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MLA Style Guide for Citations (9th edition): Citing Books & Ebooks

Basic Format

The basic format for print books is:

Author. Title. Publisher, year of publication.

The basic format for ebooks is:

Author. Title. Publisher, year of publication. Database, URL.

You will need to include more information in your citation if it includes multiple authors, editors, or you are citing only one part of a book (e.g. a chapter).

Citation Examples of Books and Ebooks

Print book with one author

Ford, Richard. Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History. Simon & Schuster, 2021.

Print books with two authors

Vedantam, Shankar, and Bill Mesler. Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain. W. W. Norton & Company, 2021.

Ebook with three authors

Snell, Ronald, et al. Fundamentals of Radio Astronomy: Astrophysics. CRC Press, 2019. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=2024082&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

A chapter, essay, or section of an ebook

 Baron, Naomi. “Digital Revolution and the Future of American Reading.” A Companion to American Literature, edited by Susan Belasco, Wiley-Blackwell, 2020, pp. 480-495. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=2436424&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

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