Wondering how to cite a book in MLA format? Here’s the general rule.
General book format:
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.
In our citation examples we use the following color coding:
- Red – Author
- Blue – Title of book/article/charter/webpage
- Pink – Date
- Orange – Website/Publisher
- Violet – Editor/Translator
- Black – Volume/Issue
- Sienna – Pages
- Peach – Additional information about the source (i.e. its type, specific features etc.)
- Light Magenta – Dictionary entry
Single author
Example:
Two authors
The second author should appear as he or she is mentioned in the book.
Example:
Three and more authors
If there are three and more authors, the first name must be followed by et al.
Example:
Corporate/Organization author
The corporation’s name should start the line and appear in text instead of the author.
Example:
New Millennium. Kluwer Law International, 2000.
Unknown author
Example:
Two or more works by the same author
The dashes at the beginning of the following line stand for the same author’s name.
Example:
University of Chicago Press, 1979.
—. Pearl: A New Verse Translation. W. W. Norton, 1977.Two or more works by the same author, same year.
Example:
Author with an editor
Example:
Press, 1968.
Author with a translator
Example:
Harcourt Publishing Company, 2010.
Editor with no Author
Example:
Work in an anthology
Example:
Szeman and Timothy Kaposy, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011, pp. 12-17.
Edition other than first
Example:
Wiley Global Education, 2013.
Multivolume work
Some book series may consist out of several volumes. In this instance, when citing it, it is necessary to state the volume of the book where the information was taken from. However, if the volume has its own name, it is formatted as a book.
Example:
1775.
Encyclopedia/Dictionary
This entry should not include information about the publisher or page number.
Example:
Foreword, Introduction, Preface or Afterword
Example:
Priestley, vol. 2, Johnson, 1775, pp. v-xxviii.