How to Cite a Book Chapter in APSA Style Manual

This guide explains how to format a book chapter citation in APSA Style Manual. Follow the format template below, refer to the real example, and use the step-by-step instructions to build your citation correctly.

Format Template

The general pattern for citing a book chapter in APSA Style Manual:

Template

Author, First Name. Year. "Title of Chapter." In *Title of Book*, ed. Editor First Name Last Name, Pages. Place: Publisher.

In-Text Citation Example

How the citation appears within the body of your paper:

In-text citation

(Thelen 1999, 390)

Reference List Entry Example

The full citation as it appears in your reference list:

Reference list entry

Thelen, Kathleen. 1999. "Historical Institutionalism in Comparative Politics." In *Annual Review of Political Science*, ed. Nelson Polsby, 369--404. Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews.

Step-by-Step Guide

1
Identify the chapter author(s)
First author: Last name, First name. Subsequent authors in normal order.
2
Add the publication year
Write the year followed by a period.
3
Write the chapter title
Place in double quotation marks. Use headline-style capitalization. End with a period inside the closing quotation mark.
4
Add the book title and editor
Write "In" followed by the italicized book title, a comma, "ed." (lowercase), the editor's full name (first name first), and a comma.
5
Include pages, place, and publisher
Add the page range, a period, then the place of publication, a colon, and the publisher name. End with a period.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Italicizing the chapter title instead of placing it in quotation marks.
Forgetting "In" before the book title.
Using last-name-first order for the editor (editors use first name first).
Omitting the page range of the chapter.
Not using "ed." (lowercase) before the editor name.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is "In" capitalized in APSA book chapter citations?

Yes. "In" is capitalized at the start of the book portion of the reference.

How do I format the editor's name in APSA?

The editor's name appears in normal order (first name last name), preceded by "ed." (lowercase) for one editor or "eds." for multiple.

Where do the page numbers go?

The chapter page range comes after the editor name(s), before the place and publisher: ...ed. Name, 100--125. Place: Publisher.

Information You Will Need

Before creating your citation, gather the following information from your book chapter:

Chapter author(s)
Year of publication
Chapter title
Editor(s)
Book title
Edition (if not the first)
Page range
Publisher
DOI or URL

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Step-by-Step Guide

Identify the chapter author(s)

First author: Last name, First name. Subsequent authors in normal order.

Add the publication year

Write the year followed by a period.

Write the chapter title

Place in double quotation marks. Use headline-style capitalization. End with a period inside the closing quotation mark.

Add the book title and editor

Write "In" followed by the italicized book title, a comma, "ed." (lowercase), the editor's full name (first name first), and a comma.

Include pages, place, and publisher

Add the page range, a period, then the place of publication, a colon, and the publisher name. End with a period.