Books & eBooks

A MLA In-Text Citation Formatting Guide

 Why learn In-
Text Citation?
You just wanted to make sure
you got an A on that research
paper...but you forgot to give
credit to the person(s) that
handed you the information.
Because of some details left
out, the consequences are more
than you bargained for.
Take out paper and pen...

It’s time to take notes!

Basic in-text citation
Parenthetical Citation:
-Used when paraphrasing or directly quoting a source
-Used to direct the reader to the Works Cited page

Information needed:
-Author’s last name

-Page # of where quote came from

Types of in-text citation
Author named in signal phrase:
- The author is stated as the one saying the quote
- Add page number in parenthesis
*Example: According to John Smith,“Add quote” (20).

Authors name in parentheses:

- Signal phrase does not name the author
- Put author’s last name and page number in parenthesis
*Example: Paraphrase with no author name (Smith 20).

Authors unknown:
- Use the whole title of the piece in a signal phrase OR use the partial title in parenthesis
- Title of books are underlined or italicized
- Titles of articles and chapters are put in quotation marks
Works Cited for books
You will need the following information:

Basic Format
- Author’s name
- Book Title
- City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication
- Medium (“Print”)
Works Cited for books
Formatting: Author’s Name
Single Author
- Author’s last name (comma) author’s first name (period)
*Example: Smith, John.

Two or Three Authors

-List the authors in the order they appear in the book itself
DO NOT ALPHABETIZE
-Invert name of the first author (Last, First)
-Remaining authors (First Last)
*Example: Smith, John, and Jane Smith.
Smith, John, Jane Smith, and John Doe.
Works Cited for books
Formatting: Author’s Name cont...

Four or More Authors

-List all authors with the same format as above OR list first author
followed by “et al.” (Latin for “and others”).
*Example: Smith, John, Jane Smith, John Doe, and Jane Doe.
OR
Smith, John, et al.

Unknown Author
-Begin with the Book’s Title
Works Cited for books
Formatting: Book Title
Add title and subtitle
- Italicize OR underline title, followed by a period.
*Example: The Book Title. or The Book Title.

Formatting: City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication

City of Publication:
- Add city of Publication, followed by a colon
- Include city name and state/province
- If multiple cities, just name one.
Publisher:
- Add name of publisher, followed by a comma
- Leave out terms as Press, Inc., and Co., unless it is a university press
Year of Publication:
- Add year of publication, followed by a period
- If copyright page lists more than one date, use the most recent
*Example: Tacoma, WA: University of Washington Press, 2010.
Works Cited for books
Format: Putting it all together
- Start on a new page with the title “Works Cited”, centered on page.
- List is alphabetized by authors last name
(or by title if author is unknown)
- First line of each entry is at the left margin, all lines after that
are indented .5 inches (hanging indention).

Please copy and paste this link to your URL to see how to put the
above information together.
http://www.screencast.com/t/0ENl6u0t
Works Cited for Ebooks
Basic Format:
- Author (Last name, First name)
- Book Title
- City Published: Publisher, Year Published.
- Website
- Medium (“Web”)
- Date accessed
- <URL>
*Example: Smith, John. The Book Title. Tacoma, WA: University of Washington Press 2010.
Google books. Web. 25 October 2010. www.google.com/jsmith

In-text Citation:
- Author, publication date, page number(s)
*Example: Paraphrase (Smith,2010,30)
Works Cited for Ebooks
Basic Format
Lastname, Firstname. (publish date). Title of Book. Retrieved by (url of where ebook came

or from)

Lastname, Firstname. (publish date). Title of Book. Available from (url of where ebook can
be found)

* Use “retrieved by” if ebook was read directly from that site.
Use “available from” if ebook isn’t directly on the web page, or needs to be bought.

Use the above format if the book only comes

in a digital copy, or if you can’t find it in print.
 Where we received the
information.
A Writer’s Reference by Diana Hacker
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06/

http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/legacylib/mlahcc.html
http://www.lambuth.edu/academics/library/citingebooks.html