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:
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.
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. 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. Edited books, when referred to as a whole book (not chapters of an edited book): Nussbaum, M. C., LaCroix, A. L., & Wood, D. P. (Eds.). (2013). Subversion and sympathy: Gender, law, and the British novel. Oxford UP. Gach, G. (Ed.). (2009). What book!?: Buddha poems from beat to hiphop. Parallax Press. Books where the "creators" play different/specific roles in authorship: Gould, J. (Illustrator), & Rutgers, A. (Writer). (1967). Birds of Australia (Vol. 2). Methuen. Ormerod, J. (Writer), & Blackwood, F. (Illustrator). (2021). Maudie and Bear: 10th Anniversary Edition. Hardie Grant. |
Note:
In-text citations for non-standard authors: Whoever is in the "author" position of the refence in the references list is treated like an author in text. So, for example, if you had an edited book and the editors of the book were in the "author" position at the beginning of the reference, you would treat them exactly the same way as you would an author - do not include any other information. The same applies for works where the "author" is an illustrator, producer, composer, etc.
Order of authors for non-standard authors: When there are multiple creators involved in a work, cite them in the order in which they appear in the book. For example, in a children's book the illustrator's name may appear before the writer's name. Keep this order and do not change it.
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