How to cite chapter in a book mla

Q: How do you cite a chapter in a book MLA in

Basic Format: Author(s) of Chapter. Title of Chapter: Subtitle of Chapter. Title of Book, edited by Editor of Book, Publisher, Publication Date, page numbers.

Q: How do I cite a chapter in a book?

Chapter Author Last Name, Chapter Author First Name. Year. Title of Chapter: Subtitle of Chapter. In Title of Book: Subtitle of Book, edited by Editor First Name Editor Last Name, startingpage-endingpage. Place of publication: Publisher.

You might know how to cite a book with MLA referencing, but what about citing only part of a book? For example, you might need to reference a chapter from a collection of essays. If so, you need to know how to cite an edited book.

Table of Contents Show

In-Text Citations
The ‘Works Cited’ Page
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Cross-Referencing Chapters
How do you cite a chapter in a book MLA in
How do I cite a chapter in a book?
How do you cite a quote from a chapter in a book?
Are book chapters in quotes MLA?

In-Text Citations

When citing an edited book, you need to name the author of the chapter or section in question (not the editor of the book as a whole). As with any MLA citation, you should also give a page number:

One approach to art history is known as the ‘technological theory’ (Wollheim 527).

If the author is named in the text, just give the page number in brackets:

According to Richard Wollheim (527), art history mirrors technological advances in representation.

When quoting a source, moreover, the page numbers should come after the quoted passage (even if the author is named in the text):

Wollheim argues that we appreciate naturalistic art because it bears a ‘very lifelike’ (536) resemblance to a real object.

The only time you need to cite the editor of a book is when citing an edited book as a whole. But this is fairly unusual, so typically you’ll need to cite the author of the relevant chapter.

The ‘Works Cited’ Page

In the ‘Works Cited’ list, a chapter from an edited book is referenced as follows:

Surname, First name. ‘Title of Chapter’. Title of Collection, edited by Editor’s Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range.

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The essay cited in the examples above, for instance, would be listed like this:

Wollheim, Richard. ‘Reflections on Art and Illusion’. Aesthetics: A Critical Anthology, edited by George Dickie, Richard Sclafani, and Ronald Roblin, St. Martin’s Press, 1989, pp. 525-543.

Cross-Referencing Chapters

Finally, MLA has special rules for referencing more than one essay from the same collection. In the ‘Works Cited’ list, you can cross-reference chapters with the container volume.

To do this, simply give one entry for the edited book, then list each chapter separately by referring to the book it comes from. To cite several chapters from Aesthetics: A Critical Anthology, for example, we’d list them like this:

Danto, Arthur. ‘The Artistic Enfranchisement of Real Objects: The Artworld’. Dickie, Sclafani, and Roblin, pp. 171-182.

Dickie, George, Richard Sclafani, and Ronald Roblin, editors. Aesthetics: A Critical Anthology. St. Martin’s Press, 1989.

Goodman, Nelson. ‘How Buildings Mean’. Dickie, Sclafani, and Roblin, pp. 544-555.

Wollheim, Richard. ‘Reflections on Art and Illusion’. Dickie, Sclafani, and Roblin, pp. 525-543.

As with any source in MLA referencing, chapters and edited books should be listed alphabetically by the surname of the first-listed editor/author in the entry.

Reference: Author’s Last name, First name. "Title of Chapter.” Title of Collection, edited by Editor(s) First name, Last name, Edition, Publisher, Year of Publication, page range.

Example: Jonson, Ben. "To the Memory of My Beloved, the Author Mr. William Shakespeare." The Norton Anthology of Poetry, edited by Alexander Allison et al., 3rd ed., New York Norton, 1983, pp. 239-40.

In-Text-Citation:

(Author(s) Last name Page no)
(Page no)

Example:

Another approach (Jonson 239)....
Jonson (239) writes....

Still unsure what in-text citation and referencing mean? Check here.

Still unsure why you need to reference all this information? Check here.

To cite a book chapter in a reference entry in MLA style 8th edition include the following elements:

Give the last name and name as presented in the source (e. g. Watson, John). For two authors, reverse only the first name, followed by ‘and’ and the second name in normal order (e. g. Watson, John, and John Watson). For three or more authors, list the first name followed by et al. (e. g. Watson, John, et al.)
Title of the chapter: Titles are italicized when independent. If part of a larger source add quotation marks and do not italize.
Title of the book: Container titles are italicized and followed by a comma.
Editor(s) or Author of the book: Give the name of the author or editor of the book. Start with 'edited by' if it is an editor. If not available, omit this part.
Publisher: If the name of an academic press contains the words University and Press, use UP e.g. Oxford UP instead of Oxford University Press. If the word "University" doesn't appear, spell out the Press e.g. MIT Press.
Year of publication: Give the year of publication as presented in the source.
Page numbers: Give the full page range preceded by pp. If only one page, precede with one p.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a book chapter in MLA style 8th edition:

Chapter author(s). "Title of the chapter." Title of the book, by Editor(s) or Author of the book, Publisher, Year of publication, pp. Page numbers.

Take a look at our works cited examples that demonstrate the MLA style guidelines in action:

Examples

A chapter from a book of short stories with one editor

Edgeworth, Maria. “The Limerick Gloves.” The Oxford Book of Irish Short Stories, edited by William Trevor, Oxford UP, 2010, pp. 27–51.

A chapter from a book of short stories with one editor

Schwartz, Paula. “Redefining Resistance: Woman’s Activism in Wartime France.” Behind the Lines: Gender and the Two World Wars, edited by Margaret R. Higonnet et al., Yale UP, 1987, pp. 141–53.

This citation style guide is based on the MLA Handbook (9th edition).

How do you cite a chapter in a book MLA in

Basic Format: Author(s) of Chapter. "Title of Chapter: Subtitle of Chapter." Title of Book, edited by Editor of Book, Publisher, Publication Date, page numbers.

How do I cite a chapter in a book?

Chapter Author Last Name, Chapter Author First Name. Year. "Title of Chapter: Subtitle of Chapter." In Title of Book: Subtitle of Book, edited by Editor First Name Editor Last Name, startingpage-endingpage. Place of publication: Publisher.

How do you cite a quote from a chapter in a book?

Citing a Book Chapter: Print Version.

General Format:.

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):.

(Author's Last Name of Chapter, year).

In-Text Citation (Direct Quote):.

(Author's Last Name of Chapter, year, page number).

References:.

Chapter Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Chapter or article title. ... .

Examples:.

Are book chapters in quotes MLA?

Titles of books, plays, films, periodicals, databases, and websites are italicized. Place titles in quotation marks if the source is part of a larger work. Articles, essays, chapters, poems, webpages, songs, and speeches are placed in quotation marks. Sometimes titles will contain other titles.