MLA Citations (OLD): Cite Books

Overview of MLA Style Guidelines
This guide has been updated! The current MLA style guide is located at library.cscc.edu/mla9.

Examples from MLA: How to Cite a Book

Citing Books and eBooks

Tips on Citing Books

Look at the following tips to help you cite books.


Title Page: Information for the citation should come from the Title Page or Copyright Page of the book, not the cover.

Capitalization: Capitalize each word in the title, but don't capitalize short words like articles or prepositions unless one is the first word of the title or subtitle (The Mayor of Casterbridge, Roots: The Saga of an American Family).

Italics or Quotes: Italicize book titles. Use quotation marks for chapter titles and the title of works in an anthology.

Other Contributors: Provide the contributor’s name and role.

  • edited by Melissa Goldthwaite et al.,
  • translated by Richard Lattimore,
  • introduction by Ursula K. Le Guin,
  • assistant editor, Esther Eidenow,

Version: Refers to the book’s edition, either numbered or labeled.

  • 2nd ed.,
  • rev. ed.,

Number: Refers to books with more than one volume. If using a book from a multi-volume set, identify the volume number. Use the abbreviation vol. for volume.

  • vol. 4,

Publisher: You no longer need to include the city of publication. Provide the publisher’s full name. Omit business words (Company, Co., Corp., Inc.). Use the abbreviation P for Press or UP for University Press for academic presses. Spell out the word Press for nonacademic publishers with Press in their name.

  • W.W. Norton,
  • Oxford UP,
  • U of Illinois P,
  • Graywolf Press,

Page Numbers (Location): If you are citing a work in an anthology or a chapter from a book, include the page numbers for the location. For works that appear on one page, use the abbreviation p. followed by the page number. For works on more than one page, use the abbreviation pp. followed by the page number.

  • p. 9.
  • pp. 25-36.

Optional Elements: If the book is part of a multi-volume set, you can list the number of volumes at the end of the citation. If the book is part of a series, you can include the series name at the end of the citation.

  • 5 vols.
  • Bloom's Guides.

Core Elements

 

Author. Title of source. Title of container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location. Title of 2nd container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location. Optional elements.

Book--One Author

 

Karlyn, Kathleen Rowe. Unruly Girls, Unrepentant Mothers: Redefining Feminism on Screen. U of Texas P, 2011.

 

MLA Practice Template Example

Book--Two Authors

 

Strunk, William, Jr., and E.B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th ed., Pearson, 2000.

MLA Practice Template Example

Book--Three or More Authors

 

Bordwell, David, et al. Film Art: An Introduction. 11th ed., McGraw-Hill, 2016.

 

MLA Practice Template Example

Excerpt from an Anthology

 

Eliot, George. Excerpt from “Silly Novels by Lady Novelists.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, 9th ed., vol. E, W.W. Norton, 2012, pp. 1361-68.

 

MLA Practice Template Example

Work in an Anthology

 

Momaday, N. Scott. “The Way to Rainy Mountain.” The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction, edited by Melissa A. Goldthwaite et al.,14th ed., W.W. Norton, 2016, pp. 136-41.

 

MLA Practice Template Example

Dictionary Entry--Print

 

"Romanticism." Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed., McGraw-Hill, 2016, p. 1081.

 

MLA Practice Template Example

Dictionary Entry--Online

 

"Romanticism." Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary, 2016, learnersdictionary.com/definition/romanticism.

 

MLA Practice Template Example

Book with a Translator

 

Euripides. Medea. Euripides I, edited by Mark Griffith and Glenn W. Most, translated by Oliver Taplin, 3rd ed., U of Chicago P, 2013, pp. 67-134.

 

MLA Practice Template Example

Multivolume Work

 

Ermatinger, James W. The World of Ancient Rome: A Daily Life Encyclopedia. Vol. 1, Greenwood, 2015.

 

MLA Practice Template Example

E-Book in Database

 

Williams, George M. Handbook of Hindu Mythology. ABC-CLIO, 2003. Electronic Book Center, ebooks.ohiolink.edu/xtf-ebc/view?docId=tei/abc/HINDHE/HINDHE.xml;brand=default;.

 

MLA Practice Template Example

E-Book Downloaded on E-Book Reader (Kindle, Nook, etc.)

 

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Kindle ed., Pottermore, 8 Dec. 2015.

 

MLA Practice Template Example

Audiobook

 

King, Stephen. 11-22-63. Narrated by Craig Wasson, Audible, 8 Nov. 2011. Audiobook.

 

MLA Practice Template Example

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