how to cite an essay from collection of essays

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / MLA Format / How to Cite an Essay in MLA

How to Cite an Essay in MLA

The guidelines for citing an essay in MLA format are similar to those for citing a chapter in a book. Include the author of the essay, the title of the essay, the name of the collection if the essay belongs to one, the editor of the collection or other contributors, the publication information, and the page number(s).

Citing an Essay

Mla essay citation structure.

Last, First M. “Essay Title.” Collection Title, edited by First M. Last, Publisher, year published, page numbers. Website Title , URL (if applicable).

MLA Essay Citation Example

Gupta, Sanjay. “Balancing and Checking.” Essays on Modern Democracy, edited by Bob Towsky, Brook Stone Publishers, 1996, pp. 36-48. Essay Database, www . databaseforessays.org/modern/modern-democracy.

MLA Essay In-text Citation Structure

(Last Name Page #)

MLA Essay In-text Citation Example

Click here to cite an essay via an EasyBib citation form.

MLA Formatting Guide

MLA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Sample Paper
• Works Cited
• MLA 8 Updates
• MLA 9 Updates
• View MLA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all MLA Examples

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

To cite your sources in an essay in MLA style, you need to have basic information including the author’s name(s), chapter title, book title, editor(s), publication year, publisher, and page numbers. The templates for in-text citations and a works-cited-list entry for essay sources and some examples are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the author on the first occurrence. For subsequent citations, use only the surname(s). In parenthetical citations, always use only the surname of the author(s).

Citation in prose:

First mention: Annette Wheeler Cafarelli

Subsequent occurrences: Wheeler Cafarelli

Parenthetical:

….(Wheeler Cafarelli).

Works-cited-list entry template and example:

The title of the chapter is enclosed in double quotation marks and uses title case. The book or collection title is given in italics and uses title case.

Surname, First Name. “Title of the Chapter.” Title of the Book , edited by Editor(s) Name, Publisher, Publication Year, page range.

Cafarelli, Annette Wheeler. “Rousseau and British Romanticism: Women and British Romanticism.” Cultural Interactions in the Romantic Age: Critical Essays in Comparative Literature , edited by Gregory Maertz. State U of New York P, 1998, pp. 125–56.

To cite an essay in MLA style, you need to have basic information including the author(s), the essay title, the book title, editor(s), publication year, publisher, and page numbers. The templates for citations in prose, parenthetical citations, and works-cited-list entries for an essay by multiple authors, and some examples, are given below:

For citations in prose, use the first name and surname of the author (e.g., Mary Strine).

For sources with two authors, use both full author names in prose (e.g., Mary Strine and Beth Radick).

For sources with three or more authors, use the first name and surname of the first author followed by “and others” or “and colleagues” (e.g., Mary Strine and others). In subsequent citations, use only the surname of the first author followed by “and others” or “and colleagues” (e.g., Strine and others).

In parenthetical citations, use only the author’s surname. For sources with two authors, use two surnames (e.g., Strine and Radick). For sources with three or more author names, use the first author’s surname followed by “et al.”

First mention: Mary Strine…

Subsequent mention: Strine…

First mention: Mary Strine and Beth Radick…

Subsequent mention: Strine and Radick…

First mention: Mary Strine and colleagues …. or Mary Strine and others

Subsequent occurrences: Strine and colleagues …. or Strine and others

…. (Strine).

….(Strine and Radick).

….(Strine et al.).

The title of the essay is enclosed in double quotation marks and uses title case. The book or collection title is given in italics and uses title case.

Surname, First Name, et al. “Title of the Essay.” Title of the Book , edited by Editor(s) Name, Publisher, Publication Year, page range.

Strine, Mary M., et al. “Research in Interpretation and Performance Studies: Trends, Issues, Priorities.” Speech Communication: Essays to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Speech Communication Association , edited by Gerald M. Phillips and Julia T. Wood, Southern Illinois UP, 1990, pp. 181–204.

MLA Citation Examples

Writing Tools

Citation Generators

Other Citation Styles

Plagiarism Checker

Upload a paper to check for plagiarism against billions of sources and get advanced writing suggestions for clarity and style.

Get Started

Chicago/Turabian Citation

• Citing a Book

Basic Chapter Citation

Example chapter of a book, example chapter of an ebook, example foreword/preface of a book.

• Citing an Article
• Citing a Webpage
• Additional Resources

Writing Center

Visit the Writing Center for help with brainstorming, organization, revising, citations, and other writing assistance! 

• Every Monday: Saurwein 232
• Tuesday-Sunday in Campus Center 313: The Owen Center

Regular Writing Center Hours:

• Monday-Friday 12:00PM-7:00PM
• Sundays 12:00PM-5:00PM

Book an appointment  with a Writing Center consultant. 

Footnote/Endnote

Author First M. Last Name, "Chapter or Essay Title," in  Book Title , ed. First M. Last Name (Place of Publication: Publisher, date), page cited.

Short version: Author Last Name, "Chapter or Essay Title (shortened if necessary)," page cited.

Bibliography

Author Last Name, First M.   "Chapter or Essay Title."  In  Book Title ,   edited by First M. Last Name,  page range.   Place of Publication: Publisher, date.

Eric Charry, "Music and Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa," in  The History of Islam in Africa , eds. Nehwmia Levtzion and Randall L. Pouwels  (Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2000), 550.

Short version: Charry, "Music and Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa," 550.

Charry, Eric.   "Music and Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa."  In  The History of Islam in Africa ,   edited by Nehwmia Levtzion and Randall L. Pouwels,   545-573.   Athens, OH: Ohio  University Press, 2000.

Alan Liu, "Where is Cultural Criticism in the Digital Humanities?," in  Debates in the Digital Humanities , ed. Matthew K. Gold (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2013), accessed January 23, 2014,  http://dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/debates/text/20. 

Short version: Liu, "Where is Cultural Criticism."

Liu, Alan.  "Where is Cultural Criticism in the Digital Humanities?."   In  Debates in the Digital Humanities ,   edited by Matthew K. Gold.   Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2013.   A ccessed January 23, 2014.   http://dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/debates/text/20. 

Strobe Talbott, foreword to   Beyond Tianamen: The Politics of U.S.-China Relations 1989-2000 , by Robert L. Suettinger (Washington, D. C.: Brookings Institute Press, 2003), x.

Short version: Talbott, foreword, x.

Talbott, Strobe.   Foreword to   Beyond Tianamen: The Politics of U.S.-China Relations 1989-2000 ,   by Robert L. Suettinger,  ix-x.   Washington, D. C.: Brookings Institute  Press, 2003.

• << Previous: Citing a Book
• Next: Citing an Article >>
• Last Updated: Sep 30, 2022 12:44 PM
• URL: https://libguides.heidelberg.edu/chicago

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

MLA Works Cited Page: Books

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

When you are gathering book sources, be sure to make note of the following bibliographic items: the author name(s), other contributors such as translators or editors, the book’s title, editions of the book, the publication date, the publisher, and the pagination.

The 8 th  edition of the MLA handbook highlights principles over prescriptive practices. Essentially, a writer will need to take note of primary elements in every source, such as author, title, etc. and then assort them in a general format. Thus, by using this methodology, a writer will be able to cite any source regardless of whether it’s included in this list.

Please note these changes in the new edition:

• Commas are used instead of periods between Publisher, Publication Date, and Pagination.
• Medium is no longer necessary.
• Containers are now a part of the MLA process. Commas should be used after container titles.
• DOIs should be used instead of URLS when available.
• Use the term “Accessed” instead of listing the date or the abbreviation, “n.d."

Below is the general format for any citation:

Author. Title. Title of container (do not list container for standalone books, e.g. novels), Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs URL or DOI). 2 nd  container’s title, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location, Date of Access (if applicable).

Basic Book Format

The author’s name or a book with a single author's name appears in last name, first name format. The basic form for a book citation is:

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book . City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

* Note: the City of Publication should only be used if the book was published before 1900, if the publisher has offices in more than one country, or if the publisher is unknown in North America.

Book with One Author

Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science . Penguin, 1987.

Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House . MacMurray, 1999.

Book with More Than One Author

When a book has two authors, order the authors in the same way they are presented in the book. Start by listing the first name that appears on the book in last name, first name format; subsequent author names appear in normal order (first name last name format).

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring . Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

If there are three or more authors, list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. (Latin for "and others") in place of the subsequent authors' names. (Note that there is a period after “al” in “et al.” Also note that there is never a period after the “et” in “et al.”).

Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition . Utah State UP, 2004.

Two or More Books by the Same Author

List works alphabetically by title. (Remember to ignore articles like A, An, and The.) Provide the author’s name in last name, first name format for the first entry only. For each subsequent entry by the same author, use three hyphens and a period.

Palmer, William J. Dickens and New Historicism . St. Martin's, 1997.

---. The Films of the Eighties: A Social History . Southern Illinois UP, 1993.

Book by a Corporate Author or Organization

A corporate author may include a commission, a committee, a government agency, or a group that does not identify individual members on the title page.

List the names of corporate authors in the place where an author’s name typically appears at the beginning of the entry.

American Allergy Association. Allergies in Children . Random House, 1998.

When the author and publisher are the same, skip the author, and list the title first. Then, list the corporate author only as the publisher.

Fair Housing—Fair Lending. Aspen Law & Business, 1985.

Book with No Author

List by title of the book. Incorporate these entries alphabetically just as you would with works that include an author name. For example, the following entry might appear between entries of works written by Dean, Shaun and Forsythe, Jonathan.

Encyclopedia of Indiana . Somerset, 1993.

Remember that for an in-text (parenthetical) citation of a book with no author, you should provide the name of the work in the signal phrase and the page number in parentheses. You may also use a shortened version of the title of the book accompanied by the page number. For more information see the In-text Citations for Print Sources with No Known Author section of In-text Citations: The Basics .

A Translated Book

If you want to emphasize the work rather than the translator, cite as you would any other book. Add “translated by” and follow with the name(s) of the translator(s).

Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason . Translated by Richard Howard, Vintage-Random House, 1988.

If you want to focus on the translation, list the translator as the author. In place of the author’s name, the translator’s name appears. His or her name is followed by the label, “translator.” If the author of the book does not appear in the title of the book, include the name, with a “By” after the title of the book and before the publisher. Note that this type of citation is less common and should only be used for papers or writing in which translation plays a central role.

Howard, Richard, translator. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason . By Michel Foucault, Vintage-Random House, 1988.

Republished Book

Books may be republished due to popularity without becoming a new edition. New editions are typically revisions of the original work. For books that originally appeared at an earlier date and that have been republished at a later one, insert the original publication date before the publication information.

For books that are new editions (i.e. different from the first or other editions of the book), see An Edition of a Book below.

Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble . 1990. Routledge, 1999.

Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine . 1984. Perennial-Harper, 1993.

An Edition of a Book

There are two types of editions in book publishing: a book that has been published more than once in different editions and a book that is prepared by someone other than the author (typically an editor).

A Subsequent Edition

Cite the book as you normally would, but add the number of the edition after the title.

Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students . 3rd ed., Pearson, 2004.

A Work Prepared by an Editor

Cite the book as you normally would, but add the editor after the title with the label "edited by."

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre,  edited by Margaret Smith, Oxford UP, 1998.

Note that the format for citing sources with important contributors with editor-like roles follows the same basic template:

...adapted by John Doe...

Finally, in the event that the source features a contributor that cannot be described with a past-tense verb and the word "by" (e.g., "edited by"), you may instead use a noun followed by a comma, like so:

...guest editor, Jane Smith...

Anthology or Collection (e.g. Collection of Essays)

To cite the entire anthology or collection, list by editor(s) followed by a comma and "editor" or, for multiple editors, "editors." This sort of entry is somewhat rare. If you are citing a particular piece within an anthology or collection (more common), see A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection below.

Hill, Charles A., and Marguerite Helmers, editors. Defining Visual Rhetorics . Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004.

Peterson, Nancy J., editor. Toni Morrison: Critical and Theoretical Approaches . Johns Hopkins UP, 1997.

A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection

Works may include an essay in an edited collection or anthology, or a chapter of a book. The basic form is for this sort of citation is as follows:

Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection , edited by Editor's Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range of entry.

Some examples:

Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One , edited by Ben Rafoth, Heinemann, 2000, pp. 24-34.

Swanson, Gunnar. "Graphic Design Education as a Liberal Art: Design and Knowledge in the University and The 'Real World.'" The Education of a Graphic Designer , edited by Steven Heller, Allworth Press, 1998, pp. 13-24.

Note on Cross-referencing Several Items from One Anthology: If you cite more than one essay from the same edited collection, MLA indicates you may cross-reference within your works cited list in order to avoid writing out the publishing information for each separate essay. You should consider this option if you have several references from a single text. To do so, include a separate entry for the entire collection listed by the editor's name as below:

Rose, Shirley K, and Irwin Weiser, editors. The Writing Program Administrator as Researcher . Heinemann, 1999.

Then, for each individual essay from the collection, list the author's name in last name, first name format, the title of the essay, the editor's last name, and the page range:

L'Eplattenier, Barbara. "Finding Ourselves in the Past: An Argument for Historical Work on WPAs." Rose and Weiser, pp. 131-40.

Peeples, Tim. "'Seeing' the WPA With/Through Postmodern Mapping." Rose and Weiser, pp. 153-67.

Please note: When cross-referencing items in the works cited list, alphabetical order should be maintained for the entire list.

Poem or Short Story Examples :

Burns, Robert. "Red, Red Rose." 100 Best-Loved Poems, edited by Philip Smith, Dover, 1995, p. 26.

Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories , edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.

If the specific literary work is part of the author's own collection (all of the works have the same author), then there will be no editor to reference:

Whitman, Walt. "I Sing the Body Electric." Selected Poems, Dover, 1991, pp. 12-19.

Carter, Angela. "The Tiger's Bride." Burning Your Boats: The Collected Stories, Penguin, 1995, pp. 154-69.

Article in a Reference Book (e.g. Encyclopedias, Dictionaries)

For entries in encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works, cite the entry name as you would any other work in a collection but do not include the publisher information. Also, if the reference book is organized alphabetically, as most are, do not list the volume or the page number of the article or item.

"Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary.  3rd ed. 1997. 

A Multivolume Work

When citing only one volume of a multivolume work, include the volume number after the work's title, or after the work's editor or translator.

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria . Translated by H. E. Butler, vol. 2, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980.

When citing more than one volume of a multivolume work, cite the total number of volumes in the work. Also, be sure in your in-text citation to provide both the volume number and page number(s) ( see "Citing Multivolume Works" on our in-text citations resource .)

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria . Translated by H. E. Butler, Loeb-Harvard UP, 1980. 4 vols.

If the volume you are using has its own title, cite the book without referring to the other volumes as if it were an independent publication.

Churchill, Winston S. The Age of Revolution . Dodd, 1957.

An Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword

When citing an introduction, a preface, a foreword, or an afterword, write the name of the author(s) of the piece you are citing. Then give the name of the part being cited, which should not be italicized or enclosed in quotation marks; in italics, provide the name of the work and the name of the author of the introduction/preface/foreword/afterword. Finish the citation with the details of publication and page range.

Farrell, Thomas B. Introduction. Norms of Rhetorical Culture , by Farrell, Yale UP, 1993, pp. 1-13.

If the writer of the piece is different from the author of the complete work , then write the full name of the principal work's author after the word "By." For example, if you were to cite Hugh Dalziel Duncan’s introduction of Kenneth Burke’s book Permanence and Change, you would write the entry as follows:

Duncan, Hugh Dalziel. Introduction. Permanence and Change: An Anatomy of Purpose, by Kenneth Burke, 1935, 3rd ed., U of California P, 1984, pp. xiii-xliv.

Book Published Before 1900

Original copies of books published before 1900 are usually defined by their place of publication rather than the publisher. Unless you are using a newer edition, cite the city of publication where you would normally cite the publisher.

Thoreau, Henry David. Excursions . Boston, 1863.

Italicize “The Bible” and follow it with the version you are using. Remember that your in-text (parenthetical citation) should include the name of the specific edition of the Bible, followed by an abbreviation of the book, the chapter and verse(s). (See Citing the Bible at In-Text Citations: The Basics .)

The Bible. Authorized King James Version , Oxford UP, 1998.

The Bible. The New Oxford Annotated Version , 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2001.

The New Jerusalem Bible. Edited by Susan Jones, Doubleday, 1985.

A Government Publication

Cite the author of the publication if the author is identified. Otherwise, start with the name of the national government, followed by the agency (including any subdivisions or agencies) that serves as the organizational author. For congressional documents, be sure to include the number of the Congress and the session when the hearing was held or resolution passed as well as the report number. US government documents are typically published by the Government Printing Office.

United States, Congress, Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearing on the Geopolitics of Oil . Government Printing Office, 2007. 110th Congress, 1st session, Senate Report 111-8.

United States, Government Accountability Office. Climate Change: EPA and DOE Should Do More to Encourage Progress Under Two Voluntary Programs . Government Printing Office, 2006.

Cite the title and publication information for the pamphlet just as you would a book without an author. Pamphlets and promotional materials commonly feature corporate authors (commissions, committees, or other groups that does not provide individual group member names). If the pamphlet you are citing has no author, cite as directed below. If your pamphlet has an author or a corporate author, put the name of the author (last name, first name format) or corporate author in the place where the author name typically appears at the beginning of the entry. (See also Books by a Corporate Author or Organization above.)

Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System . American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2006.

Your Rights Under California Welfare Programs . California Department of Social Services, 2007.

Dissertations and Master's Theses

Dissertations and master's theses may be used as sources whether published or not. Unlike previous editions, MLA 8 specifies no difference in style for published/unpublished works.

The main elements of a dissertation citation are the same as those for a book: author name(s), title (italicized) , and publication date. Conclude with an indication of the document type (e.g., "PhD dissertation"). The degree-granting institution may be included before the document type (though this is not required). If the dissertation was accessed through an online repository, include it as the second container after all the other elements.

Bishop, Karen Lynn. Documenting Institutional Identity: Strategic Writing in the IUPUI Comprehensive Campaign . 2002. Purdue University, PhD dissertation.

Bile, Jeffrey. Ecology, Feminism, and a Revised Critical Rhetoric: Toward a Dialectical Partnership . 2005. Ohio University, PhD dissertation.

Mitchell, Mark. The Impact of Product Quality Reducing Events on the Value of Brand-Name Capital: Evidence from Airline Crashes and the 1982 Tylenol Poisonings.  1987. PhD dissertation.  ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

List the names of corporate authors in the place where an author’s name typically appears at the beginning of the entry if the author and publisher are not the same.

Fair Housing—Fair Lending. Aspen Law & Business, 1985.

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Happiness Hub Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• Happiness Hub
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• College University and Postgraduate
• Academic Writing

How to Reference Essays

Last Updated: January 8, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Alexander Peterman, MA . Alexander Peterman is a Private Tutor in Florida. He received his MA in Education from the University of Florida in 2017. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 376,221 times.

When you begin writing a research essay, you must take into account the format of your writing and reference pages. There are several reference styles that may be assigned to you, including MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), and Chicago. Each one has its own set of rules. There's no need to familiarize yourself with all 3 unless you have to, but you do need to learn at least one if you’re in any field involving academic writing. Here are summaries of each style to help you start your essay on the right track.

Referencing Essays Templates

• You will need a citation directly after every sentence (or group of sentences if you're citing the same source in multiple consecutive sentences) containing information you didn't think of yourself. These include: paraphrases, facts, statistics, quotes, and examples.
• An in-text citation using MLA will simply have the author last name (or title if no author) followed by the page number. No comma between author and page number. For example: (Richards 456) Richards is the author last name, and 456 is the page number.
• If you have an author name (or title, if no author) but no page number, simply use author last name (or title).

• The easiest way to keep track of MLA citations while doing research is to copy and paste copyright information into a word processing document as you go, or to write it down in a notebook.
• Things to include for any source are author(s), date published, publisher, page number, volume and issue number, website, date accessed, anything that appears on the copyright page or indicates how to find it again. [2] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source

• As an example, the format for a standard book citation using MLA style is as follows: Last name of author, First name. Title of Book. City published: Publisher Name, Year published. Source Medium.
• An MLA website citation looks like the following. If there's no author listed, begin citation with the name of the page: Last name, first name. "Page Title." Website Title. Publisher. Date published. Source Medium. Date accessed.
• An MLA scholarly article citation looks like the following: Last name, First name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal . Volume.Issue (Year): page numbers. Source Medium.
• Write the title of the main work (book, magazine, journal, website, etc.) in italics, or underline if you’re writing references by hand.
• Chapter or article titles should be in quotation marks.

• If there is no author listed, as is common on websites, simply skip the author’s name and begin the entry with the title of the work.
• Alphabetize by the first letter that appears in the entry, whether it has an author name or not.

• The formatting should be in Times New Roman font, size 12, with “Works Cited” centered at the top of a new page.
• Each entry should have hanging indent, meaning all lines below the first line are indented by half an inch.
• Make sure there is a period after each section of the citations. A period should always end the citation.

• Place a parenthetical citation at the end of every sentence (or group of sentences if you're using the same source for multiple consecutive sentences) containing information you didn't know before doing research.
• An in-text citation using APA will simply have the author last name (or title if no author) followed by the year it was published. No comma between name and year. For example: (Richards 2005) Richards is the author last name, and 2005 is the year.
• If you have an author name (or title if no author) but no page number, simply use author last name (or title). This is common when citing websites.
• APA document formatting is very important. APA papers are divided up into 4 sections: the title page, the abstract, the main body, and the references page. The citations of a research paper using APA appear in the References section, the last portion of an APA document. [7] X Research source

• To form APA reference page citations, you will need such information as author name(s), date published, website URL, date you accessed the website, title of work, and so on. [8] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source

• For example, the format for an APA reference of a scholarly journal article is as follows: Author last name, First initial. (Year published). Article or chapter title. Journal or book title, Issue number , page number range. [10] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source
• The format for an APA book reference looks like: Last name, First name. (Year.) Title of Book: Capital letter also for subtitle . Location: Publisher.
• The format for an APA website reference looks like: Author, A.A. First name, & Author, B.B. (Date published.) Title of article. In Title of webpage or larger document or book (chapter or section number). Retrieved from URL address

• Capitalize the author's last name and first initial, followed by a period.
• Only capitalize the first word of a journal article title, unless the title contains a proper noun (called sentence case). Titles of books should preserve the published capitalization.
• Capitalize the city of publication, and use correct state abbreviations for states. Also capitalize the name of the publisher and end the reference with a period.
• The title of larger works, whether a book, journal, website, or magazine, is in italics (or underlined if handwriting), as is the issue number that appears right after the title. Titles for shorter works like articles and chapters should not have any indicative punctuation in an APA entry. [12] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source
• A period should end all citations.

Using Chicago Manual of Style

• For Notes and Bibliography, you will use a superscript at the instance of each quote in the text with a corresponding footnote at the end of the page. All footnotes are compiled into endnotes at the end of the work, on the bibliography page. [14] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source
• For Author Date, you will use parenthetical in-text citations that include author last name and year published, using no punctuation between name and year. The full version of each parenthetical citation is listed alphabetically on the references page. For example: (Simon 2011) Simon is the author last name, and 2011 is the year.
• You will need a citation directly after every sentence (or group of sentences if you're using the same source for multiple consecutive sentences) containing information you didn't think of yourself. These include: paraphrases, facts, statistics, quotes, and examples.

• If using a book, write down all pertinent information found on the copyright page, including the name of the publisher and the city and year of publication.
• For other sources, look for this information near the title of the piece you’re looking at. Publication date is often at the bottom of webpages.

• Title your references page “Bibliography” centered at the top of the page. Leave 2 blank lines between this title and the first entry, and one blank line between entries.
• Notes and Bibliography style uses footnotes for page endings and endnotes for chapter endings. The bibliography page will be an alphabetized list of all sources in hanging indent.
• An example format for a book is as follows: Last name, First name. Book Title . City: Publisher, Year.
• An example format for a chapter in a print scholarly journal is as follows: Author last name, first name. "Title of Chapter or Article." Book or journal Title Issue Number (Year): Page number range. (For an online scholarly journal article, tack on the following at the end: Date accessed. URL address.)
• When there is no known author, the entry should begin with the title of the document, whether it's a webpage, chapter, article, and so on.
• When there are multiple authors, the first listed author appears last name, first name, so that the citation is alphabetized by this author's last name. Subsequent authors are listed by first name, like this: Alcott, Louisa May, Charles Dickens, and Elizabeth Gaskell.
• Always end a citation with a period.

• When using Author Date style, title your references page “References” centered at the top of the page. Leave 2 blank lines between this title and the first entry, and 1 blank line between entries.
• Author Date style bibliographies should be organized alphabetically by last name (or by title if no author) in hanging indent.
• An example format for a book is as follows: Last name, first name. Year. Book Title . City Published: Publisher.
• An example format for a chapter in a print scholarly journal is as follows: Author last name, first name. Year. "Title of Chapter or Article." Book or journal title issue number: page numbers. (for an online scholarly journal article tack this onto the end: Date accessed. URL address.)
• An example format for a website is as follows: Name of Website. Year. "Page Title." Date last modified. Date accessed. URL address.

Expert Q&A

• You don't have to write each bibliography or reference entry on your own. You can download citation management software like Endnote [17] X Research source (purchase required on this one), Zotero [18] X Research source (it's free), or use websites like http://www.bibme.org/ and http://www.easybib.com/ . Select the name of your style manual before you begin creating citations. Copy and paste the citation into your bibliography or references list. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If you are assigned to write a paper or other written document in one of these styles, you need to purchase the style manual. It will contain nearly every instance not only of source citation, but paper formatting as well as grammar and punctuation that is unique to that style. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• This article only lists how to cite research for each style manual. Each style has its own instructions for setting up the format of the essay, including heading, spacing, margins, font, and so on. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_books.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_author_authors.html
• ↑ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_electronic_sources.html
• ↑ https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/apa/reference-list
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_author_authors.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_basic_rules.html
• ↑ https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/chicago_manual_of_style_17th_edition.html
• ↑ http://guides.nyu.edu/c.php?g=276562&p=1844734
• ↑ http://endnote.com
• ↑ https://www.zotero.org

About This Article

To reference an essay using MLA style, add a citation after any information you found through a source, like facts or quotes. When citing the reference, include the author’s name and the page number you pulled the information from in parenthesis, like “(Richards 456).” Once you’ve finished your essay, add a Words Cited page with all of the information you used to research your essay, like books or articles. To create a Works Cited page, list the sources in alphabetical order using the author’s last name, and include additional information, like year published and the medium. For more tips from our Writing reviewer, like how to reference an essay using APA style, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Alicia Hammond

Sep 20, 2021

Did this article help you?

Oct 30, 2019

Brenda Nats

Jun 14, 2021

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Don’t miss out! Sign up for

wikiHow’s newsletter

APA In-Text Citations and Sample Essay 7th Edition

This handout focuses on how to format in-text citations in APA.

Proper citation of sources is a two-part process . You must first cite each source in the body of your essay; these citations within the essay are called in-text citations . You MUST cite all quoted, paraphrased, or summarized words, ideas, and facts from sources. Without in-text citations, you are technically in danger of plagiarism, even if you have listed your sources at the end of the essay.

In-text citations point the reader to the sources’ information on the references page. The in-text citation typically includes the author's last name and the year of publication. If you use a direct quote, the page number is also provided.

More information can be found on p. 253 of the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Citation Rules

Direct quotation with the author named in the text.

Heinze and Lu (2017) stated, “The NFL shifted its responses to institutional change around concussions significantly as the field itself evolved” (p. 509).

Note: The year of publication is listed in parenthesis after the names of the authors, and the page number is listed in parenthesis at the end of the quote.

Direct Quotation without the Author Named in the Text

As the NFL developed as an organization, it “shifted its responses to institutional change around concussions significantly” (Heinze & Lu, 2017, p. 509).

Note: At the end of the quote, the names of the authors, year of publication, and page number are listed in parenthesis.

Paraphrase with 1-2 Authors

As the NFL developed as an organization, its reactions toward concussions also transformed (Heinze & Lu, 2017).

Note: For paraphrases, page numbers are encouraged but not required.

Paraphrase with 3 or More Authors

To work toward solving the issue of violence in prisons begins with determining aspects that might connect with prisoners' violent conduct (Thomson et al., 2019).

Direct Quotation without an Author

The findings were astonishing "in a recent study of parent and adult child relationships" ("Parents and Their Children," 2007, p. 2).

Note: Since the author of the text is not stated, a shortened version of the title is used instead.

Secondary Sources

When using secondary sources, use the phrase "as cited in" and cite the secondary source on the References page.

In 1936, Keynes said, “governments should run deficits when the economy is slow to avoid unemployment” (as cited in Richardson, 2008, p. 257).

Long (Block) Quotations

When using direct quotations of 40 or more words, indent five spaces from the left margin without using quotation marks. The final period should come before the parenthetical citation.

At Meramec, an English department policy states:

To honor and protect their own work and that of others, all students must give credit to proprietary sources that are used for course work. It is assumed that any information that is not documented is either common knowledge in that field or the original work of that student. (St. Louis Community College, 2001, p. 1)

Website Citations

If citing a specific web document without a page number, include the name of the author, date, title of the section, and paragraph number in parentheses:

In America, “Two out of five deaths among U.S. teens are the result of a motor vehicle crash” (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2004, Overview section, para. 1).

Here is a print-friendly version of this content.

Learn more about the APA References page by reviewing this handout .

For information on STLCC's academic integrity policy, check out this webpage .

For additional information on APA, check out STLCC's LibGuide on APA .

Sample Essay

A sample APA essay is available at this link .

MLA 8 Citation Guide

• TITLE of SOURCE
• TITLE of CONTAINER
• OTHER CONTRIBUTORS
• PUBLICATION DATE
• Works Cited
• Journal Article with One Author
• Journal Article with 2 Authors
• Journal Article with 3 or more Authors
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• One Author or Editor
• Two Authors or Editors
• Three or More Authors

Article or Chapter in an Edited Book

• Article in a Reference Book
• Reference Work
• Basic Web Page
• Entry in a Reference Work
• Government or Agency Document
• YouTube Video
• Electronic Image
• Figures and Charts
• Class Lecture/Notes
• Secondary Sources

MLA Works Cited Page: Books

Ask Us 24/7

Online help is available anytime via our AskUs 24/7 chat service:

Works Cited List:       

Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection , edited by Editor Name(s). Publisher, Year, pp Page range of entry.

Lawrence, James. A., and Alfred Dodds. "Goal-Directed Activities and Life-Span Development.” Handbook of Developmental Psychology, edited by John Valsiner and Kare Connolly. Heinemann, 2000, pp. 24-34. 

In-Text Citation:

      (Author Surname [of Chapter or Article] page number)

      (Lawrence and Dodds 26)

Works Cited List

Jans, Nick.  The Last Light Breaking: Life among Alaska's Inupiat Eskimos . Alaska Northwest Books, 1993.

Edited book

Miller, John, and Tim Smith, editors.  Cape Cod Stories: Tales from Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard . Chronicle Books, 1996.

Please see the sample citation for a chapter or article in an anthology below for information on citing a component of an edited collection.

Numbered edition other than the first

Wardle, Elizabeth, and Doug Downs, editors.  Writing About Writing: A College Reader . 2nd ed., Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014.

Revised edition

Culliney, John L.  Islands in a Far Sea: The Fate of Nature in Hawai'i . Rev. ed., U of Hawai'i P, 2006.

Multi-volume set

Green, Constance McLaughlin.  Washington . Princeton UP, 1962-63. 2 vols.

In-text citation:   (Green 1: 112-14) "1" is the volume number.

• << Previous: Three or More Authors
• Next: Article in a Reference Book >>
• Last Updated: Aug 5, 2024 9:27 AM
• URL: https://utica.libguides.com/mla

Citing Special Collections materials in Chicago/Turabian style: Citing Primary Materials in Special Collections

Citing primary sources.

This guide contains the following sections (click to link directly to the section you need)

Citing Primary Sources - Overview

Citing manuscript collections in print and online, citing oral histories in special collections, citing maps, citing photographs, citing previously published magazine and newspaper articles found in manuscript collections.

This page includes citation examples for different kinds of primary sources using the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) , 16th edition, and Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations , 8th edition. This guide shows how to create an initial citation, a subsequent note, and a bibliography entry for primary sources.

Materials covered include:

• Manuscript & Document Collections
• Oral Histories
• Maps and Illustrations
• Photographs
• Digitized materials from our website

A word about "Preferred Citation" and "Citation" information in Special Collections' finding aids: 

Nearly all Special Collections finding aids include basic citation information. Sometimes it's labeled "Preferred Citation," and other times it's  labeled "Citation."  This information typically includes the following information:

• the name of the collection (such as "Ernest A. Mills Family Collection")
• the name of the repository - D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections
• the location of the repository - University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC 28804

The other details needed for a citation (such as the name of the item, the author of the item, and the box and folder number) will emerge during your research.

If you have any questions about citing materials from Special Collections, ask one of the Special Collections staff or your professor .

From the finding aid for the Frank Coxe Papers:

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item],Frank Coxe Papers, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804

From the finding aid for the Carolina Mountain Club Archives:

Carolina Mountain Club Archive , D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.

Example 1: Citing a document from a manuscript collection

Look at the citation information from the Carolina Mountain Club finding aid above. This has basic information about the collection, repository, and location of repository that you will need for your citation, but you will also add more information as you conduct your research . 

For instance, you might be working with the Carolina Mountain Club Archives, and you want to cite a specific document, the "Certificate of Incorporation of the Carolina Mountain Club" which is dated September 2, 1924. You found this document in Folder 19 in Box 15. There is a corporate author, the Carolina Mountain Club. (For more detailed information on citing manuscript collections, see the "Manuscript Collections" section of the Chicago Manual of Style , 16th edition, sections 14.232-14.242, pp. 749-752.)

So you have your document and you want to cite it. Now what? Let's take a look at how this would work:

Note (First mention, full reference):

        1. Carolina Mountain Club , " Certificate of Incorporation of the Carolina Mountain Club," 2 September 1924, Box 15, Folder 19, Carolina Mountain Club Archives, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.      

• Note that this is a full reference. The first line is indented.
• If the author is an individual, their name should be listed with the first name then last name (Frank Coxe).
• Sometimes you will not have an author. In this case, start the note with the name or title of the item.
• If the item has a specific title, as this one does, then that title is in quotation marks. If the item does not have a title but only a description it does not go in quotation marks.
• If the item does not have a date use the phrase n.d. (for no date) 
• Use a comma after all the elments in the note and a period at the end of the note. 

Note (Subsequent mentions, shortened reference):     

        7. Carolina Mountain Club , " Certificate of Incorporation."

• The shortened reference refers to a work that has already been cited in full form but not in a note immediately preceding it (which takes the ibid form ).
• The first line is indented, but the note only requires the author's name and the title of the document (which is sometimes shortened).

Bibliography:

• The first line is not indented, but the second line and all following lines are indented.
• Use a period after the collection name, after the repository name, and at the end of the bibliography entry.
• While the note included the item or document being cited, the bibliography does not include specific items -- unless only one item from a collection is cited. Then you would list the individual item in addition to the collection, repository, and repository location.
• For instance, if you cited two or more items from this collection, then you would use the bibliography entry as listed above.
• If you cited only one item from this collection then your bibliography entry would look like this:

Example 2: Citing a personal letter from a manuscript collection

Look at the citation information from the Frank Coxe Papers finding aid above. This has basic information about the collection, repository, and location of repository that you will need for your citation, but you will also add more information as you conduct your research . 

Let's say you're working with the Frank Coxe Papers and you find a letter you want to cite. The letter is from A. B. Harris to Frank Coxe, and it was written on March 25, 1889. You found this letter in Folder 6 in Box 2. While this is similar to the Carolina Mountain Club example above it varies in how you cite the names of individuals and how you cite the actual letter. 

        1. A. B. Harris to Frank Coxe,  25 March 1889, Box 2, Folder 6, Frank Coxe Papers, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.      

• Since the author is an individual rather than a corporate author, his name should be listed with the first name then last name (A.B. Harris). The same holds true for the recipient of the letter (Frank Coxe).
• Sometimes you will not have a date. In this case, use the phrase n.d.
• Use a comma after every element of the note and a period at the end of the note. 
• After you’ve listed one full reference, any other footnote/endnote citing this specific source will use a shortened reference or ibid.

  Note (Subsequent mentions, shortened reference):     

       7. A. B. Harris to Frank Coxe , 25 March 1889, Coxe Papers. 

  Bibliography:

Coxe, Frank., Papers .  D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections. University of North Carolina at Asheville,        Asheville, NC.      

• Because this collection contains the papers of an individual, the collection name is listed with the person's last name first, followed by a comma, then the first name, then a comma, then "Papers," then a period: Coxe, Frank., Papers .
• While the note cites an individual item or document, the bibliography entry does not list specific items -- unless only one item from a collection is cited . In that case the bibliography will include the individual item in addition to the collection, repository, and repository location.
• In other words, if you cited two or more items from the Frank Coxe Paper, then you would use the bibliography entry as listed above.
• If you cited only one item from the Frank Coxe Papers in your paper, then your bibliography entry would look like this:

Harris, A. B., and Frank Coxe. Letter of 25 March 1889. Frank Coxe Papers.  D. H.        Ramsey Library Special Collections. University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.

Example 3: Citing an online document from a manuscript collection

The Chicago Manual of Style states that "It should be noted that citations of collections consulted online... will usually be the same as citations of physical collections, aside from the addition of a URL or DOI." (14.232, p 749)

How does this work?

Let's say you are researching the building of the Battery Park Hotel and using the Frank Coxe Papers. You find this doucment in the Western North Carolina Heritage website (which is part of Special Collections at UNC Asheville):  "Specificiations for Standard Hydraulic Passenger Elevator to be manufactured by Otis Brothers & Co." The document is dated February 24, 1886, and is a digitized document from the Frank Coxe Papers. The corporate author is Otis Brothers & Co. The URL is http://cdm15733.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15733coll5/id/13. 

Here's how you would cite this:

• Use a comma after every element in the note and a period at the end of the note. 

       7. Otis Brothers, Coxe Papers. 

• It does not include the URL.
• Use a period after each element in the bibliography.

Special Collections contains over 600 Oral Histories. Often an oral history may have a tape recording or CD of the actual interview.  Sometimes it may have a transcript of the interview as well.

In Chicago style, the kinds of oral histories we have in Special Collections are treated as unpublished interviews. (For more detailed information, see section 14.218-14.223 of the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., pp 744-746)

Citing an oral history

Look at this oral history in Special Collections: Hugh Creasman Oral History.   Looking at the information about the oral history, you'll note that the oral history is with Hugh Creasman, he was interviewed by Louis D. Sliveri on August 16, 1976, and that the oral history is part of the Louis D. Silveri Oral History Collection.

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, "unpublished interviews are best cited in text or in notes, although they may occasionally appear in bibliographies." (14.219, p. 744). Check with your professor about whether you should include a bibliography entry for an oral history.    This example will show both a note and an bibliography entry.

        8. Hugh Creasman ,   interview by Louis Silveri,  16 August 1976, transcript, Louis Silveri Oral History Collection, Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.

• Use commas after all elements and a period at the end of the note.
• Many oral histories are not part of a collection. If so, omit the collection part of the citation.
• There may either be a transcript or recording. Cite whichever you used.

Note (Subsequent Mentions):

Shortened reference:

        10. Creasman,  interview .

• The first line is indented, and the note only requires the interviewee's last name, the title of the article (sometimes shortened), and a specific page reference.

Bibliography (As noted above, check with your professor before making a biblography entry for an oral history. ) 

Creasman, Hugh .   Interview by Louis Silveri.  16 August 1976 . T ranscript.   Louis Silveri Oral History Collection.       Ramsey Library Special Collections. University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.

• The first line is not indented, but the second line and all following lines are indented. 
• The interviewee's last name is listed first, unlike the note, where it is First Name Last Name.
• Use periods after all parts of the bibliography (except the comma between "University of North Carolina at Asheville" and "Asheville, NC.")

Sometimes your research will involve using maps that you will need to cite. In terms of citations, the library has two different types of maps that require different different citations.

• One type of map is a published map , such as the topographical maps in the map case on the second floor.  
• The second type are unpublished maps that are part of manuscript collections in Special Collections.
• This section will show you how to cite both published and unpublished maps.

Citing a published map

Suppose you are writing a paper about the history of the exploration of Mt. Mitchell and you are using a topographic map from the map case on the second floor of the library.  You look at the map and note that it's a US Geological Survey map that was published by the Tennessee Valley Authority.  Further inspection of the map shows the following information: 

• U.S. Geological Survey (author - who created/authored the map)
• Mt. Mitchell Quadrangle, North Carolina, 200-SE (the title of the map)
• 1946 (the publication date)
• Scale 1:24,000
• Tennessee Valley Authority, Maps and Surveys Division, Knoxville, TN (the publisher and place)

The format for citing published maps and illustrations is the same (see Chicago Manual of Style,16th ed. , 14-165, p. 726) 

        1. U.S. Geological Survey, Mt. Mitchell Quadrangle, North Carolina [map], (Knoxville, TN: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1946)

• Use a comma after the author's name, a comma after the map title, and the format in brackets with a comma after it. The next section is in parentheses, and includes the place of publication followed by a colon, the publisher followed by a comma, and the publication date. 

       7. U.S. Geological Survey ,  Mt. Mitchell Quadrangle. 

• Use period after all elements except the place of publication, which takes a colon between it and the publisher.

Citing a unpublished map from a manuscript collection

Special Collections contains hundreds of unpublished maps that can only be found in manuscript collections. Citing a map is like citing a document in a manuscript collection, and follows the same guidelines as above for "Citing a document in a manuscript collection."  Here's an example:

For instance, you are using the Carolina Mountain Club Archives to research a paper about Linville Gorge. You find a hand-drawn map of a hike to Shortoff Mountain. While this map has no actual title written on it, it is important to describe the item so it can be easily identified. There is no date on it and you found it in Folder 9 in Box 8.  There is a corporate author, the Carolina Mountain Club. Let's take a look at how this would work:

        1. Carolina Mountain Club , Hiking map to Shortoff Mountain,  n.d., Box 8, Folder 9, Carolina Mountain Club Archives, D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.      

• Because this is part of the Carolina Mountain Club archives and no specific author is noted on the map, use the "Carolina Mountan
• Note that because Hiking map to Shortoff Mountain is a description of the item rather than a title, is not in quotation marks. If the map actually had the title " Hiking map to Shortoff Mountain" on it, then you would put it in quotation marks as a title.
• The map does not have a date. In this case, use the phrase n.d.
• Use a comma after the author's name, a comma after the document title, and a comma after the date, a comma after the box and file number, a comma after the collection name, a comma after the repository name, and a period at the end of the note. 

       7. Carolina Mountain Club , Hiking map to Shortoff Mountain.

• Use a period after the collection name, after the respository name, and after the author's name, and at the end of the bibliography entry.
• While the note included the item or document being cited, the bibliography does not include specific items -- unless only one item from a collection is cited. Then you would list the individual item in addition to the collection, respository, and repository location. For instance, if you cited two or more items from the Carolina Mountain Club Archives, then you would use the bibliography entry as listed above. If you cited only the one document listed in the bibliography above and no more documents, then your bibliograhy entry would look like this:

Photographs are a bit different in Chicago/Turabian style because they are cited in notes only and not in the bibliography.

You will need to use the following elements in your citation (Turabian, 8th ed., 17.8.1.1)

• Name of the photographer (if known)
• Title of the photograph in italics
• Date of photograph (preceded by ca. [ circa ] in italics if approximate, or n.d. if unknown)
• Name of the repository that houses the photograph

How to cite a photograph

Suppose you are researching the history of Tryon, NC. You find a photograph of a Catholic Church in Tryon, NC, in the R. Henry Scadin Collection that you want to use in your paper. You find this information about the photograph:

The photographer is R. Henry Scadin, and the photograph is labeled "Catholic Church, Tryon, NC," it's photograph number 958, and it's in Box 33. There is no date on the photograph. Here's how you would do the citation:

• The title and photograph number are in italics. If it does not have a title, use "untitled" and describe the photograph in your narrative. 
• The photograph does not have a date. In this case, use the phrase n.d.
• Use a comma after the photographer's name, a comma after the photograph title, a comma after the date, a comma after the box and file number, a comma after the collection name, a comma after the repository name, and a period at the end of the note. 

  7. R. Henry Scadin, Catholic Church. 

• The first line is indented, but the note only requires the photographer's name and the title of the photograph (which is sometimes shortened).

There is no bibliography entry for a photograph.

   How to cite a photograph in an online collection 

Citing a photograph from an online, digitized collection is the same as citing a regular photograph, with the addition of adding the URL and an access date. 

• Name of the online collection
• Date accessed

You are writing a paper about Asheville in the early 20th century, and you want to use a photograph of President Theodore Roosevelt when he spoke at Pack Square in 1902.  You find a photograph of Roosevelt's talk in the Western North Carolina Heritage website, and you have this information:

The photographer is H. W. Pelton, the photograph is titled "Pack Square Crowds greet President Theodore Roosevelt." It's from the E. M. Ball Collection. The date is 1902, and the URL is http://cdm15733.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/Photographs/id/639.  You accessed it on November 5, 2014.

            4. H. W. Pelton, Pack Square Crowds Greet President Theodore Roosevelt , 1902, E. M. Ball Collection, accessed November 5, 2014,  http://cdm15733.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/Photographs/id/639

• The photograph title is in italics. If it does not have a title, use "untitled" and describe the photograph in your narrative. 
• Use a comma after the photographer's name, a comma after the photograph title, a comma after the date, a comma after the accession date, and a period at the end of the note. 

Sometimes you will find newspaper clippings, magazine articles, or academic journal articles in a manuscript collection. How do you cite these? When citing a newspaper, magazine, or journal in a manuscript collection, it's good to also provide information about the article, such as the title of the article, the name of the newspaper, the author of the article, and the date it was published. Sometime you might not have all this information, especially if the article was clipped out of the newspaper, but you can use what information you do have to describe the article as completely as possible. Let's take a look at a few examples of how this would work.

Example 1: Citing a newspaper article or clipping from a manuscript collection

Look at the citation information from the Carolina Mountain Club Archives finding aid above. This has basic information about the collection, repository, and location of repository that you will need for your citation, but you will also add more information about the newspaper article. 

Let's say you're working with the Carolina Mountain Club Archives and you find a newspaper article that you need for your research. You find an article that you want to cite, and you are able to identify a lot of information about it.  The article is "Are Dogwoods Doomed?" by Clarke Morrison. It was published in The Asheville Citizen on September 14, 1990. It was in Box 9, Folder 3 of the Carolina Mountain Club Archives. To cite this, what you end up doing is using the citation style for a newspaper article and adding it to the manuscript citation - thereby providing information about both the original article and the manuscript collection where you found it.

        1. Clarke Morrison , "Are Dogwoods Doomed?,"   The Asheville Citizen , September 14, 1990,   Box 9, Folder 3,   Carolina Mountain Club Archives ,  D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.       

• Note that this describes the information about the newspaper article, then describes the collection information.

       7. Morrison ,  "Dogwoods," Carolina Mountain Club Archives .

Carolina Mountain Club Archives. D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections.        University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.        

• In other words, if you cited two or more items from the Carolina Mountain Club Archives, then you would use the bibliography entry as listed above.
• If you cited only one item from the  Carolina Mountain Club Archives in your paper, then your bibliography entry would look like this:

Morrison, Clarke . "Are Dogwoods Doomed? . "   The Asheville Citizen. September 14, 1990. Carolina Mountain Club        Archives. D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections.   University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.

Example 2: Citing a newspaper article with missing information

Sometimes you will find a newspaper or magazine article that has been clipped from the original paper or magazine. All you have is an article - you don't have the author, publication date, or even what newspaper published the article. If you add no information at all the reader may wonder who wrote the article, what paper it was in, and when it was published. However, Chicago style allows for comments in footnotes and endnotes (CMOS, 14.32) that you can use to explain this, and the commentary is inserted at the end of the note.

Let's assume you're working with the Carlina Mountain Club Archives. You find a clipping of a newspaper article titled "Hiking the Appalachian Trail" in Box 9, Folder 3, but it does not list an author or publication date, and you can't tell what paper it was published in. Your citation would look like this:     

Note (First mention, full reference) :

        1. "Hiking the Appalachian Trail,"  Box 9, Folder 3,   Carolina Mountain Club Archives,   D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC.   Newspaper clipping missing author, publication date, and name of newspaper.     

• Note that this describes the information about the newspaper article, then describes the collection information. The additional phrase at the end clarifies why the information about the artilce is incomplete. 
• Use a comma after every element of the note and a period after the repository location. Use a period after the commentary phrase. 

       7 . " Hiking the Appalachian Trail,"  Carolina Mountain Club Archives.

 Bibliography:

Carolina Mountain Club Archives.   D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections.           University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC .        

• If you cited only one item from the Carolina Mountain Club Archives in your paper, then your bibliography entry would look like this: 

"Hiking the Appalachian Trail." Carolina Mountain Club Archives. D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections.                       University of North Carolina at Asheville, Asheville, NC 

Head of Special Collections & University Archivist

• Last Updated: Apr 19, 2023 10:44 AM
• URL: https://library.unca.edu/CMOSSpecialCollections

How do I cite an authored work contained in another authored work, like an essay in a textbook?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

To cite an essay with an author in a textbook with authors rather than editors, follow the MLA format template and list the authors of the textbook in the “Other contributors” slot:

Graff, Gerald. “Disliking Books.”  From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Practical Guide , by Stuart Greene and April Lidinsky, 2nd ed., Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2012, pp. 22-26.

• How to Cite
• Language & Lit
• Rhyme & Rhythm
• The Rewrite
• Search Glass

How to Cite an Essay Within a Book in the APA Format

Writers must correctly acknowledge the sources of borrowed words and ideas when writing research papers in order to avoid charges of plagiarism, which, apart from the ethical concerns, can also have serious consequences ranging from loss of credit on the assignment to expulsion from school. Citing an essay within a book requires proper formatting both within the text of your paper and on the References page.

APA in-text citations, whether they appear in signal phrases or parenthetical citations, typically include the author's last name and the year of publication. As explained in the sixth edition, second printing of the "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association," when you cite an essay within a compilation, you should give the last name of the author of the essay in the citation along with the year the book was published with a comma between. For an article written by Kelly James appearing in a book published in 2011, the citation would appear like this: (James, 2011).

The References page entry begins with the information that appears in the citation, so start with the author of the essay, the last name followed by the first initial with a comma between. After a period, you should place the publication date, in parentheses, ending with a period. The title of the essay appears next followed by a period. Capitalize the first word but no others except proper nouns, and you should not use italics or quotation marks around it. Next write "In" (without the quotation marks) and give the editor, first initial followed by last name. Use "&" (without the quotation marks) between them if you have more than one. Put (Ed.) and a comma to indicate this is an editor, and then give the title of the book, italicized. The page numbers for the essay appear next, in parentheses, after "pp." (without the quotation marks). After a period, the location, a colon and the company appear for print sources. Such an entry might look like this: James, K. (2005). The article's title. In D. Evans & E. Raines (Eds.), The name of the compilation (italicized) (pp. 133-152). New York: Penguin.

Web pages give "Retrieved from" (without the quotation marks) and the URL instead of the publisher details.

Need help with a citation? Try our citation generator .

• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition, 2nd printing); American Psychological Association
• APA Style: Books and Book Chapters: What to Cite
• Purdue Online Writing Lab: Reference List: Books

Kristie Sweet has been writing professionally since 1982, most recently publishing for various websites on topics like health and wellness, and education. She holds a Master of Arts in English from the University of Northern Colorado.

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Citing sources
• How to Cite a Book | APA, MLA, & Chicago Examples

How to Cite a Book | APA, MLA, & Chicago Examples

Published on February 26, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on January 17, 2024.

To cite a book, you need a brief in-text citation and a corresponding reference listing the author’s name, the title, the year of publication, and the publisher. The order and format of information depends on the citation style you’re using. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago style .

Use the interactive example generator to explore the format of book citations in MLA and APA.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

Citing a book in mla style, citing a book in apa style, citing a book in chicago style, where to find source information in a book, frequently asked questions about citations.

An MLA book citation includes the author’s name , the book title (in italics, capitalized headline-style), the edition (if specified), the publisher, and the year of publication. If it’s an e-book , write “e-book” (or a more specific description, e.g. “Kindle ed.”) before the publisher name.

The corresponding in-text citation lists the author’s last name and the page number of the passage cited.

You can also use our free MLA Citation Generator to create your book citations.

Generate accurate MLA citations with Scribbr

Citing a book chapter in mla.

To cite a book chapter , first give the author and title (in quotation marks) of the chapter cited, then information about the book as a whole and the page range of the specific chapter.

The in-text citation lists the author of the chapter and the page number of the relevant passage.

Don't submit your assignments before you do this

The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students. Free citation check included.

Try for free

An APA Style book citation lists the author’s last name and initials, the year of publication, the title and any subtitle (in italics, capitalizing only the first word), the edition (if specified), and the publisher. Add a DOI or URL to the end of the entry if available (e.g. for e-books or books accessed online ).

In an in-text citation, state the author’s last name and the publication year, and a page number if you need to show the location of a specific quote or paraphrase .

You can also use our free APA Citation Generator to automatically generate your book citations. Search for a title, DOI, or ISBN to retrieve the details.

Generate accurate APA citations with Scribbr

Citing a book chapter in apa.

To cite a book chapter , list information about the chapter first, followed by information about the book, including the book’s editor(s) and the chapter’s page range within the book.

The author of the chapter, not the editor of the book, is listed in the in-text citation.

Chicago notes and bibliography style uses footnotes to cite sources instead of parenthetical citations. These notes refer to a bibliography at the end giving full source details.

A Chicago bibliography entry for a book includes the author’s name, the book title and subtitle, the edition (if stated), the location and name of the publisher, and the year of publication. For an e-book , add the e-book format (e.g. “Kindle”) at the end.

Chicago also has an alternative style, Chicago author-date . You can see examples of book citations in this style here .

Citing a book chapter in Chicago

To cite a book chapter , start with the author and the title of the chapter (in quotation marks), then give the title (in italics) and editor of the book, the page range of the chapter, the location and name of the publisher, and the year of publication.

All the information you need for a book citation can usually be found on the book’s title page and copyright page. The main things you’re looking for are:

• the title (and subtitle if present)
• name(s) of the author(s)
• year of publication
• place of publication

You should also check if the book specifies an edition (e.g. 2nd edition, revised edition) and if any other contributors are named (e.g. editor, translator).

The image below shows where to find the relevant information on the title and copyright pages of a typical book.

Scribbr Citation Checker New

The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

• Missing commas and periods
• Incorrect usage of “et al.”
• Ampersands (&) in narrative citations
• Missing reference entries

The main elements included in all book citations across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the author, the title, the year of publication, and the name of the publisher. A page number is also included in in-text citations to highlight the specific passage cited.

In Chicago style and in the 6th edition of APA Style , the location of the publisher is also included, e.g. London: Penguin.

When a book’s chapters are written by different authors, you should cite the specific chapter you are referring to.

When all the chapters are written by the same author (or group of authors), you should usually cite the entire book, but some styles include exceptions to this.

• In APA Style , single-author books should always be cited as a whole, even if you only quote or paraphrase from one chapter.
• In MLA Style , if a single-author book is a collection of stand-alone works (e.g. short stories ), you should cite the individual work.
• In Chicago Style , you may choose to cite a single chapter of a single-author book if you feel it is more appropriate than citing the whole book.

Check if your university or course guidelines specify which citation style to use. If the choice is left up to you, consider which style is most commonly used in your field.

• APA Style is the most popular citation style, widely used in the social and behavioral sciences.
• MLA style is the second most popular, used mainly in the humanities.
• Chicago notes and bibliography style is also popular in the humanities, especially history.
• Chicago author-date style tends to be used in the sciences.

Other more specialized styles exist for certain fields, such as Bluebook and OSCOLA for law.

The most important thing is to choose one style and use it consistently throughout your text.

The abbreviation “ et al. ” (Latin for “and others”) is used to shorten citations of sources with multiple authors.

“Et al.” is used in APA in-text citations of sources with 3+ authors, e.g. (Smith et al., 2019). It is not used in APA reference entries .

Use “et al.” for 3+ authors in MLA in-text citations and Works Cited entries.

Use “et al.” for 4+ authors in a Chicago in-text citation , and for 10+ authors in a Chicago bibliography entry.

When you want to cite a specific passage in a source without page numbers (e.g. an e-book or website ), all the main citation styles recommend using an alternate locator in your in-text citation . You might use a heading or chapter number, e.g. (Smith, 2016, ch. 1)

In APA Style , you can count the paragraph numbers in a text to identify a location by paragraph number. MLA and Chicago recommend that you only use paragraph numbers if they’re explicitly marked in the text.

For audiovisual sources (e.g. videos ), all styles recommend using a timestamp to show a specific point in the video when relevant.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2024, January 17). How to Cite a Book | APA, MLA, & Chicago Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 12, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/cite-a-book/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, how to cite an image | photographs, figures, diagrams, how to cite a journal article | apa, mla, & chicago examples, how to cite a lecture | apa, mla & chicago examples, what is your plagiarism score.

• RRU Writing Centre
• WriteAnswers

Q. How do I cite and reference a work from an anthology or an edited collection of works?

• 3 Academic Integrity
• 48 Academic writing
• 42 APA Style
• 33 APA Style: Formatting
• 109 APA Style: In-text citations
• 107 APA Style: References
• 3 Generative AI
• 19 Legal citations
• 16 Paraphrasing
• 10 Punctuation
• 25 Quotations
• 17 Writing Centre information
• 65 Writing Centre resources

Answered By: Jonathan Faerber (he/him/his) Last Updated: Nov 02, 2021     Views: 25919

APA Style (7th ed.)

Since each work in an anthology or an edited collection is typically written and published as a single resource, cite and reference the individual work you read rather than the entire anthology or collection. For example, instead of citing and referencing the editors of the following collection (Milkoreit, Martinez, and Eschrich), an individual work in the collection is cited and referenced as follows:

• Narrative citation :  Davenport (2016) writes that "quoted text" (p. 108).
• Parenthetical citation :  (Davenport, 2016. p. 108)
• Reference entry :  Davenport, S. (2016). Masks. In M. Milkoreit, M. Martinez, and J. Eschrich (Eds.)  Everything change: An anthology of climate fiction  (pp. 107-126). Arizona State University. https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/everything-change-an-anthology-of-climate-fiction

Include the original publication date at the end of the reference entry and within in-text citations when applicable. See the following example for the format of republished work in a printed anthology or collection: 

• In-text citation : (Author, 1989/2019)
• Reference entry : Author, A. (2019). Title of original work. In E. Editor (Ed.).  Title of anthology or collection in sentence case and italics  (pp. xx-xxx). Publisher. (Original work published 1989).

Please see How do I reference a chapter of a book in APA Style?  and How do I cite or reference non-English or translated sources in APA Style?  for similar information as well as examples of non-English works that have been republished in English. 

• Share on Facebook

Was this helpful? Yes 0 No 0

• Library Accounts

Citing Resources from Special Collections and Archives

• General information
• APA 7th edition
• MLA 9th edition
• Chicago Manual of Style 17th ed.

APA Overview

• APA Style - Guides from the American Psychological Association
• UNLV Writing Center - APA handouts
• Crossref DOI lookup service Search here if you have an article to cite but can't find the DOI.

APA Paper Format

Details on formatting the title page, margins, and section headings of your APA style paper.

• APA Style: Sample Papers
• APA Style: Paper Format
• APA Style: Student Title Page Guide
• APA Style Journal Article Reference Checklist
• APA Style In-Text Citations Checklist

Guidance from APA

general template:

Creator or author. Item name [format if needed]. (Date). Item title. Collection name. (Collection number and location within collection),  Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. URL if online.

• Archival Documents and Collections, APA Style website

Unique materials from a university archive are considered “works of limited circulation” for the purpose of APA style citations. Therefore, they must include details documenting their location.

When no title is provided, you may create a descriptive title and enclose it in brackets. You may also include a bracketed description of the format. Consult section 10.8 Unpublished Works and Informally Published Works in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7th ed., for a template.

Example APA citations

• Photograph in digital collection
• Letter in digital collection
• Letter in physical collection
• Oral history transcript
• Folder in physical collection

Union Pacific Railroad Company. (after 1955). Aerial photograph of guests at the Riviera Hotel swimming pool (Las Vegas). Dreaming the Skyline: Resort Architecture and New Urban Space.  Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/d12n4zx07

Rinker, Cleveland A. Earle. (1907, Oct. 15). Letter from C. A. Earle Rinker to his mother. Southern Nevada: The Boomtown Years.  Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/d19z90s1h

Rinker, Cleveland A. Earle. (1907, Oct. 15). Letter from C. A. Earle Rinker to his mother. C. A. Earle Rinker Papers, 1880-1960 (MS-00514, box 2, folder 4). Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kline, Geoconda Arguello. (2014, Sept. 18). Transcript of interview with Geoconda Arguello Kline by Claytee D. White. Boyer Early Las Vegas History Project. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/d1gx47x5f

Stage productions, November 1963 [ledger and correspondence]. Copa Girls, 1952-1967, in Sands Hotel & Casino Public Relations records MS-00417 (box 19 folder 2), Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

• << Previous: General information
• Next: MLA 9th edition >>
• Last Updated: Oct 14, 2021 10:36 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.unlv.edu/c.php?g=1019758
• Special Collections
• Architecture Library
• Medical Library
• Music Library
• Teacher Library
• Law Library

• Back to AC Library Home

Library FAQs: Answer

• Library FAQs
• SLC FAQ Home
• 1 Accessibility Services
• 14 Articles & Journals
• 1 Audio-Visual Materials
• 25 Borrowing and Circulation
• 2 Catalogue
• 4 Community & Alumni
• 6 Contact Us
• 2 Copyright
• 28 Digital Resource Collections
• 5 Digital Resources Log In Problems
• 5 Faculty Services
• 3 Laptop Loans
• 9 Library Account/Card
• 1 Library Services
• 6 Off-campus access (online library resources)
• 2 Printing-Photocopying-Scanning
• 35 Research Help
• 28 Search Strategies
• 4 Study Space
• 19 Technical Help
• 33 Types of Digital Resources
• 23 Writing your paper

Anthologies in APA: Citing an anthology, compilation, or multi-authored textbook Last Updated: Aug 28, 2020 Views: 6105

Anthologies are collections of multiple works either by the same author or organized around the same theme. How you cite an anthology in the seventh edition of the American Psychological Association (APA) style depends on whether you are citing the entire anthology or a specific work within it. 

An entire anthology/edited book

Treat the editor of the anthology as its author, i.e. Editor's Last Name, First Initials. (Eds.). (Year of Publication). Title of book. Publisher.

Example Citation

Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Kerr, J. C., & Wood, M. J. (Eds.). (2009). Canadian fundamentals of nursing.   Mosby/Elsevier Canada.

A single work included in the anthology/edited book

Place the author of the work first, and include information about the editor of the anthology later in the citation, i.e. Author’s Last Name, First Initials. (Year of anthology’s publication). Title of work in anthology. In First Initial. Last Name of the anthology editor (Ed.), Title of anthology (page numbers).  Publisher.

Blake, W. (1990). The Tyger. In R. Scholes, N. R. Comley, C. H. Klaus, & D. Staines (Eds.), Elements of literature (pp 487-488). Oxford University Press.

Pen and the Pad has a good explanation of these citations.

Related FAQs

Related topics.

• Writing your paper

Ask The Library

Need more help.

Do you need to talk to library staff? All campus libraries offer brief research consultation and search help during business hours. Contact us in one of the following ways and we will answer within 24 hours during the business work week:

By Online Form

By live chat.

• Monday to Friday: 9am - 5pm

By One-on-One Appointments

• Students: research support in the form of advice or assistance. Please have a copy of your assignment or research notes with you to share with the reference staff.
• Faculty: Curate resources for your online teaching from Library subscribed content. Learn how to use Open Educational Resources (OER) to find, share and adapt material for your online courses or receive guidance with copyright.

Book Your Appointment

APA Style Guide: 7th Edition

• How To Use This Guide
• Ethical Use of Sources & Plagiarism This link opens in a new window
• Introduction to DOI
• Formatting: Title Page, Body, References
• Formatting: Annotated Bibliographies
• Formatting: Appendices
• Formatting: Quotations
• Formatting: Business Reports
• How to Format In-text Citations
• Citing Multiple Works
• Number and Type of Author
• Publication Date
• Page, Paragraph Number, Heading, and Time Stamp
• Citing Text Content Created by AI
• Citing Image Content Created by AI
• Brightspace, with Author
• Brightspace, No Author
• Comment on Blog Post
• Book with Author(s)
• Book with Author(s) and Editor(s)
• Book with Editor(s), No Author
• Book with Organization as Author
• Book with the Same Organization as Author & Publisher
• Textbook Chapter with Book Editor(s) and Chapter Author(s)
• Translation, Print Book

Work in an Anthology

• Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
• Dictionary with Editor(s)
• Entry in Online Dictionary, No Author
• Report with Author(s)
• Report, No Author
• Report with Report Number
• Report with Multiple Levels of Government
• eBook from Website or Library Database, with DOI
• eBook from Library Database, no DOI
• eBook from Website, no DOI
• Open Textbook
• General Information & Checklist
• Figure Notes & Legend
• In-text Citation & Reference Formatting
• Journal Article, Print
• Journal Article from Website or Library Database, with DOI
• Journal Article from Library Database, no DOI
• Journal Article from Website, no DOI
• Referencing: Images
• Referencing: Indigenous Elders & Knowledge Keepers
• Magazine Article, Print
• Magazine Article from Website, with DOI
• Magazine Article from Website, no DOI
• Newspaper Article, Print
• Newspaper Article from Library Database
• Newspaper Article from Website
• Newspaper Article, No Author
• Personal Communication, General
• Traditional Knowledge or Oral Traditions of Indigenous Peoples
• Referencing: Podcasts
• Referencing: PowerPoint Presentations
• Referencing: Secondary Sources
• Twitter Profile
• X (Tweet) or Instagram Post
• Facebook Page
• Post on Facebook, Tumblr, Linkedin, etc.
• TikTok Profile
• TikTok Post
• Referencing: Statistics Canada
• Table Notes
• Film or Video
• Online Film or Streaming Video
• YouTube Video, Personal Author
• YouTube Video, Username (No Personal Author Listed)
• Webpage on a News Website
• Webpage with Group or Organization as Author
• Webpage with a Personal Author
• Webpage with a Retrieval Date
• Common Knowledge
• Additional Resources
• Annotated Bibliographies This link opens in a new window
• Take A Quiz

Anthologies have an editor or editors for the entire work and separate authors for each story, essay or poem. You must cite and reference every story, essay or poem that you use in your paper separately , unless you are referring generally to the entire work.

Formatting Examples

• Reference Format
• In-text Citation Format
• Author, A. A. = Author's surname followed by first and middle initials, when available.
• Start the reference with the author of the story, essay, or poem.
• Follow the title with the editor(s) first initial and last name and "Ed." for one editor or "Eds." for multiple.
• Always include the original publication date of the story, essay, or poem.

Examples of formatting an in-text citation for this item are outlined below:

Remember, in-text citation formatting changes depending on a number of factors .

See  Number of Authors , Publication Date , and  Page/Paragraph Number or Heading  for more information.   

• << Previous: Translation, Print Book
• Next: Referencing: Clinical and Health Science Web Sources >>
• Last Updated: Jul 8, 2024 1:29 PM
• URL: https://library.nic.bc.ca/apa7th

Citing an article or essay within a multi-author book?

• bwiernik December 28, 2019 You would enter such items as “Book Section” and enter both the chapter and book titles, as well as both the authors and editors.
• tractiononreality December 28, 2019 Thank you. I was thinking one-click solutions using plugins, etc. Now, in the way you just explained it, would I have to "start again" (that is, enter chapter and book titles and the authors and editors info) if I want to cite another chapter/section of the book?
• bwiernik December 28, 2019 The Zutilo plugin adds an option to the right click menu to streamline the process of making Book Section items from a Book item.
• djross3 December 29, 2019 edited December 29, 2019 The general solution is to use the ISBN and convert to a book chapter, which requires minimal manual changes (adding title, chapter author and pages). A more specific solution that works for some publishers is using the DOI for a chapter if available, from the publisher's website (and if the publisher formats everything correctly, so it's actually less work than just converting from ISBN).
• tractiononreality December 29, 2019 Thank you
• romanodvm January 10, 2020 I just found this thread because I had the same question. I tried the Zutilo plug-in and it works perfectly.... thanks!

Upload image file with the file dialog or by dragging and dropping images onto the dashed region

How to cite ChatGPT

Use discount code STYLEBLOG15 for 15% off APA Style print products with free shipping in the United States.

We, the APA Style team, are not robots. We can all pass a CAPTCHA test , and we know our roles in a Turing test . And, like so many nonrobot human beings this year, we’ve spent a fair amount of time reading, learning, and thinking about issues related to large language models, artificial intelligence (AI), AI-generated text, and specifically ChatGPT . We’ve also been gathering opinions and feedback about the use and citation of ChatGPT. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and shared ideas, opinions, research, and feedback.

In this post, I discuss situations where students and researchers use ChatGPT to create text and to facilitate their research, not to write the full text of their paper or manuscript. We know instructors have differing opinions about how or even whether students should use ChatGPT, and we’ll be continuing to collect feedback about instructor and student questions. As always, defer to instructor guidelines when writing student papers. For more about guidelines and policies about student and author use of ChatGPT, see the last section of this post.

Quoting or reproducing the text created by ChatGPT in your paper

If you’ve used ChatGPT or other AI tools in your research, describe how you used the tool in your Method section or in a comparable section of your paper. For literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.

Unfortunately, the results of a ChatGPT “chat” are not retrievable by other readers, and although nonretrievable data or quotations in APA Style papers are usually cited as personal communications , with ChatGPT-generated text there is no person communicating. Quoting ChatGPT’s text from a chat session is therefore more like sharing an algorithm’s output; thus, credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation.

When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

You may also put the full text of long responses from ChatGPT in an appendix of your paper or in online supplemental materials, so readers have access to the exact text that was generated. It is particularly important to document the exact text created because ChatGPT will generate a unique response in each chat session, even if given the same prompt. If you create appendices or supplemental materials, remember that each should be called out at least once in the body of your APA Style paper.

When given a follow-up prompt of “What is a more accurate representation?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “different brain regions work together to support various cognitive processes” and “the functional specialization of different regions can change in response to experience and environmental factors” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Creating a reference to ChatGPT or other AI models and software

The in-text citations and references above are adapted from the reference template for software in Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020, Chapter 10). Although here we focus on ChatGPT, because these guidelines are based on the software template, they can be adapted to note the use of other large language models (e.g., Bard), algorithms, and similar software.

The reference and in-text citations for ChatGPT are formatted as follows:

• Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)
• Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

Let’s break that reference down and look at the four elements (author, date, title, and source):

Author: The author of the model is OpenAI.

Date: The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need.

Title: The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template. Although OpenAI labels unique iterations (i.e., ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4), they are using “ChatGPT” as the general name of the model, with updates identified with version numbers.

The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods.

Bracketed text is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.

Source: When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is https://chat.openai.com/chat . For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage).

Other questions about citing ChatGPT

You may have noticed the confidence with which ChatGPT described the ideas of brain lateralization and how the brain operates, without citing any sources. I asked for a list of sources to support those claims and ChatGPT provided five references—four of which I was able to find online. The fifth does not seem to be a real article; the digital object identifier given for that reference belongs to a different article, and I was not able to find any article with the authors, date, title, and source details that ChatGPT provided. Authors using ChatGPT or similar AI tools for research should consider making this scrutiny of the primary sources a standard process. If the sources are real, accurate, and relevant, it may be better to read those original sources to learn from that research and paraphrase or quote from those articles, as applicable, than to use the model’s interpretation of them.

We’ve also received a number of other questions about ChatGPT. Should students be allowed to use it? What guidelines should instructors create for students using AI? Does using AI-generated text constitute plagiarism? Should authors who use ChatGPT credit ChatGPT or OpenAI in their byline? What are the copyright implications ?

On these questions, researchers, editors, instructors, and others are actively debating and creating parameters and guidelines. Many of you have sent us feedback, and we encourage you to continue to do so in the comments below. We will also study the policies and procedures being established by instructors, publishers, and academic institutions, with a goal of creating guidelines that reflect the many real-world applications of AI-generated text.

For questions about manuscript byline credit, plagiarism, and related ChatGPT and AI topics, the APA Style team is seeking the recommendations of APA Journals editors. APA Style guidelines based on those recommendations will be posted on this blog and on the APA Style site later this year.

Update: APA Journals has published policies on the use of generative AI in scholarly materials .

We, the APA Style team humans, appreciate your patience as we navigate these unique challenges and new ways of thinking about how authors, researchers, and students learn, write, and work with new technologies.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Related and recent

Comments are disabled due to your privacy settings. To re-enable, please adjust your cookie preferences.

APA Style Monthly

Subscribe to the APA Style Monthly newsletter to get tips, updates, and resources delivered directly to your inbox.

Welcome! Thank you for subscribing.

APA Style Guidelines

Browse APA Style writing guidelines by category

• Abbreviations
• Bias-Free Language
• Capitalization
• In-Text Citations
• Italics and Quotation Marks
• Paper Format
• Punctuation
• Research and Publication
• Spelling and Hyphenation
• Tables and Figures

Full index of topics

Jump to navigation Skip to content

Search form

• P&W on Facebook
• P&W on Twitter
• P&W on Instagram

Find details about every creative writing competition—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, grants for translators, and more—that we’ve published in the Grants & Awards section of Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it in the Writing Contests database, the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.

Find a home for your poems, stories, essays, and reviews by researching the publications vetted by our editorial staff. In the Literary Magazines database you’ll find editorial policies, submission guidelines, contact information—everything you need to know before submitting your work to the publications that share your vision for your work.

Whether you’re pursuing the publication of your first book or your fifth, use the Small Presses database to research potential publishers, including submission guidelines, tips from the editors, contact information, and more.

Research more than one hundred agents who represent poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers, plus details about the kinds of books they’re interested in representing, their clients, and the best way to contact them.

Every week a new publishing professional shares advice, anecdotes, insights, and new ways of thinking about writing and the business of books.

Find publishers ready to read your work now with our Open Reading Periods page, a continually updated resource listing all the literary magazines and small presses currently open for submissions.

Since our founding in 1970, Poets & Writers has served as an information clearinghouse of all matters related to writing. While the range of inquiries has been broad, common themes have emerged over time. Our Top Topics for Writers addresses the most popular and pressing issues, including literary agents, copyright, MFA programs, and self-publishing.

Our series of subject-based handbooks (PDF format; $4.99 each) provide information and advice from authors, literary agents, editors, and publishers. Now available: The Poets & Writers Guide to Publicity and Promotion, The Poets & Writers Guide to the Book Deal, The Poets & Writers Guide to Literary Agents, The Poets & Writers Guide to MFA Programs, and The Poets & Writers Guide to Writing Contests.

Find a home for your work by consulting our searchable databases of writing contests, literary magazines, small presses, literary agents, and more.

Poets & Writers lists readings, workshops, and other literary events held in cities across the country. Whether you are an author on book tour or the curator of a reading series, the Literary Events Calendar can help you find your audience.

Get the Word Out is a new publicity incubator for debut fiction writers and poets.

Research newspapers, magazines, websites, and other publications that consistently publish book reviews using the Review Outlets database, which includes information about publishing schedules, submission guidelines, fees, and more.

Well over ten thousand poets and writers maintain listings in this essential resource for writers interested in connecting with their peers, as well as editors, agents, and reading series coordinators looking for authors. Apply today to join the growing community of writers who stay in touch and informed using the Poets & Writers Directory.

Let the world know about your work by posting your events on our literary events calendar, apply to be included in our directory of writers, and more.

Find a writers group to join or create your own with Poets & Writers Groups. Everything you need to connect, communicate, and collaborate with other poets and writers—all in one place.

Find information about more than two hundred full- and low-residency programs in creative writing in our MFA Programs database, which includes details about deadlines, funding, class size, core faculty, and more. Also included is information about more than fifty MA and PhD programs.

Whether you are looking to meet up with fellow writers, agents, and editors, or trying to find the perfect environment to fuel your writing practice, the Conferences & Residencies is the essential resource for information about well over three hundred writing conferences, writers residencies, and literary festivals around the world.

Discover historical sites, independent bookstores, literary archives, writing centers, and writers spaces in cities across the country using the Literary Places database—the best starting point for any literary journey, whether it’s for research or inspiration.

Search for jobs in education, publishing, the arts, and more within our free, frequently updated job listings for writers and poets.

Establish new connections and enjoy the company of your peers using our searchable databases of MFA programs and writers retreats, apply to be included in our directory of writers, and more.

• Register for Classes

Each year the Readings & Workshops program provides support to hundreds of writers participating in literary readings and conducting writing workshops. Learn more about this program, our special events, projects, and supporters, and how to contact us.

The Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award introduces emerging writers to the New York City literary community, providing them with a network for professional advancement.

Find information about how Poets & Writers provides support to hundreds of writers participating in literary readings and conducting writing workshops.

Bring the literary world to your door—at half the newsstand price. Available in print and digital editions, Poets & Writers Magazine is a must-have for writers who are serious about their craft.

View the contents and read select essays, articles, interviews, and profiles from the current issue of the award-winning Poets & Writers Magazine .

Read essays, articles, interviews, profiles, and other select content from Poets & Writers Magazine as well as Online Exclusives.

View the covers and contents of every issue of Poets & Writers Magazine , from the current edition all the way back to the first black-and-white issue in 1987.

Every day the editors of Poets & Writers Magazine scan the headlines—publishing reports, literary dispatches, academic announcements, and more—for all the news that creative writers need to know.

In our weekly series of craft essays, some of the best and brightest minds in contemporary literature explore their craft in compact form, articulating their thoughts about creative obsessions and curiosities in a working notebook of lessons about the art of writing.

The Time Is Now offers weekly writing prompts in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction to help you stay committed to your writing practice throughout the year. Sign up to get The Time Is Now, as well as a weekly book recommendation for guidance and inspiration, delivered to your inbox.

Every week a new author shares books, art, music, writing prompts, films—anything and everything—that has inspired and shaped the creative process.

Listen to original audio recordings of authors featured in Poets & Writers Magazine . Browse the archive of more than 400 author readings.

Ads in Poets & Writers Magazine and on pw.org are the best ways to reach a readership of serious poets and literary prose writers. Our audience trusts our editorial content and looks to it, and to relevant advertising, for information and guidance.

Start, renew, or give a subscription to Poets & Writers Magazine ; change your address; check your account; pay your bill; report a missed issue; contact us.

Peruse paid listings of writing contests, conferences, workshops, editing services, calls for submissions, and more.

Poets & Writers is pleased to provide free subscriptions to Poets & Writers Magazine to award-winning young writers and to high school creative writing teachers for use in their classrooms.

Read select articles from the award-winning magazine and consult the most comprehensive listing of literary grants and awards, deadlines, and prizewinners available in print.

• Subscribe Now

Once Out of Nature: Selected Essays on the Transformation of Gender by Joy Ladin

• Printable Version
• Log in to Send
• Log in to Save

page_one_ladin.mp3

Joy Ladin reads from her essay collection,  Once Out of Nature: Selected Essays on the Transformation of Gender , published by Persea Books in September 2024.  

Skip to Content

Other ways to search:

• Events Calendar

Want to write a college essay that sets you apart? Three tips to give you a head start

1. Keep it real. It’s normal to want to make a good impression on the school of your choice, but it’s also important to show who you really are. So just be yourself! Compelling stories might not be perfectly linear or have a happy ending, and that’s OK. It’s best to be authentic instead of telling schools what you think they want to hear.

2. Be reflective . Think about how you’ve changed during high school. How have you grown and improved? What makes you feel ready for college, and how do you hope to contribute to the campus community and society at large?

3. Look to the future. Consider your reasons for attending college. What do you hope to gain from your education? What about college excites you the most, and what would you like to do after you graduate? Answering these questions will not only give colleges insight into the kind of student you’ll be, but it will also give you the personal insight you’ll need to choose the school that’s right for you.

Have questions about college prep? We're here to help.

Written by CU Boulder Office of Admissions

• College-Prep

The University of Colorado does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, pregnancy, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, political affiliation, or political philosophy. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply. You may  view the list of ADA and Title IX coordinators  and  review the Regent policy .

As a student or prospective student at CU Boulder, you have a right to certain information pertaining to financial aid programs, the Clery Act, crime and safety, graduation rates, athletics and other general information such as the costs associated with attending CU Boulder. To view this information visit  colorado.edu/your-right-know .

Apply for Admission

Visit Campus

Support CU Boulder

• Safety & Health Services
• COVID-19 Information
• Campus Communications
• Emergency Alert System
• New Student & Family Programs

Getting Around

• Campus Events
• Parking & Transportation
• Visit Information

Information for

• Faculty & Staff
• Journalists

Initiatives

• Business & Industry Collaborations
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Free Speech
• Innovation & Entrepreneurship
• Public & Outreach Programs
• Sustainability
• Understanding Your Cost of Attendance