How to Cite Print Reference Books in MLA Format

The Modern Language Association (MLA) style guide provides rules for citing information you learn from others and use in your own writing. The guide offers specific instructions for creating a "Works Cited" list and providing in-text citations for print reference books, periodicals, online publications, websites and other resources. While there are similarities among the different citations, there are specific guidelines to follow when citing print reference books.

Instructions

    • 1

      Gather certain information during your research about the reference books you use. Note the book's title and author, the article or section with the information you need to cite, the page number, the publisher, where the book was published and its publication year. Note that not all reference books will list an author; others may list multiple authors.

    • 2

      Create a listing for the reference book in your Works Cited section. Write the author's name, if there is one, followed by the name of the article or section. Follow that information with the title of the book, place of publication, publisher and year of publication. Lastly, write the word "Print" to signify the medium of publication. For example: Smith, John. "Types of Writing." Encyclopedia of Writing. New York: Grove Publications, 2010. Print.

    • 3

      Make sure to place quotes around the name of the article or section and italicize the title of the book. The first line of the citation should be flush left, with additional lines indented one-half inch.

    • 4

      Place in-text citations directly after any sentence referring to the research from the book. In parentheses, place the author's last name and the page number. If there is no author, use the name of the article. For example, (Smith 160) or (Types of Writing 160).

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