MLA Book Citations | Format & Examples
Books are one of the most common types of sources in MLA writing, especially when the goal is to analyze literature, explain a historical topic, or develop an argument.
For each book that you use as an outside source, MLA requires two forms of citation:
- In-text citations with the author and page for each quotation, paraphrase, or summary
- Works Cited entries that include the author, title, publisher, and publication year
There are also different types of books. The citation guidelines vary according to the number of authors, the type of book, and other factors.
To cite books correctly in MLA style, follow the examples and guidelines below, or use QuillBot’s free Citation Generator.
| In-text citation | Works Cited entry |
|---|---|
| Morris and Hays-Grudo explained that children who grew up during the Great Depression were known for their resilience and grit (6). |
Morris, Amanda Sheffield, and Hays-Grudo, Jennifer. Raising a Resilient Child in a World of Adversity: Effective Parenting for Every Family. American Psychological Association, 2024.
|
MLA basic book citation format
Each book that you cite in an essay or document needs a bibliographic entry on a Works Cited page. MLA Works Cited entries for books include the following elements.
- Author
- Title in italics and title case
- Translator or editor’s full name preceded by “Translated by” or “edited by”
- Edition and/or volume number (if applicable)
- Publisher
- Publication year
- Capitalize all principal words, which include nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions.
- Capitalize the first word of the title, the first word after a colon, and the last word of a title.
- Do not capitalize articles, prepositions (e.g., “with” or “between”), coordinating conjunctions, or “to” when it’s part of an infinitive (unless any of these are the first or last word of the title or the first word after a colon).
MLA in-text citations for books usually include the author and the page number of the information you’re quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing. There are two types of in-text citations: narrative citations and parenthetical citations.
In an MLA narrative citation, the author is part of a signal phrase that includes “according to” or a present-tense verb (e.g., “writes” or “explains”). The page number goes in parentheses at the end of the sentence and before the period. In the first MLA narrative citation for a source, use the author(s) full name(s).
In MLA parenthetical citations, the author and page go together in parentheses at the end of the sentence. No punctuation goes between these elements, and there’s no “p.” before the page number.
| MLA format |
Name, First and Middle (if the middle name is part of the byline). Title in Title Case. Publisher, Year of publication.
|
| MLA Works Cited entry |
Yong, Ed. An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us. Random House, 2022.
|
| MLA narrative in-text citation, paraphrase | Ed Yong explains that insects experience the sense of taste through their feet (49).
This is also an example of a first narrative citation, so it includes the author’s full name. |
| MLA narrative in-text citation, quotation | Yong writes, “Bees can detect the sweetness of nectar just by standing on a flower. Flies can taste the apple you’re about to eat by landing on it” (49). |
| MLA parenthetical citation, paraphrase | Jumping spiders rely on their sense of vision more than other species of spiders (Yong 54). |
- Include both the first and last name.
- Only include the middle name or middle initial if it’s on the book cover/title page. For example, if the byline says something like “Ed Yong,” omit a middle name.
- For a middle name (when applicable), use the same formatting as the cover/title page, which can be the middle initial or the full middle name (e.g., “Samuel L. Jackson” or “Joyce Carol Oates”).
MLA books with multiple authors
The format for Works Cited entries and in-text citations changes slightly when a book has multiple authors.
- For a book with two authors, include both names in the Works Cited entry and the in-text citations, and use “and” between the two names.
- For a book with three or more authors, the Works Cited entry includes the first author’s name with “et al.” In narrative citations, use the first author’s last name with “and others.” In parenthetical citations, use the first author’s last name with “et al.”
| 2 authors | Works Cited:
Metsa, Paul, and Shefchik, Rick. Blood in the Tracks: The Minnesota Musicians behind Dylan’s Masterpiece. University of Minnesota Press, 2023.
|
| Parenthetical in-text citation: (Metsa and Shefchik 155) | |
| Narrative in-text citation: Metsa and Schefchik explain that… (155). | |
| 3+ authors | Works Cited :
Williams, Beatriz, et al. The Glass Ocean. HarperCollins, 2018.
|
| Parenthetical in-text citation: (Beatriz et al. 35) | |
| Narrative in-text citation: Beatriz and others describe Caroline’s reluctance to take the journey (19). |
MLA works in anthologies or collections
Some books are edited collections of shorter works by individual authors (e.g., anthologies of short stories). If each chapter or work in a book has a different author, include a Works Cited entry for each work that you quoted, summarized, or paraphrased (or each article, essay, poem, etc. in a collection or anthology).
In each in-text citation, include the author of the shorter work and the page.
| MLA format |
Name, First and Middle (if the middle name is part of the byline). “Chapter/Story/Essay/Poem Title.” Book Title, edited by Editor’s Name(s), nth ed., vol. x, Publisher, Year, Page range.
An edition or volume number before the page range is only necessary if the book has multiple editions/volumes. |
| MLA Works Cited entry |
Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction, edited by Richard Bausch, 8th ed., W. W. Norton, 2015, pp. 816-22.
|
| MLA narrative in-text citations | Walker describes Dee’s concerns about the condition of the quilts (817). |
| MLA parenthetical in-text citations | (Walker 818) |
MLA republished versions of classic books
If you’re writing about a work of classic literature, you may have read a republished version. In this situation, include the original and current publication dates in the Works Cited entry.
MLA ebooks and online books
The Works Cited format for a digital version of a book depends on how you accessed it. For in-text citations, include the author and page if the version is paginated (e.g., a PDF). If the version doesn’t have numbered pages or paragraph numbers, you can omit the locator information in the in-text citations.
MLA books accessed online
If you accessed the book on a website or from a database, use the standard MLA format for the Works Cited entry followed by the name of the database or website and a stable link to the book.
MLA downloaded ebook
If you downloaded the book onto an e-reader or app, you only need to add “E-book ed.” after the title in the Works Cited entry.
Where to find information for an MLA book citation
You can find most of the information you need for a Works Cited entry on the title page and copyright page (the first two pages before the introduction).
- The title page almost always includes the author name, editor’s name (if applicable), book title, and publisher.
- The copyright page includes the year of publication.
If each chapter or work in an anthology has a different author (in which case the Works Cited entry will begin with that author’s name), it’s probably listed on the table of contents and/or the first page of the shorter work. You can also find the work’s title in either of these places.
Frequently asked questions about MLA book citations
- How do you write a book title in MLA?
-
When you write a book title in MLA, use italics and capitalize all of the principal words—nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions.
Also capitalize the first and last words and the first word after a colon. Minor words, such as prepositions (e.g., “over” or “under”) and coordinating conjunctions (e.g., “and” or “but”) should not be capitalized.
The following MLA book citation example shows how to format a title.
MLA book citation example Gladwell, Malcolm. Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering. Little, Brown, 2024.You can also use QuillBot’s free Citation Generator to format titles correctly in MLA writing and Works Cited entries.
- When should I cite a book chapter in MLA?
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Cite a book chapter in MLA when each chapter has a different author listed in the table of contents and/or on the first page of each chapter.
In MLA book citations for chapters in edited books, include the chapter author and a page range in each in-text citation (Smith 234). In the Works Cited entry, include the following details.
Name, First and Middle (if the middle name is part of the byline). “Chapter/Story/Essay/Poem Title.” Book Title, edited by Editor’s Name(s), nth ed., vol. x, Publisher, Year, Page range.(An edition or volume number before the page range is only necessary if the book has multiple editions/volumes.)
MLA book chapter citation example Roy, Ashok, and Kogan, Cary S. “Disorders of Intellectual Development and Developmental Learning Disorder.” A Psychological Approach to Diagnosis: Using the ICD-11 as a Framework, edited by Geoffrey M. Reed et al., American Psychological Association, 2024, pp. 41-60.You can also use QuillBot’s free Citation Generator to create Works Cited entries and in-text citations for chapters in edited books.
