APA & Academic Writing
Book References in APA 7: Practical Examples for Every Author Type
How to format book references in APA 7 with copy-ready examples: one author, multiple authors, 21 or more authors, and a chapter in an edited book.
Introduction
Books are one of the most common sources used in student academic writing. However, preparing book references in APA 7 can be confusing because the format changes depending on the number of authors and the type of source, for example, a whole book, an edited book, or a chapter in an edited book.
Before preparing specific book references, it is useful to understand the basic structure of an APA book reference. In a separate article, we explain the six basic rules for book references in APA 7, including how to write the author’s name, year of publication, book title, edition, publisher, and DOI or URL when available.
In this guide, we show how to prepare different types of book references in APA 7, with practical examples that students can use when writing essays, reports, or academic papers.
1. Book with one author
Format:
Surname, Initial. (Year). Title of the book. Publisher.
Example:
Weston, A. (2018). A rulebook for arguments (5th ed.). Hackett Publishing Company.
Use this format when you refer to a whole book written by one author. In APA style, the edition number is included only when there is more than one edition of the book; the first edition is not indicated in the reference.
2. Book with two authors
Format:
Surname, Initial., & Surname, Initial. (Year). Title of the book. Publisher.
Example:
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage Pubs.
Remember that in the reference list, the symbol & is used before the last author.
3. Book with three or more authors
Format:
Surname, Initial., Surname, Initial., & Surname, Initial. (Year). Title of the book. Publisher.
Example:
Kotler, P., Kartajaya, H., & Setiawan, I. (2017). Marketing 4.0: Moving from traditional to digital. Wiley.
In APA 7, if a source has up to 20 authors, all authors should be listed in the reference list.
4. Book with 21 or more authors
In APA 7, if a book has 21 or more authors, list the first 19 authors, add an ellipsis, and then include the final author’s name. Do not use ”&” before the final author.
Format:
Author 1, Author 2, Author 3, Author 4, Author 5, Author 6, Author 7, Author 8, Author 9, Author 10, Author 11, Author 12, Author 13, Author 14, Author 15, Author 16, Author 17, Author 18, Author 19, … Last Author. (Year). Title of the book. Publisher.
Example:
Smith, J. A., Brown, L. M., Johnson, K. P., Williams, R. T., Jones, M. A., Miller, S. D., Davis, P. L., Garcia, R. N., Rodriguez, C. M., Wilson, T. E., Martinez, A. G., Anderson, B. K., Taylor, J. S., Thomas, L. R., Moore, H. P., Martin, E. C., Jackson, D. A., Thompson, F. L., White, N. R., … Clark, M. J. (2022). Academic writing and research methods. Oxford University Press.
5. Chapter in an edited book
Format:
Surname, Initial. (Year). Title of the chapter. In Initial. Surname (Ed.), Title of the book (pp. xx-xx). Publisher.
Example:
Marciniak, R. (2023). Key success factors of virtual learning communities in online courses. Recommendations for teachers. In J. M. Bugaj, M. Budzanowska-Drzewiecka, & B. Mikołajczyk (Eds.), Building academic community: Challenges for education quality management (pp. 151-176). Brill.
Use this format when you cite only one chapter from a book written by different authors. When you refer to this chapter in the body of your text, follow the rules for APA in-text citations.
