To cite a book chapter in MLA style, list the chapter author, the chapter title in quotation marks, the italicized book title, the editor's name, the publisher, the publication year, and the page range.
When you are referencing a specific essay, short story, or chapter within an edited book or anthology, MLA 9th edition requires you to credit the specific author of that section while also providing the details of the larger container (the book itself).
Works Cited Entry Format
The general formula for your Works Cited page should follow this exact structure:
Chapter Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Chapter." Title of the Book, edited by Editor First Name Last Name, Publisher, Year, pp. xx-xx.
Example:
Smith, John. "The Art of Citation." Modern Academic Writing, edited by Jane Doe, University Press, 2023, pp. 45-67.
Here is a quick breakdown of the key components:
- Chapter Author: Always start with the person who wrote the specific chapter, not the editor of the entire book.
- Chapter Title: Place the title of the chapter or essay inside quotation marks. Place a period at the end of the title, inside the closing quotation mark.
- Book Title: Italicize the title of the full book.
- Editor(s): Precede the editor's name with "edited by". Write their name in standard First Name Last Name order.
- Page Numbers: Use "pp." followed by the full page range of the chapter (e.g., pp. 112-134). If the chapter is only on a single page, use "p." instead.
In-Text Citation Format
For your in-text citations, you will use the last name of the chapter's author (not the book's editor) and the specific page number you are referencing or quoting.
Example:
(Smith 52)
If you already mention the author's name in the text of your sentence, you only need to include the page number in the parentheses at the end of the sentence.
Tips for Complex Citations
- Multiple Authors: If the chapter has two authors, list them as "Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name." For three or more authors, use "Last Name, First Name, et al."
- No Editor: If a book is written entirely by one author but you only want to cite a specific chapter, simply omit the "edited by" section. However, it is usually standard practice to cite the entire book unless you are specifically highlighting an independently titled chapter.
- Avoiding Errors: Keeping track of different formatting rules for anthologies and edited collections can be tedious, but WisPaper's TrueCite automatically finds and verifies your citations, eliminating hallucinated references and ensuring your MLA format is accurate.
