How to Cite a Textbook in APA

Last Updated: February 19, 2022

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.

Citation Cheat Sheet

Sample APA Citation for Textbook

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using APA Style to Cite an Authored Textbook

1
Put the author’s or editor's name first. Write the author's last name, the initial of the author's first name, then the initial of the author's middle name. For edited books, write the editor's name in the same format, then write "Ed." for a single editor and "Eds." for multiple editors after their names. If the book has authors and editors, list the authors first, followed by the publication year and title, then include the names of the editors.^{[1]
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- Format: Author, A. A.
- Example of an edited book: Duncan, G. J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (Eds.).
- Example of an edited book with an author or authors: Plath, S. (2000). The unabridged journals. K. V. Kukil (Ed.).
2
Include the publication year. Put the year of publication in parentheses after the author’s name, and end it with a period.^{[2]
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- Format: Author, A.A. (Year published).
- Example: Smith, P. (2012).
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3
Add the title of the textbook. 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, capitalize the first word of the subtitle and put the entire thing in italics.^{[3]
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- Format: Author, A.A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Subtitle
- Example: Smith, P. (2012). Cut to the chase: Online video editing and the Wadsworth constant
4
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. Add a period at the end.
- Format: Author last, first name initial. Middle name initial. (Year published). Book title: Subtitle (number ed.).
- Example: Smith, P. (2012). Cut to the chase: Online video editing and the Wadsworth constant (3rd ed.).
5
End with the publisher’s location and the publisher’s name. For location, use the city and state using the two-letter postal abbreviation without periods. Put a colon between the location and the name of the publisher and include a period at the end.^{[4]
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- Format: Author last, first name initial. Middle name initial. (Year published). Book title: Subtitle (number ed.). City, State: Publisher.
- Example: Smith, P. (2012). Cut to the chase: Online video editing and the Wadsworth constant (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: E & K Publishing.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using APA Style for E-Books

1
Write the author/editor, publication year, title, and edition. 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.
- Format: Last, F. M. (Year Published). Book title.
2
Add the URL where you accessed the textbook. At the end of the citation, write "Retrieved from" and then copy the 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). Retrieved from https://www.sampleurl.com
3
Include 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.
- 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.
- 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^{[5]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Creating In-Text Citations

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.^{[6]
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- 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).
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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).

Community Q&A

Question

What does APA stand for?

Community Answer

It stands for American Psychological Association. It's codified in the association's style guide.
Question

Is MLA style different from APA style?

Community Answer

Yes, there both differences and similarities. MLA style is more commonly used in the humanities, and APA in the social sciences. Don't assume you can use MLA style to satisfy APA requirements because you can't.