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How to Cite a Book in APA and MLA — Book Citation Guide


Entire worlds — mysterious and unexplored — are hidden in books. Depending on the genre, they can tell us about incredible feelings, exciting adventures, deep scientific research, and all kinds of inventions that are hard to believe. Books can bring something new to our lives. Or recall different experiences we’ve been through. Sometimes while flipping through the pages, we can find something that has been discovered and analyzed a long time ago, however, the topic covered by an author is still relevant or, for example, requires new solutions.

That is an incredible knowledge base, and access to them makes our possibilities almost limitless. In this article, we would like to focus on discussing books and how they can be used in the world of academics. That is, not only about when a professor asks to read another novel in order to then make students prepare an assignment on an in-depth analysis of the characters. We would like to tell you more about how one can use different books. With them, you can strengthen your statements and provide greater text value.

Also, most of the college assignments require various references and evidence, and literature is always a good source for that. And, the text without a solid background has fewer chances of being important in any academic field.

You may ask how a book can help with expressing your own ideas? Quotes and citations. Their proper application not only shows your competence but also enables you to meet the requirements of certain tasks.

However, simply copying the words from the book and putting them in your writings won’t be enough. Never forget about the works cited list and references — important elements of many projects. Therefore, in this article, we will discuss how to cite a book using the common citation formats — American Psychological Association and Modern Language Association style, and also provide several examples for you to see the application of basic rules.

Every academic work has to be backed up by credible articles. Be it primary or secondary sources, one has to include them in the text. Neglecting to attach such scholarly materials results in plagiarism, which on no account is tolerated in the academic community. That is why a person borrowing intellectual property has to mention this information in the form of citation.

What Is a Book Citation?

Before writing a paper, one has to answer a simple question, "what is a book citation?" Being unaware of it lowers the chances of completing an impeccable and unprecedented piece. Book citation introduces the sources you have used while researching the topic. You point out sources that you used in your project and show who you have quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. Correctly constructed book citations allow the writer to avoid any traces of plagiarism.

Citations can be different, starting from published books, journals, separate pieces from articles or memoirs, and ending with video sources, audio recordings, and photographs. That is why, regardless of the source form, you have to mention this information to alert the reader. Various book citation styles apply to different disciplines. The most commonly used are APA, MLA, and Chicago styles. Each of them has its citing rules, margins, fonts, including in-text citations, the last page of references, etc. Let us have a closer look at the format of different book citation styles.

Why Cite a Book?

If you hesitate to deal with complicated formats and from the name of the task, you are a little bit scared, don’t be. As we have said, literature is a good resource if you don’t know where to look for supporting evidence. Different authors who studied various issues and a book written by one of them might resonate perfectly with your subject matter. Also, don’t forget the library is not the only place where you can go to find the original publication. Use Google Books or Google Scholar, study the academic works of students from previous years, or even use the existing Wikipedia article about the topic you need.

The references to such sources alone can boost your text value. You just need to arrange them following the APA or MLA book citation standards. But the question is — why cite it in the first place?

Appropriate citation and inclusion of used sources in the works cited page list are not just the requirements of academic writing. For the professors, along with the use of enough references, the competence of a student in how to cite a book may show they:

  • Studied additional materials related to the topic assigned.
  • Know about research in the field under discussion as well as the authors who contributed to its development.
  • Have a proper stance on a topic and know how to make their assignment’s main content well-grounded by using additional materials.

In the next sections, we will go through the main elements of our topic you know from the name of the task, name the types of books you can refer to, and provide a text citation example for each of them.

Book Citation Format

Depending on the topic, you have to use a specific book citation format. APA, for instance, is used by Sciences, Education, and Psychology. MLA focuses on the Humanities. Chicago or Turabian handles Business and History. Each of them possesses unique features required by specific subjects.

For instance, if the MLA book citation format requires including the page number in the in-text citation without putting a comma, per the APA book citation format, you should mention the publication year and divide it with a comma. And there are many other differences related to the format, the order of attributes, typesetting, length, margins, etc.

MLA format book citation comprises the author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date. If to compare with the latter, APA format book citation has to be written in the following way: Author, A.A. (Publication year in brackets). Title of work (Only in Italics): You should start the title with a capital letter: The subsection's first letter also must be capitalized. Publisher Name.

Please, note that the mentioned before are MLA format citation for a book and APA format citation for a book. If you wish to cite other print sources, articles, electronic sources, and non-print sources, you should not utilize this structure. In this article, we are going to delve into the most often used styles, such as APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association), describing how to implement them in your work. We will demonstrate the structure of each style, their format, and provide you with examples. Moreover, we will create outlines so that you can use them during the writing process.

What Does a Good Book Citation Include?

Regardless of whether it is the APA format or MLA format you use, there are some common elements for most citations.

  • Author’s last name and (or) first name. For a competent person who will assess your paper, it will be important to see you’ve used the work of an author who is related to the chosen topic.
  • Book title. The obvious element. Sometimes the author has several works, but not all of them are written on the same topic (and therefore, aren’t relevant for your assignment). Sometimes, a specific chapter needs also to be mentioned.
  • Publication information. That includes a year published and other information about the book’s timeframes. Sometimes a work you would like to use can be outdated or reprinted, and there can be differences between its versions. So, the publication year is a must. Also, information about the publishers is also included here, since each of them might make some changes to the contents of the original work.

Apart from basic information, book citations may include other details, but that depends on what types of literature you use. Some of those are:

  • Edited books (with no, one, or several authors)
  • Translated works (includes names or initials of the translators)
  • Multivolume set of literary works (includes the volume number)
  • A chapter from the book that was edited (mentions a precise chapter or article)

Considering such minor differences, even if you know how to cite a book, it is always useful to refer to the official guide where all current rules are described in detail. Speaking about the styles we are discussing here, we are referring to the 7th (APA) and the 8th (MLA) editions.

Cite a Book — Examples

Now that we’ve gone through the basics of citing, it would be useful to provide some examples for you to see how all those rules are applied. We’ll take two types of sources and make up an example for each of them in the two styles.

APA Citation Structure

Firstly, the APA book citation allows us to demonstrate the unique ideas of an author using scholarly sources. Uniformity enables readers to focus on the concepts presented in the text. Also, with APA's help, the reader can find a relevant source, scan the work, and find the main points included in the article. APA citation structure helps the author entirely reveal the material, assuring the reader of smooth reading without being distracted by various mistakes, such as those related to irrelevant referencing. When every single item is included in the structure, you get a sound piece written following the formatting standards. Your written work will look coherent, credible, and compelling.

That is why it is crucial to acknowledge all the APA formatting style attributes to be able to write a formal text. APA style has long been used in the academic community, including educational institutions. Students are required to use this style while completing writing tasks primarily on social sciences. There are seven editions of this style that is being developed and improved continuously. APA helps you write the task with clarity, precision, and inclusion.

Per the American Psychological Association, there are several types of book references that APA deals with. Among them are a whole authored book, whole edited book, republished book, with an editor, book with more than one author, a translated book. The citing method for traditional books and e-books is the same, except for the format, platform, or device; do not mention them if your source is from the e-book.

Before delving into sources, let's recall the overall structure as it is written in the APA format. Writing the essay book citation in the APA style, you should include the four basic attributes:

  1. The Title Page must possess the title of your project, the author's name, and institutional affiliation. Be sure to include the course name and number, the instructor's name, and your assignment's due date on the left. It is important to number your page from the cover, upper right. Your title has to be written in boldface. The information that goes right after the title should be placed two lines below and formatted as regular text.
  2. The Abstract (depends on your task and its length) is always presented on a separate page and follows the title. The page number is a must. The abstract should be in boldface as well. It serves as a summary of your entire text, emphasizing focal points. They aim to make the reader aware of what is going on in the essay. This summary should contain up to 250 words. Ideally, 150-200 words.
  3. The Main Body contains the page numbers, a centered boldface title, in-text citations, and can have headings, sections, and sub-sections.
  4. The Reference Page shows the articles, books, and journals that you used in your writing. This book citation should be named References and be centered and written in boldface.

Apart from that, all parts of the text should be written in 12-point Times New Roman, with 1-inch margins.

Also, the 7th edition of APA has eliminated the use of running heads for student writing tasks. Therefore, a student piece heading must only indicate the page number.

  • General guidelines. The surname of the author with initials. (original publication date). Main Title: Subtitle. Name of publisher.
  • Example. Smith, H. J. (2011). The Mystery of a Conspiracy Theory: The Simpsons. Unona Publishing.
  • Translated work. Author’s surname and initials. (Year when published). Main title: Subtitle (Name initial(s) and surname(s) of the translators(s), Trans.). Name of publisher. (Original work published year)
  • Example. Louisse, O. G. (2000). The History of the French Language (A. Collins & N. Jacobs, Trans.). Penguin Historical. (Original work published 1870)

Rules for citing sources

Place the sources you used at the end of your work. No matter whether you included a couple of phrases or two full-fledged sentences, they should appear on the References page.

Speaking of the structure for most sources, you have to keep in mind:

  • All lines after the first line should be one-half inch from the left margin
  • First, you have to mention the authors' last names
  • The authors' first and middle names should be written shortly, in other words, using initials. (Robinson, J. V. or Robinson, V. if there is no middle name)
  • Now, you have to include all the authors that contributed to the creation of the book (this is a new rule of the last edition)
  • You have to sort the References page in alphabetical order
  • If you use more than one source by the same author, you have to list them chronologically (earliest to most recent)
  • No matter whether the title is capitalized entirely, you capitalize only the first letter — this rule does not apply to journals
  • Don't forget to italicize titles of books and other written pieces
  • Do not italicize chapters, names of newspapers, and similar small works

Other than books, keep in mind that the structure for magazines differs. As such, acknowledge that when using various magazines while researching, you have to:

  • Write titles regardless of their length
  • Italicize the entire title
  • Ensure that your Reference page has the same punctuation as the original piece (for example, if the magazine is named Theory & Practice, on no account should you write Theory and Present)
  • Capitalize all words in the titles — most magazines tend to capitalize words, stick to their strategy

Thus, the most common structure in APA formatting is:

  • Author, A. A. (year of publication). Title of work: *Capital letter should also be added.
  • Publisher name.

List your source in the following order:

  1. Author
  2. Year of publication
  3. Title of work
  4. Publisher name

However, not every book has the author and can be edited or translated. Also, it doesn't necessarily need to have multivolume work or be a specific chapter in the book. In these cases, formatting is different. We will take a closer look at them later on.

MLA Citation Structure

Every formatting style has a purpose. MLA provides the reader with vital information regarding scholarly sources you have used in your written piece. It also helps to establish your credibility in the field. MLA is typically used by students or academic staff, whose primary work fields are disciplines related to humanities. They are:

  • Cultural studies
  • The English language, Literature, ESL
  • Foreign languages and Literature
  • Comparative studies
  • Linguistics

In MLA format, the reference is usually called the Works Cited page. You should point out each and every source there. It must contain the author's name, source title, date of publication, and other crucial information. If you are familiar with the MLA citation structure, make sure you are also aware of the changes that came into life with the publication of a new edition:

  • Periods are superseded by commas between Publisher, Publication Date, and Pagination
  • Medium is not required anymore
  • Containers tend to be part of the MLA style — you have to put them after the title, commas must follow containers
  • DOIs are a must, in case there is no DOI, you have to include a URL
  • Do not forget to use the term "Accessed" instead of "n.d."

Your Works Cited page should have the following view:

Author. Title. Title of container (novels and other standalone books do not have to include container), other contributors (translators or editors), version (edition), number (vol./no.), publisher, publication date, location (pages, paragraphs URL or DOI), (if needed) 2nd container's title, other contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date, location, date of access.

  • General guidelines. Author’s last, first name.Title. Publication City, Publishing institution, Date of publishing.
  • Example. Broomstick, Helena. A Secret of Mental Health. London, Bridge Publishing, 1897.
  • Translated work. Last, First name, translator. Title: Subtitle of the Work. By Author’s Name and Surname, Publisher, Year of publishing.
  • Example. Gedwick, Oliver, translator. Stars and Destinies: Why You Don’t Want Your Child to Be a Sagittarius?. By Julia Schmertz, Emerald House, 2010.

So, in your last page with references, you should follow the following structure:

  1. Author
    You should list the author's last name, then the first name. In the end, put a period.
  2. Title of source
    YThe title follows the author's name. Consider writing the title in italics. Quotation marks are used in cases where you use periodical articles, independent web pages, or music pieces.
  3. Title of container
    YA new edition implemented containers to make it clear from where you retrieved a specific piece of article. For instance, the collection of poems can be the container, whereas an exact poem is a source. Containers can be anything starting from TV series and ending with different web pages.
  4. Other contributors
    YMany editors, illustrators, or translators put a lot of effort into the book and its publication. It is crucial to give them credits. In the 8th edition, the mentioned terms are not abbreviated. They should be written as a whole.
  5. Version
    YIf a specific book is mentioned as a version of some work, you must indicate it in your citation.
  6. Number
    YIf your source is in a collection of some articles with volume and issue numbers, you have to mention it in your Work Cited page.
  7. Publisher
    YA publishing house generates articles in different forms and distributes them to people.
  8. Publication Date
    YSimply put, you have to attach the date of publication. If something has two dates of publication (A film appeared on a TV first, and then was released on the Internet platform) use the one you relied on during researching. If you are not sure about the date, sticking to the original publication date is the safest option.
  9. Location
    YBecause you borrow someone's intellectual property, you have to show where you took the quote. If you use a book, try to indicate the exact page numbers you included in your essay. With regard to websites, you should paste the URL of the page. However, ensure removing "http://" and similar tags from your link.

Aside from the stated above, you also should include some other items in your book citation. Even though they tend to be optional, the MLA citation style should possess all the necessary information with a view on making you look straightforward, astute, and reliable. That is why, when it's possible, include the following attributes:

  • Date of original publication. It will help to build the chain from the latest edition to the primary one.
  • City of publication. If the book you used was published in the XX century and earlier, you have to mention the city of publication.
  • Date of access. Sometimes web pages are hacked, deleted, or changed. Thus, don't forget to indicate the day you accessed the website.
  • URL. This element you have to use solely at your professor's discretion.
  • DOIs. When the web page can't be found, Digital Object Identifier helps to find the source. Include DOI in your Works Cited page every time you have it.

The same as with the APA style, MLA has different variations for books with more than one author, two or more books by the same author, books by an organization, and others. They all require unique citations, which we will overview further on.

How to Cite a Book

Before using the material and asking, "how to cite a book," you have to be sure that you can rely on the source and include it in your book citation list. If you found the article in electronic libraries, such as JSTOR, Academia.edu, Google Scholar, or others, you can be sure that articles are credible. In this section, we discuss how to cite a book in MLA format, how to cite a book in APA format, and delve into various forms of citations. You are encouraged to utilize various citation machines, such as citethisforme, easybib, or bibme, to alleviate your possible struggles with citing specific sources. These web pages can create citations in any formatting style.

How to cite a book in APA

As was said before, the structure of the citation in APA looks as follows:

  • Author, Year, Italicized Title, Publisher.

During your writing, you can find that some items may be absent. "So, how to cite a book APA if there is almost no information about the book?" One might ask. It doesn't mean that you have to get rid of this book. There are dozens of web pages that contain complete data about the works. For instance, you can find all the necessary information regarding your sources, such as Author, Year, and Publisher on Amazon or different publishing houses.

How to cite a book in MLA

Probably, each and every student has googled "how to cite a book MLA." First and foremost, you need to check whether you can find the MLA citation's nine essential elements. Make sure you include the author, title of the source, container title, other contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date, and location. It would be a benefit if you could attach components from the list of optional items. Make sure you put them in the right order.

How to cite a book in text

In-text citations differ from Works Cited (MLA) and Reference (APA) pages. They are crucial because they indicate specific sentences that serve as backup material for your arguments. Adding in-text citations, you show the outcomes of your research. And these results help you to support arguments. Inserting parentheses prove that you don't come up with information taken from anywhere. APA and MLA styles have exclusive instructions on how to embed citations in the text. Let us analyze and demonstrate what they should look like.

APA in-text citation

If your paper has to be cited in the APA style, follow the author-date method. The author's last name with the date of publication must appear in the text. For example, if you paraphrase a sentence, you should put a reference at the end. It should be followed by a period (Last name, 2019). Apart from that option, you can also put a parenthetical citation in the text anywhere you want, though, it will have a slightly different form. Compare Last name (2019) claims … with … (Last name, 2019).

Make sure that a complete reference is also present in your References page. Note that if your sentence does not quote the article's direct information, you don't have to write the page number. Conversely, you have to indicate the page number if you attached a direct quote from the book. In this case, you have to use the abbreviation "p." for one page or "pp." for more than one page. Look at the following example:

  • (Last name, 2019, p. 203) or (Last name, 2019, pp. 203–205).

No matter whether you use a source once or multiple times, you have to include the appropriately written source at the end of the essay.

MLA in-text citation

The main difference between APA and MLA in-text citations is that MLA requires indicating the page number regardless of the direct quote or parenthetical citation. As you already know, the in-text citation directs the reader to the Works Cited page where a source can be found.

There are no abbreviations in MLA style. Nor does it have any punctual requirements. The most common and widely agreed form of the MLA in-text citation is:

  • The problems of mistreating cultural appropriation lead to various conflicts, which have an adverse impact on various local communities (Last name page number).

or another option:

  • According to the Last Name, cultural appropriation has mistreatment problems, which "leads to various conflicts, which have an adverse impact on various local communities" (page number).

Now you know how to cite a book in a paper, using in-text citations. Remember that when adding parentheses, make sure they relate to complete sources in the Works Cited page. Neglecting to do that results in plagiarism and the assignment's failure.

Book Citation Example

Considering a wide array of possible citations, we have gathered possible options for citing sources. When it comes to the MLA book citation example, we will demonstrate how to cite different books with one author, two or more authors, and more. Moreover, you will see an APA book citation example, including the whole authored book, whole edited book, a translation, etc.

MLA examples

Even though you are familiar with the basic book format, let us remind you how it should look:

  • Maizlish, Stephen E. A Strife Of Tongues: The Compromise Of 1850 And The Ideological
  • Foundations Of The American Civil War. 1st ed., University Of Virginia Press, 2018.
  • Rowe, John W. "Successful Aging Of Societies." Daedalus, vol. 144, no. 2, 2015, pp. 5-12.
  • MIT Press - Journals, DOI:10.1162/daed_a_00325. Accessed 8 Nov 2019.

As you can see, they contain only one author and have all the vital information, including DOI and the access date. Having a clear picture of how a basic citation should look, you can have a glance at the following book citation example.

Book with more than one author:

When your source contains two authors, stick to the order of people presented in the book. Remember that you have to mention the first author in your book citation in the following way: last name, first name. Also, you have to write down subsequent authors on the reverse: first name, last name format.

  • Hawkins, Stan, and Sarah Niblock. Prince: the Making of a Pop Music Phenomenon. Ashgate,
  • 2011.
  • If there are more than two authors, you have to mention the first one, followed by the phrase et al. (don't put a period after et. It should be only after al.)
  • Bear, Donald R., et al. Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling
  • Instruction. 6th ed., Pearson Education, 2015.

Two or more books by the same author:

If you included two or more books written by the same author, you have to list the manuscripts alphabetically by title. The writer should have the last name first. In other words, use three hyphens followed by a period. Avoid including the author's credentials.

  • Milton, John. Areopagitica. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, edited by E. Talbot
  • Donaldson et al., 4th ed., vol. 1, W. W. Norton, 1979, pp. 1399-1409.
  • ---. Samson Agonistes. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, edited by E. Talbot
  • Donaldson et al., 4th ed., vol. 1, W. W. Norton, 1979, pp. 1540-83.

Book with no author:

When you have a source and its author is unknown, but you are sure of its credibility, you can add this book to your Works Cited page.

  • New York Public Library American History Desk Reference. New York: Macmillan, 1997.
  • Print.

A translated book:

As was said earlier, the 8th edition of MLA eliminated abbreviations, like, tran. and ed. Instead, you have to include full-fledged words translated and edited in your citation.

  • Hammesfahr, Petra. The Sinner. Translated by John Brownjohn. Bitter Lemon Press, 2007.

Book by an organization:

If the organization and publishing house are different, place the corporation at the beginning. For instance:

  • Welsh Language Association. Language Revitalization. ABC Publisher, 2007.

However, if the publisher and the enterprise are the same, skip the latter, and list the title first. After the title, mention the publisher's name.

  • Veganism and Psoriasis: Benefits of the Diet. House of Dermatology, 1999.

Article in a reference book:

If you take some information from encyclopedias or dictionaries, you have to stick to the same structure as with any other citation. However, it is unnecessary to include the publisher.

  • "Rejection." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed. 2003. Print.

Dissertations and Master's theses:

Aiming to cite dissertations, you have to include the author(s), title, and publication date (the same as with a simple book). Apart from that, you should mention whether it is a thesis or dissertation. If you don't have a physical document and have accessed it through the Internet, indicate it as the second container, i.e., put it after all items of the work.

  • Schwartz, Thomas. Empirical Linguistics and Language Documentation: The Role of Back
  • End Programming, its effectiveness, and benefits. 2002. The University of Michigan,
  • Ph.D. dissertation.

APA samples

Before diving in specific citation examples, check out a basic APA citation format for a book:

  • Zhu, T. (2017). Air pollution in China: Scientific challenges and policy implications. National Science Review, 4(6), 800. DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwx151

Note: if the book does not have a DOI, do not include an online database in the book citation page.

Book with more than one author:

As was said in the previous section, you have to include every credential regardless of the number of authors.

  • Pagnattaro, M. A., Cahoy, D. R., Magid, J. M., Reed, O. L., & Shedd, P. J. (2015). The legal and regulatory environment of business (17th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
  • Education.

Edited book:

  • Mitchell, S. (Ed.). (2009). Agriculture and pivotal problems: How to take care of commodities after a crisis. Royal Publishing House.

Note that in case you have more than one editor, your abbreviation must look "(Eds.)", followed by a period.

Republished book, with editor:

  • Miller, R., & Austen, D. (2016). Literature in a political paradigm: The case of Henry
  • Thoreau. (M. Brown, Ed.) Independent Publishing House. Here should be the link to
  • the original version of the book (Original article published 1934)

This book by Miller and Austen was published in 1934. Brown edited and republished it in 2016. When it comes to the in-text citations, both years of publication should be included (parenthetical citation: Miller & Austen, 1934/2016); narrative citation: Miller and Austen (1934/2016).

A translation:

  • Coelho, P. (1993). The Alchemist (A. Clarke, Trans.). New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Edition but not the first one:

  • Stoney, T. (2018). How to get rid of procrastination in 27 days: A complete guide. (2nd ed.).
  • American Independent Press.

MLA Citation Outline

Now that you know how to cite academic sources properly, you have to create a complete Works Cited page. The following MLA citation outline and sample considers all the crucial aspects of your document's last page.

Works Cited

  • Bear, Donald R., et al. Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling
  • Instruction. 6th ed., Pearson Education, 2015.
  • Hammesfahr, Petra. The Sinner. Translated by John Brownjohn. Bitter Lemon Press, 2007.
  • Hawkins, Stan, and Sarah Niblock. Prince: the Making of a Pop Music Phenomenon. Ashgate,
  • 2011.
  • Maizlish, Stephen E. A Strife Of Tongues: The Compromise Of 1850 And The Ideological
  • Foundations Of The American Civil War. 1st ed., University Of Virginia Press, 2018.
  • Milton, John. Areopagitica. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, edited by E. Talbot
  • Donaldson et al., 4th ed., vol. 1, W. W. Norton, 1979, pp. 1399-1409.
  • Samson Agonistes. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, edited by E. Talbot
  • Donaldson et al., 4th ed., vol. 1, W. W. Norton, 1979, pp. 1540-83.
  • New York Public Library American History Desk Reference. New York: Macmillan, 1997.
  • Print.
  • "Rejection." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed. 2003.
  • Rowe, John W. "Successful Aging Of Societies." Daedalus, vol 144, no. 2, 2015, pp. 5-12.
  • MIT Press - Journals, DOI:10.1162/daed_a_00325. Accessed 8 Nov 2019.
  • Schwartz, Thomas. Empirical Linguistics and Language Documentation: The Role of Back
  • End Programming, its effectiveness, and benefits. 2002. The University of Michigan, Ph.D. dissertation.
  • Veganism and Psoriasis: Benefits of the Diet. House of Dermatology, 1999.
  • Welsh Language Association. Language Revitalization. ABC Publisher, 2007.

APA Citation Outline

When it comes to the APA citation outline, it only has a different name from the MLA style. Likewise, you have to make all citation entries double-spaced. The second and following lines of every citation should be indented a half-inch.

References

  • Coelho, P. (1993). The alchemist (A. Clarke, Trans.). New York, NY: HarperCollins.
  • Miller, R., & Austen, D. (2016). Literature in a political paradigm: The case of Henry
  • Thoreau. (M. Brown, Ed.) Independent Publishing House. Here should be the link to
  • the original version of the book (Original article published 1934)
  • Mitchell, S. (Ed.). (2009). Agriculture and pivotal problems: How to take care of commodities after a crisis. Royal Publishing House.
  • Pagnattaro, M. A., Cahoy, D. R., Magid, J. M., Reed, O. L., & Shedd, P. J. (2015). The legal and regulatory environment of business (17th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
  • Education.
  • Stoney, T. (2018). How to get rid of procrastination in 27 days: A complete guide. (2nd ed.).
  • American Independent Press.
  • Zhu, T. (2017). Air pollution in China: Scientific challenges and policy implications. National Science Review, 4(6), 800. DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwx151

MLA Citation Tips

MLA style, like every other citation format, aims to provide the reader with precision and demonstrate that you researched the topic before writing it. Therefore, while writing papers, you have to include in the last page related to book citations every aspect required by this style. In the chapter regarding the MLA citation structure, we have already defined that the citation should possess nine essential components. However, meeting all of them does not mean your paper is well-written and unprecedented. There are many other nuances you have to add to your project. Here are MLA citation tips that ensure your completed assignment will get the highest grade:

  • Document settings — make sure your paper has 1-inch margins, is double-spaced, and is written in 12-font Times New Roman)
  • Page Header — every page of the essay should contain your name and page number, upper right
  • Citations — it is a prevalent problem when students put commas between the author and page number — delete all commas in parentheses
  • Works Cited page — it should be sorted alphabetically by author
  • Control of spaces — use only one space after periods
  • MLA templates — download the MLA draft from a credible web page and use it whenever you have to write an essay in this format

APA Citation Tips

When you write a paper using the APA style, you need to acknowledge that this is the author-date format. On the one hand, this style is easier than the previous one, as it does not require adding page numbers if you don't cite quotes. On the other, you still have to know how to cite appropriately, and the APA citation tips are likely to help you with that:

  • Do not capitalize words — unlike MLA, APA does not capitalize words except for the first letter of the title as well as the subtitle
  • Abbreviate the author's name — many students confuse MLA and APA in citing books: while MLA does not shorten the author's name, APA abbreviates the first name
  • Avoid including your name in the header — the newest APA edition eliminated pasting your name on the upper right page, consider adding a page number only
  • Download APA stencils — having a general sample, you reduce the time filling in the headers and the cover page
  • Do not over-spam citations — your work has to be backed up by reliable articles, but you also need to reveal your knowledge about a specific subject; there is no need to attach a parenthetical citation to every sentence. One citation per paragraph is enough
  • Put periods AFTER parentheses — when citing, make sure you put a period at the end of a sentence, for instance, … (Brown, 2011).

Recap

During the process of writing a paper, you have to pay close attention to two aspects – the quality of your content and a proper formatting style. Whether the first element is outstanding or not, a lack of citation leads to the lowest grade. Sometimes even to the expulsion from the educational institution. Plagiarism issues are widely common across the universities, and many colleges do their best to combat these errors. That is why to make your writing task plagiarism-free, you need to cite the outside elements included in your text following the formatting style relevant to your discipline.

When it comes to APA and parenthetical citations, you should include the author's name and publication date. These in-text citations must correspond with a References page to help the reader find the material if need be. In turn, MLA format requires adding the last name of the author as well as page number if we talk about in-text citations. The Works Cited list must portray full-fledged sources, including the publisher, publication date, location, etc. Knowing how to operate these styles, you are sure to write an impeccable piece with great book citations in the long run.

References