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Below, you will find step-by-step instructions for citing books in the MLA citation style.
Here is the basic format for citing a book in MLA format:
Last Name, First Name. Title: Subtitle. Edition., Publisher, Year.
Let's break the citation down.
The author's name is listed as his or her last name, followed by his or her first name. If he or she lists an initial instead of a name in the book, use that instead. (An example would be J. R. R. Tolkien.) If he or she has a middle name or initial listed, put it after the first name. So an author named John Paul Jones would be listed as:
Jones, John Paul
If you have two authors, you will need to list them both. List them in the order that they appear in the book. Separate them with a comma, but list the second person's first name before his or her last. So a book written by John Paul Jones and John Quincy Adams would look like this:
Jones, John Paul, and John Quincy Adams.
However, if you have three or more authors, type the first, followed by "et al." It would look like this:
Jones, John Paul, et al.
If there is no author, but the book has an editor, you would use the editor's name instead. Follow the name(s) with "editor" or "editors." If the work has an author and an editor, put the editor's name after the title. Here are some examples:
Jones, John Paul, editor.
Jones, John Paul. How to Paint a Fence. Edited by Benjamin Franklin
Type in the entire title of the book, along with the subtitle if there is one. Italicize the entire title. So, the book The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come would have its title written like this:
The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is To Come
If you had a book with a subtitle, for example Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-lived, Joyful Life would have its title written like this:
Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-lived, Joyful Life
One last example. The book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would be written like this:
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
If the book lists an edition, record that after the title. It would use the format "1st ed." Here are two examples:
Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-lived, Joyful Life. 3rd ed.,
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 4th ed.,
The book may not have an edition. If it doesn't, just leave this part off.
The publisher is usually listed on the title page. If the publisher cannot be found there, look at the back of the title page or the spine of the book. List the name of the publisher in a brief format, leaving off abbreviations like "Co.," "Inc.," etc. So, for example, Random House LLC would be listed as:
Random House
MacMillan Publishers Ltd. would be listed as:
MacMillan Publishers
If the book was published before 1900, list the city of publication. An example would look like this:
New York, MacMillan Publishers
For some really old books, the name of the publisher will not be listed. In those cases, just leave the publisher's name off.
The year is simply the date of publication. It is usually listed on the back of the title page. If there are multiple years to choose from, use the most recent one.
A copy of the book The Hobbit, or, There And Back Again, by J.R.R. Tolkien, was published in 1937 by London-based George Allen & Unwin Ltd. This is what the citation would look like:
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit, or, There And Back Again. George Allen & Unwin, 1937.
NOTE: citations on your Works cited page will need to have a hanging indent if the citation runs past one line. This is where the first line is extended to the left margin like a normal sentence, but the rest of the lines are tabbed in a half inch. Visit here for instructions on setting up a hanging indent in Microsoft Word.
If you are citing a section of a lager work, such as a short story in an anthology of stories, the citation is slightly different. Here is the citation format:
Last Name, First Name or Initial. "Essay Title in Quotation Marks." Title of the Book in Italics, edited by Editor, Publisher, Year, Page numbers.
The author, book title, publisher, and year will be the same as with normal citations. You will need to type the title of the essay, story, chapter, etc., in quotation marks, and add information on the editor as per the rules above. At the end, add inclusive page numbers. Include "pp." before the page numbers if the section being cited is multiple pages. Add a "p." if it is only one page.
For example, the essay "Choosing Paint" from the book How to Paint a Fence, written by Thomas Paine and edited by Benjamin Franklin, would be cited like this:
Paine, Thomas. "Choosing Paint." How to Paint a Fence, edited by Benjamin Franklin, Macmillan, 1995, pp. 15-25.
If the book was a third edition, it would look like this:
Paine, Thomas. "Choosing Paint." How to Paint a Fence, 3rd ed., edited by Benjamin Franklin, Macmillan, 1995, pp. 15-25.
NOTE: citations on your Works cited page will need to have a hanging indent if the citation runs past one line. This is where the first line is extended to the left margin like a normal sentence, but the rest of the lines are tabbed in a half inch. Visit here for instructions on setting up a hanging indent in Microsoft Word.
To cite an ebook, create a citation exactly as you would for a print book. At the end of the citation, type "ebook" before the publisher.
For example, the ebook Manic Depression: A Medical Dictionary, Bibliography, and Annotated Research Guide to Internet References by James N. and Philip M. Parker, would look like this:
Parker, James. N., and Philip M. Parker. Manic Depression: A Medical Dictionary, Bibliography, and Annotated Research Guide to Internet References, ebook, Icon Group International, 2004.
NOTE: citations on your Works cited page will need to have a hanging indent if the citation runs past one line. This is where the first line is extended to the left margin like a normal sentence, but the rest of the lines are tabbed in a half inch. Visit here for instructions on setting up a hanging indent in Microsoft Word.
