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MLA 8th Edition Style Guide

MLA 8th Edition Style Guide

Books & eBooks

Book - One Author

When only one author is responsible for the work, list last name first, followed by a comma and the first name, fully spelled out.

Examples:

Gawande, Atul. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. Metropolitan Books, 2014.


McLean, Adrienne L. Cinematic Canines: Dogs and Their Work in the Fiction Film. Rutgers UP, 2014. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), 0-search.ebscohost.com.lasiii.losrios.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=716935&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed 22 Sept. 2016.

Book - Multiple Authors

When there are two authors, list them both. If there are three or more authors, the first person listed should start the citation and is the only name displayed. The first author’s name is inverted with last name first followed by a comma and the abbreviation et al., which means “and others.”

Examples:

Dorris, Michael, and Louise Erdrich. The Crown of Columbus. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.


van Huis, Arnold, et al. The Insect Cookbook : Food for a Sustainable Planet. Columbia UP, 2014. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), 0-search.ebscohost.com.lasiii.losrios.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=707123&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed 22 Sept. 2016.

Book with Editor

When the person primarily responsible for producing the work is an editor then list the editors name, last name first name, followed by the descriptive label "editor."

Examples:

Haerens, Margaret, editor. Air Pollution. Greenhaven Press, 2011. Gale Virtual Reference Library, 0-go.galegroup.com.lasiii.losrios.edu/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=cclc_sac&v=2.1&it=aboutBook&id=GALE|4NLW. Accessed 20 Sept. 2016.


Young, Tom, editor. Readings in the International Relations of Africa. Indiana UP, 2016.

Book - Multiple Editors

When there are two editors, list them both. If there are three or more editors, the first person listed should start the citation and is the only name displayed. The first author’s name is inverted with last name first followed by a comma and the abbreviation et al., which means “and others.”

Examples:

Holland, Merlin, and Rupert Hart-Davis, editors. The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde. Henry Holt, 2000.


Baron, Sabrina Alcorn, et al., editors. Agent of Change: Print Culture Studies after Elizabeth L. Eisenstein. U of Massachusetts P / Center for the Book, Library of Congress, 2007.

Author and Editor

When a source has an author and editor, start the citation with the author's name - last name first. The editor goes after the title as another contributor.

Examples:

Carroll, Michael P. “Myth.” Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology, edited by David Levinson and Melvin Ember, vol. 3, Henry Holt and Company, 1996, pp. 827-831.


Theilmann, John M. "Air Pollution History." Encyclopedia of Global Warming, edited by Steven I. Dutch. Salem, 2009. Salem Online, 0-online.salempress.com.lasiii.losrios.edu/articleDetails.do?articleName=GloW_1012. Accessed 20 Sep. 2016.

Book with Edition or Volume Number

When a source has an identified volume number, it is treated as the "Number" element of the citation. When there is an edition number or some other descriptive term in the title (e.g. Expanded edition), it is treated as the "Version" element of the citation.

Examples:

Carroll, Michael P. “Myth.” Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology, edited by David Levinson and Melvin Ember, vol. 3, Henry Holt and Company, 1996, pp. 827-831.


Newcomb, Horace, editor. Television: The Critical View. 7th ed., Oxford UP, 2007.

eBook in Database

When an eBook is found in a research database, the title of the database is considered a second "Container" element of the citation. Remember that most Library Research Databases have citation tools to help you get all the elements you need for a proper citation.

Examples:

Drisdelle, Rosemary. Parasites: Tales Of Humanity's Most Unwelcome Guests. U of California P, 2010. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), search.ebscohost.com/login.aspxauthtype=ip,guest&custid=sacram&groupid=main& profile=eds&direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=330903&site=eds-live&scope=site. Accessed. 20 Sept. 2016.


Liu, Xinru. The Silk Road in World History. Oxford UP, 2010. ACLS Humanities E-book, 0-hdl.handle.net.lasiii.losrios.edu/ 2027/heb.31072.0001.001. Accessed 14 July 2016.

eBook on a Website

When an eBook is found in a website, the title of the website is considered a second "Container" element of the citation.

Examples:

Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Webster, 1885. Library of Congress, www.read.gov/books/pageturner/huckfinn/. Accessed 12 June 2016.


Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Grosset & Dunlap Publishers, 1897. Project Gutenberg, www.gutenberg.org/files/345/345-h/345-h.htm. Accessed 16 Aug. 2016.

E-Book on an eReader

When an e-book lacks a URL and you use software to read it on a personal device, use the word e-book in the "Version" part of the citation. If you know the specific type of e-book (e.g., Kindle, EPUB) that was used for your research, use it in place of e-book.

Examples:

Conroy, Pat. The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son. Kindle ed., Doubleday, 2013.


MLA Handbook. 8th ed., e-book, Modern Language Association of America, 2016.