Skip to main content

APA (7th Edition) Referencing Guide

Guide to APA citation style using the 7th Edition of the APA Style Manual. This guide is in Beta mode, and some links and pages will become available shortly.

Check With Your Lecturer

This is a guide to the 7th Edition of APA style, which is a recent update to the APA citation style.

Your lecturer may prefer APA 6th Edition. Check your subject outline to see which version of APA you have been asked to use. If the subject outline does not specify which APA edition you should be using, please check with your lecturer.

If you are supposed to use APA 6th Edition, please go to the APA (6th Edition) Referencing Guide:

Is it a book?

Are you sure you should be citing the whole book, and not a chapter in the book? Check the page on Books and book chapters.

If you have a custom textbook created for your subject, look at the section on Custom Textbooks and Books of Readings.

Standard book pattern

Book Pattern:

Format

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date). Title in sentence case: Subtitle (edition, if not the first). Publisher. URL or DOI (if electronic)
Examples

Bach, S., & Grant, A. (2015). Communication and interpersonal skills in nursing (3rd ed.). Learning Matters.

Fenton-Smith, B., Humphreys, P., & Walkinshaw, I. (2017). English medium instruction in higher education in Asia-Pacific: From policy to pedagogy. Springer International Publishing.

Gould, J. (Illustrator), & Rutgers, A. (Writer). (1967). Birds of Australia (Vol. 2). Methuen.

McIlwraith, C. W., Nixon, A. J., & Wright, I. M. (2015). Diagnostic and surgical arthroscopy in the horse (4th ed.). Mosby. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-7234-3693-5.01001-8

Winfree, L. T., & Abadinsky, H. (2010). Understanding crime: Essentials of criminological theory (3rd ed.). Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Note:

  • You only include an edition number if it is not the first edition. If you have a multi volume work, the volume number goes in the same brackets as the edition number: (3rd ed., Vol. 4).
  • Include a DOI if available. Do not include a URL or database information for works from academic research databases - such as ProQuest or Medline - or a platform specific book, such as Kindle or Kobo. Include a URL for eBooks from other websites. These eBooks can't be accessed outside of their databases/platforms and should be cited the same way as a print book.
  • Are you trying to cite a section of a custom textbook? Custom textbooks are works that have been compiled for a particular course or cohort, and the chapters may have originally come from a variety of sources. Please see the section on Custom Textbooks under Class Handouts and Lectures.

How to reference a book using APA 7th

How to reference a book APA7th gif

We acknowledge the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and acknowledge Traditional Owners of the lands where our staff and students, live, learn and work.Acknowledgement of Country