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MLA 9th Edition Guide

Book with One Author

Works Cited Page Format:

Author's Last Name, Author's First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.

Works Cited Page Example:

Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air. Villard, 1997.

In-text Citation Example:

...(Krakauer 116).

Book with Two Authors

Works Cited Page Format:

Author's Last Name, Author's First Name, and Second Author's First and Last Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.

Works Cited Page Example:

Edles, Laura Desfor, and Scott Appelrouth. Sociological Theory in the Classical Era: Text and Readings. 2nd ed., Pine Forge Press, 2010.

In-text Citation Example:

...(Edles and Appelrouth 199-201).

Book with Three or More Authors

Works Cited Page Format:

First Author's Last Name, First Author's First Name, et al. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.

Works Cited Page Example:

Klammer, Thomas P., et al. Analyzing English Grammar. 6th ed., Longman, 2010.

In-text Citation Example:

...(Klammer et al. 107).

Ebooks

Works Cited Page Format:

Author's Last Name, Author's First Name. Title of Book. E-book, Publisher, Publication Date.

Works Cited Page Example:

Platt, Len. James Joyce: Texts and Contexts. E-book, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011.

In-text Citation Example:

...(Platt 104-05).

Works in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection

Works Cited Page Format:

Author's Last Name, Author's First Name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection, edited by Editor's Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range of entry.

Works Cited Page Example:

Pope, Alexander. "An Essay on Criticism." The Norton Anthology of English Literature, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, W. W. Norton, 2006, pp. 1124-36.

In-text Citation Example:

...(Pope 1131).

The Bible

Works Cited Page Format:

The Bible. Version of the Bible, edition number, Publisher, Publication Date.

Works Cited Page Example:

The Bible. The New Oxford Annotated Version, 2nd ed., Oxford UP, 1977.
In-text Citation Example:
Use abbreviated book titles, chapters, and verses instead of page numbers.

First in-text citation:

... (The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Ps. 63.3-4).

After the first in-text citation:

... (Eccles. 3.1-8).

Books Published Before 1900

Before 1900, the place of publication was emphasized rather than a publisher (if there was a publisher). Because of this, in MLA format, books published before 1900 cite the place of publication and books published after 1900 cite the publisher. 


Works Cited Page Format:

Author's Last Name, Author's First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publication Date.

Works Cited Page Example:

Scott, Walter. The Poetical Works. Vol. 5, Edinburgh, 1822.

In-text Citation Example:

...(Scott 121).