How to Cite Readings Within a Book in MLA Format

The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is often used for research papers and essays in the liberal arts and humanities disciplines, according to Purdue's Online Writing Lab. The "MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers" prescribes formatting and citation guidelines for such submissions. When quoting or paraphrasing from a book within the body of your paper, be sure to include both an in-text and a reference-page citation.

Instructions

    • 1

      Provide the author's last name and the page number in the parenthetical citation. If you use the author's name in the quote or paraphrase, only the page number is needed in the citation. If the author's name is not included in the sentence, include both the last name and the page number in the citation.

    • 2

      Place the citation in parentheses following the quote or paraphrase and before the ending punctuation. For example, the citation of a quote from a Thomas Hardy novel would include the page number of the quote in parentheses, followed by a period: (162). If Hardy's name is not mentioned in the sentence, the citation would include the last name of the author and the page number in parentheses, followed by the period: (Hardy 162).

    • 3

      Include the full citation for the book on your "Works Cited" page. The works cited page alphabetically lists each reference included in your paper. Begin each citation with the author's name (last name first), followed by a period. Next, list the name of the book in italics, followed by a period. List the place of publication, followed by a colon. Add the publisher. Follow with a comma, the year of publication and a period. Example: Hardy, Thomas. Tess of the D'urbervilles (in italics). London: Penguin, 2003. If a citation on the works cited page is longer than one line, each subsequent line is indented one-half inch.

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