How to Cite a Book in MLA 9 — Free Generator with Examples

To cite a book in MLA 9: Author. Title of Book. Edition, Publisher, Year. Example: Smith, John A. The Complete Guide to Research Writing. 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2023.

The free citation generator handles the formatting. Below are the specific rules for edition, multiple authors, edited volumes, and e-books.

MLA 9 book format

Author. Title of Book. Edition, Publisher, Year.

• Author: Last, First for single author.
• Title: Italicized, title case.
• Edition: In parentheses after title. "3rd ed." for third edition. Skip for first editions.
• Publisher: Abbreviate "University Press" as "UP" (e.g., "Oxford UP"). Shorten other common publisher names if used consistently.
• Year: Publication year.

MLA 9 drops the city of publication (same as APA 7). Unlike Chicago 17, which still includes the city for books.

Multiple authors in MLA 9

Rules:

• 1 author: Smith, John A.
• 2 authors: Smith, John A., and Sarah B. Lee. (First inverted, second first-last.)
• 3+ authors: Smith, John A., et al.

The generator supports one author. For multi-author, generate with the first and manually add the rest.

In-text citations:

• 1 author: (Smith 45)
• 2 authors: (Smith and Lee 45)
• 3+: (Smith et al. 45)

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Edited books and chapters

Citing the whole edited book:

Editor, editor. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.

Example: Brown, Karen, editor. Handbook of Research Methods. Oxford UP, 2023.

Citing a chapter within an edited book:

Author. "Chapter Title." Title of Book, edited by Editor, Publisher, Year, pp. XX–XX.

Example: Lee, Sarah. "Sleep Deprivation in Students." Handbook of Research Methods, edited by Karen Brown, Oxford UP, 2023, pp. 45–62.

Generator caveat: supports one-author book citations. For chapter-in-edited-volume, use the book template and manually adjust with chapter title, editor name, and page range.

E-books, translated works, republished books

E-books: Include the e-book label and/or URL if relevant. Example: Smith, John A. The Complete Guide to Research Writing. Kindle ed., Oxford UP, 2023. Or with URL: Smith, John A. The Complete Guide to Research Writing. Oxford UP, 2023. books.oxford.com/research-writing.

Translated works: Author. Title. Translated by Translator Name, Publisher, Year.

Example: García Márquez, Gabriel. One Hundred Years of Solitude. Translated by Gregory Rabassa, Harper & Row, 1970.

Republished/classic books: MLA 9 allows noting the original year. Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. 1859. Penguin Classics, 2003.

Anthologies and readers: Cite like an edited book; individual entries like chapters.

Textbooks: Cite like any book. Almost always include edition number (3rd ed., 10th ed., etc.).

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I abbreviate "University Press" in MLA 9?

Yes. MLA 9 recommends abbreviating "University Press" as "UP" (e.g., Oxford UP, not Oxford University Press). Apply consistently across the Works Cited.

Does MLA 9 include the city of publication?

No. MLA 9 follows APA 7 in dropping publisher location. Unlike Chicago 17, which still uses the city. If you see a book citation with "New York: Publisher," that's not MLA 9 format.

How do I cite a book from Google Books?

Cite as an e-book with the URL. Example: Smith, John A. The Complete Guide to Research Writing. Oxford UP, 2023. books.google.com/books?id=ABC.

What if the book has 4 or more authors?

Use "et al." after the first author: Smith, John A., et al. Book Title. Publisher, Year. In-text also uses et al.: (Smith et al. 45).