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MLA Style (8th Ed.): Books

Core Elements Format

The MLA 8th ed. does not provide rules for citing specific types of resources.  They provide a universal set of guidelines for any type of material based based on the core elements.  The examples provided in this libguide were created by a Douglas College librarian and follow this format.

Book, One Author

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

 

Alexis, Andre. Fifteen Dogs: An Apologue. Coach House Books, 2015.

 

In-Text

(Alexis 58)

Book, Editions of a Book

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

Publication Date.

 

Lutgens, Frederick K., and Edward J. Tarbuck. The Atmosphere: An

Introduction to Meteorology. 13th ed., Pearson, 2016.

 

In-Text

(Lutgens and Tarbuck 219)

Book, Edited

Editor's Last Name, First Name, and Second Editor's First Name Last Name,

editors. Title of Book. Edition, Publisher, Publication Date.

 

Bartol, Curt R., and Anne M. Bartol, editors. Current Perspectives in Forensic

Psychology and Criminal Behavior. 4th ed., Sage, 2016.

 

In-Text

(Bartol and Bartol 78)

 

Book, Corporate Author

Name of Corporate Author. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.

 

Canadian Health Information Management Association. Fundamentals of

Health Information Management. Canadian Healthcare Association,

2013.

 

In-Text

(Canadian Health Information Management Association 87)

 

"When a work's author and publisher are separate organizations, give both names, starting the entry with the one that is the author.  When an organization is both author and publisher, begin the entry with the work's title, skipping the author element, and list the organization only as publisher." (MLA Handbook, 8th ed., p. 104)

Book, Three or More Authors

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

Publication Date.

 

Guttman, B., et al. Genetics: A Beginner's Guide. Oneworld, 2002.

In-Text

(Guttman et al. 77)

"If the sources has three or more authors, the entry in the works cited list begins with the first author's name followed by et al.  The in-text citation follows suit." (MLA Handbook, 8th ed., p. 116)

In the example above, the book does not provide the full first names of the authors.  If only the first initial is provided, add that to your citation.

Book, No Author

Title of Book. Other Contributors, Edition if given and not the first,

Publisher, Publication Date.

 

American Heritage Dictionary for Learners of English. Houghton, 2002.

In-Text

(American Heritage 49)

"When a work is published without an author's name, do not list the author as "Anonymous."  Instead, skip the author element and begin the entry with the work's title." (MLA Handbook, 8th ed., p. 24).  If there are other contributor's such as translators, they would come after the title of the book.

"When an entry in the works-cited list begins with the title...your in text citation contains the title.  The title may appear in the text itself or abbreviated, before the page number in parenthesis." (MLA Handbook, 8th ed., pp. 55-56).

Book, Book in Translation

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Other contributors,

Publisher, Publication Date.

 

Paz, Octavio. In Light of India. Translated by Eliot Weinberger, Harcourt,

      1997.

In-Text

(Paz 37)

This example shows a citation highlighting other contributors (the translator).  This format could also be used to highlight roles such as illustrators or adaptors etc. (MLA Handbook, 8th ed., p. 37)

Book, Chapters and Works in Anthologies with an Author

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Short Story, Essay, or Article." Title

of Book, edited by Editor's First Name Editor's Last Name, Edition if

given and not the first, Publisher, Publication Date, pp. xx-xx.

 

 Brant, Beth. “Coyote Learns a New Trick.” An Anthology of Canadian Native

Literature in English, edited by Daniel David Moses and Terry Goldie,

Oxford UP, 1992, pp. 148-150.

In-Text

(Brant 149)

 

Book, Chapters and Works in Anthologies without an Author

"Title of Short Story, Essay, or Article." Title of Book, edited by Editor's First

Name Editor's Last Name, Edition if given and not the first, Publisher,

Publication Date, pp. xx-xx.

 

"Is Abortion Immoral?" Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Bioethical Issues,

 edited by Carol Levine, 14th ed., McGraw Hill, 2012, pp. 136-137.

 

In-Text

("Is Abortion Immoral?" 136)

Book, From a Website

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

Date. Name of Website or Database, URL or doi number. Date

Accessed.

 

Seton, Ernest Thompson. The Trail of the Sandhill Stag. Charles Scribner's

Sons, 1914. Project Gutenberg, www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32319.

Accessed 14 Jan. 2018.

 

In-Text

(Seton 6)

Library eBook (ebrary)

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

Name of Website or Database, URL or doi number. Date Accessed.

 

Fraihat, I. Unfinished Revolutions: Yemen, Libya, and Tunisia after the Arab

Spring. Yale UP, 2016. ebrary, orca.douglascollege.ca/record=

b1940699~S9. Accessed 14 Nov. 2016.

In-Text

(Fraihat 76)

Use the permanent link to the eBook but omit http:// or https://

Library eBook (Coutts MyiLibrary)

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

Name of Website or Database, URL or doi number. Date Accessed.

 

Barrett, Louise. Beyond the Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal

and Human Minds. Princeton UP, 2011. Coutts MyiLibrary,

orca.douglascollege.ca/record=b1865693~S9.

Accessed 14 Sept. 2016.

 

In-Text

(Barrett 189)

Use the permanent link to the eBook but omit http:// or https://
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