How to Cite a Book Chapter in APA Format

Citing a chapter in an edited book requires the chapter author, chapter title, editor names, book title, page range, publisher, and year. This format is used when different authors contribute individual chapters to a compiled volume.

Basic Book Chapter Citation Format

The standard APA 7th edition format for a book chapter citation is:

Reference list entry:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx-xx). Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Parenthetical in-text citation: (Author, Year)

Narrative in-text citation: Author (Year)

In-Text Citation Examples

When you reference a book chapter within your paper, you have two options:

• Parenthetical: The research highlighted key factors in cognitive development (Piaget, 2000).
• Narrative: Piaget (2000) highlighted key factors in cognitive development.

Common Variations

Chapter with Multiple Editors

Use an ampersand before the last editor’s name and (Eds.) for multiple editors.

Smith, J. (2020). Understanding motivation. In A. B. Brown & C. D. White (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 100-125). Academic Press.

Chapter with a DOI

Include the DOI at the end when available.

Johnson, R. T. (2019). Social learning in digital spaces. In M. Lee (Ed.), Technology and education (pp. 45-67). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/example

Chapter with Edition Number

Include the edition in parentheses after the book title, before the page range.

Adams, K. (2021). Behavioral interventions. In P. Hall (Ed.), Clinical psychology (3rd ed., pp. 200-230). Wiley.

Tips for Citing Book Chapters

• Use “In” before the editor’s name to indicate the chapter is part of a larger edited work.
• Do not italicize the chapter title. Only the book title is italicized.
• Include page numbers for the chapter using (pp. xx-xx) after the book title.
• Cite the chapter author for in-text citations, not the book editor.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I cite a chapter versus the whole book? Cite the chapter when you are referencing ideas from a specific chapter written by a particular author. Cite the whole book when referring to the work in general.

What if the chapter author and book editor are the same person? Follow the same format. List the person as chapter author and again as editor in the “In” portion.

How do I cite a chapter from a book without editors? If the book has a single author who wrote all chapters, cite the entire book rather than individual chapters.