How to Cite a Book in MLA
Books are written works or compositions that have been published. They are no longer restricted to paper and have evolved into the online realm.
Below are examples of how to cite different types of books in MLA 9.
In MLA, a basic book citation includes the following information:
- Author’s name
- Title of book
- Publisher of the book
- Year published
Additional information is needed when citing:
- Books on websites or books in databases
- Name of website or database
- URL
- E-books
- Name of e-book device
- Translated or edited books
- Name of the translator or editor
- Chapters
- Name of book editor or author
- Name of chapter author
- Page numbers or ranges used
- Volume number of the book
- A book published prior to 1900, has versions that are different in different countries, or is a rare book.
- City the book was published in
Citing a book in MLA (print)
| Works Cited | |
|---|---|
| Structure |
Author’s last name, First name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year published. |
| Example |
James, Henry. The Ambassadors. Serenity, 2009. |
View Screenshot | Cite your book
| In-text Citation | |
|---|---|
| Structure |
(Author Last Name Page #) OR Last Name (Page #) |
| Example |
(Henry 33) OR Henry (33) |
Citing a book found on a Website or database in MLA
Many books are now found online. Popular sites or databases that hold e-books include Google Books, Project Gutenberg, and EBSCO.
| Works Cited | |
|---|---|
| Structure |
Author’s last name, First name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year published. Title of website or database, URL. |
| Example |
Austen, Jane, and Seth Grahame-Smith. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Quirk, 2015. Google Books, books.google.com/books?id=x5xPaPeZzmUC&lpg=PP1&dq=zombies&pg=PP1#v=onepag e&q=zombies&f=false. |
*Keep “https:” at the beginning of the URL only when citing a DOI.
Digital sources with no page numbers means that no page numbers should be included in the in-text citation.
| In-text Citation | |
|---|---|
| Structure |
(Last Names) OR Last Names |
| Example |
(Austen and Grahame-Smith) OR Austen and Grahame-Smith |
Citing an E-book in MLA (found via an e-reader)
E-Readers are electronic devices that display e-books. Kindles and Nooks are some of the more popular e-readers available today. Individuals can purchase or borrow e-books and read them on their e-readers.
| Works Cited | |
|---|---|
| Structure |
Author’s last name, First name. Title of the e-Book. E-book ed., Publisher, Year published. Name of e-reader device. |
| Example |
Doer, Anthony. All the Light We Cannot See. E-book ed., Scribner, 2014. Kindle. |
*Keep “https:” at the beginning of the URL only when citing a DOI.
Since the page numbers of an e-book can vary across e-reader, text preferences, and other factors, you should not include a page number. This is because a consistent page number does not exist. You can include section numbers (sec., secs.) or chapter numbers (ch., chs.) instead, if they exist and you feel it would be helpful.
| In-text Citation | |
|---|---|
| Structure |
(Last Names, Chapter or Section #) OR Last Names (Chapter or Section #) |
| Example |
(Austen and Grahame-Smith, ch. 1) OR Austen and Grahame-Smith (ch. 1) |
Citing a translated or edited book in MLA
| Works Cited | |
|---|---|
| Structure |
Author’s Last name, First name. Title of the Book. Translated by OR Edited by First name Last name, Publisher, Year published. |
| Example |
Murakami, Haruki. A Wild Sheep Chase. Translated by Alfred Birnbaum, Vintage Books, 2015. |
| In-text Citation | |
|---|---|
| Structure |
(Last Name Page #) OR Last Names (Page #) |
| Example |
(Murakami 27) OR Murakami (27) |
Citing a chapter of a book in MLA
| Works Cited | |
|---|---|
| Structure |
Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of chapter or section.” Title of the Book, edited by First name Last name, Publisher, Year published, page number(s). |
| Example |
Montrose, Louis. “Elizabeth Through the Looking Glass: Picturing the Queen’s Two Bodies.” The Body of the Queen: Gender and Rule in the Courtly World, 1500-2000, edited by Regina Schulte, Berghahn, 2006, pp. 61-87. |
*In the above citation example, The Body of the Queen: Gender and Rule in the Courtly World, 1500-2000 is an edited book that features a chapter by Louis Montrose. The title of the chapter that he wrote is found in quotation marks (“Elizabeth Through the Looking Glass: Picturing the Queen’s Two Bodies”).
| In-text Citation | |
|---|---|
| Structure |
(Last Name Page #) OR Last Name (Page #) |
| Example |
(Montrose 62) OR Montrose (62) |
Citing a book with multiple authors in MLA
2 Authors
| Works Cited | |
|---|---|
| Structure |
1st Last Name, First Name, and 2nd First Name Last Name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year published. |
| Example |
Charaipotra, Sona, and Dhonielle Clayton. Tiny pretty things. HarperTeen, 2016. |
| In-text Citation | |
|---|---|
| Structure |
(1st Last Name and 2nd Last Name Page #) OR 1st Last Name and 2nd Last Name (Page #) |
| Example |
(Charaipotra and Clayton 63) OR Charaipotra and Clayton (63) |
3+ Authors
| Works Cited | |
|---|---|
| Structure |
1st Last Name, First Name, et al. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year published. |
| Example |
Matthews, Graham, et al. Disaster Management in Archives, Libraries, and Museums. Ashgate, 2009. |
*et al. is Latin for “and others.”
| In-text Citation | |
|---|---|
| Structure |
(1st Last Name et al. Page #) OR 1st Last Name et al. (Page #) |
| Example |
(Matthews et al. 17) OR Matthews et al. (17) |
Published October 20, 2011. Updated May 9, 2021.
- How should I cite a book by an organization in MLA?
-
In the works cited: If the organization is the author and publisher, don’t include an author and start the citation with the book’s title. If the author and publisher are different, use the organization name as the author.
- When should I cite a chapter in MLA?
-
When the chapter’s author is different from the book’s editor or author. Chapters are usually cited when you use anthologies, multi-volume sets, or a foreword/afterword written by someone other than the book’s main author.
- How do you create an MLA in-text citation for an e-book?
-
Place the author’s last name and the quote chapter number in parenthesis after the borrowed quote or information. Example: “Feeling that Peter was on his way back, the Neverland had again woke into life” (Barrie ch. 5).
- Who uses the MLA citation style?
-
MLA is the style most often used in literature, language, history, art and theater subjects.
- What should I do if information about my source is missing?
-
If any important information is missing (e.g., author’s name, title, publishing date, URL, etc.), first see if you can find it in the source yourself. If you cannot, leave the information blank and continue creating your citation.
- Can I create a manual citation?
-
Yes! Whether you’d like to learn how to construct citations on your own, our Autocite tool isn’t able to gather the metadata you need, or anything in between, manual citations are always an option. Click here for directions on using creating manual citations.