How to Cite a Book Chapter

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Citing a book chapter may seem like a difficult task to tackle, but with the right guidelines it’s a piece of cake! First choose which style you want to cite in – most likely it will be MLA, APA, or Chicago style. Be sure to include all of the required information – like publication info, the author and editor, and the title of both the book chapter and the book itself. Citing a book chapter is different than citing an entire book because it requires additional information like the title of the book chapter, the name of the editor, and the page range of the chapter.

Citation Help

Method 1
Method 1 of 4:

Citing a Book Chapter in MLA Format

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  1. When you want to quote from a book chapter in your paper, you need to create a parenthetical in-text citation that follows the quote. This will include the author’s last name, a space, and then the exact page number the quote appears on, all of that contained within parentheses. The final period to indicate the end of the sentence should appear after the in-text citation, not before it. [1]
    • For example: Many scholars believe it is important to “help the student talk about his or her fears” (Harris 29).
    • For book chapters with 2 authors, list both last names, separated by the word “and.” For example: (Harris and Smith 29).
    • For book chapters with 3 or more authors, just include the first listed author followed by the phrase “et al” and a period. For example: (Harris et al. 29).
  2. On your Works Cited page in MLA format, you should begin the citation for the book chapter with the author’s name. List the author’s last name first, followed by a comma, then include their first name, followed by a period. [2]
    • For example: “Harris, Muriel.”
    • Make sure your entry is listed in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.
    • If there are 2 authors, include both names in the same format (last name, first name) separated by an “and.” For example: “Harris, Muriel and Smith, John.”
    • For a book chapter with 3 or more authors, include just the first author’s name, followed by a comma and the phrase “et al.” For example: “Harris, Muriel, et al.”
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  3. Include the title of the book chapter in quotes . After the author’s name, you’ll need to list the title of the book chapter in quotation marks. Add a period inside the final quotation mark. [3]
    • For example: “Harris, Muriel. “Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers.””
    • Make sure to capitalize all major words in the titles.
    • If the title of the book chapter includes a word or phrase in quotation marks, you’ll need to use the double quote mark (“) around the entire chapter title and the single quote mark (‘) around the words within the title that appear in quotes. For example: “Talk to Me: ‘Engaging’ Reluctant Writers.”
  4. After the book chapter title, you’ll need to include the title of the book italicized, followed by a comma. [4]
    • For example: “Harris, Muriel. “Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers.” A Tutor’s Guide: Helping Writers One to One ,”
  5. If you want to cite one book chapter, it’s likely that this is because the chapters are written by different authors and gathered together into the collection by an overseeing editor. This is true for most collections, anthologies, and even some textbooks. The editor’s name will be preceded by the words “edited by.” Then you will list the editor’s name with the first name appearing first and no punctuation between the first and last name (the reverse of how you listed the chapter author’s name), followed by a comma. [5]
    • For example: “Harris, Muriel. “Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers.” A Tutor’s Guide: Helping Writers One to One , edited by Ben Rafoth,”
    • If there are 2 editors, list both with “and” between them. For example: “edited by Ben Rafoth and Sam Smith,”
    • If there are 3 or more editors, list each name separated by a comma, with “and” before the last name. For example: “edited by Ben Rafoth, Sam Smith, and Bob Brown,”
    • If there is no editor, just move on to the next step.
  6. After the editor’s name, you’ll need to include the name of the book’s publisher and the year the book was published, separated by a comma. You’ll also need to list the page range of the chapter prefaced with “pp.” and followed by a final period. [6]
    • For example: “Harris, Muriel. “Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers.” A Tutor’s Guide: Helping Writers One to One , edited by Ben Rafoth, Heinemann, 2000, pp.24-34.”
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Method 2
Method 2 of 4:

Citing a Book Chapter in APA Format

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  1. If you want to quote from a book chapter in APA format, you’ll need to let the reader know where the quote came from by including the author’s last name, the date of publication, and the exact page the quote appears on inside parentheses. The final period of the sentence should appear after the parenthetical citation. [7]
    • For example: Many scholars believe it is important to “help the student talk about his or her fears” (Harris, 2000, p. 29).
    • For a chapter with 2 authors, include both author’s last names in the in-text citation, separated by an ampersand (&). For example: (Harris & Smith, 2000, p. 29).
    • For a chapter with 3-5 authors, list all of the authors’ names, separated by commas, and include an ampersand before the last name. For example: (Harris, Smith, & Thomas, 2000, p. 29).
    • For a chapter with 6 or more authors, you’ll just include the first author’s last name and the phrase “et al” followed by a period. For example: (Harris et al., 2000, p. 29).
    • If you include the author’s name and/or the publication date in the sentence preceding the quote, you can omit them from the parenthetical citation.
    • For example: According to Muriel Harris (2000), it is important to “help the student talk about his or her fears” (p. 29).
  2. The author’s name should appear first in your citation in this order: last name, first initial. There should be a period after. Then include the publication date in parentheses, also followed by a period. [8]
    • For example: “Harris, M. (2000).”
    • For a chapter with 2 authors, list both names in the same order (last name, first initial), separated by a comma and an ampersand. For example: “Harris, M., & Smith, J. (2000).”
    • For a chapter with 3-7 authors, list each name in the same way, separated by a comma, with an ampersand preceding the last name. For example: “Harris, M., Smith, J., & Thomas, E. (2000).”
    • For a chapter with more than 7 authors, list the first 6 in the same way, then add an ellipsis (…) and list the last author’s name. For example: “Harris, M., Smith, J., Thomas, E., Jones, D., Hale, B., Brown, H.,…Johnson, L. (2000).”
    • Be sure to list the citation in alphabetical order on your References page.
  3. After the author’s name, you should list the title of the book chapter in sentence capitalization. This means that only the first letter of the first word (and the first letter of the first word after a colon) should be capitalized. Then include a period after the chapter title. Note that the title of the chapter should not be italicized. [9]
    • For example: “Harris, M. (2000). Talk to me: Engaging reluctant writers.”
  4. Write the word “In” followed by the editor’s first initial (then a period) and their last name, followed by (Ed.) and a comma. This indicates the editor of the book collection. Then include the title of the book, also in sentence capitalization style. Do not include a comma or a period after the book title. Italicize the book title. [10]
    • For example: “Harris, M. (2000). Talk to me: Engaging reluctant writers. In B. Rafoth (Ed.), A tutor’s guide: Helping writers one to one ”
    • If there are 2 editors, list both names with an ampersand between them and add an “s” to (Eds.). For example: “In B. Rafoth & S. Smith (Eds.),”
    • If there are 3 or more editors, list all names separated by commas, with an ampersand before the last one. Also add an “s” to (Eds.). For example: “In B. Rafoth, S. Smith, & B. Jones (Eds.),”
  5. After the book title, leave a space and add the page range of the book chapter in parentheses with “pp.” preceding the numbers; then add a period. After, add the city of publication, a comma, the state or country of publication, a colon, and the name of the publisher, followed by a final period. [11]
    • For example: “Harris, M. (2000). Talk to me: Engaging reluctant writers. In B. Rafoth (Ed.), A tutor’s guide: Helping writers one to one (pp. 24-34). London, United Kingdom: Heinemann.”
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Method 3
Method 3 of 4:

Citing a Book Chapter in Footnotes for Chicago Manual Style

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  1. Write the author's first name, middle initial, and last name. Include a comma at the end. [12]
    • Format: Author First M. Last Name,
    • Example: Ruth A. Miller,
  2. Put the title of the chapter with a comma after it in quotation marks. Do not italicize the title of the chapter. [13]
    • Format: Author First M. Last Name, "Chapter Title,"
    • Example: Ruth A. Miller, “Posthuman,”
  3. After the title of the chapter, write "in" (lowercase). Then, put the book title in italics followed by a comma. [14]
    • Format: Author First M. Last Name, "Chapter Title," in Book Title ,
    • Example: Ruth A. Miller, “Posthuman,” in Critical Terms for the Study of Gender ,
  4. Next, write "ed." and list the name(s) of the editor(s) in first name, middle initial, last name format. If there is more than 1 editor, write "and" between their names. [15]
    • Format: Author First M. Last Name, "Chapter Title," in Book Title , ed. First M. Last Name
    • Example: Ruth A. Miller, “Posthuman,” in Critical Terms for the Study of Gender , ed. Catharine R. Stimpson and Gilbert Herdt
  5. Include the place where the book was published, add a colon, list the name of the publisher, add a comma, then write the year of publication. Put all of this publishing information in parentheses, then end with a comma. [16]
    • Format: Author First M. Last Name, "Chapter Title," in Book Title , ed. First M. Last Name (Place of Publication: Publisher, date),
    • Example: Ruth A. Miller, “Posthuman,” in Critical Terms for the Study of Gender , ed. Catharine R. Stimpson and Gilbert Herdt (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2014),
  6. The final piece of the footnote citation is the page where the information you are citing came from. List the page number and end with a period. [17]
    • Format: Author First M. Last Name, "Chapter Title," in Book Title , ed. First M. Last Name (Place of Publication: Publisher, date), page cited.
    • Example: Ruth A. Miller, “Posthuman,” in Critical Terms for the Study of Gender , ed. Catharine R. Stimpson and Gilbert Herdt (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2014), 325.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 4:

Creating a Reference Listing for Chicago Manual Style

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  1. The first thing you should include in a Bibliography citation in Chicago style is the author’s name. You should list the author’s last name, followed by a comma, then the author’s first name, followed by a period. [18]
    • For example: “Harris, Muriel.”
    • For a chapter with 2 or more authors, list the first name in the same order (last name, first name), then each subsequent name in the order “first name last name,” separated by commas, with “and” before the last name. For example: “Harris, Muriel, and Bill Jones.”
    • The citation should be listed alphabetically by the author’s last name in accordance with your other entries.
  2. After the author’s name, you’ll need to list the title of the book chapter inside quotation marks. You should capitalize all major words in the title. The following period should appear inside the closing quotation mark. [19]
    • For example: “Harris, Muriel. “Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers.””
  3. After the book title, you’ll need to add the title of the book that the chapter appears in. You should first write the word “In” (with a capital "I") and then the title of the book with all major words capitalized and followed by a comma. Italicize the book title. [20]
    • For example: “Harris, Muriel. “Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers.” In A Tutor’s Guide: Helping Writers One to One ,”
  4. After the comma following the book title, you should add the editor’s name. Write the words “edited by” and then the full name of the editor in first name last name format, followed by a comma. Then write the page range of the book chapter, followed by a period. Do not include “p.” before the page numbers. [21]
    • For example: “Harris, Muriel. “Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers.” In A Tutor’s Guide: Helping Writers One to One , edited by Ben Rafoth, 24-34.”
  5. After the page range, you should write the city of publication, followed by a colon. Then include the name of the publisher, a comma, and the date of publication, followed by a final period. [22]
    • For example: “Harris, Muriel. “Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers.” In A Tutor’s Guide: Helping Writers One to One , edited by Ben Rafoth, 24-34. London: Heinemann, 2000.”
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      References

      1. ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/
      2. ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/
      3. ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06/
      4. ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06/
      5. ↑ http://irsc.libguides.com/c.php?g=146579&p=963296
      6. ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06/
      7. ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/08/
      8. ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/08/
      9. ↑ https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2012/03/title-case-and-sentence-case-capitalization-in-apa-style.html
      1. ↑ https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2011/02/books-and-book-chapters-what-to-cite.html
      2. ↑ https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2011/02/books-and-book-chapters-what-to-cite.html
      3. ↑ https://libguides.heidelberg.edu/chicago/book/chapter
      4. ↑ https://libguides.heidelberg.edu/chicago/book/chapter
      5. ↑ https://libguides.heidelberg.edu/chicago/book/chapter
      6. ↑ https://libguides.heidelberg.edu/chicago/book/chapter
      7. ↑ https://libguides.heidelberg.edu/chicago/book/chapter
      8. ↑ https://libguides.heidelberg.edu/chicago/book/chapter
      9. ↑ https://politics.ucsc.edu/undergraduate/chicago%20style%20guide.pdf
      10. ↑ https://politics.ucsc.edu/undergraduate/chicago%20style%20guide.pdf
      11. ↑ https://library.ship.edu/c.php?g=21703&p=127127
      12. ↑ https://politics.ucsc.edu/undergraduate/chicago%20style%20guide.pdf
      13. ↑ https://politics.ucsc.edu/undergraduate/chicago%20style%20guide.pdf

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      To cite a book chapter in MLA, put the author’s last name, followed by the page number the quote appears on in parentheses at the end of the quote. Additionally, create an entry in the Works Cited page, starting with the author’s last name, followed by a comma and their first name. After their name, list the title of the chapter in quotes, and add a period inside the final quotation marks. Then, list the book’s title in italics, add a comma, and include the editor’s first and last names. Finally, list the publisher’s name, the year of publication, and the pages of the chapter, prefaced by “pp.” For more advice from our Librarian co-author, including how to cite a chapter in APA or Chicago style, keep reading!

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