There is a standard format for book citations in the APA style guide, but some books have special characteristics. Pay particular attention to the guidelines for citing online books, non-authored books, and translated works.
Steps
Method 1 of 5: Standard Format
Step 1. Write the name of the author or authors
For each author you should write the surname and initial of the name. If it has one, include the initial of the middle name after that of the first. Separate two authors with ampersand (&) and three or more authors with commas.
- Doe, J. H.
- Doe, J. H. & Rowell, L. C.
- Doe, J. H., Rowell, L. C. & Hoffman, M. A.
Step 2. Specify the publication year
Write the year the book was published in parentheses, and end with a period.
Doe, J. H. & Rowell, L. C. (2009)
Step 3. Write the title of the book
The title should be italicized and you should capitalize only the first letter of the first word. If the book has a subtitle, the first letter of the first word after the colon is capitalized. Also capitalize proper names, regardless of their position in the title.
Doe, J. H. & Rowell, L. C. (2009). Coming home for Christmas: Stories about college life
Step 4. Specify the edition if needed
If the libto has more than one edition, specify it by writing the edition number "ed." in brackets. If there is only one edition this step is not necessary.
Doe, J. H. & Rowell, L. C. (2009). Coming home for Christmas: Stories about college life (II ed.)
Step 5. If available, add the name of the editor
If the book has an editor, in addition to the author or authors, write the initial of their first name and middle name and the full surname. If there are multiple editors, separate them with a comma and put an ampersand between the last two names. Indicates that the names belong to the editors by writing, after the names, "Ed." for an editor or "Eds." for multiple editors.
- Doe, J. H. & Rowell, L. C. (2009). Coming home for Christmas: Stories about college life (II ed.). R. Smith, H. G. Hernandez & C. H. Jacobs (Eds.).
- Doe, J. H. & Rowell, L. C. (2010). Coming home for Christmas: Stories about college life (III ed.). H. G. Hernandez (Ed.).
Step 6. Conclude with the place of publication and publisher
If the publishing house is located in a large city, it is sufficient to write the name of that city. For lesser known cities, however, also add the state. Separate place of publication and publisher with a colon and end with a period.
- Doe, J. H. & Rowell, L. C. (2009). Coming home for Christmas: Stories about college life (II ed.). R. Smith, H. G. Hernandez & C. H. Jacobs (Eds.). New York: Independent Press.
- Doe, J. H. (2008). Coming home for Christmas: Stories about college life. R. Smith (Ed.). Beavercreek, OH: Small Town Press.
Method 2 of 5: Online Book
Step 1. Follow the standard format for author name, year, title, location and publisher
The name of the author (s) should include the surname, the initial of the first name and the initial of the middle name (when present). The year should be written in parentheses, followed by the title in italics. The place of publication and the name of the publisher should be separated by a colon. If the edition number or editor's name is available, you can write them after the title and before the publisher information.
- Gillian, V. A. (2006). Home away from home. New York: Independent Press.
- Gillian, V. A., Williams, D. P. & Robertson, C. (2008) Home away from home (II ed.). Alicea, M. B. (Ed.). New York: Independent Press.
Step 2. Indicate the date you viewed the book
Enter the date with the expression "Consulted on." The date should include the day, month and year. End with a comma.
Gillian, V. A. (2006). Home away from home. New York: Independent Press. Accessed December 5, 2012,
Step 3. Add the URL of the website from which you have access to the book
Enter the URL with the word "from." Don't add the period at the end.
Gillian, V. A. (2006). Home away from home. New York: Independent Press. Accessed December 5, 2012, from
Method 3 of 5: Book Written Without Author
Step 1. Write the name of the editor or editors
Write the surname first followed by the initials of the first and middle names. If there are two editors, separate the names with an ampersand. If there are three or more editors, separate the names with a comma and put an ampersand between the last two names. Indicate that they are editors by using the appropriate abbreviation "Ed." for an editor and "Eds." for multiple editors.
- C. H. Jacobs (Ed.).
- R. Smith, H. G. Hernandez & C. H. Jacobs (Eds.).
Step 2. Add the year of publication
The year the book was published should follow the editor's information. Write it in parentheses and end with a period.
C. H. Jacobs (Ed.). (2001)
Step 3. Follow the standard format for entering title, place of publication and publisher information
If there is more than one, you can also specify the edition number.
- C. H. Jacobs (Ed.). (2001) Tales from back east. New York: Independent Press.
- C. H. Jacobs (Ed.). (2004) Tales from back east (II ed.). New York, Independent Press.
Method 4 of 5: Translations
Step 1. Write the name of the original author (s)
The format for the name follows the standard citation rules. First the surname, then the initials of the first and middle names (if any).
Fujimoto, H
Step 2. Indicate the year in which the translated version was published
Do not write the year the original version was published. Instead, write the year of the version you are using or, in other words, the translated version. Write the date in parentheses.
Fujimoto, H. (1998)
Step 3. Write the title of the book
If the original title is in another language, you can use the accepted Italian translation of the title instead of the original language one. The title should be written in italics with only the first letter of the first word capitalized.
Fujimoto, H. (1998). Learn to play taiko percussion
Step 4. Add the name of the translator or translators in parentheses
Write the initials of the first and middle names followed by the surname. If there are multiple translators, separate each name with a comma and the last two with an ampersand. After the names, put a comma and write the abbreviation "Trad."
- Fujimoto, H. (1998). Learn to play taiko percussion. (C. J. Michaels, Trad.).
- Fujimoto, H. (1998). Learn to play taiko percussion. (M. Smith, J. W. Lee, & R. L. Johnson, Trad.).
Step 5. Specify the place of publication and the publisher
The two pieces of information should be separated with a colon. Use the publisher's information about the translated version of the text.
Fujimoto, H. (1998). Learn to play taiko percussion. (C. J. Michaels, Trad.). New York: Independent Press
Step 6. Conclude by specifying when the original work was published
In parentheses, write the expression “Original work published” followed by the year of publication of the original text.
Fujimoto, H. (1998). Learn to play taiko percussion. (C. J. Michaels, Trans.). New York: Independent Press. (Original work published 1982)
Method 5 of 5: Article or Chapter of a Written Book
Step 1. Write the name of the author or authors
Write the surname first followed by the initials of the first and middle names. Separate multiple authors with a comma and put an ampersand between the last two names.
- Smith, R.
- Smith, R., Henderson, P. H., & Truman, I. G.
Step 2. Indicate the year of publication
The year of publication is the date the book was published and goes in parentheses.
Smith, R. (1995)
Step 3. Write the chapter title
Do not write it in italics and put it in viegolette. Write it as a sentence, capitalizing the first letter of the first word and ending with a period.
Smith, R. (1995). A new story dawns
Step 4. Specify the name of the editor of the book
Most of the time you will need to specify the name of the editor, as there is no need to cite a specific chapter if the entire book was written by the same author. Write the first and middle initials of the editor followed by the full surname. Include the abbreviation "Ed." if there is only one editor and "Eds." if they are more people.
Smith, R. (1995). A new story dawns. Janeway, J. L. (Ed.)
Step 5. Write the title of the book
The title should be written in italics.
Smith, R. (1995). A new story dawns. Janeway, J. L. (Ed.) Dreaming of other worlds
Step 6. Specify the chapter pages in parentheses
Write the information in brackets and enter the page numbers with the abbreviation "pp."
Smith, R. (1995). A new story dawns. Janeway, J. L. (Ed.) Dreaming of other worlds (pp. 44-52)
Step 7. Conclude with the place of publication and the name of the publisher
Separate the two pieces of information with a colon. End with a period.
