How to Do an Excerpt in APA Format
When you are citing sources for a term paper, an excerpt of a work reprinted in another can be one of the trickiest types of sources to correctly format. What you need to do is provide information about both the original source and the source in which it was reprinted. American Psychological Association (APA) format sets out clear guidelines governing the citation of excerpts. The correct format will depend on whether your excerpt was originally published in a journal or in another book.
Citing an Excerpt Originally Published in a Book
List the name of the author of the excerpt in the following format: Smith, L.
List the publication date of the book in which the excerpt now appears, in parentheses. For example: (2010).
List the title of the excerpt. In APA format, only the first letter of the title should be capitalized, along with the first letters of any proper nouns. For example: Health care fields and the United States economy.
List the editor of the book in which the excerpt was reprinted. For example: In A. Jones (Ed.),
List the title of the book that in which the excerpt was reprinted. Be sure that the title appears in italics. For example: Health care in America, 1920-2000
List the pages on which the excerpt appears in parentheses. For example: (pp. 87-93).
List the city of publication, state of publication and publisher, separated by colons. For example: Chicago: IL: Patchwork Press.
In parentheses, list the title, author, publication date and publisher of the original work. Remember to italicize the title of the original work. This information should appear in the following format: (Reprinted from American health care in the 1950s, by L. Smith, 1998, Golden Apple Press).
Ensure that the final citation appears in the following format: Smith, L. (2010). Health care fields and the United States economy. In A. Jones (Ed.), Health care in America, 1920-2000 (pp. 87-93). Chicago: IL: Patchwork Press. (Reprinted from American health care in the 1950s, by L. Smith, 1998, Golden Apple Press).
Citing an Excerpt Originally Published in a Periodical
List the name of the author of the excerpt in the following format: Smith, L.
List the publication date of the book in which the excerpt now appears, in parentheses. For example:
(2010).
List the title of the excerpt. In APA format, only the first letter of the title should be capitalized, along with the first letters of any proper nouns. For example: Health care fields and the United States economy.
List the editor of the book in which the excerpt was reprinted. For example: In A. Jones (Ed.),
List the title of the book that in which the excerpt was reprinted. Be sure that the title appears in italics. For example: Health care in America, 1920-2000
List the pages on which the excerpt appears in parentheses. For example: (pp. 87-93).
List the city of publication, state of publication and publisher, separated by colons. For example: Chicago: IL: Patchwork Press.
In parentheses, list the title of the original article, the title of the periodical and the year and month in which the article originally appeared. The title of the article should not be italicized, but the title of the periodical should be italicized. This information should appear in the following format: (Excerpted from Why we need to change. Journal of American Medicine, 1998 January).
Ensure that the final citation appears in the following format: Smith, L. (2010). Health care fields and the United States economy. In A. Jones (Ed.), Health care in America, 1920-2000 (pp. 87-93). Chicago: IL: Patchwork Press. (Excerpted from Why we need to change. Journal of American Medicine, 1998 January).
