How to Cite a Book

PDF download Download Article
PDF download Download Article

When you're writing a research paper, a citation lets your readers know which words or ideas are not your own. Generally, you'll place an in-text citation at the end of every sentence in which you've either paraphrased or quoted ideas or language from the source. That in-text citation points your reader to the full citation in the reference list at the end of your paper. While the basic information included in a citation for a book is the same, the format varies among the Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), and Chicago citation styles.

How do you cite a book in APA?

Start with the author's name and the year of publication in parentheses. Then, include the book's title in italics, followed by the publishing location and the publisher's name.

Citation Templates and Sample Citations

Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

MLA

PDF download Download Article
  1. 1
    Begin your Works Cited entry with the name of the author. Type the author's last name first, followed by a comma and a space. Then type the author's first name. If the author's middle name or middle initial are included on the title page for the book, include those as well. Place a period at the end of the author's name. [1]
    • Example: Gleick, James.
    • If the book has 2 or 3 authors, separate authors' names with commas, using the word "and" before the last author's name. Only the first author's name is inverted. For example: Gillespie, Paul and Neal Lerner.
    • If the book has more than 3 authors, use the first author's name, followed by a comma and the Latin abbreviation "et. al." For example: Wysocki, Anne Frances, et. al.
  2. Type the title of the book using title case, capitalizing all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, and other words with more than 4 letters. If the book has a subtitle, type a colon and a space at the end of the title, then add the subtitle. Place a period at the end. [2]
    • Example: Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science .
    Advertisement
  3. Type the name of the publisher of the book, followed by a comma and a space. Then type the year the book was published. Place a period at the end of your citation. [3]
    • Example: Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science . Penguin, 1987.
    • If you used an ebook rather than a print edition, list the type of ebook as a "version" or "edition" of the book, before the publisher's name. [4] For example: Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science . Kindle ed., Penguin, 1987.

    MLA Works Cited Format

    Last Name, First Name. Title of Book in Title Case: Subtitle in Title Case . Publisher, Year.

  4. Whenever you paraphrase or quote from the book, place a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence, inside the closing punctuation. Include the author's last name and the page number or page range where the material can be found. [5]
    • For example, you might write: "While weather can be expressed in averages and statistics, the reality of nature is that nothing ever happens exactly the same way twice (Gleick 12)."
    • If you use the author's name in the body of your paper, only include the page number or page range in your parenthetical citation.
    5. Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

APA

PDF download Download Article
  1. Start your Reference List entry with the author's last name, followed by a comma and a space. Then type the author's first initial (and middle initial, if given). Separate the names of multiple authors with commas, placing an ampersand (&) before the last author's name. Add the year of publication in parentheses. Place a period outside the closing parentheses. [6]
    • Example: Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991).
  2. Type the title of the book in sentence case, capitalizing only the first word and any proper nouns in the title. If the book has a subtitle, add it in sentence case after the title. Use a colon to separate the title and the subtitle. Place a period at the end. [7]
    • Example: Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication.
    • If you used an ebook, provide the ebook type in square brackets after the title. Do not italicize the bracketed information. Place the period outside the closing brackets rather than at the end of the title. [8] For example: Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication [Kindle ed.].
  3. For US and Canadian publications, provide the name of the city and the 2-letter postal abbreviation for the city or state. For all other publications, list the name of the city and the name of the country. Type a colon and a space, then the name of the publisher. Place a period at the end of the name of the publisher. [9]
    • Example: Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    APA Reference List Format

    Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Title of book in sentence case: Subtitle in sentence case . Location: Publisher.

  4. Whenever you paraphrase or quote material from your source, provide a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. List the author's last name, followed by a comma, then the year the book was published. [10]
    • For example, you might write: "A journal article is tighter and more restrained than a dissertation (Calfee & Valencia, 1991)."
    • If you include the author's name in the body of your paper, add a parenthetical immediately after the name with the year of publication.
    • When you quote from the source directly, include the page number or page range where the quoted material can be found in your citation. Place a comma after the year of publication, then the abbreviation "p." or "pp." followed by the page number or range.
    5. Advertisement
Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Chicago

PDF download Download Article
  1. In your bibliography, type the author's last name first, followed by a comma and a space. Type the author's first name, followed by their middle name or initial, if given. For multiple authors, only reverse the order of the first author's name. Separate authors' names with commas, using the word "and" before the last author's name. Place a period at the end. [11]
    • Example: Mock, Douglas W., and Geoffrey A. Parker.
  2. Type the title of the book in title case, capitalizing only the first word, nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adverbs. If the book has a subtitle, place a colon at the end of the title to introduce the subtitle. Type the title of the subtitle in title case. End with a period. [12]
    • Example: Mock, Douglas W., and Geoffrey A. Parker. The Evolution of Sibling Rivalry .
  3. Type the place of publication, followed by a colon and a space. Type the name of the publisher, followed by a comma and a space. Then type the year the book was published. Place a period at the end of your bibliography entry. [13]
    • Example: Mock, Douglas W., and Geoffrey A. Parker. The Evolution of Sibling Rivalry . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
    • If you accessed an ebook rather than a print book, indicate the ebook edition at the end of the citation. [14] For example: Mock, Douglas W., and Geoffrey A. Parker. The Evolution of Sibling Rivalry . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. Kindle edition.

    Chicago Bibliography Format

    Last Name, First Name. Title of Book in Title Case: Subtitle in Title Case . Location: Publisher, Year.

  4. When you paraphrase or quote your source, place a superscript footnote number at the end of the sentence. The footnote includes the same information as the bibliography entry, formatted differently. Don't reverse any names, and use commas instead of periods to separate elements of the citation. Place the publication information in parentheses. Close your footnote with the page number or range where the paraphrased or quoted material can be found, followed by a period. [15]
    • Example: Douglas W. Mock and Geoffrey A. Parker, The Evolution of Sibling Rivalry (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 72.
    5. Advertisement


Community Q&A

Search
Add New Question
  • Question
    What if I want to include 3 authors? For example, their names are Arden Blight, Clark Dirk, and Emelia Firth.
    Tom De Backer
    Top Answerer
    If they are equal contributors, either list them alphabetically by last name, separated by a comma, in the space where the author's name goes, or use the sorting order as used in the book itself. If one contributed a bigger share, put that author first. You can also use "et al.", which means "and others".
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 0 Helpful 3
Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
      Advertisement

      Tips

      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Submit
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
      Advertisement

      You Might Also Like

      How to
      Cite Sources in Chicago Manual of Style Format
      How to
      Cite Lecture Notes
      How to
      Cite a Textbook: In-Text Citations & Bibliography References
      How to
      Quote a Book
      A Step-by-Step Guide to Citing the WHO in APA (+ other Styles)
      How to
      Quote and Cite a Play in an Essay Using MLA Format
      How to
      Properly to Cite Dialogue in MLA
      How to
      Cite a Quote
      How to
      Cite a Research Paper
      What Does Ibid Mean? How to Use It & Citation Examples
      How to
      Quote and Cite a Poem in an Essay Using MLA Format
      How to
      Cite the CDC in APA
      How to
      Add a Footnote to Microsoft Word: Step-by-Step Guide
      How to
      Cite a Graph in a Paper
      Advertisement

      References

      1. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_books.html
      2. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_books.html
      3. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_books.html
      4. ↑ https://style.mla.org/citing-an-e-book/
      5. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_books.html
      6. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_books.html
      7. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_books.html
      8. ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/book-references
      9. ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_books.html
      1. ↑ http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/apaquickguide/intext
      2. ↑ https://librarybestbets.fairfield.edu/citationguides/chicagonotes-bibliography
      3. ↑ https://librarybestbets.fairfield.edu/citationguides/chicagonotes-bibliography
      4. ↑ https://librarybestbets.fairfield.edu/citationguides/chicagonotes-bibliography
      5. ↑ https://morlingcollege.libguides.com/c.php?g=392518&p=2666528
      6. ↑ https://librarybestbets.fairfield.edu/citationguides/chicagonotes-bibliography

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      To cite a book in MLA, start by listing the author's last name followed by their first name, separated by a comma. Then, add a period at the end of their first name, and provide the title of the book in italics with a period at the end. Finally, include the name of the publisher and the publication date, separated by a comma. For example, your citation should look something like, "Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. Penguin, 1987." To learn how to cite a book in APA or Chicago Style, scroll down!

      Did this summary help you?
      In other languages
      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 190,121 times.

      Reader Success Stories

      • Mina

        Mar 5, 2022

        "I had to learn how to cite."
      Share your story

      Did this article help you?

      Advertisement