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MLA Citation Guide (9th Edition): Books, eBooks & Course Packs

This guide will help you cite sources using the MLA Style 9th edition.

Books, eBooks & Course Packs

eBooks from Library Databases

 

Works Cited List Citation

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book: Subtitle if Any. Edition if given and is not first edition, Publisher Name often shortened, Year of publication. Name of Library Database.

Examples:

One Author

Block, Bruce A. The Visual Story: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV and Digital Media. Focal P/Elsevier, 2008. ebrary.

Two Authors

Jamsa, Kris, and Andy Anderson. HTML and Web Design: Tips and Techniques. McGraw- Hill/Osborne, 2002. EBSCO eBook and Audiobook Collection.

Three or More Authors

Ziarek, Ewa Plonowska, et al. A Time for the Humanities: Futurity and the Limits of Autonomy. Fordham UP, 2008. EBSCO eBook and Audiobook Collection.

In-Text Citation

(Last Name Page Number) 

Examples:

(Block 25)

(Jamsa and Anderson 37)

(Ziarek et al. 41)

eBook / OER (Open Educational Resources) Textbook Viewed on a Website

 

Use this template if you are citing an eBook that you viewed directly from a website.

Works Cited List Citation

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of eBook: Subtitle if Any. Website, Sponsoring Organization if given, Year of Publication, URL.

Examples:

One Author

Anderson, Catherine. Essentials of Linguistics. Open Library, eCampus Ontario, 2018, openlibrary.ecampusontario.ca/catalogue/item/?id=890fb2bb-f721-422e-88a8-121e045a19c3.

Two Authors

Miller, Michele, and Anne Greenhoe. Transition with Purpose: Pathways from English Language to Academic Study. Open Library, eCampus Ontario, 2018, openlibrary.ecampusontario.ca/catalogue/item/?id=32d44c9a-9a65-413a-af20-5cb6b5d9a176.

Three or More Authors

Illowsky, Barbara et al. Introductory Statistics. OpenStax, Rice University, 2021, openstax.org/details/books/introductory-statistics.

Edited

Martin, Ann Smart, editor. Creators, Collectors & Communities : Making Ethnic Identity Through Objects. Open Library, eCampus Ontario, 2017, openlibrary.ecampusontario.ca/catalogue/item/?id=27d7a65b-a1e6-4b8f-9c4d-dc5d24feae12.

In-Text Citation

(Last Name Page Number) 

Note: If there are no page numbers, use the chapter number in your in-text citation.

Examples:

(Anderson ch. 2)

(Miller and Greenhoe 76)

(Illowsky et al. ch. 5)

(Martin. ch. 4)

eBook / OER Textbook Downloaded From a Website (e.g., PDF)

 

Use this template if you are citing an eBook that you have downloaded from a website such as the PDF version of the book.

Works Cited List Citation

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of eBook: Subtitle if Any. Website, Sponsoring Organization if given, Year of Publication, URL. PDF download.

Example:

Schneider, Jenifer Jasinski. The Inside, Outside, and Upside Downs of Children's Literature: From Poets and Pop-ups to Princesses and Porridge. Open Library, eCampus Ontario, 2016, openlibrary.ecampusontario.ca/catalogue/item/?id=b542c130-899c-4178-a5b0-43204d4b9f28. PDF download.

In-Text Citation

(Last Name Page Number) 

Example:

(Schneider 24)

eBook Accessed from an App (e.g., Kindle, EPUB))

 

Use this template if you are citing an eBook that doesn't have a URL and that you have accessed using an app such as Kindle eBooks.

Works Cited List Citation

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book: Subtitle if Any. Edition if given and is not first edition, e-book ed., Publisher, Year of Publication.

Example:

Haig, Matt. The Midnight Library. e-book ed., Harper Avenue, 2020.

In-Text Citation

(Last Name ch. Chapter Number)

Example:

(Haig ch. 3)

Print Books

 

Works Cited List Citation

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book: Subtitle if Any. Edition if given and is not first edition, Publisher Name often shortened, Year of Publication.

Examples:

One Author

Sun, Jonny. Goodbye, Again: Essays, Reflections, and Illustrations. Harper Perennial, 2021.

Two Authors

Burke, Tarana, and Brené Brown. You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience. Random House, 2021.

Three or More Authors

Pomeroy, Sarah B. et al. A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture. 4th ed., Oxford UP, 2019

With Author and Editor

Twain, Mark. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Edited by M. Thomas Inge, Oxford UP, 2008.

With Editors Only

Glazebrook, Allison, and Christina Vester, editors. Themes in Greek Society and Culture: An Introduction to Ancient Greece. Oxford UP, 2017.

In-Text Citation

(Last Name Page Number) 

Examples:

(Sun 27)

Burke and Brown 39)

(Pomeroy et al. 42)

(Twain 64)

(Glazebrook 56)

Course Packs

 

Works Cited List Citation

Author's Last Name, First Name or Group Name. "Title of Reading." Course pack for Course Code: Course Name, compiled by Instructor's First Name Last Name, semester, Seneca College.

Example:

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Course pack for FIC200: The Short Story, compiled by Mary Smith, fall 2020, Seneca College.

In-Text Citation

(Last Name or Group Name)

Example:

(Poe)

Note: If all chapters in the book have been written by the same person, include the citation to the entire book in your works cited list. See examples for citing a print book or eBook.

 

Short Stories, Essays, Chapters, Poems, or Articles From a Book (Anthology or Collection)

 

Use this template if you are citing a short story, essay, poem, or article from a book. You may also use this template if you are citing a chapter from a book where chapters have different authors.

Works Cited List Citation

Last Name of Author of short story/article/chapter/poem, First Name. "Title of Short Story." Title of Book, edited by First Name Last Name if given, Publisher, Year of Publication, pp. PageNumbers.

Example:

Murakami, Haruki. "Charlie Parker Plays Bossa Nova." First Person Singular, Bond Street Books, 2021, pp. 50-74.

In-Text Citation

(Last Name Page Number) 

Example:

(Murakami 52)

MLA Citation Tips

ACCESS DATE

 Works from the web can typically be changed or removed at any time, so while it's optional, the date which you accessed material is often important.  This is especially true when there is no date specifying when an item was produced.This date will be added to the end of the entry. E.g. Accessed 23 July 2016.

AUTHORS / EDITORS

An author can be a person but can also be an organization, or company. These are called group or corporate authors.

If you are citing a chapter from a book that has an editor, the author of the chapter is listed first, and is the name listed in the in-text citation.

DATES

The format of all dates is: Date Month (shortened) Year. E.g. 5 Sept. 2012.

Whether to give the year alone or include a month and day depends on your source: write the full date as you find it there.

If no date is listed, omit it unless you can find that information available in a reliable source. In that case the date is cited in square brackets. E.g. [2008]

PAGE NUMBERS

Page number on your Works Cited page (but not for in-text citations) are now proceeded by p. for a single page number and pp. for a range of page numbers. E.g. p. 156 or pp. 79-92.

PUBLISHERS

You have the option to use the shortened name of the publisher by using UP instead of University Press (e.g. Oxford UP, not Oxford University Press).

You also have the option to remove articles (A, An, The), business abbreviations (e.g. Co., Inc.) and descriptive words (e.g. Books, House, Press, Publishers).

TITLES

Capitalize the first letter of every important word in the title. You do not need to capitalize words such as: in, of, or an.

If there is a colon (:) in the title, include what comes after the colon (also known as the subtitle).

         

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