriate titles.

Chapter Author Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year Published). Title of chapter in sentence case. In Editor First Initial, Editor Second Initial, Editor Last Name (Ed.), Title of book in sentence case (Edition, Volume, Page No.) . Publisher Name. URL or DOI

Brooks, V.W. (1962). Preface. In R.S. Milton & L.G. Seymour (Eds.), American literature survey (3rd ed., pp. xvii-xx). Penguin Books.

Notice how both the chapter title (“Preface”) and the specific page numbers (“pp. xvii-xx”) are provided inside of the reference. For this reason, this information does not need to be included in the in-text citation unless a direct quote is being made. If a direct quote is being made, use the format in the section above (“How to cite a chapter in a printed or online book with all contents written by the same author”) to include page numbers.

Parenthetical citation: (Brooks, 1962)

Narrative citation: Brooks (1962)

Looking to cite something other than a book chapter? EasyBib is your source for comprehensive, easy-to-follow citation and reference guides that can help you finish your essay, paper, or project.

Write the name of the chapter in its original language, then write the translated name next to it in brackets. Much like citing a book that is in a different language that does not use the Roman alphabet, it is necessary to transliterate the chapter name with the Roman alphabet. The book name does not need to have a translation following it. Because the chapter name and page numbers are included in the reference, the page numbers do not need to be included in an in-text citation unless a direct quote is being made. If a direct quote is being made, use the format in the section above (“How to cite a chapter in a printed or online book with all contents written by the same author”) to include page numbers.

Chapter Author Last Name, F. M. (Year). Chapter name [Translated chapter name]. In Editor’s F. M. Last Name (Ed.), Title of book  (chapter page range pp. #-#). Publisher. DOI/URL

Morales, M. (2005). Usando technologia nueva [Using new technology]. In J. Reyes (Ed.),  El grande libro de enseñando (pp. 135-150). Libros Importantes.

Parenthetical citation: (Morales, 2005)

Narrative citation: Morales (2005)

If you’re using a chapter from an edited and translated book, be sure to include the names of both the translator and editor. If someone is both the translator and editor, you can include their name twice. Also, for works that have been republished from another language, include the original year published at the end of the citation. Again, because the chapter name and page numbers are included in the reference, the page numbers do not need to be included in an in-text citation unless a direct quote is being made. If a direct quote is being made, use the format in the section above (“How to cite a chapter in a printed or online book with all contents written by the same author”) to include page numbers.

Chapter Author Last Name, F. M. (Year). Chapter name (Translator F. M. Last Name, Trans.). In Editor F. M. Last Name (Ed.), Title of book  (chapter pages range pp. #-#). Publisher. (Original work published Year)

Han, T. (2014). The night the tiger was caught (1922-1923) (J. S. Noble, Trans.). In X. Chen (Ed.), The Columbia anthology of modern Chinese drama (pp. #-#). Columbia University Press.

Parenthetical citation: (Han, 2014)

Narrative citation: Han (2014)

Here is a video that explains how to cite a chapter in APA style:

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

American Psychological Association. (2020b). Style-grammar-guidelines. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/parenthetical-versus-narrative

Crystal, D. (2013). The story of English in 100 words. St. Martin’s Press.

Published October 31, 2011. Updated April 9, 2020.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau. Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

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 chapter in APA style, you need to have basic information including the author(s), publication year, chapter title, editor(s), and publisher. The templates for in-text citations and reference list entries of a book chapter with one author and one editor along with examples are given below.

Citing a chapter in an edited book in APA style

In-text citation templates and examples:

Author Surname (Publication Year)

Broadhead (2010)

Parenthetical

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Broadhead, 2010)

Reference list entry template and example:

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Chapter title: Subtitle. In F. Editor Surname (Ed.), Book title (pp. #–#). Publisher.

Broadhead, P. (2010). Building friendships through playful learning in the early years. In J. Moyles (Ed.), The excellence of play (pp. 216–228). McGraw-Hill.

Both the chapter title and the book title are set in sentence case; however, the book title is set in italics. The word “In” is used before the editor’s name. Note that the style for setting the editor’s name is the initial of the first name followed by the surname. Use “(Ed.)” after the editor’s name. Enclose page information after the book title in parenthesis.

To cite a book chapter with an editor and/or a translator in APA style, you need to have basic information including the authors, publication year, chapter title, editors and/or translators, book title, publisher, and page numbers. The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of a book chapter with an editor and/or a translator along with examples are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Author Surname (Original Publication Year/Republished Year)

Badiou (2003/2013)

(Author Surname, Original Publication Year/Republished Year)

(Badiou, 2003/2013)

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Chapter title: Subtitle. (F. TranslatorSurname, Trans.). In F. EditorSurname (Ed.), Book title (pp. #–#). Publisher. (Original work published year).

Badiou, A. (2013). The writing of the generic. (B. Bosteels, Trans.). In N. Power & A. Toscano (Eds.), On Beckett (pp. 1–36). Clinamen. (Original work published 2003).

The chapter title is in sentence case. The translator’s name is set in parenthesis along with the word “Trans.” Follow the first initial with the surname for the translator. The word “In” is used before the editor’s name. Note that the style for setting the editor’s name is the initial of the first name followed by the surname. Use “(Ed.)” after the editor’s name. The book title is set in italics. Include page numbers in parentheses after the book title with “pp.” before the page range. Include the publication year of the original work in parenthesis.

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Reference List: Books

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style  can be found here .

The following contains a list of the most commonly cited print book sources. E-books are described on our "Electronic Sources" page . For a complete list of how to cite print sources, please refer to the 7 th edition of the APA Publication Manual. 

Note: If available, APA 7 requires a DOI for all works that have one — whether print or digital. If a print work does not have a DOI do not include it in the reference citation.

Basic Format for Books

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle . Publisher Name. DOI (if available)

Stoneman, R. (2008). Alexander the Great: A life in legend . Yale University Press.

Edited Book, No Author

Editor, E. E. (Ed.). (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle . Publisher. DOI (if available)

Leitch, M. G., & Rushton, C. J. (Eds.). (2019).  A new companion to Malory . D. S. Brewer.

Edited Book with an Author or Authors

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (E. Editor, Ed.). Publisher. DOI (if available)

Malory, T. (2017). Le morte darthur (P. J. C. Field, Ed.). D. S. Brewer. (Original work published 1469-70)

A Translation

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (T. Translator, Trans.). Publisher. (Original work published YEAR) DOI (if available)

Plato (1989). Symposium (A. Nehamas & P. Woodruff, Trans.). Hackett Publishing Company. (Original work published ca. 385-378 BCE)

Note : When you cite a republished work, like the one above, in your text, it should appear with both dates: Plato (385-378/1989)

Edition Other Than the First

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (# edition). Publisher. DOI (if available)

Belcher, W. (2019). Writing your journal article in twelve weeks: A guide to academic publishing success (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.

Article or Chapter in an Edited Book

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor & F. F. Editor (Eds.), Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (pp. pages of chapter). Publisher. DOI (if available)

Note : When you list the pages of the chapter or essay in parentheses after the book title, use "pp." before the numbers: (pp. 1-21). This abbreviation, however, does not appear before the page numbers in periodical references. List any edition number in the same set of parentheses as the page numbers, separated by a comma: (2nd ed., pp. 66-72).

Armstrong, D. (2019). Malory and character. In M. G. Leitch & C. J. Rushton (Eds.), A new companion to Malory  (pp. 144-163). D. S. Brewer.

Multivolume Work

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (Vol. #) . Publisher. DOI (if available)

David, A., & Simpson, J. (Eds.). (2006). The Norton anthology of English literature: The Middle Ages (8 th ed.,Vol. A). W. W. Norton and Company.

Generate accurate APA citations for free

• Knowledge Base
• APA Style 7th edition
• APA format for academic papers and essays

APA Formatting and Citation (7th Ed.) | Generator, Template, Examples

Published on November 6, 2020 by Raimo Streefkerk . Revised on January 17, 2024.

The 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual provides guidelines for clear communication , citing sources , and formatting documents. This article focuses on paper formatting.

Generate accurate APA citations with Scribbr

Throughout your paper, you need to apply the following APA format guidelines:

• Set page margins to 1 inch on all sides.
• Double-space all text, including headings.
• Indent the first line of every paragraph 0.5 inches.
• Use an accessible font (e.g., Times New Roman 12pt., Arial 11pt., or Georgia 11pt.).
• Include a page number on every page.

Let an expert format your paper

Our APA formatting experts can help you to format your paper according to APA guidelines. They can help you with:

• Margins, line spacing, and indentation
• Font and headings
• Running head and page numbering

Table of contents

How to set up apa format (with template), apa alphabetization guidelines, apa format template [free download], page header, headings and subheadings, reference page, tables and figures, frequently asked questions about apa format.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

References are ordered alphabetically by the first author’s last name. If the author is unknown, order the reference entry by the first meaningful word of the title (ignoring articles: “the”, “a”, or “an”).

Why set up APA format from scratch if you can download Scribbr’s template for free?

Student papers and professional papers have slightly different guidelines regarding the title page, abstract, and running head. Our template is available in Word and Google Docs format for both versions.

• Student paper: Word | Google Docs
• Professional paper: Word | Google Docs

In an APA Style paper, every page has a page header. For student papers, the page header usually consists of just a page number in the page’s top-right corner. For professional papers intended for publication, it also includes a running head .

A running head is simply the paper’s title in all capital letters. It is left-aligned and can be up to 50 characters in length. Longer titles are abbreviated .

APA headings have five possible levels. Heading level 1 is used for main sections such as “ Methods ” or “ Results ”. Heading levels 2 to 5 are used for subheadings. Each heading level is formatted differently.

Want to know how many heading levels you should use, when to use which heading level, and how to set up heading styles in Word or Google Docs? Then check out our in-depth article on APA headings .

The title page is the first page of an APA Style paper. There are different guidelines for student and professional papers.

Both versions include the paper title and author’s name and affiliation. The student version includes the course number and name, instructor name, and due date of the assignment. The professional version includes an author note and running head .

For more information on writing a striking title, crediting multiple authors (with different affiliations), and writing the author note, check out our in-depth article on the APA title page .

The abstract is a 150–250 word summary of your paper. An abstract is usually required in professional papers, but it’s rare to include one in student papers (except for longer texts like theses and dissertations).

The abstract is placed on a separate page after the title page . At the top of the page, write the section label “Abstract” (bold and centered). The contents of the abstract appear directly under the label. Unlike regular paragraphs, the first line is not indented. Abstracts are usually written as a single paragraph without headings or blank lines.

Directly below the abstract, you may list three to five relevant keywords . On a new line, write the label “Keywords:” (italicized and indented), followed by the keywords in lowercase letters, separated by commas.

APA Style does not provide guidelines for formatting the table of contents . It’s also not a required paper element in either professional or student papers. If your instructor wants you to include a table of contents, it’s best to follow the general guidelines.

Place the table of contents on a separate page between the abstract and introduction. Write the section label “Contents” at the top (bold and centered), press “Enter” once, and list the important headings with corresponding page numbers.

The APA reference page is placed after the main body of your paper but before any appendices . Here you list all sources that you’ve cited in your paper (through APA in-text citations ). APA provides guidelines for formatting the references as well as the page itself.

Creating APA Style references

Play around with the Scribbr Citation Example Generator below to learn about the APA reference format of the most common source types or generate APA citations for free with Scribbr’s APA Citation Generator .

Formatting the reference page

Write the section label “References” at the top of a new page (bold and centered). Place the reference entries directly under the label in alphabetical order.

Finally, apply a hanging indent , meaning the first line of each reference is left-aligned, and all subsequent lines are indented 0.5 inches.

Tables and figures are presented in a similar format. They’re preceded by a number and title and followed by explanatory notes (if necessary).

Use bold styling for the word “Table” or “Figure” and the number, and place the title on a separate line directly below it (in italics and title case). Try to keep tables clean; don’t use any vertical lines, use as few horizontal lines as possible, and keep row and column labels concise.

Keep the design of figures as simple as possible. Include labels and a legend if needed, and only use color when necessary (not to make it look more appealing).

Check out our in-depth article about table and figure notes to learn when to use notes and how to format them.

The easiest way to set up APA format in Word is to download Scribbr’s free APA format template for student papers or professional papers.

Alternatively, you can watch Scribbr’s 5-minute step-by-step tutorial or check out our APA format guide with examples.

APA Style papers should be written in a font that is legible and widely accessible. For example:

• Times New Roman (12pt.)
• Arial (11pt.)
• Calibri (11pt.)
• Georgia (11pt.)

The same font and font size is used throughout the document, including the running head , page numbers, headings , and the reference page . Text in footnotes and figure images may be smaller and use single line spacing.

You need an APA in-text citation and reference entry . Each source type has its own format; for example, a webpage citation is different from a book citation .

Use Scribbr’s free APA Citation Generator to generate flawless citations in seconds or take a look at our APA citation examples .

Yes, page numbers are included on all pages, including the title page , table of contents , and reference page . Page numbers should be right-aligned in the page header.

To insert page numbers in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, click ‘Insert’ and then ‘Page number’.

APA format is widely used by professionals, researchers, and students in the social and behavioral sciences, including fields like education, psychology, and business.

Be sure to check the guidelines of your university or the journal you want to be published in to double-check which style you should be using.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Streefkerk, R. (2024, January 17). APA Formatting and Citation (7th Ed.) | Generator, Template, Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 1, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-style/format/

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Citing a book in APA style

When citing books in APA style, your citation should follow one of the basic formats below.

As is common in APA format, write the title of the book in “sentence case.” In other words, capitalize only the first letter, any proper nouns, and the first letter of a subtitle (after a colon).

Author Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Copyright Year). Title of the book . Publisher. DOI or URL (if available – not all books will have one).

Sheingate, A. D. (2016). Building a business of politics: The rise of political consulting and the transformation of American democracy . Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592718003882

If a book has two authors, put an “&” symbol between the names: Author, A. A. & Author, B. B.

If a book has three to twenty authors, separate names by commas and put an “&” symbol before the last author name: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C., & Author D. D.

APA does not require you to indicate whether the book is an electronic or print copy in your citation.

Edited book

For an edited book with no authors, list the editors in place of the author(s) and the abbreviation Eds. in parentheses following their names.

Editor, A. A., & Editor, B. B. (Eds.). (Copyright Year). Title of the book . Publisher. DOI or URL (if available)

Goodin, R. E., & Hans-Dieter, K. (Eds.). (1996). A new handbook of political science . Oxford University Press.

Chapter in an edited book

Edited books often consist of compilations of works from other authors. To cite a chapter or specific work from an edited book, you need to credit both the author of the chapter and the editors of the book. The title of the book is italicized, but the title of the chapter is not.

Author, A. A. (Copyright Year). Title of the book chapter. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Title of the book (pp. #-#). Publisher. DOI or URL (if available)

Christians, C. G. (2011). Ethics and politics in qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (pp. 61-80). Sage Publications.

More information

To see more examples and other situations of citing sources in APA style, see the library's online APA Citation guide . You can also find the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition) in the Knowledge Center’s reference collection and the Book Stacks. Purdue’s Online Writing Lab has a comprehensive guide to APA style .

Benefits of Citing Book in APA Form for Reader

A PA format stands for the American Psychological Association form, a guideline for formatting academic documents such as research papers, essays, and theses. It is to cite social science disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and education.

APA format specifies guidelines for various elements of an academic paper, including the title page, abstract, body, and reference page. The APA form intends to provide consistency in academic writing, making it easier for readers to understand the analysis presented in a paper. It also helps authors ensure that their work meets the standards of their field. 

How to Use the APA Citation Format

If you’re curious about how to cite a book in APA, this is the right section. Although many college students find it hard to cite books, there are several ways to get this done. We’ll list helpful tips below.

Paraphrasing and Reference List 

When writing data, the author’s last name and year of publication are still included in brackets, without including the page number. Example: (Smith, 2019) or Smith (2019) argued that…

A reference list is a separate page at the end of the paper that lists all data cited within. It is organized alphabetically by the author’s last name, year of publishing, the title of the work, plus publication information.

Use Proper Formatting 

APA citation needs a specific form for the referencing list, including double spacing, hanging indentation, and italicizing book and journal titles. When citing electronic sources, the author’s name, publication year, or title must be there, followed by a URL.

Outsource Your APA Style Papers 

Some find it hard to cite books in APA, especially if they are new or are unfamiliar with the guidelines. Suppose you’re a student like this who wants to get your paper written in APA format , or you need just a quality essay. In that case, you can always outsource it to academic platforms where you have an opportunity to hire a writer to help you get this done in record time. 

On these platforms, students choose writers who have years of experience. They have skills in all types of citations, like APA, so you’ll get proper value for the service. 

Use In-text Citations and Direct Quotes 

When listing ideas from a source within the text, the author’s last name and the year of publication are in brackets. For example, (Smith, 2019).

Direct quotes must be enclosed in quotation marks. Also, include the page number where quotes are found. For example, “This is a direct quote” (Smith, 2019, p. 10).

The Benefits of Citing Your Books With APA 

The APA form is essential to academic research and publication, as it promotes consistency, accuracy, and professionalism. Here are some of the benefits of using this citation for your books.

• Clear and Consistent: It provides clear guidelines for citing data that promote reference consistency.
• Avoid Plagiarism: It helps writers to avoid plagiarism by referencing their data accurately.
• Easy to Follow: It provides specific guidelines for in-text citations, reference lists, and other formatting requirements that are easy to follow.
• Widely Accepted: It is accepted across disciplines, including social sciences, education, nursing, psychology, and other fields.
• Boost Reliability: By citing sources according to APA guidelines, writers prove their professionalism by showing that they have conducted thorough probing and are well-versed in the relevant literature.
• Allows Replication: It allows other researchers to replicate the study by providing clear guidelines on how to cite the data.
• Provides a Standard Form: It provides a standard form for referencing data, which makes it easy for readers to locate the data cited in a particular work.

Why APA Citation is Used in Books Across Several Disciplines 

Writing has different citation forms, but the APA form is widely accepted because it cuts across various disciplines. Here are reasons why it is so popular in the academic sector.

Standardization

APA form provides a standard way of referencing data recognized by many disciplines. Using a common format helps ensure everyone is on the same page regarding referencing data.

Clarity and Accuracy

APA form aims to promote clarity in reference data. This is important in all aspects, ensuring readers can verify the data cited in a given work. It certifies that they can easily understand the information presented. This clearness ensures correctness since the readers know exactly what they’re reading.

Range 

One can use the APA form for different data varieties, which include books, journals, articles, and websites. APA has a range wide enough to cut across several disciplines for any type of research. One of the reasons why the APA form is so broad is that it provides specific guidelines for referencing different types of data. For example, when referencing a college book , the author’s name, publication date, book title, and publisher information when referencing a college book.

Historical Use

APA form has been used for over 80 years, making it a well-established citation form. Due to how long it has existed in academic publishing, APA is now a standard in the educational sector. The APA created the guidelines to address the need for consistency and standardization.

The first APA Publication Manual aired in 1952, with the latest being the 7th, published in 2019. Over the years, the APA form has improved to show changes in academic publishing.

Flexibility 

While APA form has specific guidelines for referencing data, it also allows variation. This means researchers can adapt it to suit the requirements of their discipline.

Conclusion 

There are many benefits to citing books in APA form for readers. The use of APA promotes accuracy across disciplines. By referencing data in APA form, readers verify the data cited in a given work, ensuring that the data is correct. This is important in a study where accuracy is crucial.

APA helps to boost clarity in analysis, making it easier for others to build upon previous work. The APA form’s uniformity also helps ensure everyone is on the same page regarding citing data. It is crucial that everyone learns how this works to ensure smooth reading.

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