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MLA Citation Guide

Books

Template

Author. Title of Book. xth ed.*, Publisher, Date.

*Omit edition if book is a first edition or does not have an edition statement.

Works Cited List Entries

Gendrich, Cynthia M., and Stephen Archer. Theatre: Its Art and Craft. 7th ed., Rowman and Littlefield, 2017.

Ni, Peimin. Confucius: The Man and the Way of Gongfu. Rowman and Littlefield, 2016.

In-Text Citations

(Gendrich and Archer 24)

(Ni)

See page 313 in the MLA Handbook.

eBooks

Template for Database eBooks

Author. Title of eBook. Edition, Publisher, Date. Database, URL.

Template for Freely Available Work

Author. Title of eBook. Edition, Publisher, Date. Website, URL.

Works Cited List Entries

Reynolds, Andy. The Tour Book: How to Get Your Music on the Road. 2nd ed., Course Technology, 2012. Ebook Central, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/sfcollege-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3136550.

Werner, E. T. C. Myths and Legends of China. 1922. George G. Harrap & Co., 2005. Project Gutenberg, www.gutenberg.org/files/15250/15250-h/15250-h.htm.

In-Text Citations

(Reynolds 81)

(Werner)

See page 316 in the MLA Handbook.

Illustrated or Translated Books

Template

Author. Title of Text. Illustrated by/Translated by Name, Publisher, Date.

Works Cited List Entries

Frank, Anne. Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation. Adapted by Ari Folman, illustrated by David Polonksy, Pantheon, 2018.

Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Robert Fagles, Viking, 1990.

In-Text Citations

(Frank)

(Homer 83)

See page 315 in the MLA Handbook.

Edited Books

Template

Editor, editor(s). Title of Book. Publisher, Date.

Works Cited List Entries

Back, Youngsun, and Philip J. Ivanhoe, editors. Traditional Korean Philosophy: Problems and Debates. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.

Chopin, Kate. The Complete Works of Kate Chopin. Edited by Per Seyersted, Louisiana State UP, 1969.

In-Text Citations

(Back and Ivanhoe)

(Chopin)

See page 314 in the MLA Handbook.

Chapters and Essays

Template

Author of Chapter. "Title of Chapter." Title of Book, edited by Editors, Edition, Volume, Publisher, Date, pp. X-X.

Works Cited List Entry

Ortiz Cofer, Judith. "The Myth of the Latin Woman." The Norton Field Guide to Writing with Readings, edited by Richard Bullock et al., 6th ed., W.W. Norton, 2022, pp. 913-920.

Sharpe, Thomasina H. "Later Life Sexuality." Sex and Sexuality, edited by Richard D. McAnulty and M. Michele Burnette, vol. 1, Praeger, 2006, pp. 133-151.

In-Text Citation

(Ortiz Cofer 914)

(Sharpe 136)

See page 318 in the MLA Handbook.

Anthologies

Template

Author of Work. "Title of Work." Title of Book, edited by Editors, Edition, Volume, Publisher, Date, pp. X-X.

Works Cited List Entries

Spiotta, Dana. "Jelly and Jack." The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2016, edited by Rachel Kushner, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, pp. 39-56.

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Pit and the Pendulum." 1842. The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe, introduction by Wilbur S. Scott, Castle Books, 2002, pp. 237-246.

In the Poe example, an original publication date (1842) is provided after the title of the short story.

In-Text Citations

(Spiotta 42)

(Poe 239)

See pages 317 and 319 in the MLA Handbook.

Reference Books

Template

Author of Entry. "Title of Entry." Title of Book, edited by Editors, Edition, Volume, Publisher, Date, pp. X-X.

Works Cited List Entry

Orme, Nicholas. "Christianity, Cornwall." The Celts: History, Life, and Culture, edited by John T. Koch and Antone Minard, vol. 1, ABC-CLIO, 2012, pp. 192-193.

In-Text Citation

(Orme 192)

See pages 327-328 in the MLA Handbook.

Online Reference Books

Use for online Internet reference books, or information from Credo Reference, Ferguson's Career Guidance Center, Health and Wellness (from the Books & Fact Sheets area), and Salem Online.

Template

Author of Entry. "Title of Entry." Title of Book, edited by Editors, Edition, Volume, Publisher, Date. Database OR Website, URL.

Works Cited List Entry

"Allusions, Biblical." All Things Chaucer: An Encyclopedia of Chaucer's World, edited by Shannon L. Rogers, Greenwood Press, 2007. Credo Reference, search.credoreference.com/content/entry/abcchaucer/allusions_biblical/0.

In this example, no author entry is provided, so the citation begins with the title of the entry.

In-Text Citation

("Allusions")

See pages 327-328 in the MLA Handbook.

Literary Criticism Articles Reprinted in a Reference Book

Template

Author of Criticism. "Title of Criticism." Title of Book, edited by Editors, Edition, Volume, Publisher, Date, pp. X-X. Originally published in Journal Title, vol. X, no. X, Date, pp. X-X.

Works Cited List Entry

Schroeder, Natalie. "Stephen King's Misery: Freudian Sexual Symbolism and the Battle of the Sexes." Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by Jeffrey W. Hunter, vol. 244, Thomson Gale, 2008, pp. 50-55. Originally published in Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 30, no. 2, 1996, pp. 137-48.

In-Text Citation

(Schroeder 52)

See page 318 in the MLA Handbook.

Essays from a Book in a Series

Template

Author of Essay. "Title of Essay." Title of Book, edited by Editors, Edition, Volume, Publisher, Date, pp. X-X. Series name.

Works Cited List Entry

Winter, Marcus A. "More Charter Schools Should Be Opened." Charter Schools, edited by Margaret Haerens and Lynn M. Zott, Greenhaven Press, 2012, pp. 169-179. Opposing Viewpoints.

Note: If the series was numbered, the number would follow the series name. For example, if the series name was Miller Handbooks and the book was number 4 in this series, the series name would read Miller Handbooks 4.

In-Text Citation

(Winter 170)

See pages 315 and 318 in the MLA Handbook.

Sacred Texts

Template

Title of Text. Edition, Publisher, Date.

You may also have a more specialized title or author, which can be included.

Works Cited List Entries

The Holy Qur'an. Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Wordsworth Editions, 2000.

The Priests for Equality. The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation. Rowman and Littlefield, 2007.

In-Text Citations

(The Holy Qur'an, 56.17-18)

(The Priests for Equality, 1 Cor. 3.10)

See pages 247 and 339 in the MLA Handbook.

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