How To Cite A Review APA | Clean, Correct, Quick

Guide / By

In APA 7, cite a review with reviewer, year, title, [Review of the work], source, and a DOI or URL when shown.

APA review references look tricky at first, yet the pattern stays steady. You build the entry with four parts: author, date, title, and source. The twist is a short bracketed note after the title that spells out the item you reviewed, like [Review of the book Title, by A. A. Author] or [Review of the film Title, directed by B. B. Director]. Once you learn that rhythm, every review—journal, newspaper, magazine, or website—falls into place.

APA Review Citation Basics

Every APA reference uses the same skeleton. Reviewer names come first (last name, initials). The year appears in parentheses. The review title uses sentence case. Right after the title, place a bracketed description that names the work and creator. Then supply the source: the journal, newspaper, or site, plus volume, issue, page range, and a DOI when you have one. For web-only items, add the URL.

Elements And Where To Find Them

Use this quick map to pull the right details without guesswork.

Element What To Write Where You’ll See It
Reviewer Last name, Initials Byline of the review
Year (Year) Beside the byline or at the top
Review title Sentence case; no italics Headline of the review
Bracketed note [Review of the work, by Creator] Build from the work being reviewed
Source Journal, volume(issue), pages Journal or magazine masthead
News site Newspaper Name Site header; article footer
Website Website Name Logo or site footer
DOI https://doi.org/… Landing page or PDF
URL Full link Browser address bar

How To Cite A Review In APA Style: Step By Step

  1. Start with the reviewer: Last name, Initials.
  2. Add the date in parentheses: (Year).
  3. Write the review title in sentence case.
  4. Add the bracketed description: [Review of the work, by Creator].
  5. Give the source. For journals and magazines, add Title of Periodical, volume(issue), pages. For news sites, write the newspaper name. For websites, supply the site name.
  6. Finish with a DOI or a URL.

That sequence covers print, database, and web formats. If a field is missing, supply what you have and describe the piece in square brackets where needed.

Book Review In A Journal

Reference
Lopez, M. (2023). Fresh lessons on care [Review of the book Nursing with empathy, by A. Patel]. Journal of Health Writing, 15(2), 33–35. https://doi.org/10.2400/jhw.2023.2105

In-text
Narrative: Lopez (2023). Parenthetical: (Lopez, 2023).

Film Review In A Newspaper (Online)

Reference
Rahman, S. (2024, July 18). A tender sci-fi triumph [Review of the film Orbit City, directed by L. Zhao]. The Daily Chronicle. https://www.dailychronicle.example/orbit-city-review

In-text
Narrative: Rahman (2024). Parenthetical: (Rahman, 2024).

Review On A Website Or Blog

Reference
@ScreenMuse. (2025, March 9). Quiet thrills that linger [Review of the film Harbor Lights, directed by K. Singh]. CineNote. https://www.cinenote.example/harbor-lights-review

In-text
Narrative: @ScreenMuse (2025). Parenthetical: (@ScreenMuse, 2025).

Magazine Review

Reference
Hughes, R. (2022, November). Beats that breathe again [Review of the album Night Pulse, by N. Reyes]. Sound & Style, 44(11), 58–60.

In-text
Narrative: Hughes (2022). Parenthetical: (Hughes, 2022).

In-Text Citations For Reviews

Cite the reviewer, not the creator of the original work. Use narrative or parenthetical format. If you mention the original work in your sentence, keep the in-text citation tied to the reviewer’s name. e.g., “In a pointed critique, Lopez (2023) calls the book’s case studies timely.”

Quoting a line from the review? Add a page number or paragraph number. e.g., (Lopez, 2023, p. 34) or (Rahman, 2024, para. 3).

No Title, No Author, Or No Date

No title: Replace the title with the bracketed description and move it to the title position.

No author: Start with the title, then the date, then the source and link.

No date: Use (n.d.) in the date slot and include a retrieval date only when the page changes over time.

Formatting Details That Matter

  • Sentence case for the review title: Only the first word and proper nouns get caps.
  • Italics: Italicize the title of the work being reviewed and the periodical name; keep the review title in plain text.
  • Bracket phrase: Write [Review of the book Title, by A. A. Author]; switch “book” to “film,” “album,” “game,” or “software” as needed.
  • DOIs: Present as live links with the https://doi.org/ prefix.
  • URLs: Use direct links; drop tracking code.
  • Multiple reviewers: List up to 20, joined with an ampersand before the last name.

For deeper rules on the four reference elements, see the APA reference elements. For periodical layout reminders, the Purdue OWL basic rules page is handy.

Templates And Quick Patterns

Source Type Reference Template Sample In-Text
Journal review Reviewer, A. A. (Year). Title of review [Review of the work Title, by Creator]. Journal Title, volume(issue), pages. DOI (Reviewer, Year)
Newspaper review Reviewer, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of review [Review of the work Title, by Creator]. Newspaper Name. URL Reviewer (Year)
Website review Reviewer, A. A. or Screen name. (Year, Month Day). Title of review [Review of the work Title, by Creator]. Website Name. URL (Reviewer, Year)

Common Pitfalls And Quick Fixes

  • Forgetting the bracketed piece: Without that note, a reader cannot tell it is a review entry. Add it right after the title.
  • Putting the work title in quotes: Use italics for the work being reviewed.
  • Swapping author fields: The reviewer is the author of the reference. The creator of the work stays inside the brackets.
  • Old database links: Prefer the DOI over a database URL. If no DOI exists, link to the journal or news page for the review.
  • Site name repeats the author: Omit the site name when it matches the author name.
  • Missing page range: For print or PDF, add pages; for web-only, no pages are needed.

Quick Recap

Build your APA review entry with reviewer, date, review title, a clear bracketed note naming the work and creator, and the source. Add a DOI or URL at the end. Keep the review title in sentence case, italicize the work and the periodical, and cite the reviewer in-text. With those moves, your references read clean and consistent across journals, news sites, and the open web.