how to cite a essay in a book

Chicago/Turabian Citation

• Citing a Book

Basic Chapter Citation

Example chapter of a book, example chapter of an ebook, example foreword/preface of a book.

• Citing an Article
• Citing a Webpage
• Additional Resources

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Footnote/Endnote

Author First M. Last Name, "Chapter or Essay Title," in  Book Title , ed. First M. Last Name (Place of Publication: Publisher, date), page cited.

Short version: Author Last Name, "Chapter or Essay Title (shortened if necessary)," page cited.

Bibliography

Author Last Name, First M.   "Chapter or Essay Title."  In  Book Title ,   edited by First M. Last Name,  page range.   Place of Publication: Publisher, date.

Eric Charry, "Music and Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa," in  The History of Islam in Africa , eds. Nehwmia Levtzion and Randall L. Pouwels  (Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2000), 550.

Short version: Charry, "Music and Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa," 550.

Charry, Eric.   "Music and Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa."  In  The History of Islam in Africa ,   edited by Nehwmia Levtzion and Randall L. Pouwels,   545-573.   Athens, OH: Ohio  University Press, 2000.

Alan Liu, "Where is Cultural Criticism in the Digital Humanities?," in  Debates in the Digital Humanities , ed. Matthew K. Gold (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2013), accessed January 23, 2014,  http://dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/debates/text/20. 

Short version: Liu, "Where is Cultural Criticism."

Liu, Alan.  "Where is Cultural Criticism in the Digital Humanities?."   In  Debates in the Digital Humanities ,   edited by Matthew K. Gold.   Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2013.   A ccessed January 23, 2014.   http://dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/debates/text/20. 

Strobe Talbott, foreword to   Beyond Tianamen: The Politics of U.S.-China Relations 1989-2000 , by Robert L. Suettinger (Washington, D. C.: Brookings Institute Press, 2003), x.

Short version: Talbott, foreword, x.

Talbott, Strobe.   Foreword to   Beyond Tianamen: The Politics of U.S.-China Relations 1989-2000 ,   by Robert L. Suettinger,  ix-x.   Washington, D. C.: Brookings Institute  Press, 2003.

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• Last Updated: Sep 30, 2022 12:44 PM
• URL: https://libguides.heidelberg.edu/chicago

Works-Cited-List Entries

How to cite a book.

To create a basic works-cited-list entry for a book, list the author, the title, the publisher, and the publication date. You may need to include other elements depending on the type of book you are citing (e.g., an edited book, a translation) and how it is published (e.g., in print, as an e-book, online). Below are sample entries for books along with links to posts containing many other examples.

Book by One Author

Mantel, Hilary. Wolf Hall . Picador, 2010.

Book by an Unknown Author

Beowulf . Translated by Alan Sullivan and Timothy Murphy, edited by Sarah Anderson, Pearson, 2004.

An Edited Book

Sánchez Prado, Ignacio M., editor. Mexican Literature in Theory . Bloomsbury, 2018.

More Examples

Anthologies

Books Series

Edited Collections

Multivolume Works

Translations

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How to Cite an Article Inside of a Book

Last Updated: April 17, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Marissa Levis and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Marissa Levis is an English Teacher in the Morris County Vocational School District. She previously worked as an English director at a tutoring center that caters to students in elementary and middle school. She is an expert in creating a curriculum that helps students advance their skills in secondary-level English, focusing on MLA formatting, reading comprehension, writing skills, editing and proofreading, literary analysis, standardized test preparation, and journalism topics. Marissa received her Master of Arts in Teaching from Fairleigh Dickinson University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 265,159 times.

Generally, when you use an article or essay published in a book as a source, you list the author and title of the article first. The title and editor of the book, along with publishing information, will make up the rest of your citation. The specific format of your citation varies depending on whether you're using the Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), or Chicago style.

• Example: Charry, Eric.

• Example: Charry, Eric. "Music and Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa."

• Example: Charry, Eric. "Music and Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa." The History of Islam in Africa , edited by Nehwmia Levtzion and Randall L. Pouwels.

• A standard MLA citation includes: Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Book , edited by First Name Last Name. Publisher, year, pp. ##-##.
• Example: Charry, Eric. "Music and Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa." The History of Islam in Africa , edited by Nehwmia Levtzion and Randall L. Pouwels. Ohio University Press, 2000, pp. 545-573.

• Example: "When communities converted to Islam, many traditional songs were changed to incorporate references to the religion (Charry 546)."
• If you use the author's name in the text of your paper, you don't have to include it in the parenthetical citation. For example: "According to Charry, communities incorporated references to Islam in traditional songs after converting to the religion (546).

• Example: Berry, W.

• Example: Berry, W. (2005).

• Example: Berry, W. (2005). War does not maintain peace or promote freedom.

• Example: Berry, W. (2005). War does not maintain peace or promote freedom. In L. I. Gerdes (Ed.),

• Example: Berry, W. (2005). War does not maintain peace or promote freedom. In L. I. Gerdes (Ed.), War: Opposing viewpoints (pp. 71-79).

• A standard APA reference includes: Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Article or essay title. In First Initial Last Name (Ed.), Book title: Subtitle (pp. ##-##). Place of publication: Publisher.
• Example: Berry, W. (2005). War does not maintain peace or promote freedom. In L. I. Gerdes (Ed.), War: Opposing viewpoints (pp. 71-79). Detroit, MI: Greenhouse Press.

• Example: "When nations go to war to defend freedom, their citizens become less free (Berry, 2005)."
• If you include the name of the author in your text, you don't have to include it in your parenthetical citation. Place a parenthetical with the year immediately after the author's name. For example: "Berry (2005) argued that the process of militarization reduces freedom to the extent that war and freedom are incompatible.

• Example: Andriewsky, Olga.

• Example: Andriewsky, Olga. "The Paradoxes of Reform: Higher Education in Post-Soviet Ukraine."

• Example: Andriewsky, Olga. "The Paradoxes of Reform: Higher Education in Post-Soviet Ukraine." In Society in Transition: Social Change in Ukraine in Western Perspectives , edited by Wsevolod Isajiw, 239-268.

• A standard Chicago bibliography entry includes: Last Name, First Name. "Article Title." In Book Title , edited by First Name Last Name, ##-##. Place of Publication: Publisher, year.
• Example: Andriewsky, Olga. "The Paradoxes of Reform: Higher Education in Post-Soviet Ukraine." In Society in Transition: Social Change in Ukraine in Western Perspectives , edited by Wsevolod Isajiw, 239-268. Toronto, CA: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2003.

• In Chicago style, the information included in the footnote does not change if you mention the author's name, or any other citation information, in the text of your paper.
• Standard Chicago footnotes include: First Name Last Name, "Article Title," in Book Title , edited by First Name Last Name (Place of Publication: Publisher, year), ##.
• Example: Olga Andriewsky, "The Paradoxes of Reform: Higher Education in Post-Soviet Ukraine," in Society in Transition: Social Change in Ukraine in Western Perspectives , edited by Wsevolod Isajiw (Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2003), 255.

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• ↑ https://uscmed.sc.libguides.com/c.php?g=484371&p=3313032
• ↑ https://utica.libguides.com/c.php?g=703243&p=4991646
• ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-guide.pdf
• ↑ https://guides.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/APA/book-chapter
• ↑ https://libguides.tru.ca/chicago/book-chapter
• ↑ http://libguides.heidelberg.edu/chicago/book/chapter

About This Article

To cite an article inside of a book using MLA format, start by writing the author's last name, then add a comma. Next, write their first name and add a period. In quotation marks, enclose the title of the article you are citing, followed by a period. Then, in italics, write the name of the book, add a comma, write "edited by," and include the name of the editor. After a period, conclude with the name of the book's publisher, along with the year and the relevant page numbers, separated by commas. Alternatively, if you want to do an in-text citation, provide the author's name and page number in parentheses at the end of the line, before the period. For more advice, like how to cite an article inside of a book in APA format, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Cite an Essay Within a Book in the APA Format

Writers must correctly acknowledge the sources of borrowed words and ideas when writing research papers in order to avoid charges of plagiarism, which, apart from the ethical concerns, can also have serious consequences ranging from loss of credit on the assignment to expulsion from school. Citing an essay within a book requires proper formatting both within the text of your paper and on the References page.

APA in-text citations, whether they appear in signal phrases or parenthetical citations, typically include the author's last name and the year of publication. As explained in the sixth edition, second printing of the "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association," when you cite an essay within a compilation, you should give the last name of the author of the essay in the citation along with the year the book was published with a comma between. For an article written by Kelly James appearing in a book published in 2011, the citation would appear like this: (James, 2011).

The References page entry begins with the information that appears in the citation, so start with the author of the essay, the last name followed by the first initial with a comma between. After a period, you should place the publication date, in parentheses, ending with a period. The title of the essay appears next followed by a period. Capitalize the first word but no others except proper nouns, and you should not use italics or quotation marks around it. Next write "In" (without the quotation marks) and give the editor, first initial followed by last name. Use "&" (without the quotation marks) between them if you have more than one. Put (Ed.) and a comma to indicate this is an editor, and then give the title of the book, italicized. The page numbers for the essay appear next, in parentheses, after "pp." (without the quotation marks). After a period, the location, a colon and the company appear for print sources. Such an entry might look like this: James, K. (2005). The article's title. In D. Evans & E. Raines (Eds.), The name of the compilation (italicized) (pp. 133-152). New York: Penguin.

Web pages give "Retrieved from" (without the quotation marks) and the URL instead of the publisher details.

Need help with a citation? Try our citation generator .

• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition, 2nd printing); American Psychological Association
• APA Style: Books and Book Chapters: What to Cite
• Purdue Online Writing Lab: Reference List: Books

Kristie Sweet has been writing professionally since 1982, most recently publishing for various websites on topics like health and wellness, and education. She holds a Master of Arts in English from the University of Northern Colorado.

APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Article or Chapter in an Edited Book

• General Style Guidelines
• One Author or Editor
• Two Authors or Editors
• Three to Five Authors or Editors

Article or Chapter in an Edited Book

• Article in a Reference Book
• Edition other than the First
• Translation
• Government Publication
• Journal Article with 1 Author
• Journal Article with 2 Authors
• Journal Article with 3–20 Authors
• Journal Article 21 or more Authors
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Basic Web Page
• Web page from a University site
• Web Page with No Author
• Entry in a Reference Work
• Government Document
• Film and Television
• Youtube Video
• Audio Podcast
• Electronic Image
• Twitter/Instagram
• Lecture/PPT
• Conferences
• Secondary Sources
• Citation Support
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Formatting Your Paper

About Citing Books

For each type of source in this guide, both the general form and an example will be provided.

The following format will be used:

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase) - entry that appears in the body of your paper when you express the ideas of a researcher or author using your own words.  For more tips on paraphrasing check out The OWL at Purdue .

In-Text Citation (Quotation) - entry that appears in the body of your paper after a direct quote.

References - entry that appears at the end of your paper.

Information on citing and several of the examples were drawn from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).

Numbers in parentheses refer to specific pages in the manual.

Subject Guide

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• Next: Article in a Reference Book >>

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / APA Book Citation

How to Cite a Book in APA

Book – A written work or composition that has been published – typically printed on pages bound together.

Understanding how to cite books will provide you with the basis for citation conventions in APA style. Books are key components of many papers and are often an invaluable resource, so this guide will show you how to format reference page citations and in-text citations for APA 7th edition.

Citing a book in which the chapters are written by different authors is a little more involved than citing other types of books. You will find information on this type of book in this guide, but you can find also find more in-depth information here, in the article How to Cite a Chapter in a Book APA . That article is also helpful for in-text citations that include page numbers.

Guide Overview

What you need.

• Citing a book (print)
• Citing an E-book (online or digital book)
• Citing a book (found in a database)
• Citing an audiobook
• Citing a book with an editor credited on the cover
• Citing an edited book

Troubleshooting

In APA, a basic book citation includes the following information:

• Author’s name
• Title of the book
• Publisher of the book
• Year published

Additional information is needed when citing:

• DOI or stable URL if available
• Name of the translator or editor
• Title of the translator or editor (trans. or ed. respectively)
• Name of the chapter author
• Name of the chapter
• Name of the book editor or author
• Page numbers or ranges used
• Volume numbers and/or edition numbers
• New edition number
• Name of forward or introduction author if applicable
• Original publication date

Citing a book in APA (print)

View Screenshot

Note: Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title and any subtitles (the first word that follows a colon), as well as the first letter of any proper nouns. See our APA Citation Basics guide or the APA Publication Manual for more information.

Citing an E-book in APA (online or digital book)

An e-book is considered a written work or composition that has been digitized and is readable through computers or e-readers (Kindles, iPads,nooks etc.). As of the APA 7th edition, a special notation does not need to be made for e-reader versions. Simply include the book’s URL or DOI number at the end of the citation. However, if you’re citing an audiobook, scroll down this page to see the different citation structure for audiobooks.

Citing a book in APA (found in a database)

Some e-books may be available online through your library’s databases or catalogs. According to the 7th edition of APA style, most books found via academic databases do not need to include the database name or link in the citation. This is because these books are usually widely available in many place and resources.

Citing an audio book in APA

An audiobook is a book that has been converted into audio files or an audio format. They are also sometimes called “books on tape.”

Citing a book with an author and an editor

Citing an edited book (no single author credited).

Here is a video that reviews book citations in APA style:

Solution #1: How to cite a book in another language

Books written in another language should contain the translation in brackets next to the title. If the language contains characters that are different from the Roman alphabet, transliterate the alphabet into the Roman alphabet for your citation.

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year). Title of the book in original language [Translated title]. Publisher.

Sanchez, E. (2018).  Yo no soy tu perfecta hija Mexicana  [I am not your perfect Mexican daughter]. Vintage Espanol.

Solution #2: How to cite a republished translated book

For translated books, include the name of the original author at the start of the citation, but for the year, include the date of publication for the version you are using. After the title, include the translator’s name, and after the publisher, provide the original publication date. For in-text citation, two dates are required. Write the date of the original publication first, then add a slash followed by the current version that you are using.

Reference page structure:

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year). Title of the work (Translator’s F. Last name, Trans.; Edition number ed.). Publisher. (Original work published Year)

Reference page example:

Freud, S. (1950). Beyond the pleasure principle (J. Strachey, Trans., 2nd ed.). Liveright. (Original work published 1920)

In-text citation structure:

Parenthetical structure: (Author last name, date of original publication/date of current version) Narrative structure: Author last name (date of original publication/date of current version)

In-text citation example:

                  Parenthetical example: (Freud, 1920/1950)

        Narrative example: Freud (1920/1950)

Solution #3: How to cite an ancient Greek or Roman work

Much like translated versions, include the original date of publication after the publisher (or DOI link). However, for ancient texts, be sure to include “ca.” (which stands for “circa”) with the date, followed by B.C.E. or C.E. For the in-text citation, you will also need to include ca. and B.C.E. or C.E. after the author’s name, followed by the date of the current version.

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year). Title of the work (Translator’s F. Last name, Trans.; Edition number ed.). Publisher. (Original work published ca. date)

Homer. (1990). The odyssey (R. Fitzgerald, Trans.). Vintage Books. (Original work published ca. 8 B.C.E.)

Parenthetical structure: Author last name, original date of the work/current version date

                     Narrative structure: Author last name (original date of the work/current version date)

                   Parenthetical example: (Homer, ca. 8 B.C.E./1990)

Narrative example: Homer (ca. 8 B.C.E./1990)

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Parenthetical Citations
• Reference Page
• Sample Paper
• APA 7 Updates
• View APA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all APA Examples

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To cite a book in APA style, you need to have basic information including the authors, publication year, book title, and publisher. The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of a book written by a single author along with examples are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Author Surname (Publication Year)

Dean (2010)

Parenthetical

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Dean, 2010)

Reference list entry template and example:

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Book title: Subtitle of the book . Publisher Name.

Dean, J. (2010). Blog theory: Feedback and capture in the circuits of drive . Polity Press.

Set the book title in italics and sentence case. Capitalize the first word after a colon. If an edition number is given, place it after the title in parenthesis. The style should be, for example, (2nd ed.).

To cite a book chapter with multiple authors in APA style, you need to have basic information including the names of the authors, publication year, chapter title, editors, publisher, and place of publication. The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of a book chapter along with examples are given below:

When the source has 3–20 authors

In the text, use the first author’s surname followed by “et al.”

First Author Surname et al. (Publication Year)

Rong et al. (2017)

(Author Surname et al., Publication Year)

(Rong et al., 2017)

List the names of all authors in the reference list. Use “&” before the last author’s name. The book title is set in italics. The word “In” is used before the editor’s name. Note that the style for setting the editors’ names is the initial of the first name (and if applicable, the middle name) followed by the surname. Use “(Eds.)” after the editors’ name. Do not include the publisher’s location in the reference. The example below is for three author names.

Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F.M., &  Author Surname, F.M. (Publication Year). Chapter title: Subtitle. In F. Editor1 & F. Editor2 (Eds.), Book title (pp. #–#). Publisher Name.

Rong, X. L., Hilburn, J., & Sun, W. (2017). Immigration, demographic changes, and schools in North Carolina from 1990 to 2015. In X. Rong & J. Hilburn (Eds.), Immigration and education in North Carolina (pp. 1–24). Sense.

When the source has more than 20 authors

In the text, use the first author’s surname followed by et al.

Alvarez et al. (2019)

(Alvarez et al., 2019)

List the first 19 author’s names in the reference list followed by an ellipsis. Then add the last author’s name.

Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., Author Surname, F. M., . . . Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Chapter title: Subtitle. In F. Editor1 & F. Editor2 (Eds.), Book title (pp. #–#). Publisher Name.

Alvarez, L. D., Peach, J. L., Rodriguez, J. F., Donald, L., Thomas, M., Aruck, A., Samy, K., Anthony, K., Ajey, M., Rodriguez, K. L., Katherine, K., Vincent, A., Pater, F., Somu, P., Pander, L., Berd, R., Fox, L., Anders, A., Kamala, W., . . . Nicole Jones, K. (2019). Unsung psychology pioneers: A content analysis of who makes history (and who doesn’t). In R. Lerner & W. Overton (Eds.), The handbook of life-span development (pp. 509–553). Wiley.

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• Knowledge Base
• Referencing
• Referencing Books in Harvard Style | Templates & Examples

Referencing Books in Harvard Style | Templates & Examples

Published on 12 May 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 7 November 2022.

To reference a book in Harvard style , you need an in-text citation and a corresponding entry in your reference list or bibliography .

A basic book reference looks like this:

Try our free reference generator to create accurate Harvard references for all your sources:

Harvard Reference Generator

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Table of contents

Edition or volume of a book, edited or translated book, book chapter, dictionary or encyclopedia, frequently asked questions about harvard referencing.

If the book you’re citing is a second or later edition (i.e. when the edition is stated on the title page or cover), specify this in your reference. Abbreviate ‘edition’ to ‘edn’ or ‘revised edition’ to ‘rev ed’.

When referencing a book published in multiple volumes, include the total number of volumes in your reference.

If you’re just referencing one volume, omit the total number but include the number and subtitle of the particular volume you’re referencing as part of the title.

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If a book specifies an editor and/or translator, this information should be included in the reference.

When a book has an editor in addition to the main author, the editor’s name is included later in the reference.

When the editor is the main author (i.e. when it’s their name on the cover), their name comes first. Use “ed.” for a single editor and “eds.” if there are multiple editors.

If you use a specific chapter or work from an edited collection, follow the format for referencing a book chapter instead.

When you reference a book that has been translated from another language, include the original language and the translator’s name.

Unlike other names, the translator’s name is not inverted: the initial comes first.

If a book contains chapters or works by various different authors, such as a collection of essays or an anthology of short stories, reference the specific chapter or work, followed by details of the book.

The chapter title appears in quotation marks, while the book title is italicized. At the end of the reference, specify the page range on which the chapter appears.

If a book is entirely written by one author, always reference the whole book, even if you only discuss one chapter.

Dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference works very often don’t list specific authors. In these cases, they are cited and referenced using their titles in the author position:

Where a reference work does have an author, it can be referenced like a normal book. Where different sections of a reference work are attributed to different authors, they can be referenced like chapters in an edited book.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

When an ebook is presented like a printed book, with page numbers and publication details included, you can reference it in the same format as you would the print version.

Otherwise, the ebook format differs slightly: I nclude a link to where you found or purchased it online instead of publisher information. This link is generally just to the store or database you used, not the specific book.

In addition, in-text citations will have to use something other than page numbers when necessary, such as a percentage or location number. Use whatever marker is available on your device.

A Harvard in-text citation should appear in brackets every time you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source.

The citation can appear immediately after the quotation or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence. If you’re quoting, place the citation outside of the quotation marks but before any other punctuation like a comma or full stop.

In Harvard style , when you quote directly from a source that includes page numbers, your in-text citation must include a page number. For example: (Smith, 2014, p. 33).

You can also include page numbers to point the reader towards a passage that you paraphrased . If you refer to the general ideas or findings of the source as a whole, you don’t need to include a page number.

In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’

In Harvard style referencing , to distinguish between two sources by the same author that were published in the same year, you add a different letter after the year for each source:

• (Smith, 2019a)
• (Smith, 2019b)

Add ‘a’ to the first one you cite, ‘b’ to the second, and so on. Do the same in your bibliography or reference list .

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Caulfield, J. (2022, November 07). Referencing Books in Harvard Style | Templates & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 22 April 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-book-reference/

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Q. How do I refer to a book by title in-text in APA format?

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Answered By: Gabe Gossett Last Updated: Jun 22, 2023     Views: 626009

The basic format for an in-text citation is: Title of the Book (Author Last Name, year).

One author: Where the Wild Things Are (Sendak, 1963) is a depiction of a child coping with his anger towards his mom.

Two authors (cite both names every time): Brabant and Mooney (1986) have used the comic strip to examine evidence of sex role stereotyping. OR The comic strip has been used to examine evidence of sex role stereotyping (Brabant & Mooney, 1986).

Three or more authors (cite the first author plus et al.): Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy (Clare et al., 2016) depicts a young man's experience at the Shadowhunter Academy, a place where being a former vampire is looked down upon.OR Clare et al. (2016) have crafted a unique story about a young man's journey to find himself.

No author: Cite the first few words of the reference entry (usually the title) and the year. Use double quotation marks around the title of an article or chapter, and italicize the title of a periodical, book, brochure, or report. Examples: From the book Study Guide (2000) ... or ("Reading," 1999).

Note: Titles of periodicals, books, brochures, or reports should be in italics and use normal title capitalization rules.

If you are citing multiple sources by multiple authors in-text, you can list all of them by the author's last name and year of publication within the same set of parentheses, separated by semicolons.

Example: (Adams, 1999; Jones & James, 2000; Miller, 1999)

For more information on how to cite books in-text and as a reference entry, see the APA Publication Manual (7th edition) Section 10.2 on pages 321-325 .

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Comments (13)

• This was very useful for me! I was having a really hard time finding information on how to mention an article title AND the author in text in APA so this was very helpful!!! by Ryan Waddell on Jun 27, 2019
• If I just mention that I used a book to teach a topic do I have to include it in the reference list? by Franw on Oct 17, 2019
• @Franw, if it is a source that informs your paper in any way, or if your reader would have reason to look it up, then you should include a full reference list entry for the book. by Gabe [Research & Writing Studio] on Oct 18, 2019
• Maybe I'm misunderstanding the question, but I think the OP is asking how to refer to a book title, not how to cite one. I believe APA uses quotation marks around book titles and MLA uses italics. by AB on Dec 12, 2019
• @AB: The first sentence has been tweaked to clarify title of book usage, reflecting the examples given. For APA style you should use italics for book titles. It would be quotation marks. by Gabe [Research & Writing Studio] on Dec 12, 2019
• Hi, can any one help me with in-text-citation of this, how can i cite it in the text Panel, I. L. (2002). Digital transformation: A framework for ICT literacy. Educational Testing Service, 1-53. by Milad on Aug 20, 2021
• @Milad: In that case it would be (Panel, 2002). If you are quoting, or otherwise choosing to include page numbers, put a comma after the year, then p. and the page number(s). by Gabe Gossett on Aug 20, 2021
• Hey, I'm a little bit curious, what if I'm mentioning a book and paraphrasing it but still want to give credit. Would I put the information into parenthesis instead? Like: Paraphrased info. ("Title in Italics" Author, year) by Kai on Sep 14, 2023
• @Kai: Apologies for not seeing your question sooner! (Our academic year has not started yet). If I am understanding your question correctly, what I suggest is referring to the book title in the narrative of your writing, rather than in the in-text citation. I do not see an examples of using a book title in an in-text citation except for rare circumstances including citing a classic religious text or using the title when there is no author information because it is the start of your reference list entry. Basically, APA's in-text convention is supposed to make it easy for your reader to locate the source being cited in the reference list. So the first part of the in-text citation, usually authors, comes first to locate it alphabetically. Putting the book title first when you have an author name can throw that off. by Gabe Gossett on Sep 21, 2023
• Perhaps this is along the lines of the response to Kai - Can you reference a book title as a common point of social understanding to demonstrate a common concept? Is official citing required if you use widely known titles such as "Where's Waldo" and "Who Moved My Cheese?" to make a point of illustration? by Chez Renee on Sep 30, 2023
• @Chez: Aside from some classical religious texts, if it is a published book, I'd try to make sure that it is appropriately cited for APA style. That said, I think I understand where it gets tricky with things like Where's Waldo, since that is a series of books and stating "Where's Waldo" is a cultural reference many people would understand, though you can't reasonably cite the entire series. I don't believe that APA gives guidance for this particular issue. If it is being referred to in order to back up a claim, it would help to cite a particular book. If not, then it might work to use a statement such as, "Hanford's Where's Waldo series . . ." by Gabe Gossett on Oct 02, 2023
• How to cite a dissertation thesis in apa form? by Elizabeth on Feb 05, 2024
• @Elizabeth: For citing a dissertation or thesis you can check out our page answering that here https://askus.library.wwu.edu/faq/153308 by Gabe Gossett on Feb 05, 2024

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• APA citations and formatting

Benefits of Citing Book in APA Form for Reader

A PA format stands for the American Psychological Association form, a guideline for formatting academic documents such as research papers, essays, and theses. It is to cite social science disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and education.

APA format specifies guidelines for various elements of an academic paper, including the title page, abstract, body, and reference page. The APA form intends to provide consistency in academic writing, making it easier for readers to understand the analysis presented in a paper. It also helps authors ensure that their work meets the standards of their field. 

How to Use the APA Citation Format

If you’re curious about how to cite a book in APA, this is the right section. Although many college students find it hard to cite books, there are several ways to get this done. We’ll list helpful tips below.

Paraphrasing and Reference List 

When writing data, the author’s last name and year of publication are still included in brackets, without including the page number. Example: (Smith, 2019) or Smith (2019) argued that…

A reference list is a separate page at the end of the paper that lists all data cited within. It is organized alphabetically by the author’s last name, year of publishing, the title of the work, plus publication information.

Use Proper Formatting 

APA citation needs a specific form for the referencing list, including double spacing, hanging indentation, and italicizing book and journal titles. When citing electronic sources, the author’s name, publication year, or title must be there, followed by a URL.

Outsource Your APA Style Papers 

Some find it hard to cite books in APA, especially if they are new or are unfamiliar with the guidelines. Suppose you’re a student like this who wants to get your paper written in APA format , or you need just a quality essay. In that case, you can always outsource it to academic platforms where you have an opportunity to hire a writer to help you get this done in record time. 

On these platforms, students choose writers who have years of experience. They have skills in all types of citations, like APA, so you’ll get proper value for the service. 

Use In-text Citations and Direct Quotes 

When listing ideas from a source within the text, the author’s last name and the year of publication are in brackets. For example, (Smith, 2019).

Direct quotes must be enclosed in quotation marks. Also, include the page number where quotes are found. For example, “This is a direct quote” (Smith, 2019, p. 10).

The Benefits of Citing Your Books With APA 

The APA form is essential to academic research and publication, as it promotes consistency, accuracy, and professionalism. Here are some of the benefits of using this citation for your books.

• Clear and Consistent: It provides clear guidelines for citing data that promote reference consistency.
• Avoid Plagiarism: It helps writers to avoid plagiarism by referencing their data accurately.
• Easy to Follow: It provides specific guidelines for in-text citations, reference lists, and other formatting requirements that are easy to follow.
• Widely Accepted: It is accepted across disciplines, including social sciences, education, nursing, psychology, and other fields.
• Boost Reliability: By citing sources according to APA guidelines, writers prove their professionalism by showing that they have conducted thorough probing and are well-versed in the relevant literature.
• Allows Replication: It allows other researchers to replicate the study by providing clear guidelines on how to cite the data.
• Provides a Standard Form: It provides a standard form for referencing data, which makes it easy for readers to locate the data cited in a particular work.

Why APA Citation is Used in Books Across Several Disciplines 

Writing has different citation forms, but the APA form is widely accepted because it cuts across various disciplines. Here are reasons why it is so popular in the academic sector.

Standardization

APA form provides a standard way of referencing data recognized by many disciplines. Using a common format helps ensure everyone is on the same page regarding referencing data.

Clarity and Accuracy

APA form aims to promote clarity in reference data. This is important in all aspects, ensuring readers can verify the data cited in a given work. It certifies that they can easily understand the information presented. This clearness ensures correctness since the readers know exactly what they’re reading.

Range 

One can use the APA form for different data varieties, which include books, journals, articles, and websites. APA has a range wide enough to cut across several disciplines for any type of research. One of the reasons why the APA form is so broad is that it provides specific guidelines for referencing different types of data. For example, when referencing a college book , the author’s name, publication date, book title, and publisher information when referencing a college book.

Historical Use

APA form has been used for over 80 years, making it a well-established citation form. Due to how long it has existed in academic publishing, APA is now a standard in the educational sector. The APA created the guidelines to address the need for consistency and standardization.

The first APA Publication Manual aired in 1952, with the latest being the 7th, published in 2019. Over the years, the APA form has improved to show changes in academic publishing.

Flexibility 

While APA form has specific guidelines for referencing data, it also allows variation. This means researchers can adapt it to suit the requirements of their discipline.

Conclusion 

There are many benefits to citing books in APA form for readers. The use of APA promotes accuracy across disciplines. By referencing data in APA form, readers verify the data cited in a given work, ensuring that the data is correct. This is important in a study where accuracy is crucial.

APA helps to boost clarity in analysis, making it easier for others to build upon previous work. The APA form’s uniformity also helps ensure everyone is on the same page regarding citing data. It is crucial that everyone learns how this works to ensure smooth reading.

The post Benefits of Citing Book in APA Form for Reader appeared first on Sunny Sweet Days .

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How to Quote a Bible Verse in an Essay

Published: April 23, 2024

Learn the proper way to cite Bible verses in academic essays, ensuring accurate and respectful integration of scripture into your writing.

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Table of Contents

Choosing the right translation, determining the citation style, in-text citations, introducing bible verses, quoting longer passages, citing the bible in references/works cited, ethical considerations, additional tips.

Quoting Bible verses in an essay is a common practice, especially in religious studies, theology, or literature classes. However, it’s essential to do it correctly to maintain academic integrity and avoid unintentional plagiarism. In this comprehensive guide from Academized.com , I’ll walk you through the steps to quote Bible verses properly, ensuring your essay is well-structured and follows academic conventions.

The first step is to choose the right translation. The Bible has been translated into numerous languages and versions, each with slight variations in wording and phrasing. When quoting a Bible verse, it’s crucial to use a reputable and widely accepted translation that aligns with your specific academic or research purposes.

Some popular translations include the King James Version (KJV), New International Version (NIV), and English Standard Version (ESV). The KJV is known for its literary quality and poetic language, while the NIV and ESV are more modern translations aimed at preserving the original meaning while using contemporary language.

If you’re writing for a religious studies or theology course, it’s generally recommended to use a translation approved by the religious institution or denomination you’re studying, as discussed in this Academized review on https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/academized-review-2023-actually-good-mary-walton . For literature or general academic purposes, any widely accepted translation should suffice.

Read more : Christian Blogs To Follow Before Writing a Religious Essay

Next, you’ll need to determine the appropriate citation style. Different academic disciplines and institutions may have their own preferred citation styles. The most common citation styles for quoting Bible verses are:

• MLA (Modern Language Association) style: Commonly used in literature, arts, and humanities. 
• APA (American Psychological Association) style: Frequently used in social sciences, education, and psychology. 
• Chicago/Turabian style: Often used in history, religion, and some humanities fields.

Before you start writing, check with your instructor or consult the style guide to ensure you’re using the correct citation format. Adhering to the proper citation style is crucial for maintaining academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism.

When quoting a Bible verse within the body of your essay, you’ll need to include an in-text citation. The format for in-text citations varies depending on the citation style you’re using.

In MLA style, the in-text citation for a Bible verse should include the book name (abbreviated), chapter number, and verse number(s). For example: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3.16).

In APA style, the in-text citation for a Bible verse should include the book name (not abbreviated), chapter number, and verse number(s), separated by colons. For instance: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

In Chicago/Turabian style, the in-text citation for a Bible verse should include the book name (abbreviated), chapter number, and verse number(s), separated by periods, like this: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3.16).

It’s also important to introduce Bible verses properly within the context of your essay. You can provide context by explaining the situation or context in which the verse is being used or referenced. Alternatively, you can use a signal phrase to indicate that you’re quoting a Bible verse, such as “As stated in the Gospel of John,” or “The Bible says.”

Introducing the verse with context or a signal phrase helps to smoothly integrate the quotation into your writing and clarifies the source for the reader.

If you’re quoting a longer passage from the Bible that spans multiple verses, you’ll need to format it differently. In MLA style, for example, longer quotations (four or more lines) should be indented one inch from the left margin and double-spaced. Here’s an example:

As the Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2.8-10)

Note the indentation and the use of a signal phrase to introduce the quotation. This format helps to visually separate the longer quotation from your own writing and makes it easier for the reader to follow.

Read more : 26 Life-Changing Bible Verses For Graduation

In addition to in-text citations, you’ll need to include a full citation for the Bible in your references or works cited list at the end of your essay. The format for this citation varies depending on the citation style you’re using.

• MLA Style: In MLA style, the Bible citation should appear as: The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.
• APA Style: In APA style, the Bible citation should appear as: Bible. (Year of publication). (Version/Translation). (Publisher details). For example: Bible. (2011). New International Version. Biblica.
• Chicago/Turabian Style: In Chicago/Turabian style, the Bible citation should appear as: Bible. Translated by [Translation/Version]. [Publisher details]. For example: Bible. Translated by New International Version. Biblica, 2011.

Including a full citation in your reference list ensures that readers can easily locate the specific version of the Bible you’ve used in your research.

When quoting from the Bible, it’s important to consider ethical implications and potential biases. The Bible is a sacred text for many religions, and quotes should be handled with respect and sensitivity.

Avoid taking verses out of context or using them to promote harmful or discriminatory viewpoints. Be mindful of the historical and cultural contexts in which the verses were written, and strive for a balanced, objective analysis.

If you’re writing about controversial or sensitive topics related to the Bible, it’s advisable to consult with experts or religious authorities to ensure your interpretations are accurate and respectful.

While quoting Bible verses is important, you should also include your own analysis and interpretation, avoiding excessive quotation. Use quotations judiciously, only quoting verses that are directly relevant to your argument or analysis.

Provide context by explaining the significance of the quoted verse and how it relates to your essay’s main points. Don’t assume that the reader has the same level of familiarity with the Bible or the specific context of the verse.

When interpreting or analyzing Bible verses, be sure to back up your claims with evidence from reliable sources, such as scholarly works or authoritative religious texts.

By following these guidelines, you’ll be able to effectively quote Bible verses In your essay while maintaining academic integrity, adhering to citation conventions, and demonstrating a nuanced understanding of the material. Remember, quoting Bible verses is not just about including the text; it’s also about providing context, analysis, and demonstrating your knowledge of the subject matter.

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

In-Text Citations: The Basics

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style  can be found here .

Reference citations in text are covered on pages 261-268 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.

Note:  On pages 117-118, the Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases that occur in the literature review and procedure descriptions (for example, Jones (1998)  found  or Jones (1998)  has found ...). Contexts other than traditionally-structured research writing may permit the simple present tense (for example, Jones (1998)  finds ).

APA Citation Basics

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

If you are referring to an idea from another work but  NOT  directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference.

On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before listing the page number(s). Use an en dash for page ranges. For example, you might write (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201). This information is reiterated below.

Regardless of how they are referenced, all sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and italics/underlining

• Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones.
• If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are four letters long or greater within the title of a source:  Permanence and Change . Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs:  Writing New Media ,  There Is Nothing Left to Lose .

( Note:  in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized:  Writing new media .)

• When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word:  Natural-Born Cyborgs .
• Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's  Vertigo ."
• If the title of the work is italicized in your reference list, italicize it and use title case capitalization in the text:  The Closing of the American Mind ;  The Wizard of Oz ;  Friends .
• If the title of the work is not italicized in your reference list, use double quotation marks and title case capitalization (even though the reference list uses sentence case): "Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds;" "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."

Short quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p." for a single page and “pp.” for a span of multiple pages, with the page numbers separated by an en dash).

You can introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

If you do not include the author’s name in the text of the sentence, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

Long quotations

Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout, but do not add an extra blank line before or after it. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Because block quotation formatting is difficult for us to replicate in the OWL's content management system, we have simply provided a screenshot of a generic example below.

Formatting example for block quotations in APA 7 style.

Quotations from sources without pages

Direct quotations from sources that do not contain pages should not reference a page number. Instead, you may reference another logical identifying element: a paragraph, a chapter number, a section number, a table number, or something else. Older works (like religious texts) can also incorporate special location identifiers like verse numbers. In short: pick a substitute for page numbers that makes sense for your source.

Summary or paraphrase

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference and may omit the page numbers. APA guidelines, however, do encourage including a page range for a summary or paraphrase when it will help the reader find the information in a longer work. 

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Guest Essay

I Thought the Bragg Case Against Trump Was a Legal Embarrassment. Now I Think It’s a Historic Mistake.

By Jed Handelsman Shugerman

Mr. Shugerman is a law professor at Boston University.

About a year ago, when Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, indicted former President Donald Trump, I was critical of the case and called it an embarrassment. I thought an array of legal problems would and should lead to long delays in federal courts.

After listening to Monday’s opening statement by prosecutors, I still think the district attorney has made a historic mistake. Their vague allegation about “a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election” has me more concerned than ever about their unprecedented use of state law and their persistent avoidance of specifying an election crime or a valid theory of fraud.

To recap: Mr. Trump is accused in the case of falsifying business records. Those are misdemeanor charges. To elevate it to a criminal case, Mr. Bragg and his team have pointed to potential violations of federal election law and state tax fraud. They also cite state election law, but state statutory definitions of “public office” seem to limit those statutes to state and local races.

Both the misdemeanor and felony charges require that the defendant made the false record with “intent to defraud.” A year ago, I wondered how entirely internal business records (the daily ledger, pay stubs and invoices) could be the basis of any fraud if they are not shared with anyone outside the business. I suggested that the real fraud was Mr. Trump’s filing an (allegedly) false report to the Federal Election Commission, and that only federal prosecutors had jurisdiction over that filing.

A recent conversation with Jeffrey Cohen, a friend, Boston College law professor and former prosecutor, made me think that the case could turn out to be more legitimate than I had originally thought. The reason has to do with those allegedly falsified business records: Most of them were entered in early 2017, generally before Mr. Trump filed his Federal Election Commission report that summer. Mr. Trump may have foreseen an investigation into his campaign, leading to its financial records. He may have falsely recorded these internal records before the F.E.C. filing as consciously part of the same fraud: to create a consistent paper trail and to hide intent to violate federal election laws, or defraud the F.E.C.

In short: It’s not the crime; it’s the cover-up.

Looking at the case in this way might address concerns about state jurisdiction. In this scenario, Mr. Trump arguably intended to deceive state investigators, too. State investigators could find these inconsistencies and alert federal agencies. Prosecutors could argue that New York State agencies have an interest in detecting conspiracies to defraud federal entities; they might also have a plausible answer to significant questions about whether New York State has jurisdiction or whether this stretch of a state business filing law is pre-empted by federal law.

However, this explanation is a novel interpretation with many significant legal problems. And none of the Manhattan district attorney’s filings or today’s opening statement even hint at this approach.

Instead of a theory of defrauding state regulators, Mr. Bragg has adopted a weak theory of “election interference,” and Justice Juan Merchan described the case , in his summary of it during jury selection, as an allegation of falsifying business records “to conceal an agreement with others to unlawfully influence the 2016 election.”

As a reality check: It is legal for a candidate to pay for a nondisclosure agreement. Hush money is unseemly, but it is legal. The election law scholar Richard Hasen rightly observed , “Calling it election interference actually cheapens the term and undermines the deadly serious charges in the real election interference cases.”

In Monday’s opening argument, the prosecutor Matthew Colangelo still evaded specifics about what was illegal about influencing an election, but then he claimed , “It was election fraud, pure and simple.” None of the relevant state or federal statutes refer to filing violations as fraud. Calling it “election fraud” is a legal and strategic mistake, exaggerating the case and setting up the jury with high expectations that the prosecutors cannot meet.

The most accurate description of this criminal case is a federal campaign finance filing violation. Without a federal violation (which the state election statute is tethered to), Mr. Bragg cannot upgrade the misdemeanor counts into felonies. Moreover, it is unclear how this case would even fulfill the misdemeanor requirement of “intent to defraud” without the federal crime.

In stretching jurisdiction and trying a federal crime in state court, the Manhattan district attorney is now pushing untested legal interpretations and applications. I see three red flags raising concerns about selective prosecution upon appeal.

First, I could find no previous case of any state prosecutor relying on the Federal Election Campaign Act either as a direct crime or a predicate crime. Whether state prosecutors have avoided doing so as a matter of law, norms or lack of expertise, this novel attempt is a sign of overreach.

Second, Mr. Trump’s lawyers argued that the New York statute requires that the predicate (underlying) crime must also be a New York crime, not a crime in another jurisdiction. The district attorney responded with judicial precedents only about other criminal statutes, not the statute in this case. In the end, the prosecutors could not cite a single judicial interpretation of this particular statute supporting their use of the statute (a plea deal and a single jury instruction do not count).

Third, no New York precedent has allowed an interpretation of defrauding the general public. Legal experts have noted that such a broad “election interference” theory is unprecedented, and a conviction based on it may not survive a state appeal.

Mr. Trump’s legal team also undercut itself for its decisions in the past year: His lawyers essentially put all of their eggs in the meritless basket of seeking to move the trial to federal court, instead of seeking a federal injunction to stop the trial entirely. If they had raised the issues of selective or vindictive prosecution and a mix of jurisdictional, pre-emption and constitutional claims, they could have delayed the trial past Election Day, even if they lost at each federal stage.

Another reason a federal crime has wound up in state court is that President Biden’s Justice Department bent over backward not to reopen this valid case or appoint a special counsel. Mr. Trump has tried to blame Mr. Biden for this prosecution as the real “election interference.” The Biden administration’s extra restraint belies this allegation and deserves more credit.

Eight years after the alleged crime itself, it is reasonable to ask if this is more about Manhattan politics than New York law. This case should serve as a cautionary tale about broader prosecutorial abuses in America — and promote bipartisan reforms of our partisan prosecutorial system.

Nevertheless, prosecutors should have some latitude to develop their case during trial, and maybe they will be more careful and precise about the underlying crime, fraud and the jurisdictional questions. Mr. Trump has received sufficient notice of the charges, and he can raise his arguments on appeal. One important principle of “ our Federalism ,” in the Supreme Court’s terms, is abstention , that federal courts should generally allow state trials to proceed first and wait to hear challenges later.

This case is still an embarrassment, in terms of prosecutorial ethics and apparent selectivity. Nevertheless, each side should have its day in court. If convicted, Mr. Trump can fight many other days — and perhaps win — in appellate courts. But if Monday’s opening is a preview of exaggerated allegations, imprecise legal theories and persistently unaddressed problems, the prosecutors might not win a conviction at all.

Jed Handelsman Shugerman (@jedshug) is a law professor at Boston University.

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