How To Cite Literature Review | Clean Cite Guide

Guide / By

To cite a literature review, match the style you’re using (APA, MLA, or Chicago) and credit the review as the source with full publication details.

Literature reviews synthesize prior studies and steer readers through a topic. When your argument relies on that synthesis, cite the review itself. Across styles, the job is steady: name the author, date, title, and source.

Citing A Literature Review Step By Step

Before you format anything, decide what you’re actually borrowing. Are you quoting the reviewer’s phrasing? Summarizing the review’s stance on a debate? Pointing to a helpful map of subtopics? Those are cases where the review is your source. If you take a specific claim from a study that the review mentions, track down the study and cite that primary source instead.

Quick Decision Table

What You’re Using Source Type How To Cite
Reviewer’s wording, insight, or summary Review article, chapter, or review essay Cite the literature review as your source
Specific data or claims from a study mentioned in the review Original study (primary source) Cite the study itself after you read it
Both the review’s overview and one featured study Review + primary source Cite both, each in its own entry

With that choice made, collect the four basic parts every reference needs: author, date, title, and source. For reviews, titles may include a short label like “Review of …” or a bracketed description. Follow the rules of your style guide for capitalization, italics, and punctuation.

APA Style: How To Cite A Literature Review

APA favors author–date in the text and a reference list at the end. For a review in a journal, list the reviewer, year, title of the review in sentence case, the journal, volume(issue), page range, and a DOI or URL when available. Add a brief description in square brackets if the piece is a review of a specific work.

In-text formats:

  • Parenthetical: (Lopez, 2023)
  • Narrative: Lopez (2023) maps three schools of thought.
  • Page or section pinpoints follow the year: (Lopez, 2023, p. 114)

Reference pattern for a review article:

Lopez, A. (2023). Trends in adolescent sleep research: A decade in review. Sleep Science Review, 12(2), 101–128. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/ssr.2023.01234

Reference pattern when the review evaluates one work:

Chow, M. (2024). [Review of the book Mind and Meal, by R. Patel]. Nutrition & Society, 9(1), 55–57. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/ns.2024.00055

APA lays out elements and order for references and uses sentence case for article titles. Match those rules for journals, edited books, and web reviews from the same source.

Secondary Citations In APA

If a review quotes a study you can’t obtain, APA allows a secondary citation. Use the study’s authors in the text, then add “as cited in” and the review details in the reference list. Use this sparingly; when possible, read the original study.

In-text: (Nguyen & Park, 2019, as cited in Lopez, 2023)
Reference list: Lopez, A. (2023). Trends in adolescent sleep research: A decade in review. Sleep Science Review, 12(2), 101–128. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/ssr.2023.01234

MLA Style: How To Cite A Literature Review

MLA uses the author’s surname in the text and a Works Cited entry built from core elements. For a journal review, give the reviewer, title in quotation marks when present, the phrase Review of and the work when relevant, the journal, volume, number, year, pages, and a DOI or URL.

In-text formats:

  • Parenthetical: (Lopez 114)
  • Signal phrase: Lopez maps three schools of thought (114).

Works Cited patterns:

Lopez, Ana. "Trends in Adolescent Sleep Research: A Decade in Review." Sleep Science Review, vol. 12, no. 2, 2023, pp. 101–128. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/ssr.2023.01234.
Chow, Mei. "Review of Mind and Meal, by Ravi Patel." Nutrition & Society, vol. 9, no. 1, 2024, pp. 55–57, https://doi.org/10.xxxx/ns.2024.00055.

For nuanced cases and more review examples, the MLA Style Center on reviews offers open guidance from the publisher of the handbook.

Chicago Style: How To Cite A Literature Review

Chicago has two systems. Notes–Bibliography uses footnotes or endnotes with a bibliography. Author–Date uses parenthetical citations and a reference list. The order of parts and punctuation differ between systems, while the pieces you gather stay the same.

Notes–Bibliography (Footnotes)

Footnote pattern for a review article in a journal:

1. Ana Lopez, "Trends in Adolescent Sleep Research: A Decade in Review," Sleep Science Review 12, no. 2 (2023): 101–28, https://doi.org/10.xxxx/ssr.2023.01234.

Bibliography entry:

Lopez, Ana. "Trends in Adolescent Sleep Research: A Decade in Review." Sleep Science Review 12, no. 2 (2023): 101–28. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/ssr.2023.01234.

Author–Date

In-text pattern: (Lopez 2023, 114)

Reference list pattern:

Lopez, Ana. 2023. "Trends in Adolescent Sleep Research: A Decade in Review." Sleep Science Review 12 (2): 101–28. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/ssr.2023.01234.

For many source types, Chicago posts free models in its Citation Quick Guide. Match your project’s system to your field or instructor and stick with it.

When The Literature Review Is A Chapter Or Report

Sometimes the review sits in an edited book, a thesis, or a report. Match the container. For a chapter, list the chapter author and title, the editors, the book title in italics, publisher, year, pages, and a DOI or URL if online. For a thesis, give the degree, school, year, and repository or URL. For a report, add the series or report number when present.

Here are short models that follow the same review theme used above:

  • Edited book chapter (APA): Perez, L. (2022). Adolescent sleep studies: A review. In K. Hill & S. Grant (Eds.), Topics in behavioral health (pp. 33–58). City Press.
  • Edited book chapter (MLA): Perez, Lucía. “Adolescent Sleep Studies: A Review.” Topics in Behavioral Health, edited by Karen Hill and Sam Grant, City Press, 2022, pp. 33–58.
  • Thesis (Chicago Author–Date): Perez, Lucía. 2022. “Adolescent Sleep Studies: A Review.” Master’s thesis, River City University. http://hdl.handle.net/xxxxxx.

The labels may vary, yet the aim stays steady: cite the review in the form that matches its container and your style sheet. If your reader can find the same item from your entry, you’ve done the job.

Naming A Literature Review In Your Prose

Signal the type of source when it helps the reader. Try “In a recent literature review on adolescent sleep,” or “A review article in Sleep Science Review finds ….” Then add the in-text citation or footnote at the end of the sentence.

Citing The Sources Inside A Literature Review

A literature review points to many studies. When you draw on a specific result, chart, or method from one of those studies, that study becomes your source. Quote or paraphrase from the study you actually used and cite it directly. Mention the review in your prose if it helped you locate the study.

If you truly cannot obtain the study, most styles give a fallback. APA uses “as cited in.” Chicago notes allow a short parenthetical like “quoted in.” MLA keeps the review in the Works Cited and names the original in your sentence. These workarounds should be rare in formal writing.

Common Pitfalls And Fixes

  • Mixing levels. Don’t cite the review for numbers that come from a single trial or survey. Track down the trial and cite it.
  • Missing descriptors. Label a piece as a review when your style calls for it, such as bracketed labels in APA or “Review of …” in MLA.
  • Skipping DOIs. If a DOI exists, include it. DOIs are more stable than general URLs.
  • Title case vs. sentence case. APA uses sentence case for article titles; Chicago and MLA use headline style in many spots. Follow your guide.
  • Journal vs. database name. For journals, list the journal as the container; databases are usually not needed unless they are the only location.

Quick Style Crosswalk For Reviews

Style In-Text Pattern Reference Line Starter
APA (Author, Year, p. X) Author, A. A. (Year). Title of review. Journal Title, volume(issue), pages. DOI
MLA (Author X) Author Last, First. “Title of review.” Journal Title, vol., no., Year, pp. xx–xx. DOI/URL
Chicago (Author Year, X) or footnote Author Last, First. “Title of review.” Journal Title volume, no. issue (Year): pages. DOI/URL

Formatting Touches That Lift Clarity

Capitalization And Italics

Use italics for journal names and book titles. Keep APA article titles in sentence case. Use headline style where your guide prescribes it. Don’t switch styles mid-paper.

DOIs, URLs, And Access Dates

Use a DOI in link form when you have one. Use a stable URL when no DOI exists. Access dates are optional in many journals; add them only when your guide or editor asks.

Page Ranges And Article Numbers

Many journals now use eLocators or article numbers. Treat them as the journal instructs; if a page range exists, include it; if the journal lists an article number instead, include that number.

Templates You Can Copy

APA Review Article

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of review. Journal Title, volume(issue), xx–xx. https://doi.org/xxxxx

MLA Review Article

Author Last, First. "Title of Review." Journal Title, vol. volume, no. issue, Year, pp. xx–xx, DOI/URL.

Chicago Notes–Bibliography Review Article

1. Author First Last, "Title of Review," Journal Title volume, no. issue (Year): pages, DOI/URL.
Author Last, First. "Title of Review." Journal Title volume, no. issue (Year): pages. DOI/URL.

Chicago Author–Date Review Article

Author Last, First. Year. "Title of Review." Journal Title volume (issue): pages. DOI/URL.

Checklist Before You Publish

  • Have you credited the review itself clearly when you drew on its synthesis or language?
  • Have you cited any primary studies you quoted or summarized?
  • Do your in-text citations and reference entries match one another?
  • Did you include DOIs where available and use working links?
  • Does your capitalization, italics, and punctuation match the style you selected?