How to Cite a Book in MLA 9th Edition

Books are among the most commonly cited sources in humanities research, and formatting them correctly in MLA is essential for any paper, thesis, or annotated bibliography. The MLA Handbook (9th ed.) uses a flexible core elements system rather than a rigid template for each source type, which means the same set of elements applies whether you are citing a single-author novel, a chapter in an edited collection, or a multi-volume historical set. This guide walks through the core elements as they apply to books, with worked examples for every common scenario, special cases, frequent mistakes, and a quick-reference table.

If you want to skip the manual formatting, you can use the AllCitations MLA 9 generator to build a correctly formatted entry in seconds. But understanding the rules is essential for handling edited books, translated works, and republished classics that automated tools sometimes format inconsistently.

The MLA Core Elements for Books

The MLA Handbook (9th ed.) organizes every citation around nine core elements. For a standard print book, the relevant elements are:

Author. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.

Key principles:

• Author appears in last-name-first format for a single author. For two authors, the second name appears in first-name-last-name format. For three or more, use the first author followed by "et al."
• Title is italicized and written in title case (capitalize all major words). This contrasts with APA, which uses sentence case in the reference list. For more on how APA and MLA differ, see our guide on APA vs. MLA.
• Publisher is the name of the publishing company. Omit business words like "Inc.," "Co.," and "Ltd." but retain "Press" when it is part of the publisher's name (e.g., Oxford UP, MIT Press). The abbreviation "UP" is standard for "University Press."
• Year is the year of publication shown on the title page or copyright page. If multiple years appear, use the most recent.
• Edition, version, or volume information is included after the title when applicable, such as "2nd ed." or "vol. 3."
• DOI or URL is included at the end when you accessed the book online. For a standard print book, no location element is needed.

For a comparison of how book citations differ in APA, see our guide on How to Cite a Book in APA 7.

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Worked Examples

Below are ten worked examples covering the most common book citation scenarios in MLA 9. Each example includes both the works-cited entry and the corresponding in-text citations.

1. Book with One Author

The most straightforward case: a single-author book.

Works-cited entry:

Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Kahneman 52)
• Narrative: Kahneman argues that human judgment is shaped by two distinct cognitive systems (52).

MLA in-text citations include the author's last name and the page number, with no comma between them. If you mention the author in the sentence, include only the page number in parentheses.

2. Book with Two Authors

When a book has two authors, list both names in the works-cited entry. The first author appears in last-name-first format; the second appears in first-name-last-name format, joined by "and."

Works-cited entry:

Strunk, William, and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th ed., Longman, 2000.

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Strunk and White 23)
• Narrative: Strunk and White advise writers to "omit needless words" (23).

3. Book with Three or More Authors

For three or more authors, list only the first author followed by "et al." in both the works-cited entry and in-text citations (MLA Handbook, p. 22).

Works-cited entry:

Sternberg, Robert J., et al. Cognitive Psychology. 6th ed., Cengage Learning, 2012.

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Sternberg et al. 114)
• Narrative: Sternberg et al. provide a comprehensive overview of memory retrieval processes (114).

4. Edited Book (Entire Volume)

When citing an entire edited book rather than a single chapter within it, list the editor(s) in the author position followed by "editor" or "editors."

Works-cited entry:

Gross, James J., editor. Handbook of Emotion Regulation. 2nd ed., Guilford Press, 2014.

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Gross 8)
• Narrative: Gross brings together contributions from leading researchers in the field of emotion regulation (8).

For multiple editors, list up to two names joined by "and," each followed by nothing, and then add "editors" after the second name:

Bazerman, Charles, and Paul Prior, editors. What Writing Does and How It Does It. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004.

5. Chapter or Essay in an Edited Book

When citing a specific chapter or essay within an edited book, the chapter author goes in the author position. The chapter title goes in quotation marks. The book title is italicized, preceded by the editor's name introduced by "edited by." Include the page range of the chapter.

Works-cited entry:

Matsumoto, David. "Culture and Emotional Expression." Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology, edited by Charles Spielberger, Elsevier, 2004, pp. 535-39.

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Matsumoto 536)
• Narrative: Matsumoto examines how cultural norms shape the display of emotions (536).

Note the structure: chapter author, "Chapter Title," Book Title, edited by Editor Name, Publisher, Year, pp. page range.

6. Translated Book

When citing a translated book, the original author remains in the author position. The translator is listed as an "other contributor" after the title, introduced by "translated by."

Works-cited entry:

Piaget, Jean. The Psychology of the Child. Translated by Helen Weaver, Basic Books, 1969.

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Piaget 43)
• Narrative: Piaget describes the stages of cognitive development in children (43).

If you want to emphasize the translator's contribution, you can place the translator in the author position instead:

Weaver, Helen, translator. The Psychology of the Child. By Jean Piaget, Basic Books, 1969.

7. Ebook

When citing an ebook, include the ebook format or platform as part of the entry only if the version is meaningfully different from the print edition or if your instructor requires it. If the ebook has a DOI or stable URL, include it as the location element.

Works-cited entry (ebook with DOI):

Brown, Laura S. Feminist Therapy. 2nd ed., American Psychological Association, 2018. DOI.org, doi.org/10.1037/0000092-000.

Works-cited entry (Kindle or other platform, no DOI):

Ishiguro, Kazuo. Klara and the Sun. Kindle ed., Knopf, 2021.

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Ishiguro 87)
• Narrative: Ishiguro explores questions of consciousness and devotion through an artificial narrator (87).

For ebooks without fixed page numbers, use chapter numbers or section headings instead: (Ishiguro, ch. 4).

8. Multi-Volume Set

When citing an entire multi-volume work, include the total number of volumes after the title. When citing a single volume from the set, include the specific volume number.

Works-cited entry (entire set):

Churchill, Winston. A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. 4 vols., Cassell, 1956-58.

Works-cited entry (single volume):

Churchill, Winston. A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. Vol. 2, Cassell, 1956.

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical (single volume): (Churchill 134)
• Parenthetical (referencing a specific volume from the set): (Churchill 2: 134)

When citing a volume from a multi-volume set in-text, include the volume number followed by a colon and then the page number.

9. Republished Classic

When citing a classic work that has been republished in a modern edition, include the original publication year at the end of the entry. This helps readers understand the historical context of the work.

Works-cited entry:

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Edited by J. Paul Hunter, 2nd ed., W. W. Norton, 2012. Originally published 1818.

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (Shelley 45)
• Narrative: Shelley explores the consequences of unchecked scientific ambition (45).

10. Book with a Corporate or Organizational Author

When a book is published by an organization with no individual author credited, the organization name appears in the author position.

Works-cited entry:

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th ed., text rev., American Psychiatric Association, 2022.

In-text citations:

• Parenthetical: (American Psychiatric Association 123)
• Narrative: The American Psychiatric Association revised diagnostic criteria across several categories (123).

If the organization and publisher are the same, MLA still lists both (unlike APA, which uses "Author" in the publisher position).

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In-Text Citations for Books

MLA in-text citations follow a simple pattern: (Author Page). There is no comma between the author and page number, and no "p." or "pp." prefix. Here are the key rules:

• One author: (Kahneman 52)
• Two authors: (Strunk and White 23)
• Three or more authors: (Sternberg et al. 114)
• No author: Use a shortened version of the title in italics: (Diagnostic 123)
• Multiple works by the same author: Include a shortened title to distinguish them: (Kahneman, Thinking 52)
• No page number (ebook or web): Omit the page number or use a chapter/section reference: (Ishiguro, ch. 4)
• Indirect source: If you are citing something quoted in another source, use "qtd. in": (qtd. in Kahneman 52)

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Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Using sentence case for the title. MLA uses title case for book titles in the works-cited list: capitalize all major words. This is different from APA, which uses sentence case. A common error is switching between the two systems when a paper requires MLA format.

Including the city of publication. Older MLA editions required the city of publication before the publisher name. MLA 9 dropped this requirement. Simply list the publisher name without any location. If you are updating citations from an older paper, remove the city.

Adding "Print" or "Web" as a medium. MLA 8 introduced the practice of omitting medium descriptors, and MLA 9 continues this. Do not add "Print" or "Web" at the end of your entry unless your instructor specifically requires it.

Forgetting to abbreviate "University Press." MLA convention is to abbreviate "University Press" as "UP" (e.g., Oxford UP, Cambridge UP). Some students write out the full name, which is not incorrect but does not follow standard MLA practice.

Using a comma between author and page number in parenthetical citations. MLA in-text citations do not use a comma: write (Kahneman 52), not (Kahneman, 52). The comma-free format is a distinctive feature of MLA and a frequent source of errors for students switching from APA.

Omitting the page range for chapters in edited books. When citing a chapter or essay in an edited book, you must include the page range (pp. 535-39). Without it, the reader cannot locate the specific contribution within the larger volume.

For guidance on citing websites in MLA 9, see our guide on How to Cite a Website in MLA 9.

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Quick-Reference Table

The following table summarizes the key book citation variations at a glance:

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