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Research@UWW

Key Elements

  1. Author.
  2. Book Title (italicized).
  3. Title of container,
  4. Contributor,
  5. Version,
  6. Number, (add "p." after a single page number or "pp." after a range of page numbers),
  7. Publisher,
  8. Publication year,
  9. Location of publisher.

Container 2 (not all sources have a second container):

From a database:

3. Database Title, (italicized)
9. Location/Permanent Link.  (no http://)

From a website:

3. Website Title, (italicized)
9. Location/website DOI/URL (no http://). Include date accessed if webpage is now gone.

How to Differentiate Between E-books and Online Books

MLA differentiates how books in different formats are cited. The core style elements remain the same whether the book is print or not, however,  additional elements are added.

  • E-book:
    • Digital book that you use software to read on a personal device or computer. Includes Kindle, EPUB, Nook editions, and more
    • Lacks a URL
    • Start with a print book citation. Add the Version element to specify that you are citing an e-book
  • Online Book:
    • Digital book accessed on a website, an online scholarly project, or through databases such as Google Books, Project Gutenberg, Ebook Central, Early English Books Online, etc.
    • Has a Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
    • Start with a print book citation and add the name of the website, scholarly project name, or database a comma, the URL, and a period at the end

One Author, All Formats [5.6]

Start with the last name of the author, then add the first name and middle initial. If the author is a corporation do not invert it.

Italicize the book title and use title case.

 

One Author, Print Book [5.3]

General Format: Author last name comma first name period. book title in title case and italics period publisher comma year of publication period. Description of Citation: Tutola comma Amos period The Witch hyphen Herbalist of the Remote Town period Faber and Faber comma 1981 period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Tutola 26).

Author Name(s) in Your Text:

According to Tutola, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (26).

One Author, Online Book (database) [5.84]

After the publication year, include the database name in italics and then the permanent link to the book.

General Format: Author last name comma first name period title in italics period publisher comma publication year period database in italics permanent url period. Description of Citation: Pearce comma Richard period Native American Performance and Representation period U of Arizona P comma 2009 period ProQuest Ebook Central comma ebookcentral period proquest period com slash lib slash whitewater hyphen ebooks slash detail period action question mark docID equal sign 3411766 period

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Pearce 45).

Author Name(s) in Your Text:

According to Pearce, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (45).

E-book (On an App) [5.112]

After the publication year, include the file format. E.g., EPUB, Kindle, OverDrive, etc.

General Format: Author last name comma author first name period book title in italics period e hyphen book ed period comma publisher comma publication date year period format type period. Description of Citation: Coates comma Ta hyphen Nehisi period. The Water Dancer in italics period. Space E hyphen book ed period comma space Random House comma 2019 period EPUB in capital letters period.

In-text Citation

This format doesn't have page numbers, so there are none to include in the in-text citations.

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Coates).

Author Name(s) in Your Text:

According to Coates, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese."

Online Book (Website or Scholarly Project) [5.84]

After the publication year in a basic citation (see "One Author, Print Book" above), add the website or online scholarly project title in italics and the permanent link, or URL if a permanent link is not provided.

General Format: Author’s last name, author’s first name, author’s middle name period. Book title in title case and italics comma publisher comma publication year period. Website or online scholarly project title title in italics comma permanent url period. Description of Citation: Emerson comma Ralph Waldo period The Conduct of Life comma Nature and Other Essays in title case and italics comma J period space M period space Dent and Sons comma 1908 comma period. HathiTrust Digital Library in title case and italics comma hdl period handle period net forward slash 2027 slash chi period 25654644 period.

Two Authors [5.7]

List the authors in the order they appear on the title page. 

For e-books, include the database name in italics, a comma, the year of publication, and then the permanent link to the book.

General Format: First author's last name comma first name and middle initial period comma second author's first name and middle name last name period book title in italics period publisher comma publishing date year period Description of Citation: Meyer comma Karl E period comma and Shareen Blair Brysac period Tournament of Shadows in italics colon The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia in italics period Counterpoint comma 1999 period

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Meyer and Brysac 99).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Meyer and Brysac, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (99).

Three or More Authors [5.8]

List the first author as last and first name, then add and "et al," which means "and others."

For e-books, include the database name in italics, a comma, and then the permanent link to the book after the year of publication.

General Format: Author last name comma first name comma et al period Book title in italics period publisher comma publication year period Description of Citation: Keillor comma Elaine comma et al period Encyclopedia of Native American Music of North America in italics period Greenwood comma 2013 period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Keillor et al. 61).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Keillor et al., "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (61).

No Author

No Author

If no author is listed, the title of the work goes first.

If and only if an item names the author "Anonymous," use the word Anonymous where you'd normally put the author's name.

Book, No Known or Named Author, with Editor

General Format: Book title in italics period editor’s name abbreviated first name middle name then last name comma publisher comma publication year period. Description of Citation: Book of the Dead in italics period Edited by E period A period Wallis Budge comma Arkana comma 1989 period

In-text Citation

Use Book Title in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Book of the Dead 21).

Use Book Title in Your Text

According to the Book of the Dead, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (21).

 

Book, Anonymous Author, with Translator

Author is called "Anonymous" on the item itself. If no author listed, follow above example instead.

General Format: Book title in italics period translator first name or initials then last name comma publication date year period Description of Citation: Beowulf in italics period Translated by D period H period Crawford comma Cooper Square Publishers comma 1966 period

In-text Citation

Use "Anonymous" in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Anonymous 199).

Use "Anonymous" in Your Text

According to Anonymous, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (199).

Translator

Translator and Author

General Format: Author’s last name comma author’s first name period book title in italics period translator’s first and last name comma publisher comma publication year period. Description of Citation: Mishima comma Yukio period Acts of Worship colon Seven Stories in title case and italics period Translated by John Bester comma Kodansha International comma 1989 period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation Because It Comes First:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Mishima 213).

Author Name(s) in Your Text Because It Comes First

According to Mishima, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (213).

Translator Only

General Format: Translator’s last name comma first name comma translator period. book title in title case and italics colon book subtitle in title case and italics period. publisher comma publication year period. Description of Citation: Ringler comma Dick comma translator period. Beowulf it title case and italics colon A New Translation for Oral Delivery in title case and italics period. Hackett Publishing comma 2007 period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Ringler 50).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Ringler, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (50).

Edited Book

Author and Editor [5.7]

Include the author name(s) first. Put the editor name(s) after the book title, preceded by "Edited by."

General Format: Author’s last name comma author’s first name period book title in italics period editor’s first name and middle initial period editor’s last name comma publisher comma publication year. Description of Citation: Shelley comma Mary period The New Annotated Frankenstein in italics period Edited by Leslie S period Klinger comma Liveright Publishing comma 2017 period

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Shelley 35).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Shelley, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (35).

Editor Only

General Format: Editor’s last lame comma first name middle initial period comma period book title in italics period publisher comma publication date year period. Description of Citation: Marcus comma Leonard S period comma editor period The Wand in the Word Colon Conversations with Writers of Fantasy in italics period Candlewick Press comma 2006 period.

In-text Citation

Editor Names in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Marcus 21).

Editor Names in Your Text

According to Marcus, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (21).

Two Editors [5.7]

General Format: First editor’s last name comma first edito’s first name comma second editor’s first and last name comma editors period book title in italics period publisher comma publication year period. Description of Citation: Fine comma Michelle comma and Lois Weis comma editors period Silenced Voices and Extraordinary Conversation in italics period period period Re hyphen Imagining Schools in italics period Teachers College Press comma 2003 period.

In-text Citation

Editor Names in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Fine and Weis 324).

Editor Names in Your Text

According to Fine and Weis, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (324).

Section of a Book

Begin with the author of the section. If there is no author, start with the section title, not the editor of the book if there is one.

While these examples are for specific types of sections, the rules apply to all book section types.

Short Story, One Author, Print

General Format: Author’s last name comma author’s first initial period author's middle initial period. open quotation marks short story title period closing quotation marks. book title in italics comma publisher comma publication year comma p p period starting page dash ending page period. Description of Citation: Narayan comma R period K period open quotation marks Lawley Road period closing quotation marks. Malgudi Days in italics comma Viking Press comma 2002 comma p p period 99 dash 105 period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Lawley Road is the nation's Main Street" (Narayan 104).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Narayan, "Lawley Road is the nation's Main Street" (104).

Essay, One Author, Scholarly Project or Website

General Format: Author’s last name, author’s first name and middle name period open quotes essay title period closing quotes book title in italics comma publisher comma publication year comma lowercase p p period space then the page range period website title in italics, permanent url period Description of Citation: Emerson comma Ralph Waldo period open quote The Method of Nature period closing quote The Conduct of Life in italics comma Nature and other Essays in italics comma J period M period Dent and Sons comma 1908 comma pp period 39 hyphen 56 period HathiTrust Digital Library in italics comma hdl period handle period net slash 2027 slash chi period 25654644 period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Emerson 39).

 

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Emerson, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (39).

Poem in Anthology, One Author, One Editor [6.42]

General Format: Author’s last name comma author’s first name period open quotation marks poem title period closing quotation marks. book title in italics comma editor’s first name editor's middle initial period editor’s last name comma publisher comma publication year comma p p period starting page dash ending page period. Description of Citation: Wheatley comma Phillis period open quotation marks On Being Brought from Africa to America period closing quotation marks Amazing Grace colon An Anthology of Poems About Slavery 1610 dash 1810 in italics comma edited by James G period Basker comma Yale U P comma 2002 comma p p period 177 dash 178 period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

The poem's final line demonstrates this point:

"May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train" demonstrates this point (Wheatley line 8).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

Wheatley demonstrates this point with the poem's final line:

"May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train" (line 8).

Chapter, Two Authors, Two Editors

General Format: First author’s first name comma first author’s last name comma and second author’s first name and middle initial period second author’s last name period. open quotation marks essay title period closing quotation marks. book title in italics comma first editor’s first name middle name last name and second editor's first name last name comma publisher comma publication year comma p p period starting page dash ending page period. Description of Citation: Mingming comma Shen comma and Samuel J period Eldersveld period. open quotation marks The Dual Significance of Political Reforms period closing quotation marks. China apostrophe s Place in Global Geopolitics colon International comma Regional and Domestic Challenges in italics comma edited by Kjeld Erik Brødsgaard and Bertel Heurlin comma RoutledgeCurzon comma 2002 comma p p period 181 dash 201 period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has more cheese than China" (Mingming and Eldersveld 192).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Mingming and Eldersveld, "Wisconsin has more cheese than China" (192).

Dictionary Entry, no Author, One Editor (Database)

General Format: Open quotation marks entry title period close quotation marks. Book title in italics comma edited by editor name comma publisher comma publication date comma p p period. first page dash last page period. Permanent link period. Description of Citation: Open quotation marks Lewis comma Edmonia colon American Sculptor comma period 1844 dash after 1911 in title case period close quotation marks. Concise Dictionary of Women Artists in title case comma edited by Delia Gaze comma Taylor ampersand Francis Group comma 2001 comma p p period 446 dash 450 period. ProQuest Ebook Central in italics comma ebookcentral period proquest period com forward slash lib forward slash whitewater dash ebooks forward slash detail period action question mark docID equal sign 1144678 period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

Lewis' choice to create her art on her own terms was "neither uncommon nor a sign of amateurism" ("Lewis, Edmonia" 447).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to  "Lewis, Edmonia," Lewis' choice to create her art on her own terms was "neither uncommon nor a sign of amateurism" (447).

Multivolume Book

Citing from a Single Volume of a Multivolume Work, No Section Title [5.51]

Include the volume number after the edition. If there is no edition, include it after the editor's name. If there is no editor either, include it after the title.

General format: Author’s last name, author’s first and middle name period book title comma book subtitle in italics period editor’s first name middle name and last name comma volume number publisher, publication date year range period. Description of Citation: Adams comma John Quincy period Memoirs of John Quincy Adams comma Comprising Portions of His Diary from 1795 to 1848 in italics period Edited by Charles Francis Adams comma vol period 11 comma Books for Libraries Press comma 1874 dash 77 period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Adams 219).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Adams, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (219).

Citing from Single Named Volume of a Multivolume Work [5.117]

Include the volume title after the author. Include the volume number after the publication year, followed by the work/series title.

General Format: Author’s last name comma author’s first and middle name period title in italics period publisher comma publication year period volume number series title in italics period. Description of Citation: Orbea comma Juan Madariaga period Anthology of Apologists and Detractors of the Basque Language in italics period Center for Basque Studies comma 2006 period Vol period 2 of Basque Classics Series in italics period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Orbea 1039).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Orbea, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (1039).

Citing from Multiple Volumes of a Multivolume Book [5.117]

After the publication year, include the database in italics and then the permanent link to the book.

General Format: Editor’s last name comma editor’s first and middle name comma (position title?) volume title in italics period publisher comma publication year period number of volumes. Description of Citation: Breasted comma James Henry comma editor period Ancient Records of Egypt in italics period Russell and Russell comma 1962 period 5 vols period.

In-text Citation [6.27]

If you cite more than one volume in a multivolume work, list the entire book in your works cited list. Do not list the volumes individually.

For each in-text citation, include the volume number followed by a colon and a space then the page number(s).

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Breasted 4: 26).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Breasted, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" ( 4: 26).

Edition

Edition of a Book

Only included the edition if it is printed in the book. First editions are rarely noted.

General Format: Author's first name comma author’s last name comma et al period title in title case and italics period. edition e d period comma v o l period volume number comma publisher comma publication year period. Description of Citation: Kendall comma Maurice comma et space al period. The Advanced Theory of Statistics in title case and italics period 5th e d period comma v o l period 1 comma Oxford capital U capital P comma 1987 period.

In-text Citation

Author Name(s) in Parenthetical Citation:

"Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (Kendall 1: 26).

Author Name(s) in Your Text

According to Kendall, "Wisconsin has over 600 varieties of cheese" (1: 26).