How to Cite a Poem in a Textbook

Using MLA Style

• 1

  Type the poet's last and first name, separated by a comma.

• 2

  Enter the title of the poem, enclosed in quotation marks. Place a period inside the ending quotation mark.

• 3

  Type the name of the textbook in italicized font. List the name of the textbook editor using the appropriate abbreviation. Your entry should resemble this: "Ed. John Smith."

• 4

  List the place of publication followed by a colon and a single space. Enter the name of the publishing company and the year of publication, separated by a comma.

• 5

  Type the page numbers where the poem can be found. If it is on a single page, list a single number. If it spans several pages, separate the beginning and ending page number with a hyphen.

• 6

  Specify the medium of the work. If you read the poem from a printed textbook, write "Print."

• 7

  Check your citation for accuracy. Yours should resemble this: Espada, Martin. "The Sign In My Father's Hands." Legacies. Eds. Jan Zlotnik Schmidt and Carley Rees Bogarad. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. 494-495. Print.

Using APA Style

• 8

  List the poem's author, using the last name and first initial, separated by a comma.

• 9

  Follow with the date of publication in parentheses. Enter the title of the poem without quotations.

• 10

  Type the name of the textbook's editor and follow with "Ed." in parentheses.

• 11

  List the name of the textbook in italicized font and include the page where the poem can be found in parentheses. Close with a period.

• 12

  Type the place of publication followed by a colon. Enter the name of the publishing company. Your entry should resemble this: Espada, M. (2006). The sign in my father's hands. Jan Zlotnik Schmidt and Carley Rees Bogarad (Eds.) Legacies (494-495). Boston: Thomson Wadsworth.