Cite a Textbook in APA

Citing a textbook in APA format is essentially the same as citing any other book in APA format. Textbooks often have editors and extra editions, however, so you may need to take a few extra steps in order to cite the textbook correctly.

Steps

Citation Cheat Sheet

Doc:APA Citation for Textbook

Using APA Style to Cite an Authored Textbook

1. Study the full citation before you try to replicate it. Before we break down each part, take a moment to look at a full citation example in APA Style, so you can follow it.
   • Example: Smith, P. (2012). Cut to the chase: Online video editing and the Wadsworth constant (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: E & K Publishing.
   • Here is an example without the specifics: Author last, first name initial. Middle name initial. (Year published). Book title: Subtitle (number ed.). City, State: Publisher.
   • In the specific example, Smith, P. is the author. (2012) is the year the textbook was published. The phrase in quotation marks is the title of the textbook. (3rd ed.) is the edition. Washington, DC is where the publisher is located. E & K Publishing is the name of the publisher.
   • You will need to follow this format with the specific information relating to the textbook you are trying to cite. Make sure to get all of the punctuation right. That matters too.
2. Put the author’s name first. Now, let's break down the sample citation by each of its parts. This is how you start the citation. Write the author's last name, and then the initial of the author's first name and then the initial of the author's middle name. As in: Author, A. A.
   • Put the year of publication in parentheses after the author’s name, and end it with a period. As in: Author, A. A. (Year of publication).
   • Next, write the title of the work in italics. Capitalize only the first letter in the title. Use a colon if there is a sub-title, and capitalize and italicize the subtitle also. As in: Author, A.A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Subtitle
   • Include the edition of the book next. Don’t put the edition in italics, though. The edition should be listed after the title or subtitle if there is one, this way: (5th ed.).
3. End with the publisher’s location and then publisher’s name. For location, use the city and state using the two-letter postal abbreviation without periods.
   • Example: New York, NY. Remember not to write out the state name. Remember that the punctuation must be exact.
   • Multiple authors are handled the same way and linked with an & sign. Example: Helfer, M. E., Kempe, R. S., & Krugman, R. D. (1997). The battered child (5th ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
4. Use an online citation generator. You can find online sites that will generate the correct citation style for you.
   • Be aware that APA style differs if you are citing a film, magazine, newspaper, and other materials, instead of a textbook.
   • The sites require you to enter key information about the book, including author’s name, publisher, and publisher location, and so on.

Using APA Style for Edited Textbooks and Translations

1. Using APA style for edited books. The big difference here is that you need to indicate (Ed.) for a single editor and (Eds.) for multiple editors after their names.
   • Example: Duncan, G. J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (Eds.). (1997). Consequences of growing up poor. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
   • For an edited book with an author or authors write: Plath, S. (2000). The unabridged journals. K. V. Kukil (Ed.). New York, NY: Anchor.
   • For a multi-volume piece work, write the APA style this way: Wiener, P. (Ed.). (1973). Dictionary of the history of ideas (Vols. 1-4). New York, NY: Scribner's.
2. Use APA style for textbooks with translations. Citation style is pretty similar for this scenario, but you need to indicate it’s a translation.
   • Note a translation this way: Laplace, P. S. (1951). A philosophical essay on probabilities. (F. W. Truscott & F. L. Emory, Trans.). New York, NY: Dover. (Original work published 1814)
   • Make sure you also include the date of the original work if applicable. As you can see, translations are pretty close to the original example, but you need to indicate who did the translating.

Using APA Style for Web Editions

1. Cite a book accessed online. If you’ve accessed the textbook online, you need to indicate that via the citation. The first part of an online textbook citation looks identical to a print textbook citation. The only information you should leave off is the location and publisher information.
   • You need to list the URL where you accessed the textbook online at the end of the citation. The citation style is: Last, F. M. (Year Published). Book title. Retrieved from URL.
   • Example: James, H. (2009). The ambassadors. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.
   • For a textbook with software, include the software edition. Example: George, D., & Mallery, P. (2002). SPSS for Windows step by step: A simple guide and reference (4th ed., 11.0 Update). Pearson Allyn & Bacon.
2. Use the doi number if it’s available. If there is a doi number for the online textbook (which is basically like a social security number for a book’s web location), you should write the citation with it.
   • Example: Rodriguez-Garcia, R., & White, E. M. (2005). Self-assessment in managing for results: Conducting self-assessment for development practitioners. doi: 10.1596/9780-82136148-1
   • Doi numbers are usually found on the first page near the copyright or on the database landing site that you used to access the book.

Citing a Textbook in the Actual Text

1. Note where you got the information within the actual text. You will need to cite the textbook next to information you use from it within the text of your paper.
   • Introduce the author or authors in the sentence. One way to cite a textbook in APA format is to introduce the author in the sentence. Use the last name only. If there are no authors, but there is an editor, the editor should be listed instead. End with the publication year in parentheses.
   • Example: According to Smith, the theory is not sound (2000). Example two: Clark and Hernandez believe otherwise (1994).
2. Cite quotations from the text in your article. If you use a quotation or direct passage from the textbook, you also need to indicate the page.
   • List the page number at the end of the quote as noted (p. page number).
   • Example: According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).
3. Cite the author or authors in parentheses within the text. If you do not introduce the author in the sentence, you must include the author's last name in the parentheses that follow the quoted or borrowed text. If there are multiple authors, list all of them. Put a comma after the last name of the author and then the year of publication.
   • Example: This belief was proven wrong thanks to new research (Johnson, 2008).
   • Studies indicate otherwise (Smith, Johnson & Hernandez, 1999).

Tips

• If there is more than one author of the textbook, all authors should be listed.

Related Articles

• Cite a Quote
• Cite an Interview in MLA Format
• Cite a Website Using MLA Format
• Cite a Source in APA Format

Sources and Citations

See also

• Write a Reader Response
• Read a Textbook
• Read Forex Charts
• Reboot a DSL Modem Remotely
• Read Stock Quotes
• Read Engineering Drawings