How to Use MLA Style to Cite a Single Volume in a Multivolume Work

In the course of researching a term paper, you may find that you need to use a single volume in a multivolume work, such as a book on Shakespeare that is part of a larger work on British theater. It is important to indicate in the paper which parts of the work you used, so that a reader can retrace your research process. Here's how to do so in MLA style.

Instructions

    • 1

      Start with the author's name and a period. The author's name should be listed in the order last name, first name, middle initial. For example, if the material you are using was written by Lindley K. James, your reference should begin:James, Lindley K.

    • 2

      Follow with the title of the entire work and another period. Multivolume works tend to have just one title, and then be distinguished by volume number. For example, you might have used Volume 12 of the work "Living in the Middle of Drama: British Theater Through the Victorian Age." The title remains the same regardless of the volume number. The title should be italicized or underlined, but if your word processor will not support this type of formatting, use an underscore symbol to indicate that the title should be underlined. For example, if you were using the work just mentioned, your reference would now look like this:James, Lindley K. _Living in the Middle of Drama: British Theater Through the Victorian Age_.

    • 3

      List the volume number, followed by a period. You can abbreviate "Volume" as "Vol." Using the previous example, your citation should now look like this:James, Lindley K. _Living in the Middle of Drama: British Theater Through the Victorian Age_. Vol. 12.

    • 4

      Add the city where the book was published and the name of the publisher. The city should be followed by a colon and the publisher's name by a comma. For example, if the book was published in New York by Columbia Press, your citation should now appear in this form:James, Lindley K. _Living in the Middle of Drama: British Theater Through the Victorian Age_. Vol. 12. New York: Columbia Press,

    • 5

      Finish with the year of publication and a final period. This information can usually be found on the title page of any volume in the work. If the work was published in 1998, then your finished citation should look like this:James, Lindley K. _Living in the Middle of Drama: British Theater Through the Victorian Age_. Vol. 12. New York: Columbia Press, 1998.

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