APA 7th ed. Style Guide

This page provides examples of citations from sources about which students often have questions. For additional examples of miscellaneous reference entries, see the sample papers linked on the left.

General guidelines for reviews (of books, movies, TV shows, etc.)

• The reference format should follow the style of the source where the review was published (blog, newspaper, journal, magazine, etc.)
• Additional information about the item being reviewed should be in square brackets
• Inside the brackets, write "Review of the" and then the type of work being reviewed (i.e., film), its title and author
• Apply the rules about titles within the brackets that match the type of item being reviewed (book, film, etc.)

Template:

Author. (Date). Review title. [Details of reviewed work]. Periodical information. DOI or URL.

The following example is a book review entitled "Learning by text or context?" written by B. R. Schatz published in the November 17, 2000 issue of Science magazine about a book called, The social life of information, by J. S. Brown and P. Duguid.

Example (book review):

Schatz, B.R. (2000, November 17). Learning by text or context? [Review of the book The social life of information, by J.S. Brown & P. Duguid].

Science, 290 1304. https://doi.org/10:1126/science.290.5495.1304

General guidelines for Audiovisual Media

• Includes audio only (e.g., music, speech recordings), visual only (e.g., artwork, PowerPoint slides, photographs), or audio and visual components (e.g., films, TV shows)
• They follow a pattern based on whether the work stands alone (e.g., films, TV series) or is part of a greater whole (e.g., TV episodes, songs from an album)
• Describe the audiovisual type in square brackets (e.g., [Film])

Template:

Author (Role). (Date). Title [Description]. Publisher. URL.

Example (PowerPoint slides or lecture notes):

Canan, E., & Vasilev, J. (2019, May 22). [Lecture notes on resource allocation]. Department of Management Control and Information Systems,

University of Chile. https://uchilefau.academia.edu/ElseZCanan

NOTE: If the slides are from a classroom website or Canvas course and your audience has access to them, provide the name of the site and its URL login page.

General Guidelines for Dissertations and Theses

References for doctoral dissertations and master's theses are divided by published and unpublished works. Unpublished works are generally retrieved directly from the institution in print form. Most theses are retrieved from databases (e.g., ProQuest Dissertations), university archive, or personal website. 

• Unpublished works include the university name in the source of the reference.
• Published dissertations and theses include the university name in square brackets after the title

Templates for an unpublished dissertation or thesis:

• Author, A. A. (2020). Title of dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Name of Institution Awarding the Degree.
• Author, A. A. (2020). Title of thesis [Unpublished master's thesis]. Name of Institution Awarding the Degree.
• Author, A. A. (2020). Title of thesis [Unpublished undergraduate thesis]. Name of Institution Awarding the Degree.

Templates for a published dissertation or thesis:

• Author, A. A. (2020) Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree]. Database Name. URL.
• Author, A. A. (2020) Title of thesis [Master's thesis, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree]. Archive Name. URL.

Mobile app reference work

General Guidelines

• For a mobile app reference work with individual authors (as shown in the example), provide the author names in the author element of the reference.
• Provide the year of the version used in the date element of the reference.
• Provide the title of the app in italic sentence case.
• When the app includes an edition number (as with the example), place the edition information in parentheses without italics after the title.
• Provide the version number of the app (which you can obtain from the app itself once it is downloaded) in a separate set of parentheses.
• Provide the publisher of the app or the name of the app store (e.g., App Store, Google Play Store). In the example, the app was downloaded from the publisher’s website, so the publisher (F. A. Davis Company) is provided in the source element of the reference. If you downloaded the app from the App Store instead, use “App Store” instead of “F. A. Davis Company.”
• Provide a URL when possible.

Entry from a mobile app reference work

General Guidelines

• To cite an entry in a mobile app reference work, follow the format for an edited book chapter.
• Provide the author of the app in the author element of the reference. In the example, the company that produces the app (Lexicomp) is treated as a group author.
• Provide the date year of the app version that you used in the date element of the reference.
• Provide the title of the entry in the reference work in the title element of the reference.
• In the source element, provide the name of the app in italics (which in the example happens to be the same as the author), the version of the app used in parentheses, the description “[Mobile app]” and the publisher or app store from which the app was obtained.
• Provide a URL when possible.