How to Cite a Book in MLA 9th Edition (With Examples)
Step-by-step guide to citing books in MLA 9th edition. Covers single authors, multiple authors, edited books, chapters, ebooks, and in-text citations—with real examples.
MLA 9th edition (2021) uses a flexible "core elements" system for citations—rather than memorizing different formats for each source type, you fill in a consistent set of fields. For books, the key core elements are: Author, Title, Publisher, Year, and optionally a location (URL or DOI for ebooks). Here's exactly how to cite books in MLA format.
Basic MLA Book Citation Format
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year. Example: Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. University of Chicago Press, 2018. Key rules: (1) Title in title case and italicized; (2) Publisher name as it appears on the title page—abbreviate "University" to "U" and "Press" to "P" only if your instructor follows the older MLA abbreviated style; (3) Year is the copyright year from the title page, not the printing year; (4) Hanging indent for Works Cited entries (first line flush left, subsequent lines indented 0.5 inches).
MLA Book Citations: Multiple Authors and Editors
Two authors: Reverse only the first author's name. Last, First, and First Last. Title. Publisher, Year. Example: Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. Pearson, 2000. Three or more authors: List only the first author, then "et al.": Last, First, et al. Title. Publisher, Year. Edited book (whole volume): Editor Last, First, editor. Title. Publisher, Year. Example: Davis, Philip J., editor. The Mathematical Experience. Birkhäuser, 1981. Chapter in edited book: Author Last, First. "Chapter Title." Book Title, edited by Editor First Last, Publisher, Year, pp. X–Y.
Ebooks and Online Books
For ebooks from a library database or Kindle, add the version after the title and include a URL or DOI: Author Last, First. Title. Publisher, Year. Platform/Database. URL or DOI. Example: Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. W. W. Norton, 2021. Google Books. https://books.google.com/... For Kindle: note the edition: Author Last, First. Title. Kindle ed., Publisher, Year. For books from academic databases (JSTOR, Project MUSE): include the database name and stable URL or DOI.
MLA In-Text Citations for Books
MLA uses page numbers (not dates) in in-text citations: (Author Last Name Page Number) — no comma between name and page. Example: (Turabian 42) or (Strunk and White 15) No page numbers (ebook without pagination): Use chapter or section numbers: (Graff, ch. 3). When author is named in the sentence: Just add the page number in parentheses at the end. Multiple works by the same author: Add a shortened title: (Orwell, "Politics" 15) or (Orwell, Animal Farm 87). Anonymous/no author: Use a shortened title instead of author name: ("Academic Writing" 23).
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