MLA Citations: Cite Books

Citing Books and eBooks

Tips on Citing 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.

Dictionary Entry

Print:

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

Online:

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

Audiobook

 

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

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.

Books

One author:

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

Two authors:

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

Three or more authors:

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

 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.

 

eBooks

eBook:

Silva, Paul J. How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing. E-book, American Psychological Association, 2007..

eBook from a 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;.

 

Anthologies

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.

Excerpt in 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.

 

Examples from MLA: How to Cite a Book

Privacy & Confidentiality StatementLibrary Code of Conduct