In APA 7th, list the reviewer, year, review title with square-bracketed “Review of” the work, source details, and DOI or URL.
Quick Basics: What Counts As A Review?
A review evaluates another work: a book, film, TV episode, game, album, app, exhibit, or even a performance. It isn’t a “review article” that summarizes research; it’s feedback or critique about a single work. Because readers need to trace the work being judged, APA asks you to label the item in square brackets after the review’s title and then give full source details.
You’ll build every review reference from the same four building blocks: author, date, title, and source. The pieces can look a bit different across journals, newspapers, and websites, but the order and logic stay steady.
| Review Type | Reference Template (APA 7) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Journal or Magazine | Reviewer, A. A. (Year). Title of review. [Review of the work type Title of work, by A. Author]. Journal Title, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx | Use DOI when available; volume is italic. |
| Newspaper or News Site | Reviewer, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of review. [Review of the work type Title of work, by A. Author]. Newspaper Name. URL | Use a live URL; no retrieval date for stable pages. |
| Web-Only Review | Reviewer, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of review. [Review of the work type Title of work, by A. Author]. Site Name. URL | When the author is a screen name, use it as given. |
| Film/TV/Game Review | Reviewer, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of review. [Review of the film/TV episode/game Title, by Director/Studio]. Source. DOI/URL | Identify the format in the bracketed label. |
| No Review Title | Reviewer, A. A. (Year, Month Day). [Review of the work type Title of work, by A. Author]. Source. DOI/URL | Bracketed description doubles as the title. |
Citing A Review In APA 7Th: Format & Examples
Think of the reference as a short story: who wrote the review, when it was published, what the review is called and what it reviews, and where it lives. Keep punctuation tight, use sentence case for titles, italicize periodical titles and volumes, and place the bracketed “Review of …” right after the review’s title.
Journal Or Magazine Review
Structure: Reviewer, A. A. (Year). Title of review: Subtitle if any. [Review of the book Title of book, by A. A. Author]. Periodical Title, volume(issue), pp–pp. DOI
Example: Rivera, J. L. (2024). Seeing science through fresh eyes. [Review of the book Patterns of discovery, by K. Edge]. Reviewing Quarterly, 18(2), 44–46. https://doi.org/10.0000/abcd.12345
In-text: (Rivera, 2024) or Rivera (2024)
Newspaper Or News Site Review
Structure: Reviewer, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of review. [Review of the film Title of film, by Director]. Newspaper Name. URL
Example: Hossain, T. (2025, March 2). A thriller with a beating heart. [Review of the film Northlight, by R. Iqbal]. The Daily Star. https://www.thedailystar.net/arts-culture/northlight-review
In-text: (Hossain, 2025) or Hossain (2025)
Online-Only Review
Structure: Reviewer, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of review. [Review of the app Title of app, by Developer]. Site Name. URL
Example: Kim, S. (2025, January 14). Small app, big help for budgeting. [Review of the app Pocket Pennies, by Ledger Labs]. TechTested. https://www.techtested.example/reviews/pocket-pennies
In-text: (Kim, 2025) or Kim (2025)
Film, TV, Or Game Review
Structure: Reviewer, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of review. [Review of the game Title, by Studio]. Magazine Name. URL
Example: Rahman, N. (2025, July 11). Smart puzzles, clumsy story. [Review of the game Glass City, by Maple Arcade]. Play & Pause. https://www.playpause.example/reviews/glass-city
In-text: (Rahman, 2025) or Rahman (2025)
In-Text Citations For Reviews
Use the reviewer’s surname and the year. When you quote from a paginated review, add the page number: (Rivera, 2024, p. 45). For an online review without page numbers, add a paragraph number or section heading: (Kim, 2025, para. 3) or Kim (2025, “Battery life” section).
When the review names an organization as the author, use the group name: (Bangladesh Film Society, 2023). For two authors, list both surnames; for three or more, list the first surname followed by “et al.” in text.
If your sentence already names the reviewer, use a narrative citation: Hossain (2025) calls the film “unexpectedly tender.” Parenthetical citations collect the info at the end of a sentence: The sequel splits opinion (Rahman, 2025).
Edge Cases And Fixes (APA 7Th Reviews)
Real-world reviews aren’t uniform. Titles go missing, bylines use handles, and some sites add “last reviewed” dates that don’t change content. Follow these fixes and keep the trail clear.
| Problem | Fix | Example |
|---|---|---|
| No review title | Use the bracketed description as the title. | Iqbal, R. (2025, May 20). [Review of the film River Run, by A. Amin]. City Times. URL |
| Screen name | Use the screen name as the author. | MovieMina. (2025, June 9). Feeling seen at last. [Review of the film Daybreak, by J. Chowdhury]. CinemaNow. URL |
| Review of older work | Use the review’s date; the work’s year stays in the bracketed note only. | Das, P. (2025). Looking back at a classic. [Review of the book Fireflies (1998), by S. Rao]. Book Bench. URL |
| Paywalled page | Link to the landing page if deep links fail. | Roy, A. (2025, April 1). A sober triumph. [Review of the album Silt, by M. Noor]. SoundSpace. URL |
| Database record | Use the article DOI, not the database name. | Begum, L. (2024). Numbers meet nuance. [Review of the book Quiet Data, by P. Islam]. Journal of Methods, 12(4), 301–303. https://doi.org/10.5555/jm.124.301 |
Source Details: What To Italicize, What To Omit
Italicize periodical titles and volume numbers; issue numbers go in parentheses without italics; page spans use an en dash. Don’t add a period after a DOI or URL. Skip database names and access dates for routine sources. If a page shows “last reviewed” without content change, ignore it; cite the publication date that shows when the review was posted (APA on webpages).
When a review appears on a personal blog that’s part of a larger site, use the blog name as the source element if it functions like a periodical. If the site lacks a distinct blog title, use the site name. Keep titles in sentence case and include any subtitle after a colon.
Step-By-Step: Build Your First Review Reference
1) Grab The Author
Copy the byline exactly. If you see a handle like “@GameNazia,” use that spelling. For multiple authors, use commas and an ampersand before the last name in the reference.
2) Set The Date
Use the review’s date. For a daily outlet, include month and day. For journals, the year is enough unless the issue uses months or seasons.
3) Write The Title And Label The Work
Give the review title in sentence case. Right after it, add a bracketed note: [Review of the work type Title, by Creator]. Keep roles precise—author for books, director for films, developer or studio for games, curator for exhibits.
4) Add The Source
Periodicals need the title, volume, issue, and page range. Newspapers and web-only pieces use the outlet or site name. Finish with a DOI when present or a stable URL.
5) Check The In-Text Match
Every reference must match at least one in-text citation. Pick parenthetical or narrative style and include page or paragraph markers when you quote.
Style Pointers That Save Time
Keep punctuation light: spaces after periods, commas where needed, no extra italics inside brackets. Use nonbreaking spaces around initials if your editor supports them. For names with particles (e.g., “de Silva”), keep the surname together in both the reference and in-text citation.
If a review embeds the title of the work being reviewed in its own title, you still add the bracketed label. That label clarifies the relationship for readers and databases.
Quick Checklist Before You Publish
- The bracketed note identifies the work type and title.
- The source element fits the outlet: journal, newspaper, magazine, or website.
- DOI given when available; otherwise, a live URL.
- Titles use sentence case; periodicals and volumes are italic.
- In-text citations match the reference and include page or paragraph information for quotes.
When To Cite The Review Versus The Work
Quote or paraphrase ideas from the review? Cite the review, because that’s your source. If you also consulted the original work, add a separate reference for that work and cite both where you rely on each one. Avoid “as cited in” (APA guidance) when you can reach the reviewed book or film yourself; it’s clearer, and it helps your readers track your trail.
When a review embeds long quotes from the work being reviewed, those quotes still live inside the review. If you want to use a line from the book or a scene from the film as evidence, confirm it in the original and cite that primary source. Save “as cited in” for cases where the source is unavailable or out of print.
Formatting Tips For WordPress Editors
Use italics with the <em> tag rather than manual styling. Paste DOIs and URLs as direct links. Avoid smart quotes inside URLs. If your theme capitalizes headings automatically, turn that off for sentence-case titles. For tables, stick to three columns so the layout stays clean on mobile. Preview on mobile to check line wraps, italics, and link taps before publishing.