Module Transcripts:

Book Reference Entries

Title: Why learn the APA format for books?

Audio: Books are an essential part academia and one of the first resources students will read and use in their writing. This is why it’s important to have a thorough understanding of how to create reference entries for books.

Title: Book Example #1

Audio: In our first example, let’s first look at the cover page of the book. The cover page is a good first place to look for the authors of the book, the title of the book, and even any edition or publisher information.

On this book cover we can see that the author is Derek Bok and the book’s title is Higher Education in America. Also note at the bottom that this book is a revised edition. Now we need to look at the copyright page. This page  can often be overwhelming because it includes so much information, some of which we don’t need to create the reference entry. Note all of these sections I’ve highlighted; sometimes students can get distracted by all of this information. Instead, we only need to note these areas: the copyright year, 2013, which we will use as the publication year, and the publisher, Princeton University Press. Now we have all the information we need to create a reference entry for this book. Click “Continue” to see what this entry looks like.

Title: Book Example #2

Audio: Here’s another example of a book’s cover page and copyright page. We can easily see the title of the book, Diversity in Counseling, as well as the author, Robyn Brammer. It could be easy to get overwhelmed with all of the information present. However, we can focus to on the copyright year and publisher. Now we have all the information we need to create a reference entry for this book. Click “Continue” to see how this information translates into a reference entry.

Title: Common Errors in Book Reference Entries

Audio: There are some common errors that writers tend to make when writing book reference entries: writing out the full authors’ names; formatting titles incorrectly; forgetting the state of publication; including extra publication information. However, the biggest mistake is when writers don’t use resources to write and revise their reference entries. The above common errors can often be avoided by simply using the resources available to check your reference entries.

Title: Most Significant Error

Audio: The biggest mistake is when writers don’t use resources to write and revise their reference entries. This is because it’s nearly impossible to memorize the reference entry format for all of the kinds of sources you might use in your writing and researching. Instead, use the APA manual and the Writing Center as resources to help you with your formatting.

Click “Continue” to learn more about the resources available to help you write and revise your reference entries.