On this page
Updated . Example details checked against Scribner catalog, ISBN 9781501144318.
The MLA format
Pattern
Last name, First name. Title of Book: Subtitle. Publisher, Year.
- Title and subtitle in italics, in title case, with a colon between them.
- Publisher as printed on the title page, without words such as Inc. or Company. “University Press” becomes “UP”: Oxford UP.
- No place of publication. MLA 9 asks for a city only for books published before 1900.
- Edition after the title when it is not the first: “2nd ed., Publisher, Year.”
E-books and translations
An e-book adds its format as the version: “Translated by Edith Grossman, e-book ed., Ecco, 2003.” A translator follows the title with “Translated by.” Cite the page numbers the e-book shows; if it has none, cite a chapter: (Walker, ch. 3).
A real example
Works Cited entry
Walker, Matthew. Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. Scribner, 2017.
In-text citation
(Walker 112)
When details are missing
- No author, only editors: the editors lead, followed by “editor” or “editors.”
- No date: leave it out; MLA has no n.d.
- Two or more books by the same author: add a short title in the citation, (Walker, Why We Sleep 112), and replace the name with three hyphens from the second entry on.
A second edition
Works Cited entry
Walker, Matthew. Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. 2nd ed., Scribner, 2017.
In-text citation
(Walker 112)
Common mistakes
- Adding a city. MLA 9 leaves out the place of publication for modern books.
- “p.” in the citation. MLA writes the number alone: (Walker 112).
- A comma between name and page. There is none: (Walker 112), not (Walker, 112).
Or let Format do it.
Type or paste the ISBN and Format fetches the author, title, publisher and year from Open Library. Format writes the Works Cited entry and the in-text citation in MLA 9, exactly as shown above, and builds the Works Cited page when you export to Word or PDF. MLA and APA are free.
Questions
Where do I find the publisher and year?
On the title page and the copyright page behind it. Use the most recent copyright year.
Do I need the subtitle?
Yes, in Works Cited. You can leave it out in your sentences.
How do I cite a page range?
(Walker 112-14). MLA shortens the second number past 99.
More citation guides
The same source in other styles
Similar sources in MLA
Every source kind is on the MLA page, and every style is on How to cite.