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MLA Citation Style: Books

When Citing a book...

Each citation should contain the following information:

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.

Carol, James. The Brave Ones. Penguin, 2007. 

Parenthetical Citations appear immediately after the source is referenced in your paper. There are two types of parenthetical citations: 

  • In-Text Citation (Paraphrase) -use this when you express the ideas of a researcher or author using your own words.  
  • In-Text Citation (Quotation) - use this when you use a direct quote from your source.

***  If the book has an editor instead of an author, insert the editor's name in the place of the author's name  followed by the abbreviation for editor - ed or editors - eds.

Books with One Author

Format:
 Author's   last name, First name. Book title: Subtitle. Publisher, Year of Publication. 
Example:  Johnson, Mark. Invertebrates Around Us.  Roarke, 2001.
 
  In-Text Citation  - Paraphrase: 
   (Author's last name)
   Example: (Johnson)
  In-Text Citation  - Quotation:
 (Author's last name page number)  
  Example: (Johnson 33)   

Books with Two or Three Authors

Books with two:

Format:

Last name, First name and First Name Last name. Book title: Sub title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Print.

Example: Martin, Jonathan A., and Christopher Jackson. Global Warming. Boston: Gale Publishing, 2013. Print.

Parenthetical Example: (Martin and Jackson 127-28).

Books with  three authors:

Format:

Last name, First Name, First Name Last Name and First Name Last Name. Book title: Sub title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Print. 

Example: Hughes, Jane C., Elizabeth V. Brestan, and Linda Anne Valle.Giants of the Ocean. London: Rosen, 2010. Print.

Parenthetical Citation example: (Hughes, Brestan, and Valle 2-3).

 

Books with Multiple Authors

Book with more than three authors: 

Format:

Last name, First Name, et al. Book title. Publisher, Year of Publication. 

Example: Fontela, Pablo, et al. Pluto: A Dwarf Planet.  Penguin: 2014. 

Parenthetical Example: (Fontela, Pablo, et al. 47).

E-Books

Format: 

Author’s last name, First name. Title of the e-book. Title of the Site or Database ebook was found,  Publisher, Year of publication,  URL. 

Note:  MLA requires the URL. Also include additional information as necessary such as translator, editor, Chapter titles or page numbers. 

Example: Plough, Chris. The Industrial Revolution. Follett Shelf. McGraw, 2011. reader.follettshelf.com/mobileReader/indexMin.html#/ktsId/1871

Parenthetical Example: (Plough 19).

Example: Pederson, Laura. Buffalo Gal: A Memoir. ProQuest ebrary, Fulcrum, 2008, site.ebrary.com/lib/swosu/reader.action?docID=10288636/.

Parenthetical Example: (Penderson 66).

 

Article in an Encyclopedia

  •  If the article or entry is signed, place the author's name first; if it is unsigned, give the title first.  
  • For well-known reference works, it is not necessary to include full publication information. Include only the title of the reference source, edition, and date of publication.

Encyclopedia entry from a well know Encyclopedia:

Format:

Author of the article last name, first name. "Title of the article." Title of the Encyclopedia. Edition. Year of Publication. 

Example: Mercuri, Becky. "Cookies." The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food. 2nd ed., 2004. 

Parenthetical Example:  (Mercuri 23).

For articles from less familiar reference sources, include the full publication information.

Format:

Author of the article last name, first name. "Title of the article." Title of the Encyclopedia.  Edition.  Publisher, Year of Publication. 

Example: Bernheisel, J. Frank. "Setting Recycling Goals and Priorities." McGraw-Hill Recycling Handbook.  2nd ed.  McGraw-Hill, 2001.

Parenthetical Example:  (Bernheisel 245).