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Books - Citation Examples

Citation Examples

Books

The following examples of works cited citations are arranged with bolded explanatory material first, which you will not put it in your works cited list. The citation examples follow and should be double spaced and have a hanging indentation. However, hanging indentations are not easily displayed on the Internet. If they look odd on your computer, follow the format shown in the box at the end of the examples.

The citations contain the following elements in the order given:

Author
Title
Place
Publisher
Date

The author is always listed first as the most important element of any citation; title always follows, either italicized or underlined; then publication information. Use the punctuation shown exactly! Every citation has these elements with slight variations. Check author order carefully for books with more than one author on the title page of each book. If the book has no author, start with title. If no place of publication is given, use the abbreviation n.p. If no publisher is given, use the abbreviation n.p. If no date of publication is given use n.d.

One Author

Heitzmann, William Ray. Careers for Sports Nuts & Other Athletic Types.

Lincolnwood, IL: VGM Career Horizons, 1991.

Two authors

Rathje, William, and Cullen Murphy. Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage.

New York: HarperCollins, 1992.

Three authors

Atwan, Robert, Donald McQuade, and John W. Wright. Edsels, Luckies,

and Frigidaires: Advertising the American Way. New York: Dell,

1979.

More than three authors

Belenky, Mary Field, et al. Women's Ways of Knowing: The Development

of Self, Voice, and Mind. New York: Basic, 1986.

Book With More Than One Edition

Dry, Richard. The Perfect Class. 45th ed. New York: BS Press, 2000.

Editor

Enright, D. J., ed. The Oxford Book of Death. New York: Oxford University

Press, 1983.

Work in an anthology

Mamet, David. "Oleanna: A Play in Two Acts." The Best Plays of 1992-1993.

Eds. Otis L. Guernsey, Jr. and Jeffrey Sweet. New York: Limelight,

1993.

Chapter with one author and a book editor

McNamara, Joseph D. "'Three Strikes' Laws Are Inconsistent and Overly

Punitive." Criminal Justice: Opposing Viewpoints. Eds. David L.

Bender, et al. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1998.

Two or more books -same author

Bradshaw, John. Bradshaw On--The Family: A Revolutionary Way of

Self-Discovery. Pompano Beach, FL: Health Communications,

1988.

---. Homecoming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child. New York:

Bantam Books, 1990.

Author unknown

The Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan

Bible Publishers, 1984.

Government Documents

Western Defense Command, and Fourth Army Wartime Civil Control Administration.

Civilian Exclusion Order No. 5: Instructions to All Persons of Japanese Ancestry.

By John DeWitt. San Francisco, CA: Presidio, 1 Apr. 1942. Rpt.

by National Committee to Repeal the Emergency Detention Act.

Berkeley, CA: Japanese American Citizens League, n.d.

Use the following links to access the LPC Library short guides to citing specific types of resources in the MLA style.

Citation Examples

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