MLA Works Cited Page: Books // Purdue Writing Lab

mthe works cited page: books

When you are compiling book sources, be sure to note the following bibliographic items: the names of the authors, other contributors such as translators or editors, the title of the book, the editions of the book, the date of publication, the editorial and pagination.

the eighth edition of the mla manual outlines principles about prescriptive practices. Essentially, a writer will need to take note of the primary elements in each source, such as the author, title, etc. and then arrange them in a general format. therefore, using this methodology, a writer will be able to cite any source regardless of whether it is included in this list.

You are reading: Mla format for text books

Please note these changes in the new edition:

  • commas are used instead of periods between the publisher, publication date and pagination.
  • the medium is no longer necessary.
  • the containers are now part of the mla process. commas should be used after container titles.
  • dois should be used instead of url when available.
  • use the term “accessed” instead of including the date or the abbreviation, “s.f.”

The following is the general format for any citation:

basic book format

the author’s name or a book with a single author’s name appears in lastname, firstname format. the basic form for a book citation is:

book with one author

book with more than one author

When a book has two authors, order the authors the same way they appear in the book. start by listing the name that appears in the book in last name, first name format; subsequent author names appear in normal order (first-last-name format).

If there are three or more authors, list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. (Latin for “and others”) instead of the names of later authors. (Note that there is a period after “al” in “et al.” Also note that there is never a period after “et” in “et al.”).

two or more books by the same author

the list works alphabetically by title. (remember to ignore articles like a, an and the). provide the author’s name in last-name format for the first entry only. for each subsequent entry by the same author, use three hyphens and a period.

book by a corporate author or organization

A corporate author may include a commission, committee, government agency, or group that does not identify individual members on the cover.

List the names of corporate authors in the place where an author’s name would normally appear at the beginning of the entry.

When the author and publisher are the same, omit the author and write the title first. then list the corporate author only as the publisher.

book without author

list by book title. enter these entries in alphabetical order just as you would for works that include an author name. for example, the following entry might appear among entries for works written by dean, shaun, and forsythe, jonathan.

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Remember that for an in-text citation (in parentheses) of a book with no author, you must provide the name of the work in the signal phrase and the page number in parentheses. You can also use an abbreviated version of the book title accompanied by the page number. for more information, see the in-text citation section for print sources with no known author of in-text citation basics.

a translated book

If you want to emphasize the work rather than the translator, cite as you would any other book. add “translated by” and continue with the names of the translators.

If you want to focus on the translation, include the translator as the author. instead of the author’s name, the translator’s name appears. its name is followed by the tag “translator”. If the author of the book does not appear in the book title, include the name, with a “by” after the book title and before the publisher. Note that this type of citation is less common and should only be used for work or writing where the translation plays a central role.

reissued book

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Books may be republished due to popularity without becoming a new edition. new editions are usually revisions of the original work. for books that originally appeared at an earlier date and were republished at a later date, insert the original publication date before the publication information.

for books that are new editions (that is, different from the first or other editions of the book), see one edition of a book below.

an edition of a book

There are two types of editions in book publishing: a book that has been published more than once in different editions, and a book that is prepared by someone other than the author (typically a publisher).

a later edition

Cite the book as you normally would, but add the edition number after the title.

a work prepared by an editor

Cite the book as you normally would, but add the publisher after the title with the “edited by” tag.

Note that the format for citing sources with major contributors with functions similar to that of an editor follows the same basic template:

…adapted by john doe…

finally, in case the source includes a contributor that cannot be described with a past tense verb and the word “by” (for example, “edited by”), you can use a noun followed by a comma, like this:

anthology or collection (for example, collection of essays)

To cite the entire anthology or collection, list by publisher(s) followed by a comma and “publisher” or, for multiple publishers, “publishers”. this type of entry is somewhat rare. if you are citing a particular piece within an anthology or collection (more common), see a work in an anthology, reference, or collection below.

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a work in an anthology, reference or collection

Works may include an essay in an edited collection or anthology, or a book chapter. the basic form for this type of citation is as follows:

some examples:

note about cross-referencing multiple items in an anthology: if you cite more than one essay from the same edited collection, mla indicates that you can cross-reference within your works cited list to avoid typing publication information for each one. separate trial. you should consider this option if you have multiple single-text references. to do so, include a separate entry for the entire collection listed by publisher name as shown below:

then, for each individual essay in the collection, list the author’s name in the format of last name, first name, essay title, editor’s last name, and page range:

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Please note: When cross-referencing items in the works cited list, alphabetical order must be maintained for the entire list.

examples of poems or stories:

if the specific literary work is part of the author’s collection (all works have the same author), then there will be no publisher to refer to:

article in a reference book (eg, encyclopedias, dictionaries)

For entries in encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works, cite the name of the entry as you would any other work in a collection, but do not include the publisher’s information. Also, if the reference book is organized alphabetically, like most, do not include the volume or page number of the article or item.

a multi-volume work

When citing only one volume of a multivolume work, include the volume number after the title of the work, or after the publisher or translator of the work.

When citing more than one volume of a multivolume work, cite the total number of volumes in the work. Also, be sure to provide both the volume number and the page number in your in-text citation (see “citing multivolume works” in our in-text citation resource).

If the volume you are using has its own title, cite the book without reference to the other volumes as if it were a separate publication.

an introduction, preface, prologue or epilogue

When citing an introduction, preface, foreword, or epilogue, write the name of the author(s) of the article you are citing. then give the name of the part being quoted, which should not be in italics or in quotation marks; in italics, indicate the name of the work and the name of the author of the introduction/preface/prologue/epilogue. end the citation with the publication details and page range.

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if the writer of the piece is different from the author of the complete work, write the full name of the author of the main work after the word “by”. For example, if you were to quote Hugh Dalziel Duncan’s introduction from Kenneth Burke’s book Permanence and Change, you would write your entry like this:

book published before 1900

Original copies of books published before 1900 are generally defined by their place of publication and not the publisher. Unless you are using a more recent edition, cite the city of publication where you would normally cite the editor.

the bible

Italicize “the bible” and stick with the version you are using. Remember that your text (parenthetical citation) must include the name of the specific edition of the Bible, followed by an abbreviation of the book, chapter, and verses. (see quoting the bible in in-text citations: basics).

a government publication

cite the author of the publication if the author is identified. otherwise, start with the name of the national government, followed by the agency (including subdivisions or agencies) that acts as the author of the organization. for conference documents, be sure to include the conference number and session when the hearing was held or the resolution was passed, as well as the report number. us government documents uu. they are usually published by the government printing press.

a brochure

Cite the pamphlet’s title and publication information just as you would a book with no author. brochures and promotional materials often feature corporate authors (commissions, committees, or other groups that do not provide the names of individual group members). If the pamphlet you are citing does not have an author, cite it as follows. If your brochure has an author or corporate author, place the author’s name (last name, name format) or corporate author where the author’s name normally appears at the beginning of the entry. (Also see books by a corporate author or organization above.)

dissertations and master’s theses

dissertations and master’s theses can be used as sources, whether they are published or not. Unlike previous editions, mla 8 does not specify any style differences for published/unpublished works.

The main elements of a dissertation citation are the same as those of a book: author’s name, title (in italics), and date of publication. conclude with an indication of the type of document (for example, “doctoral thesis”). the degree-granting institution may be included before the document type (although this is not required). if the dissertation was accessed through an online repository, include it as the second container after all other items.

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