Academic writing is based mostly on books as the most popular sources for research. Citing books according to formats like MLA, APA, and Chicago style is an integral part of the academic process. Proper citation for a book will help you in your academic journey, showcase your accuracy, and prevent you from being accused of plagiarism. However, for many students and researchers, citing books correctly is a tough task, especially if they have multiple authors, chapters, or do not have enough information to add. In this guide, you will learn how to cite a book with examples and explore a few tips to master the art of reference.
How to Cite a Book in APA Style
The American Psychological Association (APA) style is commonly used in the social sciences. Based on the general APA book citation format, you need to follow this pattern:
Author, A. A. (Year of Publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher.
Here are some specific scenarios to consider:
A Book with a Single Author
To cite a book that has only one author’s name, list all details from the example above. For example,
Smith, J. (2020). The Art of Citing. Academic Press.Multiple Authors
A book with multiple authors (up to 20 names) demands listing all authors using an ampersand (&) before the last author:
Smith, J., & Doe, J. (2021). Research Methods. Academic Press.A Translation
If your research requires citing a translated book, list the author’s name, year of publication, the work’s title, a translator’s name, and publication details. It looks like this: Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (T. Translator, Trans.). Publisher. (Original work published YEAR) DOI (if available)
Plato (1989). Symposium (A. Nehamas & P. Woodruff, Trans.). Hackett Publishing Company. (Original work published ca. 385-378 BCE)Citing a Book Chapter
If you need to cite a specific chapter instead of the whole book, the format changes slightly: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. page range). Publisher.
Armstrong, D. (2019). Malory and character. In M. G. Leitch & C. J. Rushton (Eds.), A new companion to Malory (pp. 144-163). D. S. Brewer.In-Text Citation for a Book in APA
To include an in-text citation for a referenced material in APA, you should add the author’s name and the year of publication. For example, cite Smith’s book in your text as follows: (Smith, 2020). For multiple authors, it would appear as: (Smith & Doe, 2021). If you cite a specific chapter, mention the page number as a must: (Smith, 2020, p. 23). Remember, any citation needs to be accurate and clear!
How to Cite a Book If Information is Missing
One of students' most common challenges is citing books with missing information. Here are a few recommendations depending on what information you lack:
- If you don't have a publication year, simply use (n.d.) for 'no date'.
- If you're citing a book in APA format that you accessed online, make sure to include the URL if applicable.
- Check multiple sources for the correct information. Sometimes, you can find another edition or a different online bookstore with all the information you need to add to your citations.
- When citing a PDF book, ensure you include the format in your reference list.
- Use citation tools to verify your citations.
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Citing Ebooks and Special Formats in APA
Sometimes, you need to cite ebooks or other formats that can be confusing because they can’t be included in the typical APA reference style. In this case, the basic format remains the same, however, you need to simply include the DOI or URL where applicable. For example: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. Retrieved from URL. This is crucial for providing access to your sources, especially when citing a textbook in PDF form.
How To Cite A Book In MLA
When citing books in MLA format, record the following details: author(s), contributors (editors, translators), title, edition, publication date, publisher, and page numbers. The general MLA book citation format looks like this: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.
Examples:
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. Penguin, 1987.
Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. MacMurray, 1999.Multiple authors
Sometimes, you need to cite a book that has more than one author. Depending on how many authors the book has, follow these rules:
For two authors, list both:
Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Allyn and Bacon, 2000.For three or more authors, use et al.:
Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media. Utah State UP, 2004.Multiple Books by the Same Author
Arrange alphabetically by title, using three hyphens for repeated authors:
Palmer, William J. Dickens and New Historicism. St. Martin's, 1997.
---. The Films of the Eighties: A Social History. Southern Illinois UP, 1993.Book with No Author
Use the title and year in your in-text citation when a book has no author or editor.
In the reference list, begin with the title, then provide the publication details, and sort the entries alphabetically by the first significant word in the title. (ignore A, An, or The).
Cite by title example:
Encyclopedia of Indiana. Somerset, 1993.Translated Works
When you need to cite a book that was translated, just mention the translator’s name and publication details in the Works Cited page.
Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization. Translated by Richard Howard, Vintage-Random House, 1988.
Howard, Richard, translator. Madness and Civilization. By Michel Foucault, Vintage-Random House, 1988.Reference Books and Multivolume Works
In order to cite a specific edition or a book’s volume, list the volume/edition. No need to mention the author’s name. For example:
The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed., 1997.
Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria. Translated by H. E. Butler, vol. 2, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980.In-Text Citations for a Book in MLA
MLA format uses the author-page method for in-text citations. Include the author's last name and the page number in parentheses after a quotation or paraphrase, with a full reference in the Works Cited page. For example,
According to Morrison, storytelling serves as a means of resisting oppression and reclaiming identity (Morrison 142).Chicago Style Book Citation Guide
When you need to cite a book in Chicago style, keep in mind that this format uses Notes as an in-text citation and Bibliography as a list of all references used in your paper. This article will cover both sorts of book citations: Notes (N) and Bibliography (B). Here is our brief guide that includes the most common formats of Chicago citations:
- General Format
Footnote (N):
First Name Last Name, Title of Book (Place: Publisher, Year), page number.
Bibliography (B):
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Place: Publisher, Year.- Single Author
N: 1. Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking (New York: Knopf, 2005), 45.
B: Didion, Joan. The Year of Magical Thinking. New York: Knopf, 2005.- Multiple Authors
N: 2. Richard J. Evans and David Blackbourn, The German Bourgeoisie (London: Routledge, 1991), 118.
B: Evans, Richard J., and David Blackbourn. The German Bourgeoisie. London: Routledge, 1991.- Translated Work
N: 3. Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood, trans. Jay Rubin (New York: Vintage, 2000), 72.
B: Murakami, Haruki. Norwegian Wood. Translated by Jay Rubin. New York: Vintage, 2000.- Book with an Editor
N: 4. Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, ed. Sylvana Tomaselli (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 96.
B: Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Edited by Sylvana Tomaselli. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.- Chapter in an Edited Book
N: 5. Edward Said, “Reflections on Exile,” in The Edward Said Reader, ed. Moustafa Bayoumi and Andrew Rubin (New York: Vintage, 2000), 117.
B: Said, Edward. “Reflections on Exile.” In The Edward Said Reader, edited by Moustafa Bayoumi and Andrew Rubin, 117–139. New York: Vintage, 2000.- Preface, Introduction, or Afterword
N: 7. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, introduction to We Should All Be Feminists (New York: Anchor, 2014), viii.
B: Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Introduction to We Should All Be Feminists, vii–xiv. New York: Anchor, 2014.- Anonymous Work
N: 8. The Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989), 302.
B: The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.Citing books is your key advantage in mastering academic writing. Reference citation for books may feel like a tough task because you need to handle all the punctuation and stylistic differences across various formats like APA, MLA, and Chicago, understand when to cite a chapter instead of the whole book, and consider many other details. However, don’t forget that there are a lot of AI-powered citation machines like JustDone that can help you get rid of this time-consuming task and focus on your research.
