How to Cite a Book in APA 7th Edition: Complete Guide With Examples
Master APA 7th edition book citations with our complete guide. Learn print books, e-books, edited chapters, and multi-author rules with clear examples.
You Know the Feeling: One Tiny Citation Detail Holding Up Your Entire Paper
You’ve finished writing your research paper. The arguments are solid, the evidence is compelling, the conclusion ties everything together. But then comes the reference list — and you freeze. Is it “pp.” or “p.”? Do you italicize the book title? What about the edition number? And heaven forbid the book has four authors.
Book citations in APA 7th Edition are notoriously tricky because they come in so many shapes: print books, e-books, edited volumes, multi-author works, translated editions. One wrong comma can mean a grade penalty or a rejection from a journal. You’re not alone — citation formatting is the single most common headache students and researchers face.
This guide walks you through every book citation scenario you’ll encounter, with clear examples you can copy and adapt. By the end, you’ll never guess about a book citation again.
Understanding APA 7th Edition Book Citations
APA 7th Edition (published in 2019) introduced several important changes to book citation rules. The format was simplified in some areas and expanded in others. The basic building block of any book citation follows this pattern:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (edition if applicable). Publisher.
That might look straightforward, but every element has specific rules about capitalization, punctuation, and formatting. APA 7th Edition — unlike APA 6th — no longer requires the publisher location. This single change eliminates a common source of error. The focus is now entirely on who published the work, not where.
Why does strict format matter? Because academic citations serve two critical purposes: they give proper credit to the original authors, and they allow your readers to locate the exact source you used. A sloppy citation undermines your credibility and your reader’s ability to verify your claims.
How to Cite a Print Book
The standard print book is the most common citation you’ll write. Here’s the format with a concrete example:
Format:
Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of book: Subtitle if any. Publisher Name.
Example:
Pinker, S. (2018). Enlightenment now: The case for reason, science, humanism, and progress. Viking.
Key rules to remember:
- Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle, plus any proper nouns (sentence case)
- Italicize the entire title, including the period after it
- Include the edition in parentheses after the title if it’s not the first edition (e.g., “Title of book” [3rd ed.])
- Omit the publisher location — just the publisher name is sufficient
- Use the full publisher name but drop terms like “Inc.,” “Co.,” or “Publishers”
Pro tip: For books with a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), add https://doi.org/xxxx at the end, even for print books. Not all print books have DOIs, but if yours does, include it.
How to Cite an E-book
E-books follow the same basic structure as print books, with one critical addition: the DOI or URL. APA 7th Edition treats e-books as books first, not as website content. The format changes only at the end, where you provide the retrieval information.
Format (with DOI):
Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of book. Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxx
Example (with DOI):
Brown, B. (2015). Rising strong. Random House. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000015-000
Format (without DOI, from a database):
Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of book. Publisher.
Format (without DOI, from the open web):
Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of book. Publisher. https://url.com
| Source Type | Include URL/DOI? |
|---|---|
| E-book with DOI | Yes — DOI required |
| E-book from academic database (no DOI) | No — database URLs are not stable |
| E-book from open web (e.g., Google Books, Project Gutenberg) | Yes — include the URL |
| Audiobook | Yes — include URL and note “Audiobook” in brackets |
A common mistake is treating e-book citations like website citations. APA 7th Edition is clear: e-books are books, and the format is a book reference with a retrieval link appended — not a webpage reference.
How to Cite a Chapter in an Edited Book
Edited books are collections where each chapter has a different author. The chapter author gets credit, not the book editor. This distinction trips up many students.
Format:
Chapter Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.
Example:
Dweck, C. S. (2017). The growth mindset in education. In K. R. Wentzel & D. B. Miele (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (2nd ed., pp. 43–62). Routledge.
Watch out for these details:
- The chapter title is not italicized — only the book title is
- Use “In” before the editor’s name
- Abbreviate Ed. (Editor) or Eds. (Editors) after the name
- Include the page range of the chapter in parentheses
- For multi-volume works, include the volume number: (Vol. 2, pp. 100–120)
How to Cite a Book With Multiple Authors
APA 7th Edition introduced a major simplification for multi-author citations. The old “et al.” rules from APA 6th are gone. Here’s what you need to know:
One author: List the single author as usual.
Two authors: List both, separated by “&.”
Three or more authors: Up to 20 authors are now listed in full in the reference list. Yes, 20.
21+ authors: List the first 19, insert an ellipsis (…), then add the final author’s name with no ampersand.
Example (2 authors):
Mankiw, N. G. & Taylor, M. P. (2020). Economics (5th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Example (3+ authors):
Smith, J. A., Johnson, K. L., Williams, R. B., & Garcia, M. T. (2021). Modern research methods. Academic Press.
In-text (parenthetical): Always list up to two authors. For three or more, use “et al.” from the first citation: (Smith et al., 2021).
In-text (narrative): Smith et al. (2021) found that …
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Even experienced researchers slip up on these. Here are the most frequent book citation errors in APA 7th Edition — and how to avoid them:
- Using title case instead of sentence case: APA 7th Edition requires sentence case for book titles in the reference list. Only the first word, first word of the subtitle, and proper nouns get capitalized.
- Including the publisher location: APA 6th required the city and state. APA 7th dropped this entirely. Including it is a telltale sign you’re using outdated information.
- Forgetting the edition number: If you’re citing a 2nd, 3rd, or later edition, it must be noted in parentheses after the title. The first edition does not need an edition statement.
- Missing the DOI: If an e-book has a DOI, it must be included. APA 7th treats a missing DOI as an incomplete reference.
- Confusing chapter authors with book editors: In edited books, credit goes to the chapter author, not the editor. The editor appears in the “In Editor (Ed.)” portion.
- Improperly formatting the & symbol: Use “&” between authors in the reference list and parenthetical citations, but “and” in narrative text.
Quick fix: If you’re unsure about any element of your citation, check the official APA Style website for authoritative examples. For a deeper dive into the full APA citation system, see our complete APA 7th Edition: Complete Formatting Guide.
Simplify Book Citations with Formatly
You now know the rules. But knowing the rules and applying them correctly to 30+ references in a single paper are two very different things. One distraction, one formatting slip, and your carefully crafted reference list has a cascade of errors.
That’s why we built Formatly. Upload your document, tell us the citation style, and Formatly applies APA 7th Edition formatting to every citation, heading, margin, and page number in about 30 seconds. You get a perfectly formatted document with tracked changes so you can review every edit. No more staring at citation guides wondering if you got it right.
We also offer guidance on other citation scenarios you might need — such as citing journal articles in APA 7th Edition and citing websites in APA 7th Edition.
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