How To Cite Reviews | Clean, Quick Wins

Guide / By

To cite reviews, match the source type and style, then include reviewer, date, review title, container, and a DOI or stable link.

Reviews come in many flavors: journal review articles, book or film reviews in newspapers and magazines, and buyer comments on retail sites. Each one lives in a different container, so your citation has to mirror that container and the style you are using. This guide gives you clear patterns and copy-ready examples that fit classroom papers, reports, and web writing.

How To Cite A Review In APA, MLA, Chicago

Before you write the reference, sort out the basics. Name the reviewer as the author of the citation. Add the date you can see on the review page. Write the review title as it appears. If no title exists, supply a brief description. Name the work under review in square brackets or after the phrase “Review of,” depending on the style. Then list the container: journal, newspaper, magazine, website, or database. Finish with a DOI or a stable URL.

Citation Patterns By Style
Style Journal Or Article Review Book/Film/Media Review
APA 7 Reviewer, A. A. (Year). Title of review. Journal Title, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxx Reviewer, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of review [Review of the work title, by A. A. Author/Director]. Source Title, pages or volume(issue). URL
MLA 9 Reviewer Last, First. “Title of review.” Journal Title, vol. x, no. y, Year, pp. xx-yy. DOI or URL. Reviewer Last, First. “Title.” Review of Work Title, by Creator. Container, Day Month Year, pp. xx-yy or URL.
Chicago NB Note: Reviewer First Last, “Title,” Journal volume, no. issue (Year): pages, DOI/URL. Bibliography: Reviewer Last, First. “Title.” Journal volume, no. issue (Year): pages. DOI/URL. Note: Reviewer First Last, “Title,” review of Work Title, by Creator, Newspaper/Magazine, Month Day, Year, URL. Bibliography form mirrors the note.

You can confirm the MLA pattern for product and service reviews from the MLA Style Center. For Chicago’s note and bibliography forms, the official quick guide shows live models for periodicals and web sources; see the Chicago citation guide.

Step-By-Step Workflow

Find The Right Metadata

Open the review page and gather six items: reviewer name, exact date, review title, container title, volume or issue or page span if present, and a DOI or a stable URL. For a book or film review, also capture the full title of the work under review and its creator. If you are on a database, copy the DOI first. If there is no DOI, prefer the publisher link over a session URL.

Build The Reference

APA uses author-date. Place the year first. For book or film reviews, add a bracketed note after the review title that starts with “Review of the…” and includes the work title and the creator. MLA writes the phrase “Review of” before the work under review and uses headline-style quotation marks for the review title. Chicago offers two paths. Many classes use footnotes with a matching bibliography entry; other classes want author-date with a reference list. Match the system your instructor or editor requests and keep it consistent across the document.

In-Text Or Notes

APA in-text uses the reviewer’s name and the year. MLA uses the reviewer’s last name and page numbers if a print page span exists. Chicago either cites the note number in the text or uses an author-date parenthetical. In all cases, the reviewer is the author of the citation, not the creator of the work under review.

Examples You Can Copy Safely

APA 7: Journal Review Article

Reference list
Nguyen, T. Q. (2023). Balanced fats: A reassessment. Nutrition Review Quarterly, 41(2), 115-118. https://doi.org/10.5555/nrq.2023.00215

Why this works: Reviewer listed as author; year in parentheses; article-style title in sentence case; journal in italics with volume and issue; page span; DOI.

APA 7: Review Of A Book In A Newspaper

Reference list
Adebayo, F. (2024, April 7). A slow burn with bite [Review of the book Salt Roads, by L. James]. The Daily Chronicle. https://www.dailychronicle.example/salt-roads-review

Notes: The bracketed phrase tells readers that the piece is a review. Newspaper title stands alone without volume and issue. A stable link replaces a DOI.

MLA 9: Review In A Magazine

Works Cited
Lopez, Marisol. “Clouds, chords, and careful pacing.” Review of Sky Harbor, by Dana Chu. Sound & Stage, vol. 28, no. 3, 2024, pp. 44-45, https://soundstage.example/sky-harbor-review.

Notes: MLA uses quotation marks for the review title and the phrase “Review of” before the work under review. Volume, issue, year, and pages sit after the container name.

MLA 9: Customer Review On A Retail Site

Works Cited
Khan, Rina. “Works as a travel power bank.” Review of SunVolt Charger. Amazon, 3 May 2025, www.amazon.com/review/R3EXAMPLE.

Notes: The reviewer is the author. Use the site name as the container and the posted date from the review card. Add the full review link.

Chicago Notes-Bibliography: Film Review In A Newspaper

Note
1. David Chou, “Neon nights and long shadows,” review of Glass Alley, directed by Priya Nataraj, Chicago Tribune, July 2, 2024, https://chitrib.example/glass-alley-review.

Bibliography
Chou, David. “Neon nights and long shadows.” Review of Glass Alley, directed by Priya Nataraj. Chicago Tribune, July 2, 2024. https://chitrib.example/glass-alley-review.

Systematic Reviews And Meta-Analyses

A systematic review or a meta-analysis counts as a journal article. Treat it with a proven template. In APA, list the review authors, year, article title in sentence case, journal in italics, volume(issue), page span, and DOI. MLA gives the review title in quotation marks, then the journal, vol., no., year, pages, and DOI or a stable link. Chicago allows notes with a bibliography entry or author-date with a reference list; both use core parts in a different order. AMA uses numeric superscripts in-text and a standard journal reference. Follow the journal’s punctuation and capitalization rules for titles.

Citing Both The Review And The Original Work

At times you rely on the reviewer’s judgment and also need a detail from the work under review. Cite both. Use the review when you describe methods or conclusions drawn across studies, then add a citation to the original trial, book, or film when you quote or summarize it. Do not fold both into one entry. Keeping two entries lets readers follow your chain of evidence without guesswork.

Edge Cases And Fixes

No Named Reviewer

If the piece shows no byline, start with the review title. APA moves the title to the author slot. MLA begins with the title in quotation marks. Chicago notes use “Anonymous” only if the source uses it.

No Title On The Review

Supply a short description. Keep it plain and to the point. APA uses sentence case without quotation marks. MLA and Chicago can use quotation marks for a brief description.

Review Inside A Database

Prefer the DOI. If you only have a database link, most styles ask for the database name rather than a long session URL. If the database displays a “Permalink,” use that.

Multiple Reviewers

List up to two names in the standard order and use “and.” For three or more authors in MLA, use the first reviewer plus “et al.” APA lists up to twenty names in the reference list.

Translated Reviews

Credit the reviewer who wrote the version you read. Add the translator in the title element if the style you use calls for it. Keep the work under review in its original language unless the review itself translates the title.

Older Print Reviews With Reprints Online

Cite the version you used. For a review from 1987 that you read on a newspaper archive, include the original date and the archive URL if there is no DOI. Chicago lets you add a note about the archive in the footnote if that helps readers find it.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Switching the creator of the work under review with the reviewer.
  • Dropping the bracketed phrase in APA or the “Review of” phrase in MLA and Chicago.
  • Using the movie title as the author instead of the reviewer.
  • Forgetting the page span for print journals when it is shown on the PDF.
  • Copying a DOI with a tracking prefix or a database proxy string.
  • Linking to a search results page instead of a stable page for the review.

Quick Templates You Can Adapt

Copy-Ready Templates
Scenario Template Placement
APA review of a book in a magazine Reviewer, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of review [Review of the book Title, by A. A. Author]. Magazine. URL Reference list
MLA review in a journal Reviewer Last, First. “Title.” Review of Work Title, by Creator. Journal, vol. x, no. y, Year, pp. xx-yy. DOI or URL. Works Cited
Chicago note for a web review Reviewer First Last, “Title,” review of Work Title, by Creator, Site Name, Month Day, Year, URL. Footnote

Short Checklist Before You Publish

  • Author element names the reviewer, not the creator of the work under review.
  • Date matches the review page you used.
  • Review title matches the source or uses a brief description where no title exists.
  • Work under review appears in brackets or after “Review of,” in line with the style.
  • Container, volume, issue, pages, and publisher are written as the model shows.
  • DOI or stable URL works for readers outside your login.