Citation Examples: Book

MLA 9 citation examples coming soon! See below for MLA 8 examples.

Here are some example citations for books, e-books, and audiobooks. They are based on MLA 8 guidelines. A Works Cited page should be double spaced within and between citations. To save room, we only single spaced. When a citation requires more than one line, the second line and any lines that follow should have a hanging indent. That means the first line of each citation aligns with the left margin, and all additional lines are indented half an inch.

Print Books (Whole)

Example – book, 1 author

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Warner Books, 1982.

Example – book, 2 authors

Rottmann, Alexander, and Nici Pederzolli. Freestyle Snowboarding: Tricks, Skills, and Techniques. Firefly Books, 2010.

Example – book, 3 authors, edition

Reilly, Mary Jo, et al. Mexico. 3rd ed., Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2012.

Example – book, 1 editor

Willis, Laurie, editor. Adoption. Greenhaven Press, 2012.

Example – book, 2 editors, used all volumes of a multi-volume set

Lerner, K. Lee, and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, editors. World of Sports Science. Gale, 2007. 2 vols.

Example – book, 3 editors, edition, used one volume of a multi-volume set

Lerner, K. Lee, et al., editors. Alternative Energy. 2nd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2012.

Print Books (Part)

Example – poem in a book, 1 author

Medina, Pablo. "The Secret." Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States, Holt, 1994, p. 48.

Example – short story in a book, 1 author, 1 editor

Chase, Richard. "Old Christmas Eve." Grandfather Tales, edited by H. L. Pick, Viking, 1973, pp. 58-60.

Example – essay in a book, 1 author, 1 editor, edition (because 1984 is a title within a title, it is not italicized)

Fowler, Robert. "Newspeak and the Language of the Party." George Orwell's 1984, edited by Harold Bloom, updated ed., Chelsea House,
     2007, pp. 93-108.

Example – encyclopedia article, author

Cloos, Mark. “Plate Tectonics.” The World Book Encyclopedia, 2013, pp. 561-65.

Example – encyclopedia article, no author, from a multi-volume set, edition

"Nike." Encyclopedia of Global Brands, 2nd ed., vol. 2, St. James Press, 2013, pp. 750-54.

Example – word in a dictionary

"Chlorophyll." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed., Merriam-Webster, 2003, p. 252.

Example – map in an atlas

"Prevailing Winds and Ocean Currents." National Geographic Student World Atlas, 4th ed., National Geographic, 2014, p. 23.

Example – photograph of artwork, in a book, no author, 2 editors

“Chinese Horse.” Art That Changed the World, edited by Gadi Farour and Sam Atkinson, DK Publishing, 2013, p. 20.

Example – chapter/essay (“Wrestling…”) from a book (Private Voices, Public Lives by Flowers), republished in a different book (Contemporary Literary Criticism edited by Hunter)

Flowers, Betty S. "Wrestling with the Mother and Father: 'His' and 'Her' in Adrienne Rich." Contemporary Literary Criticism,
     edited by Jeffrey W. Hunter, vol. 125, Gale, 2000, pp. 330-34.

Example – article (“Of George…” by Spilka) from a journal (Modern Fiction Studies), republished in a book (Contemporary Literary Criticism edited by Gunton)

Spilka, Mark. "Of George and Lennie and Curley's Wife: Sweet Violence in Steinbeck's Eden." Contemporary Literary Criticism,
     edited by Sharon R. Gunton, vol. 21, Gale, 1982, pp. 385-87.

Book (Whole or Part) Found in a Library Database

Example – book, in a library database, no author, 1 editor

Friedman, Lauri S., editor. Cyberbullying. Greenhaven Press, 2011. Gale Virtual Reference Library, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
     id=GALE|4HRV&v=2.1&u=oslis&it=etoc&p=GVRL&sw=w.

Example – article in a book, library database, no author, 2 editors, no pages listed

“Eating Disorders.” UXL Encyclopedia of Science, edited by Amy Hackney Blackwell and Elizabeth Manar, 3rd ed., UXL, 2015.
     Student Resources in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CV2644300374/SUIC?u=port&xid=6c46c891.

Book (Whole or Part) Found on the Internet

Example – word in a dictionary, Internet, publisher is same as Web site title (so do not list the publisher)

“Chlorophyll.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2016, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chlorophyll.

Example – encyclopedia article, Internet, publisher is same as Web site title (so do not list the publisher)

Stock, Joann. "Earthquake." World Book Student, 2016, worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar171680.

E-Books

Example – e-book, 1 author, downloaded to a device

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. E-book, HarperCollins, 2014.

Example – e-book, 1 author, read on a Web site

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Twice-Told Tales. E-book, Houghton, 1883. Project Gutenberg, www.gutenberg.org/etext/13707.

Example – e-book, 2 editors, read on a Web site

Wiggin, Kate D., and Nora A. Smith, editors. Pinafore Palace. E-book, Grosset, 1907. Project Gutenberg,
     www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/9/3/7/29378/29378-h/29378-h.htm.

Audiobooks 

Example – audiobook, listened to on CD, known author, known narrator, known publisher (Listening Library), known publication date 

Green, John. Turtles All the Way Down. Narrated by Kate Rudd, audiobook ed., Listening Library, 2017.

Example – audiobook, downloaded from Audible to a device (do not include the website from which you downloaded it), known author, known narrator, known publisher (HarperAudio), known publication date 

Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Narrated by Michael York, audiobook ed., HarperAudio, 2005. 

Example – audiobook, streamed/listened to from a Web site (Audible.com), known author, known narrator, known publisher (HarperAudio), known publication date 

Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Narrated by Michael York, audiobook ed., HarperAudio, 2005. Audible.com, www.audible.com/pd/KIDS/the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe-Audiobook/
     B002V1NHJ2.