40 APA: Book Citation
For reference list entries, you will always need to give the full citation information. The basic elements for books in print consist of:
- Author
- Title and (if available) subtitle
- Publishing information
- Year
You usually find this information on the title page of the book and the back of the title page.
Example:
Note that in our example the subtitle on the book cover says “The Blue-Winged Teal” while the subtitle on the title page is ”Its Ecology and Management”. Always go by the information on the title page.
Author: Logan J. Bennett
Title: The blue-winged teal
Subtitle: Its ecology and management
Publisher: Collegiate Press, Inc.
Year: 1938
Each style has its own rules about arranging this information, capitalization, punctuation, abbreviations, and so on. For APA Style, use the following template:
APA Basic Book Template
Author last name, Initials. (Year). Title: Subtitle. Publisher.
Reference List Entry for the Book
Bennett, L. J. (1938). The blue-winged teal: Its ecology and management. Collegiate Press, Inc.
To see an example of an in-text quote from this book, click below:
Note: these are the basic elements for a reference entry for a book, but sometimes there will be additional information you need to add, such as editors or edition information, or some elements, such as an author, may not be available. Ask the Linscheid Library for help with citations!
