To cite a book, give the author, year, title (in italics), edition if not the first, and publisher, arranged in the order your citation style requires. The in-text citation then points to that entry with the author and year or page.
This page shows the exact formats for APA 7th, MLA 9th, Chicago and Harvard, covering whole books, multiple authors, edited and translated books, chapters in edited collections and ebooks.
What Every Book Citation Needs
Collect the author or editor names, year of publication, full title and subtitle, edition, publisher and, for an ebook, a DOI or URL if your style uses one. Take them from the title page and copyright page.
The examples use an invented book: Cities after the Car: Rethinking Urban Transport by Maria T. Rivera, published by Halden Books in 2020.
Citing a Whole Book
| Style | Reference entry | In-text |
|---|---|---|
| APA 7th | Rivera, M. T. (2020). Cities after the car: Rethinking urban transport. Halden Books. | (Rivera, 2020, p. 18) |
| MLA 9th | Rivera, Maria T. Cities after the Car: Rethinking Urban Transport. Halden Books, 2020. | (Rivera 18) |
| Chicago 18th | Rivera, Maria T. Cities after the Car: Rethinking Urban Transport. Halden Books, 2020. | Note: Maria T. Rivera, Cities after the Car (Halden Books, 2020), 18. |
| Harvard | Rivera, M.T. (2020) Cities after the car: rethinking urban transport. London: Halden Books. | (Rivera, 2020, p. 18) |
Note the title capitalization. APA uses sentence case, capitalizing the first word of the subtitle too. MLA and Chicago use title case. Harvard versions vary, and many UK guides use the capitalization shown above.
Which Edition of Chicago?
Chicago's 18th edition made the place of publication optional. If your course uses the 17th edition, add the city before the publisher: London: Halden Books, 2020.
Two, Three or More Authors
| Style | Two authors | Three or more authors |
|---|---|---|
| APA 7th reference | Rivera, M. T., & Cole, J. (2020). | List up to 20 authors: Rivera, M. T., Cole, J., & Duarte, L. (2020). |
| APA 7th in-text | (Rivera & Cole, 2020) | (Rivera et al., 2020) |
| MLA 9th Works Cited | Rivera, Maria T., and James Cole. | Rivera, Maria T., et al. |
| MLA 9th in-text | (Rivera and Cole 18) | (Rivera et al. 18) |
In MLA, only the first author's name is inverted (surname first). Later authors appear in normal order.
Edited and Translated Books
When a book has an editor rather than an author, the editor takes the author position with a label.
APA 7th edited book: Bell, S., & Rao, P. (Eds.). (2019). Urban futures. Halden Books.
MLA 9th edited book: Bell, Sara, and Priya Rao, editors. Urban Futures. Halden Books, 2019.
For a translated book, the original author stays in the author position and the translator is added.
APA 7th: Laurent, C. (2018). The quiet street (A. Hughes, Trans.). Halden Books. (Original work published 1994)
APA 7th in-text: (Laurent, 1994/2018)
MLA 9th: Laurent, Claire. The Quiet Street. Translated by Anna Hughes, Halden Books, 2018.
A Chapter in an Edited Book
When chapters have their own authors, cite the chapter you used, then the book it appears in.
APA 7th: Nakamura, H. (2019). Water and the growing city. In S. Bell & P. Rao (Eds.), Urban futures (pp. 33–58). Halden Books.
MLA 9th: Nakamura, Haruto. "Water and the Growing City." Urban Futures, edited by Sara Bell and Priya Rao, Halden Books, 2019, pp. 33–58.
Chicago bibliography: Nakamura, Haruto. "Water and the Growing City." In Urban Futures, edited by Sara Bell and Priya Rao, 33–58. Halden Books, 2019.
Harvard: Nakamura, H. (2019) 'Water and the growing city', in Bell, S. and Rao, P. (eds) Urban futures. London: Halden Books, pp. 33–58.
In-text, cite the chapter author, not the editors: (Nakamura, 2019) in APA, (Nakamura 40) in MLA.
Editions
Include the edition from the second edition onwards. Always cite the edition you actually used.
- APA 7th: in brackets after the title: Cities after the car (2nd ed.).
- MLA 9th: after the title: Cities after the Car. 2nd ed., Halden Books, 2023.
- Chicago: after the title: Cities after the Car. 2nd ed. Halden Books, 2023.
- Harvard: usually after the title as 2nd edn.
Ebooks
Ebooks are cited much like print books, with small additions depending on the style.
| Style | What changes for an ebook |
|---|---|
| APA 7th | Nothing for format; add a DOI or, if none, a URL for books read online that are not from an academic database |
| MLA 9th | You can note "e-book ed." in the version slot; add a database or website as a second container if relevant |
| Chicago | Add the format (such as Kindle) or a URL or database name |
| Harvard | Many versions add "Available at:" a URL and an accessed date; follow your guide |
If an ebook has no stable page numbers, cite a chapter or section instead of a page in your in-text citation.
Common Book Citation Mistakes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Title case in APA | Use sentence case for book titles |
| Citing the editors for a chapter | Cite the chapter author first |
| Leaving out the edition | Include it from the second edition |
| Location in APA 7th | Leave the city out |
| Inverting every author in MLA | Invert only the first author |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Author, A. A. (Year). Title in sentence case and italics. Publisher. In the text: (Author, Year), with a page number for quotations.
Surname, First Name. Title in Title Case and Italics. Publisher, Year. In the text: (Surname page).
Not in APA 7th, MLA 9th or Chicago 18th. Chicago 17th and many Harvard versions include it.
Cite the chapter author, chapter title and page range, then the editors and book title. In the text, cite the chapter author.
Add the translator after the title as (A. Hughes, Trans.) and end with (Original work published Year). In the text, give both years: (Laurent, 1994/2018).
In APA 7th, include a DOI if the ebook has one. If it has no DOI and comes from an academic database, you usually leave the URL out.
If an organization wrote it, use the organization as author. If not, start with the title and use a short title in the in-text citation.