Mla citation for chapter in a book

Mla citation for chapter in a book

To cite a book chapter in a reference entry in MLA style 8th edition include the following elements:

  1. Give the last name and name as presented in the source (e. g. Watson, John). For two authors, reverse only the first name, followed by ‘and’ and the second name in normal order (e. g. Watson, John, and John Watson). For three or more authors, list the first name followed by et al. (e. g. Watson, John, et al.)
  2. Title of the chapter: Titles are italicized when independent. If part of a larger source add quotation marks and do not italize.
  3. Title of the book: Container titles are italicized and followed by a comma.
  4. Editor(s) or Author of the book: Give the name of the author or editor of the book. Start with 'edited by' if it is an editor. If not available, omit this part.
  5. Publisher: If the name of an academic press contains the words University and Press, use UP e.g. Oxford UP instead of Oxford University Press. If the word "University" doesn't appear, spell out the Press e.g. MIT Press.
  6. Year of publication: Give the year of publication as presented in the source.
  7. Page numbers: Give the full page range preceded by pp. If only one page, precede with one p.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a book chapter in MLA style 8th edition:

Chapter author(s). "Title of the chapter." Title of the book, by Editor(s) or Author of the book, Publisher, Year of publication, pp. Page numbers.

Take a look at our works cited examples that demonstrate the MLA style guidelines in action:

Examples

A chapter from a book of short stories with one editor

Edgeworth, Maria. “The Limerick Gloves.” The Oxford Book of Irish Short Stories, edited by William Trevor, Oxford UP, 2010, pp. 27–51.

A chapter from a book of short stories with one editor

Schwartz, Paula. “Redefining Resistance: Woman’s Activism in Wartime France.” Behind the Lines: Gender and the Two World Wars, edited by Margaret R. Higonnet et al., Yale UP, 1987, pp. 141–53.

Mla citation for chapter in a book

This citation style guide is based on the MLA Handbook (9th edition).

Mla citation for chapter in a book

MLA referencing offers a simple way of citing sources in a college paper. However, for an edited book, there are some rules you need to remember, especially on the “Works Cited” page. First, though, let’s take a quick look at citing sources in the text.

In-Text Citations

When citing something from an edited book in MLA, give the surname of the author of the section cited and the relevant page number(s) in parentheses:

Communication can influence an individual’s expectations (Smith 253).

As with other source types, you do not need to repeat the name of the author in citations when they’re already named in the text:

According to Smith, communication is “one of the means by which an individual can influence another individual’s expectations” (253).

The only time you’ll need to cite the editor or editors is when citing an edited volume as a whole, but this would be unusual most of the time.

The Works Cited Page (Chapter from an Edited Book)

MLA requires that all sources cited are listed in a “Works Cited” page at the end of your document. When citing a single chapter from an edited book, the format to use is:

Author Surname, Forename. “Chapter Title.” Edited Book Title, edited by Editor’s Name, Publisher, Year, Page Range.

As such, the essay used in the examples above would appear as:

Smith, John W. “Communication and Expectations: A Social Process and the Cognitive Operations It Depends Upon and Influences.” Readings in Animal Cognition, edited by Mark Bekoff and Dale Jamieson, MIT Press, 1996, pp. 243–55.

The Works Cited Page (Multiple Chapters)

This format differs slightly if you’re citing several chapters from the same edited book, as MLA referencing allows you to cross-reference entries to save repeating information.

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This involves first adding a separate entry in the “Works Cited” list for the volume as a whole:

Editor Surname, Forename, editor(s). Title of Book. Publisher, Year of Publication.

If a book has multiple editors, you only need to invert the names of the first author. We would therefore list Readings in Animal Cognition as:

Bekoff, Mark and Dale Jamieson, editors. Readings in Animal Cognition. MIT Press, 1996.

After this, each essay from the edited volume can be listed separately, mentioning the editor(s) of the edited book and page range to show where they come from:

Bekoff, Mark and Dale Jamieson, editors. Readings in Animal Cognition. MIT Press, 1996.

Gruen, Lori. “Gendered Knowledge? Examining Influences on Scientific and Ethological Inquiries.” Bekoff and Jamieson, pp. 17–27.

Smith, John W. “Communication and Expectations: A Social Process and the Cognitive Operations It Depends Upon and Influences.” Bekoff and Jamieson, pp. 243–55.

Thornhill, Randy. “The Study of Adaptation.” Bekoff and Jamieson, pp. 107–27.

Finally, remember to maintain alphabetical order by surname throughout your “Works Cited” page. This order must be used even if it means that chapters from an edited book aren’t listed together.

How do you cite a book chapter in a book?

Citing a Book Chapter: Print Version.
General Format:.
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):.
(Author's Last Name of Chapter, year).
In-Text Citation (Direct Quote):.
(Author's Last Name of Chapter, year, page number).
References:.
Chapter Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Chapter or article title. ... .
Examples:.

How do you cite a chapter in an edited book in MLA 8?

Reference: Author's Last name, First name. "Title of Chapter.” Title of Collection, edited by Editor(s) First name, Last name, Edition, Publisher, Year of Publication, page range.

How do you cite a chapter of a book in a author?

In the citation use the name of the author of the chapter, not the editor of the book. When the author name is not mentioned in the text, the citation consists of the author's name and the year of publication in brackets. Example: It was emphasised that citations in the text should be consistent (Jones, 2017).