How to Cite a Book in APA Style | Format & Examples

• Oct 17, 2023
• 6 min read

• Tags: Academic Writing, APA Citations, APA Style, Citations and References, Research Paper

If you need a simple explanation about citing books using the APA format, this article is for you! Accurately referenced APA book citations give clarity to readers about the sources used. In this article, we’ll explain the guidelines for APA 7 book citation in detail. 

We’ve also included specific examples to help you understand how to cite a book in the APA format. From explaining how to write in-text citations to how to cite multivolume books, we’ve covered everything for you. Dive in to understand how to cite ebooks, online books, chapters from edited books, and much more! 

How to cite a book in APA 7th edition 

An APA book citation usually begins with the author’s surname and first and middle name initials. If the middle initials aren’t mentioned, only the first and last names are cited. The book title is italicized whereas the publication year is written in parentheses (). An in-text citation for the book is also included where the author’s surname and the book’s publication year are cited. 

Following is the format for a simple APA 7th edition book citation: 

Author’s name, (year of publication), book title, (book edition), publisher, DOI (if available). 

Here’s an example of how to cite a book in an APA reference page: 

Chadee, D. (2022). Theories in social psychology (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons. 

         Parenthetical in-text citation: (Chadee, 2022) 

          Narrative in-text citation: Chadee (2022)

The APA book citation format to reference a direct quotation from a book is completely different from the above example. Given below is an example of how to cite a quotation in APA from a book. 

Reactance theory was developed by Jack W. Brehm and articulated in his Theory of  Psychological Reactance. (Chadee, D, 2022, p.15) 

        Parenthetical citation: (Chadee, 2022, p.15)

        Narrative citation: Chadee (2022, p.15) 

While the above examples show how to cite books with a single author, the APA format to cite books with multiple authors varies. If the book has two authors, their names are separated by an ampersand in the APA book citation. For example: 

Giddens, A., & Sutton, P. (2021). Essential concepts in sociology. Polity Press. 

Parenthetical citation: (Giddens & Sutton, 2021)

Narrative citation: Giddens & Sutton, (2021) 

If there are more than two authors, the last names and initials of all authors are cited in the APA reference page. In the in-text citation, only the first author’s name is mentioned followed by the words et al and the publication year in parentheses. For example: 

Tomley, S., Hobbs, M., Todd, M., Weeks, M. (2015). The sociology book: big ideas simply explained. Doring Kindersley Limited. 

Parenthetical citation: (Tomley et al., 2015) 

Narrative citation: Tomley et al. (2015) 

These examples accurately exhibit how to cite a book in APA in the text and reference page: Let us now see how to cite a book chapter in the APA format. 

Citing a book chapter in APA 

The APA citation for a chapter in a book includes the following details: : 

Author’s name, publication year, chapter title, editor/ editors names, book title, page range, publisher and DOI (if available). 

For example: 

Reed, I & Lamb-Books, B. (2011). Hermeneutics and Sociology: Deepening the Interpretive Perspective. In I. Zake & M. DeCesare (Eds.), New Directions in Sociology: Essays on Theory and Methodology in the 21st Century (pp. 13-30) McFarland & Company 

Parenthetical In-text citation: (Reed & Lamb-Books, 2011, p. 51) 

Narrative in-text citation: Reed & Lamb-Books (2011, p. 51) 

The above APA citation examples clearly demonstrate how to cite a chapter in a book. This format differs from how online books and ebooks are cited according to the APA style guide. Let’s now understand the APA book format for ebooks and online books in detail. 

Citing online books and ebooks in APA  

Following is the format to cite online books and ebooks in APA: 

Author’s Name, Publication Date, Book Title, Publisher, DOI (if available) 

Note: If the DOI is not available, you can link the URL where you viewed the book or the site from where the book can be purchased or accessed. 

Here is an APA citation example of an online book without DOI: 

Korgen, K. O., & Atkinson, M. P. (Eds.). (2020). Sociology in action. SAGE  Publications. https://www.amazon.com/Sociology-Action-Kathleen-Odell-Korgen/dp/1071802283

         Parenthetical citation: (Korgen & Atkinson, 2020) 

         Narrative citation: Korgen & Atkinson (2020) 

Citing Single-volume Books in APA 

There are two ways to cite single-volume books. If the volume’s title is given, the APA format to cite the source is: 

Author’s name, publication year, volume number and title, publisher, and DOI (if available).  

The title and volume number are then italicized in the citation entry. For example: 

Kelly, G. (2005). The psychology of personal constructs. Vol. 1, A theory of personality. Routledge 

Parenthetical citation: (Kelly, 2005) 

Narrative citation: Kelly (2005) 

However, if the volume has no title, instead, it only has a number, then this number is written after the title and is not italicized. Here’s an example: 

‌Roth, I. (Ed). (2021). Introduction to psychology (Vol 1). Psychology Press

Parenthetical citation: (Roth, 2021) 

Narrative citation: Roth, (2021) 

Citing multi-volume books in APA 

The volumes need to be mentioned after the title in parentheses to cite a book with multiple volumes. The volume titles aren’t included in the citation entry for multiple volumes. The format to cite a multi-volume book is: 

Author’s name, first and middle initials, publication year, book title, volume number, publisher, DOI (if available).   

Graceffo, R. A. (2022). A Humane Vision of Clinical Psychology, (Volume 2). Taylor &  Francis 

If you wish to cite the entire multi-volume book, you need to cite the volumes in parentheses after the book title. For example: 

James, W. (2021). The principles of psychology, (Vols. 1–2) Henry Holt & Company (Originally published 1890) 

Citing edited books with no authors in APA 

To cite edited books with no authors, the editors’ surnames and first name initials are written followed by an abbreviation for editors. If there is one editor, the word “Ed.” is written in parentheses. However, if there are two or more editors, the word “Eds.” is written in parentheses. Following is the format to cite edited books in APA format: 

Editors’ last names, first and middle initials, publication year, book title, publisher, and DOI (if available). 

Lamont, M. & Thevenot, L. (Eds.). (2000). Rethinking comparative cultural sociology. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511628108

Note: If you wish to cite an edition other than the first, you need to mention the edition number in the citation entry. Here is an APA book citation example for a book with an edition: 

Janoro, R. & Altshuler, T. (2016). The art of being human (11thed.). Pearson. 

Citing a textbook in APA format 

Since a textbook has more than one author, the citation for a textbook is different from that of a book with a single author. Let’s see the following format to understand how to cite a textbook according to APA’s style guide: 

Authors’ name, publication year, textbook title, edition, publisher, and DOI (if available). 

Dealey, J. Q., & Ward, L. F. (1905). A text-book of sociology. MacMillan Co. https://doi.org/10.1037/13855-000

The in-text citations in APA format are written differently, depending on the number of authors to cite. If the textbook has only two authors, the surnames of both authors are written along with the year of publication. For example:

Parenthetical citation: (Dealey & Ward, 1905)

Narrative citation: Dealey & Ward. (1905) 

If the textbook has more than two authors, in the in-text citation, only the first author’s name is written, followed by the words “et al” and the publication date. For example: 

Parenthetical citation: (Brock et al. 2004) 

Narrative citation: Brock et al. (2004) 

Citing a book with a new foreword in APA 

The format for an APA citation for a book with a new foreword is: 

Original Author’s Name, Author of the New Foreword, the Publication Year of the Book with the New Foreword, book title, edition number, publisher, and the year the book was first published. 

Varisco, D. (with Majid, A.). (2018). Culture Still Matters: Notes From the Field. (121st ed.) BRILL. (Original work published 2001)

For the in-text citation, you only need to mention the original author who wrote the book, the year the book was originally published and the year the book with the new foreword was published. For example: 

Parenthetical citation: (Varisco, 2001, 2018)

Narrative citation: Varisco (2001, 2018) 

Citing a translated book 

Following is the format to cite a translated book in APA style: 

Author’s last name, first initials, the year the translated book was published, name of the translator, publisher, the year when the book was first published. For example: 

Öcalan, A., (2020). The sociology of freedom. (Havin Guneser, Trans.). PM Press. (Original work published 2019) 

Parenthetical citation: (Öcalan, 2019/2020) 

Narrative citation: Öcalan (2019/2020) 

Here is an example of an APA citation for a chapter of a book, republished in translation: 

Freud, S. (2022). Group psychology and the analysis of the ego. (J. Strachey Trans.) In E. Jones (Ed.), Le Bon’s description of the group mind (pp 5–23) Lector House (Original work published 1921). 

Parenthetical citation: (Freud, 1921/2022) 

Narrative citation: Freud (1921/2022) 

We hope these APA book citation examples have cleared all your doubts about how to reference books. As editing and proofreading experts, we realize how citing sources in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and Oxford formats can seem tricky. 

To help you understand how to effectively cite sources, we have created a useful list of resources. Continue reading to brush up on your knowledge of various style guides! 

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Priya

Priya has a talent for academic research and enjoys simplifying complex topics. When she's not helping students improve their writing, she can be seen reading poetry, playing the harmonium, or learning classical dance.