How to Cite an Annotated Book in MLA

Writing instructors often advise students to break down the time they spend on research projects into thirds: one-third is gathering data, one-third is writing, and one-third is editing, revising, and conforming to proper documentation style. The last part is not as difficult as it sounds, for it's a rare teacher who will test citation rules and formats. If your instructor has directed you to follow the documentation style of the Modern Language Association, all you have to do is follow the format and adapt it to your annotated book.

Instructions

    • 1

      Signal readers that you are quoting or paraphrasing a source by beginning a sentence with the author’s name, followed by the quoted or paraphrased passage. Conclude the sentence with a parenthetical reference to the page of the work from which the material came for an in-text citation. For example:

      Matthews believes that “most physicians hastily prescribe medications rather than try to treat patients holistically” (759).

      Readers can then consult the "Works Cited" page, at the end of the paper, if they want additional information about the book.

    • 2

      Double-space the "Works Cited" page, but make the first line of each documented source flush left and every subsequent line of the source indented five spaces.

    • 3

      Cite an annotated book by one author on the "Works Cited" page by following this format:

      Matthews, Lisa. America’s Hooked on Drugs. New York: Energy Press, 2009. Print.

      The first element is the author's name, last name first, followed by a period. Next is the title of the book, which must be italicized, followed by a period. Next comes the city in which the book was published, followed by a colon, then the name of the publisher, a comma, and the year the book was published, followed by a period. The last element is the medium in which the work appeared, in this case, “Print,” with an ending period.

    • 4

      Cite an annotated book by two or three authors on the "Works Cited" page by following this format for the names of the authors:

      Matthew, Lisa, and Mark Garity. America's Hooked on Drugs. New York: Energy Press, 2009. Print.

      Punctuation of the citation is the same as for a book by one author, and, in all cases, the book title must be italicized.

    • 5
      The MLA style of documentation is widely used in literature, language and the humanities.

      Cite an annotated book by four or more authors on the "Works Cited" page by following this format:

      Matthew, Lisa, et al. America's Hooked on Drugs. New York: Energy Press, 2009. Print.

      List only the name of the author who is first listed in the book's credits, plus the term "et al." All other elements are the same as a book with one author.

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