Q. How do I cite a book in MLA citation format?

General Citation Format for Books

In general, this is the format for citing books and pamphlets: name of the author, editor, compiler, or translator; title of the work (italicized); edition; city of publication; name of publisher; year of publication and medium of publication.

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Chapter or Section." Title of the Work. Translated by or Edited by First

Name Last Name, Vol. number, Publisher, year the book was published, page number(s).

Book by a Single Author

Crichton, Michael. Jurassic Park. Random House Publishing Group, 1991.

Book by Two Authors

Jakobson, Roman, and Linda R. Waugh. The Sound Shape of Language. Bloomington:
           Indiana UP, 1979. Print.

 Book by Three or More Authors

 Bailyn, Bernard, et al. The Great Republic. Lexington: Heath, 1977. Print.

Book by a Corporate Author

American Medical Association. The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of
          Medicine.  New York: Random, 1989. Print.

Book by an Editor

McRae, Murdo William, ed. The Literature of Science: Perspectives on Popular Science
          Writing. Athens: U of Georgia P, 1993. Print.

 Book with an Author and Editor or Translator

 Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. 1847. Ed. David Daiches. London: Penguin, 1985. Print.

 Camus, Albert. The Rebel. Trans. Anthony Bower. London: Penguin, 1962. Print.

 Book with no Author

New York Public Library Student's Desk Reference. New York: Prentice. 1993. Print.

 Book in a Series

 Neruda, Pablo. Canto General. Trans. Jack Schmitt. Berkeley: U of California P, 1991.
           Print.  Latin Amer. Lit. and Culture 7. Print.

 Stewart, Joan Hinde. Colette. Twayne's World Authors Series. 679. Boston: Twayne,
           1993. Print.

Anthology

Shell, Marc, ed. American Babel: Literatures of the United States from Abnaki to Zuni. Cambridge:

           Harvard UP, 2002. Print.

Spafford, Peter, comp. and ed. Interference: The Story of Czechoslovakia in the Words of its Writers.

           Cheltenham: New Clarion, 1992. Print.

For more about citing sources in MLA format, see the MLA Citation Guide.