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MLA Citation Guide: Books

This guide is intended to help you cite your sources in the Modern Language Association's style. It covers citing within the text and the references section.

Information Needed

  • Author
  • Title
  • Place of Publication
  • Publisher
  • Publication Date
  • Translator
  • Editors
  • Edition
  • Volume (if in series)

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Books With One or More Authors

Books With One Author

Author. Book title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Format.

Morell, Virginia. Ancestral Passions: The Leakey Family and the Quest for Humankind's Beginnings. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. Print.

 

Books with Two or Three Authors

Authors. Book title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Format.

Grassian, Esther S., and Joan R. Kaplowitz. Information Literacy Instruction: Theory and Practice. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., 2001. Print.

 

Books with More Than three Authors

1st Authors et al. Book title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Format.

GGilman, Sander, et al. Hysteria Beyond Freud. Berkeley: U of California P, 1993. Print.

Books with Editors

Editor(s) eds. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Format.

Anderson, Chester G., ed. Growing Up in Minnesota: Ten Writers Remember Their Childhoods. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1976. Print.

Electronic Books

Electronic Only Book

Author. Book title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Source. Date of Access.

Kornblum, William. At Sea in the City: New York from the Water's Edge. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 2002.NetLibrary. Web. 23 June 2006.

Chapters, Essays and Articles in Books

Author. "Title of chapter or article in the book." Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's Name. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Format.

Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One. Ed. Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2000. 24-34. Print.

Multi-Volume Works

One Volume of a Multivolume Work is Used

Editor(s) eds. Title of Work. Vol. (Volumes used). Place of Publication: Publisher. Year. Format.

Lucas, Robert E., Jr. and Thomas J. Sargent, eds. Rational Expectations and Econometric Practice. Vol. 1. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1981. Print.

 

More Than One Volume of a Multivolume Work is Used

Editor(s) eds. Title of Work. # Vols. Place of Publication: Publisher. Year. Format.

Lucas, Robert E., Jr. and Thomas J. Sargent, eds. Rational Expectations and Econometric Practice. 2 vols. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1981.

Edition Other than the First

Author. Book title. Ed. Editor. Place of Publication: Publisher. Year. Format.

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Margaret Smith. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.

Translations

Author. Book title. Trans. Translators' names. Place of Publication: Publisher. Year. Format.

Foucault, Michel Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Trans. Richard Howard. New York: Vintage-Random House, 1988. Print.

Print Guides

Citing Items Without an Author

If an article, book or other resource does not have an identifiable author, move the title to the first element and keep everything else in the same place.

APA Book:

Title. Date. Place of Publication: Publisher.

MLA Book:

Title. Place of Publication: Publisher. Date. Format.

Chicago Author-Date Book:

Title. Year. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Citing Items Without a Date

If a publication does not have a date, use the abbreviation n.d. for no date.