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How to Cite a Book in MLA | Format & Examples
Published on June 28, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on June 16, 2022.
An MLA book citation always includes the author(s) , title (italicized), publisher, and publication year in the Works Cited entry. If relevant, also include the names of any editors or translators, the edition, and the volume. “University Press” should be abbreviated to “UP” in a Works Cited entry.
The in-text citation gives the author’s last name and a page number in parentheses.
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Table of contents, citing a book chapter, editions of books, multi-volume books, translated books, e-books and online books, where to find information for a book citation, frequently asked questions about mla style.
Use this format if the book’s chapters are written by different authors, or if the book is a collection of self-contained works (such as stories , essays, poems or plays ). A similar format can be used to cite images from books or dictionary entries . If you cite several chapters from the same book, include a separate Works Cited entry for each one.
Start the Works Cited entry with the author and title of the chapter, followed by the book’s title, editor, publisher, and date , and end with the page range on which the chapter appears.
If there are two editors, give the full names of both. If there are more than two editors, follow the same rules as for citing multiple authors : name only the first editor followed by et al.
If you are citing a work from a book with no named editor (e.g. a collection of a single author’s poems or plays), use the same format, but leave out the editor element.
- Multiple editors
Citing a whole collection or anthology
If you refer to a whole collection without citing a specific work within it, follow the standard book citation format. Include the editor(s) where the author would usually go, with a label to identify their role.
If the book cover or title page specifies an edition, add the edition number or name, followed by the abbreviation “ed.”, after the title. Note that versions of the Bible are treated slightly differently.
Including the original publication date
Classic books are often published and republished many times. If the original publication date is relevant or necessary to put the source in context, you can also include this directly after the title.
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If you cite only one volume of a multi-volume work, include the volume number in the Works Cited entry.
If you cite more than one volume of the book, cite them as a single work and specify the total number of volumes in your Works Cited entry. In this case, the in-text citations must include the volume number as well as the page number.
- Citing a single volume
- Citing multiple volumes
If the book is translated, include the translator’s name after the title.
The citation format for an e-book depends on how you accessed it.
Books accessed online
If you accessed the book via a website or database, use the standard MLA book citation format, followed by the name of the website or database and a link to the book. Look for a DOI, stable URL or permalink. If the book was accessed as a PDF, you may note this in your reference .
Downloaded e-books
If you downloaded the book onto an e-reader device or app, you only have to add “E-book ed.” after the title.
If the e-book does not have page numbers, use an alternate locator, such as a chapter or section heading, in your in-text citation. Do not use locators that are specific to the device (e.g. Kindle locations).
The title, author, publisher, and publication year are usually found on the book’s title page. You might have to check the copyright page for the publisher and publication year.
Note that the copyright date is not always the same as the publication date. If several different years appear on the copyright page, use the most recent one.
If the book has any editors or translators named on the cover page, include them in the citation after the book’s title.
In MLA style , book titles appear in italics, with all major words capitalized. If there is a subtitle, separate it from the main title with a colon and a space (even if no colon appears in the source). For example:
The format is the same in the Works Cited list and in the text itself. However, when you mention the book title in the text, you don’t have to include the subtitle.
The title of a part of a book—such as a chapter, or a short story or poem in a collection—is not italicized, but instead placed in quotation marks.
If a source has two authors, name both authors in your MLA in-text citation and Works Cited entry. If there are three or more authors, name only the first author, followed by et al.
In MLA Style , you should cite a specific chapter or work within a book in two situations:
- When each of the book’s chapters is written by a different author.
- When the book is a collection of self-contained works (such as poems , plays , or short stories ), even if they are all written by the same author.
If you cite multiple chapters or works from the same book, include a separate Works Cited entry for each chapter.
Some source types, such as books and journal articles , may contain footnotes (or endnotes) with additional information. The following rules apply when citing information from a note in an MLA in-text citation :
- To cite information from a single numbered note, write “n” after the page number, and then write the note number, e.g. (Smith 105n2)
- To cite information from multiple numbered notes, write “nn” and include a range, e.g. (Smith 77nn1–2)
- To cite information from an unnumbered note, write “un” after the page number, with a space in between, e.g. (Jones 250 un)
You must include an MLA in-text citation every time you quote or paraphrase from a source (e.g. a book , movie , website , or article ).
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MLA Works Cited Page: Books
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MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (9 th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.
When you are gathering book sources, be sure to make note of the following bibliographic items: the author name(s), other contributors such as translators or editors, the book’s title, editions of the book, the publication date, the publisher, and the pagination.
The 8 th edition of the MLA handbook highlights principles over prescriptive practices. Essentially, a writer will need to take note of primary elements in every source, such as author, title, etc. and then assort them in a general format. Thus, by using this methodology, a writer will be able to cite any source regardless of whether it’s included in this list.
Please note these changes in the new edition:
- Commas are used instead of periods between Publisher, Publication Date, and Pagination.
- Medium is no longer necessary.
- Containers are now a part of the MLA process. Commas should be used after container titles.
- DOIs should be used instead of URLS when available.
- Use the term “Accessed” instead of listing the date or the abbreviation, “n.d."
Below is the general format for any citation:
Author. Title. Title of container (do not list container for standalone books, e.g. novels), Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs URL or DOI). 2 nd container’s title, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location, Date of Access (if applicable).
Basic Book Format
The author’s name or a book with a single author's name appears in last name, first name format. The basic form for a book citation is:
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book . City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.
* Note: the City of Publication should only be used if the book was published before 1900, if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown in North America.
Book with One Author
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science . Penguin, 1987.
Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House . MacMurray, 1999.
Book with More Than One Author
When a book has two authors, order the authors in the same way they are presented in the book. Start by listing the first name that appears on the book in last name, first name format; subsequent author names appear in normal order (first name last name format).
Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring . Allyn and Bacon, 2000.
If there are three or more authors, list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. (Latin for "and others") in place of the subsequent authors' names. (Note that there is a period after “al” in “et al.” Also note that there is never a period after the “et” in “et al.”).
Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition . Utah State UP, 2004.
Two or More Books by the Same Author
List works alphabetically by title. (Remember to ignore articles like A, An, and The.) Provide the author’s name in last name, first name format for the first entry only. For each subsequent entry by the same author, use three hyphens and a period.
Palmer, William J. Dickens and New Historicism . St. Martin's, 1997.
---. The Films of the Eighties: A Social History . Southern Illinois UP, 1993.
Book by a Corporate Author or Organization
A corporate author may include a commission, a committee, a government agency, or a group that does not identify individual members on the title page.
List the names of corporate authors in the place where an author’s name typically appears at the beginning of the entry.
American Allergy Association. Allergies in Children . Random House, 1998.
When the author and publisher are the same, skip the author, and list the title first. Then, list the corporate author only as the publisher.
Fair Housing—Fair Lending. Aspen Law & Business, 1985.
Book with No Author
List by title of the book. Incorporate these entries alphabetically just as you would with works that include an author name. For example, the following entry might appear between entries of works written by Dean, Shaun and Forsythe, Jonathan.
Encyclopedia of Indiana . Somerset, 1993.
Remember that for an in-text (parenthetical) citation of a book with no author, you should provide the name of the work in the signal phrase and the page number in parentheses. You may also use a shortened version of the title of the book accompanied by the page number. For more information see the In-text Citations for Print Sources with No Known Author section of In-text Citations: The Basics .
A Translated Book
If you want to emphasize the work rather than the translator, cite as you would any other book. Add “translated by” and follow with the name(s) of the translator(s).
Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason . Translated by Richard Howard, Vintage-Random House, 1988.
If you want to focus on the translation, list the translator as the author. In place of the author’s name, the translator’s name appears. His or her name is followed by the label, “translator.” If the author of the book does not appear in the title of the book, include the name, with a “By” after the title of the book and before the publisher. Note that this type of citation is less common and should only be used for papers or writing in which translation plays a central role.
Howard, Richard, translator. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason . By Michel Foucault, Vintage-Random House, 1988.
Republished Book
Books may be republished due to popularity without becoming a new edition. New editions are typically revisions of the original work. For books that originally appeared at an earlier date and that have been republished at a later one, insert the original publication date before the publication information.
For books that are new editions (i.e. different from the first or other editions of the book), see An Edition of a Book below.
Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble . 1990. Routledge, 1999.
Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine . 1984. Perennial-Harper, 1993.
An Edition of a Book
There are two types of editions in book publishing: a book that has been published more than once in different editions and a book that is prepared by someone other than the author (typically an editor).
A Subsequent Edition
Cite the book as you normally would, but add the number of the edition after the title.
Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students . 3rd ed., Pearson, 2004.
A Work Prepared by an Editor
Cite the book as you normally would, but add the editor after the title with the label "edited by."
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre, edited by Margaret Smith, Oxford UP, 1998.
Note that the format for citing sources with important contributors with editor-like roles follows the same basic template:
...adapted by John Doe...
Finally, in the event that the source features a contributor that cannot be described with a past-tense verb and the word "by" (e.g., "edited by"), you may instead use a noun followed by a comma, like so:
...guest editor, Jane Smith...
Anthology or Collection (e.g. Collection of Essays)
To cite the entire anthology or collection, list by editor(s) followed by a comma and "editor" or, for multiple editors, "editors." This sort of entry is somewhat rare. If you are citing a particular piece within an anthology or collection (more common), see A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection below.
Hill, Charles A., and Marguerite Helmers, editors. Defining Visual Rhetorics . Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004.
Peterson, Nancy J., editor. Toni Morrison: Critical and Theoretical Approaches . Johns Hopkins UP, 1997.
A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection
Works may include an essay in an edited collection or anthology, or a chapter of a book. The basic form is for this sort of citation is as follows:
Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection , edited by Editor's Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range of entry.
Some examples:
Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One , edited by Ben Rafoth, Heinemann, 2000, pp. 24-34.
Swanson, Gunnar. "Graphic Design Education as a Liberal Art: Design and Knowledge in the University and The 'Real World.'" The Education of a Graphic Designer , edited by Steven Heller, Allworth Press, 1998, pp. 13-24.
Note on Cross-referencing Several Items from One Anthology: If you cite more than one essay from the same edited collection, MLA indicates you may cross-reference within your works cited list in order to avoid writing out the publishing information for each separate essay. You should consider this option if you have several references from a single text. To do so, include a separate entry for the entire collection listed by the editor's name as below:
Rose, Shirley K, and Irwin Weiser, editors. The Writing Program Administrator as Researcher . Heinemann, 1999.
Then, for each individual essay from the collection, list the author's name in last name, first name format, the title of the essay, the editor's last name, and the page range:
L'Eplattenier, Barbara. "Finding Ourselves in the Past: An Argument for Historical Work on WPAs." Rose and Weiser, pp. 131-40.
Peeples, Tim. "'Seeing' the WPA With/Through Postmodern Mapping." Rose and Weiser, pp. 153-67.
Please note: When cross-referencing items in the works cited list, alphabetical order should be maintained for the entire list.
Poem or Short Story Examples :
Burns, Robert. "Red, Red Rose." 100 Best-Loved Poems, edited by Philip Smith, Dover, 1995, p. 26.
Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories , edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.
If the specific literary work is part of the author's own collection (all of the works have the same author), then there will be no editor to reference:
Whitman, Walt. "I Sing the Body Electric." Selected Poems, Dover, 1991, pp. 12-19.
Carter, Angela. "The Tiger's Bride." Burning Your Boats: The Collected Stories, Penguin, 1995, pp. 154-69.
Article in a Reference Book (e.g. Encyclopedias, Dictionaries)
For entries in encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works, cite the entry name as you would any other work in a collection but do not include the publisher information. Also, if the reference book is organized alphabetically, as most are, do not list the volume or the page number of the article or item.
"Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed. 1997.
A Multivolume Work
When citing only one volume of a multivolume work, include the volume number after the work's title, or after the work's editor or translator.
Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria . Translated by H. E. Butler, vol. 2, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980.
When citing more than one volume of a multivolume work, cite the total number of volumes in the work. Also, be sure in your in-text citation to provide both the volume number and page number(s) ( see "Citing Multivolume Works" on our in-text citations resource .)
Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria . Translated by H. E. Butler, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980. 4 vols.
If the volume you are using has its own title, cite the book without referring to the other volumes as if it were an independent publication.
Churchill, Winston S. The Age of Revolution . Dodd, 1957.
An Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword
When citing an introduction, a preface, a foreword, or an afterword, write the name of the author(s) of the piece you are citing. Then give the name of the part being cited, which should not be italicized or enclosed in quotation marks; in italics, provide the name of the work and the name of the author of the introduction/preface/foreword/afterword. Finish the citation with the details of publication and page range.
Farrell, Thomas B. Introduction. Norms of Rhetorical Culture , by Farrell, Yale UP, 1993, pp. 1-13.
If the writer of the piece is different from the author of the complete work , then write the full name of the principal work's author after the word "By." For example, if you were to cite Hugh Dalziel Duncan’s introduction of Kenneth Burke’s book Permanence and Change, you would write the entry as follows:
Duncan, Hugh Dalziel. Introduction. Permanence and Change: An Anatomy of Purpose, by Kenneth Burke, 1935, 3rd ed., U of California P, 1984, pp. xiii-xliv.
Book Published Before 1900
Original copies of books published before 1900 are usually defined by their place of publication rather than the publisher. Unless you are using a newer edition, cite the city of publication where you would normally cite the publisher.
Thoreau, Henry David. Excursions . Boston, 1863.
Italicize “The Bible” and follow it with the version you are using. Remember that your in-text (parenthetical citation) should include the name of the specific edition of the Bible, followed by an abbreviation of the book, the chapter and verse(s). (See Citing the Bible at In-Text Citations: The Basics .)
The Bible. Authorized King James Version , Oxford UP, 1998.
The Bible. The New Oxford Annotated Version , 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2001.
The New Jerusalem Bible. Edited by Susan Jones, Doubleday, 1985.
A Government Publication
Cite the author of the publication if the author is identified. Otherwise, start with the name of the national government, followed by the agency (including any subdivisions or agencies) that serves as the organizational author. For congressional documents, be sure to include the number of the Congress and the session when the hearing was held or resolution passed as well as the report number. US government documents are typically published by the Government Printing Office.
United States, Congress, Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearing on the Geopolitics of Oil . Government Printing Office, 2007. 110th Congress, 1st session, Senate Report 111-8.
United States, Government Accountability Office. Climate Change: EPA and DOE Should Do More to Encourage Progress Under Two Voluntary Programs . Government Printing Office, 2006.
Cite the title and publication information for the pamphlet just as you would a book without an author. Pamphlets and promotional materials commonly feature corporate authors (commissions, committees, or other groups that does not provide individual group member names). If the pamphlet you are citing has no author, cite as directed below. If your pamphlet has an author or a corporate author, put the name of the author (last name, first name format) or corporate author in the place where the author name typically appears at the beginning of the entry. (See also Books by a Corporate Author or Organization above.)
Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System . American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2006.
Your Rights Under California Welfare Programs . California Department of Social Services, 2007.
Dissertations and Master's Theses
Dissertations and master's theses may be used as sources whether published or not. Unlike previous editions, MLA 8 specifies no difference in style for published/unpublished works.
The main elements of a dissertation citation are the same as those for a book: author name(s), title (italicized) , and publication date. Conclude with an indication of the document type (e.g., "PhD dissertation"). The degree-granting institution may be included before the document type (though this is not required). If the dissertation was accessed through an online repository, include it as the second container after all the other elements.
Bishop, Karen Lynn. Documenting Institutional Identity: Strategic Writing in the IUPUI Comprehensive Campaign . 2002. Purdue University, PhD dissertation.
Bile, Jeffrey. Ecology, Feminism, and a Revised Critical Rhetoric: Toward a Dialectical Partnership . 2005. Ohio University, PhD dissertation.
Mitchell, Mark. The Impact of Product Quality Reducing Events on the Value of Brand-Name Capital: Evidence from Airline Crashes and the 1982 Tylenol Poisonings. 1987. PhD dissertation. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
List the names of corporate authors in the place where an author’s name typically appears at the beginning of the entry if the author and publisher are not the same.
Fair Housing—Fair Lending. Aspen Law & Business, 1985.
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Writing A Book Title In Your Essay – The Right Way
09 Mar 2022
Quick Navigation
📃APA Style Essay: Book Titles
✒️APA Style: The Name of The Author
📒MLA Style: Citing a Book Title
✏️Chicago Style: Book Title
📑Various Types of Titles
🖊️Underline or Italicize Book Titles
When you are writing an academic essay , the book title and author’s name should be written in italics. However, if the book title is part of a larger work (such as a journal article), then it should be placed underlined instead. So, you’re wondering how to write a book title in an essay?
In this article, we will explore how to write both titles in an essay properly so that you avoid any mistakes!
APA Style: How to Write Book Titles in Essays
When writing an essay, you must follow the style guide provided by your instructor. Some teachers may require you to use APA style and others MLA style. There are some rules on how to quote a book title in an essay. When writing book titles in essays, you should use italics and quotation marks. For example: " The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. "
When writing a book title in APA Style, you should be aware of these rules:
Write the book title in italics and place it after the author's name, which is presented in reverse order (last name first).
Use quotation marks around the headline of a chapter or article.
Capitalize proper names that are not common nouns (names of people, places, organizations), but do not capitalize words such as "and," "or," "to," or "and/or."
Do not capitalize prepositions that appear at the beginning of titles if they are followed by an article (e.g., "A," "An"), but do capitalize prepositions at the beginning of titles if they are not followed by articles ("Of").
The first word of the headline should be capitalized, as well as any other words after a colon or hyphen. For example, "The Elements of Style: Grammar for Everyone" , or "Theories of Personality: Critical Perspectives" .
Capitalize proper names and words derived from them (e.g., the names of people, places, organizations), except proper nouns used generically (e.g., 'a bed').
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APA Style Essay: Writing The Name of The Author
You should always use the full name and surname of the author in your APA essay because this will give proper credit to the writer. If you do not mention the author’s full name, people may not know who wrote what and they will think that you have copied it from somewhere else. This will cause lots of problems for you and your reputation as well.
Make sure that all authors' names appear in the same format in each entry. For example, if one person's surname is Smith and another's is Jones but both have first names starting with "J," then it may seem like they are being cited as different people when they're actually written differently from each other on separate pages in your paper.
In order to write an APA essay without any issues, there are certain rules that you need to follow while writing an author’s name in APA essay:
- Use only one author’s name in your paper unless there are multiple authors
- If there are multiple authors, then use both their last names followed by the initials of their first names
- Only use initials of first names when there are three or more authors; otherwise, use full names with their last names
Example: Johnson, M.C., Carlson, M., Smith, J. N., & Hanover, L. E.
MLA Style Essay: Citing a Book Title
Now let’s discuss how to mention a book in an essay. The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th edition, published by the Modern Language Association (2014), contains detailed rules about how to cite a book title in an essay.
The following guidelines will instruct you on how to refer to a book in an essay in MLA style:
- List your sources at the end of your paper, before the works cited page or bibliography.
- Use italics for titles of books, magazines, and newspapers, but not for articles within those publications, which should be placed in quotation marks.
- Include all relevant information about the book under two separate categories: "title" and "author." In the former category, include both the title of the work and its subtitle if there is one; do this even if neither appears on your title page (see below). In the latter category include only primary authors who have written or edited an entire book; if there are multiple contributors you should cite them separately under each.
The general format for citing the title of book in essay is:
Author's last name, first initial (Date). Title of Book with Subtitle if there is one. Publisher Name/Location of Publisher; Year Published
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Chicago style essay: writing the book title.
One of the most important things to remember when writing in Chicago style is how to write the title of a book in an essay. To write a good book title in essay, you should follow these steps:
- Write it at the beginning of your sentence.
- Capitalize it just like any other noun or proper noun.
- Put a comma after the title, unless it's an introductory clause or phrase. For example: "The Firm," by John Grisham (not "by") and "The Catcher in the Rye," by J.D Salinger (not "and").
- In addition to the book's name, punctuation marks should also be italicized
For example: Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince: Children's Edition
Writing Various Types of Titles
Now that we covered how to write a book title and author in an essay, it’s time to look at some different types of titles. When you write a book title in an essay, there are several things to consider. Whether it's a book, series or chapter title; editor's name, or author's name, the way you write it depends on where it appears in your paper.
Here are some key rules for writing headings for novels:
- Use capital letters to write the title of the novel. For example The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett .
- Use italics as well as capital letters to write the name of the author and his/her other works mentioned in a book title. For example Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813) .
When writing headings of short title poems, articles, and stories, you should put quotation marks.
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Should We Underline or Italicize Book Titles?
It depends on which style guide you use. The Modern Language Association and Chicago Manual of Style both suggest that you use italics, while the American Psychological Association suggests that you use quotation marks with a few exceptions.
The way you write the title of a book in an essay is different depending on the instructions you were given. For example, if you're writing an essay in APA style, use quotation marks around the name of the book. If you're writing for MLA or Chicago style , however, italicize the name of the book instead. If you're writing a handwritten essay instead of using a computer, capitalize and underline the name of the book instead.
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How to Cite a Book in MLA Format
When citing a book in MLA format , include the author’s name, the title of the book, the publisher’s name, publication date, and sometimes the place of publication. The way you cite a book using MLA format can vary depending on the type of work you’re citing.
For example, an e-book citation requires additional elements, like the source URL. The format for citing a textbook with multiple authors also varies from a standard MLA book citation. Referencing classical works that don’t have a definitive publication date or author, like the Bible, also requires a different approach. Give your writing extra polish Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly
How to cite a book in MLA format
A standard book citation in MLA format for a text with a single author looks like this:
Last name, First name of author. Book title. Place of publication, Publisher’s name, publication date.
An example of a standard book citation in MLA format looks like this:
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple . New York, Harcourt, 1992.
Note that the book title in a citation using MLA format is italicized and written in title case , meaning that all major words are capitalized. This typically includes nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
Here’s a tip: Citations can be difficult, but they don’t have to trip you up. Grammarly’s Citation Generator ensures your essays have flawless citations and no plagiarism. Try it for tricky MLA book citations like graphic novels , biographies , and Shakespeare .
Include the place of publication only if the work was published before 1900, is a rare book, or is published in different versions outside of the US; otherwise, don’t include this element.
For an in-text citation of a book in MLA format, include the author’s last name and the page number in parentheses. Below is an example:
(Winters 78)
How to cite a book with multiple authors in MLA format
You can reference a work with more than one author by reworking the author element of the citation. For a book citation with two authors, use the following format:
Last name, First name, and First name Last name. Book title. Publisher’s name, Publication date.
Citing a book with two authors looks like this:
Cohn, Rachel, and David Levithan. Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares . Ember Publishing House, 2011.
For an in-text citation, include the last names of both authors, separated by the word “and,” followed by the page number. These elements should be enclosed in parentheses:
(Cohn and Levithan 55)
The author format also changes when you’re citing a book with three or more authors. In this scenario, include the name of the first author listed in the book, followed by “et al.” to denote that multiple authors contributed to the work. Below is an example of this type of book citation in MLA format:
Last name, First name, et al. Book title. Publisher’s name, Publication date.
Below is an example of a citation for a book authored by three or more individuals:
Heffernan, James, et al. Writing: A College Handbook . 5th ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2000.
An in-text citation of a book with more than three authors is similar to that of a book with two authors. The difference is that instead of including all the authors’ last names, you include only the first author’s last name, followed by “et al.”:
(Morris et al. 37)
How to cite an e-book in MLA format
You might need to cite a digital version of a book that you accessed on your e-reader device. In this situation, you can include supplemental container information for the e-book citation. Below is an example of an e-book citation in MLA style:
Last name, First name of author. E-book title. E-book, Publisher’s name, Publication date. E-reader name.
Note that this citation includes “E-book” before the publisher’s name. Additionally, include the name of the e-reader used to access the source. Below is an example:
Harkness, Deborah. A Discovery of Witches: A Novel . E-book, Penguin Books, 2011. Kindle.
When citing an e-book in your text, include the author’s last name and the chapter or section number that you’re referencing. For example:
(Harkness, ch. 3)
How to cite an anthology in MLA format
When citing a source within a larger work, such as an anthology , MLA-style citations include an element for the title of the anthology or collection, referred to as the “container.” Additional supplemental information you can include when citing a work in an anthology includes:
- source author’s full name
- title of the source in quotations
- title of the container in italics
- contributor names for the anthology (e.g., editors)
- anthology version
- publisher of the anthology
- publication date
- page number or range.
Here is an example of an anthology book citation using MLA format:
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Romanticism: An Anthology . Edited by Duncan Wu, 4th ed., Wiley-Blackwell, 2012, pp. 228–334.
For an in-text citation of the above poem in an anthology, include the author’s last name followed by the page number:
(Coleridge 331)
How to cite the Bible in MLA format
MLA style has rules for citing scriptures and other religious texts. As the Bible is a commonly cited text in academic writing, we’ve provided specific guidance and examples for it below.
When you’re referencing a work with no known author, follow the basic elements of a standard book citation in MLA format. This situation might come up when you’re citing classic books or religious works.
Leave out the author element and begin the citation with the title of the book, making sure to cite the version of the Bible that you’re referencing (e.g., the King James Version). Below is the formula for citing the Bible in MLA style on a works cited (or bibliography ) page:
Bible Title. Version. Edited by First name Last name, Publisher’s name, Publication date.
Here is how you’d cite a specific version of the Bible:
The Bible , American Standard Version. Edited by American Revision Committee, Star Bible Publishers, 1901.
MLA in-text citations for the Bible
In-text references of different chapters or verses of the Bible are different from those of other books. On the first in-text reference, include the title of the book, the abbreviated chapter name, and the verse number or range. Use a period to separate chapters from verses. After the first mention, you can drop the title from the in-text citation. Below is an example of the first in-text citation for the Bible:
( The Holy Bible: King James Version , Ezek. 1.3)
Here is an example of a subsequent in-text citation for the same text:
(Ezek. 1.3)
Book/Ebook References
Use the same formats for both print books and ebooks. For ebooks, the format, platform, or device (e.g., Kindle) is not included in the reference.
This page contains reference examples for books, including the following:
- Whole authored book
- Whole edited book
- Republished book, with editor
- Book published with new foreword by another author
- Several volumes of a multivolume work
1. Whole authored book
Jackson, L. M. (2019). The psychology of prejudice: From attitudes to social action (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000168-000
Sapolsky, R. M. (2017). Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst . Penguin Books.
Svendsen, S., & Løber, L. (2020). The big picture/Academic writing: The one-hour guide (3rd digital ed.). Hans Reitzel Forlag. https://thebigpicture-academicwriting.digi.hansreitzel.dk/
- Parenthetical citations : (Jackson, 2019; Sapolsky, 2017; Svendsen & Løber, 2020)
- Narrative citations : Jackson (2019), Sapolsky (2017), and Svendsen and Løber (2020)
- Provide the author, year of publication, title, and publisher of the book. Use the same format for both print books and ebooks.
- Use the copyright date shown on the book’s copyright page as the year of publication in the reference, even if the copyright date is different than the release date.
- Include any edition information in parentheses after the title, without italics.
- If the book includes a DOI, include the DOI in the reference after the publisher name.
- Do not include the publisher location.
- If the ebook without a DOI has a stable URL that will resolve for readers, include the URL of the book in the reference (as in the Svendsen and Løber example, which is from the iBog database, where ebooks are referred to as “internetbooks”). Do not include the name of the database in the reference.
- If the ebook is from an academic research database and has no DOI or stable URL, end the book reference after the publisher name. Do not include the name of the database in the reference. The reference in this case is the same as for a print book.
2. Whole edited book
Hygum, E., & Pedersen, P. M. (Eds.). (2010). Early childhood education: Values and practices in Denmark . Hans Reitzels Forlag. https://earlychildhoodeducation.digi.hansreitzel.dk/
Kesharwani, P. (Ed.). (2020). Nanotechnology based approaches for tuberculosis treatment . Academic Press.
Torino, G. C., Rivera, D. P., Capodilupo, C. M., Nadal, K. L., & Sue, D. W. (Eds.). (2019). Microaggression theory: Influence and implications . John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119466642
- Parenthetical citations : (Hygum & Pedersen, 2010; Kesharwani, 2020; Torino et al., 2019)
- Narrative citations : Hygum and Pedersen (2010), Kesharwani (2020), and Torino et al. (2019)
- Use the abbreviation “(Ed.)” for one editor and the abbreviation “(Eds.)” for multiple editors after the editor names, followed by a period. In the case of multiple editors, include the role once, after all the names.
- If the ebook without a DOI has a stable URL that will resolve for readers, include the URL of the book in the reference (as in the Hygum and Pedersen example, which is from the iBog database). Do not include the name of the database in the reference.
3. Republished book, with editor
Watson, J. B., & Rayner, R. (2013). Conditioned emotional reactions: The case of Little Albert (D. Webb, Ed.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. http://a.co/06Se6Na (Original work published 1920)
- Parenthetical citation : (Watson & Rayner, 1920/2013)
- Narrative citation : Watson and Rayner (1920/2013)
- The book by Watson and Rayner was originally published in 1920. It was edited by Webb and republished in 2013.
- Sometimes an authored book also credits an editor on the cover. In this case, include the editor in parentheses without italics after the book title.
- Provide the year of the republication in the main date element of the reference. Provide the year of original publication at the end of the reference in parentheses after the words “Original work published.”
- Both publication years appear in the in-text citation, separated with a slash, with the earlier year first.
4. Book published with new foreword by another author
Kübler-Ross, E. (with Byock, I.). (2014). On death & dying: What the dying have to teach doctors, nurses, clergy & their own families (50th anniversary ed.). Scribner. (Original work published 1969)
- Parenthetical citation : (Kübler-Ross, 1969/2014)
- Narrative citation : Kübler-Ross (1969/2014)
- Use this format when a person other than the original author has added a new part to the work, such as a foreword or introduction.
- Provide the author of the whole book in the main author element of the reference. Then provide the name of the person who wrote the foreword, introduction, or other new part, in parentheses, after the word “with.” In the example, Byock wrote a new foreword to the book by Kübler-Ross.
- When citing the main book, include only the name of the book author in the in-text citation.
- Parenthetical citation of foreword : Workers in the medical community should “listen to the people who need our help and respond with all the knowledge and skill we can bring to bear” (Kübler-Ross, 1969/2014, foreword by Byock, p. xv).
- Narrative citation of foreword : Byock stated that Kübler-Ross’s (1969/2014) work “challenged the authoritarian decorum and puritanism of the day” (p. xii).
5. Several volumes of a multivolume work
Harris, K. R., Graham, S., & Urdan T. (Eds.). (2012). APA educational psychology handbook (Vols. 1–3). American Psychological Association.
- Parenthetical citation : (Harris et al., 2012)
- Narrative citation : Harris et al. (2012)
- Provide the name(s) of the editor(s)-in-chief as the editors of the work, even if the volume editors are different.
This guidance has been revised from the 6th edition.
What Is a Book Citation MLA Style?
Each student during their college years is given different writing assignments with different citation formats that may seem too difficult for them. If your teacher asked you to cite a book in MLA format, you first need to learn what is a book citation MLA style and only then start working.
This format does not require a lot of knowledge and skills, you just need to remember that when quoting in the MLA format, you need to indicate the name of the author, then the title of the book, the name of the publisher, the date of publication and, in some cases, the place where the book was published. You can determine other characteristics of MLA book citation after you have read the requirements from the professor.
There are different sources of citation, for example, to cite an e-book, you need to use additional elements, such as source links. In case you need to quote a book that has several authors, the citation style will also differ from the standard one and have a different design.
In case you are having difficulty completing this task, you can always use the MLA book citation generator and get a great quote that will be successful in college. Each student who is faced with the task of citing a book should, first of all, familiarize himself with the information about this format and study the requirements of the professor, and only after that proceed to create citations.
How to Cite a Book in MLA?
To use this format correctly, you first need to familiarize yourself with how to cite a book in MLA, and only after that start the work process. This format is suitable for books or chapters that were written by several authors, or in cases where the book is presented as a collection. In addition, the MLA format can be used to quote images from various articles or books.
If you are using the MLA book citation format to cite multiple chapters from the same publication, it is important to add a special notation for each of them. It is necessary to start a separate entry with the words “Cited Works”, the name of the author, and the title of the chapter.
This should be followed by the title of the book, the names of the editors, the name of the publisher, and the date. In the end, you need to write a range of pages on which this chapter appears and we can assume that you have completed the task. It is important to remember that in cases where a book has multiple editors, you must list each of them in the same order in which they are listed in the book.
And if using MLA book citation in text you are faced with the fact that the book has several editors, you must follow the same rules as when citing several authors. This is done in the following sequence: Name of the first editor, then et al. And if you’re citing a book that doesn’t have editor names, you should use the same format, just don’t add editor elements.
If you have any difficulties with quoting in the MLA format or simply do not have enough time to complete this task yourself, you can always contact the service, where experienced specialists will be happy to help you and do it quickly and efficiently. Professional writers care about the success of students and do everything possible to ensure that you get a high score from the teacher.
MLA Book Citation Example
If you are faced with the task cite a book in MLA format, first of all, you need to study the characteristics of this format and read the examples to understand how it should look.
It’s not difficult at all, because every time you add information from sources to your document, you just need to create a few quotes or links to show readers where you got this information from. You need to place links one in the text, and the second at the end of your project.
To cite a book you need to use two types of links, one is called an inline citation and it is placed anywhere in your text. With this, you can tell your readers who is the main author of the book or publication and where you found this information. When creating quotations in MLA text, you need to consider how to format page numbers correctly.
We have prepared a MLA book citation example for you to show how a citation should look in this format. For example Christian knows how to behave on the river: “I try to listen carefully to how far the thunder rolls to determine where the storm is coming, but I’m too worried” (Wingate 12). And another type of link is a full link, which must be placed at the end of your text. This link should include all the necessary information about the cited source so that readers can independently find this source on the Internet or in the library.
Quoting in MLA format is not a difficult task if you have familiarized yourself with all the characteristics and learned how to do it correctly. If you have any difficulties with this task, you can use the quote generator and be sure that you will get success.
Cite a Chapter in a Book MLA
To successfully cite a chapter in a book MLA you can use the information in several ways. The first option is that you can take information from a given source and paraphrase it. This is a fairly simple option because by taking text from one section of a chapter, sentence, or paragraph, you can simply rewrite it in other words.
After that, it is necessary to sum up the given quotation. To do this, you need to carefully reread this section, rewrite it in different words, and talk about what conclusions can be drawn from it. To create a successful quote, you must use the exact words the author wrote and enclose them in quotation marks.
When cite a page in a book MLA and using the methods we have listed above, you need to accompany all the information you have used and create appropriate citations. Creating quotes in the text is a very important process, so it must be treated with special responsibility and attention. Each quote you use should tell readers what sources you studied and that it was an external source.
To get a better idea of what your citation should look like, you can check out the MLA citation for book example, where you can see how to properly use parentheses and so on. It is important to remember that your link should have enough information so that the reader can independently find the source and get acquainted with it in more detail.
Often, this quote is at the end of sentences, and the author’s name and page number should not be separated by commas. That is why, before moving on to quote, it is important to study all the rules and characteristics associated with this format and be sure to look at a few examples that will show how it should look.
In case you are having difficulty quoting in MLA format, you can turn to a writing service that, using a quote generator, will be able to create incredible quotes for which you will receive a high score from the teacher and success in college.
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To cite a book, you need a brief in-text citation and a corresponding reference listing the author’s name, the title, the year of publication, and the publisher. The order and format of information depends on the citation style you’re using. The most common styles are APA, MLA, and Chicago style.
An MLA book citation always includes the author (s), title (italicized), publisher, and publication year in the Works Cited entry. If relevant, also include the names of any editors or translators, the edition, and the volume. “University Press” should be abbreviated to “UP” in a Works Cited entry.
These examples must correspond to an entry that begins with Burke, which will be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of an entry on the Works Cited page: Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method. University of California Press, 1966.
The basic form for a book citation is: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date. * Note: the City of Publication should only be used if the book was published before 1900, if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown in North America. Book with One Author
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication. Date. If the cited book was published prior to 1900, is from a publisher with offices in multiple countries, or is from a publisher that is largely unknown in the US, include the book’s city of publication. Otherwise, this can be left out.
To write a good book title in essay, you should follow these steps: Write it at the beginning of your sentence. Capitalize it just like any other noun or proper noun. Put a comma after the title, unless it's an introductory clause or phrase.
For a book citation with two authors, use the following format: Last name, First name, and First name Last name. Book title. Publisher’s name, Publication date. Citing a book with two authors looks like this: Cohn, Rachel, and David Levithan. Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares. Ember Publishing House, 2011.
Book/Ebook References. Use the same formats for both print books and ebooks. For ebooks, the format, platform, or device (e.g., Kindle) is not included in the reference. This page contains reference examples for books, including the following: Whole authored book. Whole edited book. Republished book, with editor.
Click on the button with your assigned formatting type and learn everything you need to style your paper according to prescribed academic guidelines. Plus, use our free citation generator to create accurate citations for your referencing list. It is simple to use, quick, and 100% free.