How to Cite a Book in MLA

INSTRUCTOR: How to cite a book in MLA style.

Let’s say you’re writing a research paper on agriculture and the environment and you find a book on the surprising damage tomato farming can cause. How do you find all the information you need to cite the book in your paper?

First let’s look at the four elements that make up a works cited item in MLA style, and where they can be found.

On the book’s cover you’ll find the author’s name and book’s title.

On the title page you’ll find the publisher’s name.

The publisher’s name is also available on the copyright page, where you’ll find the year the book was published.

First, locate the author’s name and write his last name first, followed by his first name. If the author has a middle initial, that will be listed last.

If the book has more than one author, list the authors in the order they appear on the book’s cover, and write the second author’s name with the first name followed by the last name.

Following the author’s name, include the book’s title. In this case, the book’s title is ‘Tomatoland,’ but there’s also a subtitle: ‘How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit.’ A book’s subtitle appears after the main title, with a colon separating the title and subtitle.

If this were an updated version of an older book, you would indicate this next by writing the edition number, for example, by listing ‘2nd ed’ followed by a period.

Near the front of the book, you’ll find the title page, which will include the book’s publisher.

Next, list the name of the publishing company. When listing the publisher, it’s not necessary to include terms like ‘Press,’ ‘Inc.,’ or in this case, ‘LLC’ unless the book is published by a university press, in which case you would abbreviate by writing ‘UP.’ In this example, instead of ‘Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC,’ simply writing ‘Andrews McMeel’ is sufficient.

After listing the publishing company, include the year the book was published.

Once you’ve completed the works cited entry, be sure to double-check your punctuation. There should be a period following the author’s name; the title of the book should be italicized and be followed by a period, with a colon separating the main title and subtitle; there should be a comma following the publisher; and there should be a period after the year of publication. Finally, if your works cited entry is longer than one line, make sure you indent each line except for the very first one. This is called a hanging indent