MLA Style: Citing Sections of Books

1. One part of a book by single author
2. Article or chapter in edited book
3. Article or entry in a reference book (print and online)
4. Work in an anthology
5. Introduction, preface, foreward, afterword
6. Article, story, poem found in coursepack

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One Part of a Book with a Single Author

In-Text Citation

(Garrett-Petts 63)

Works Cited

Author's Last Name, Author’s First Name. "Article or Chapter Title." Title of Book, Publisher, Year of Publication, pp. Page Range.

Example:

Garrett-Petts, W.F. "Writing the Critical Essay: Form and the Critical Process." Writing about Literature: A Guide for the Student Critic, Broadview, 2000, pp. 57-86. 

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Article or Chapter in Edited Book in Which There Are Articles/Chapter by a Number of Writers

In-Text Citation

(Lacombe 126)

Works Cited

Author's Last Name, Author’s First Name. "Article or Chapter Title." Title of Book, edited by Editor's Name(s), Publisher, Year of Publication, pp. Page Range.

Example:

Lacombe, Michele. "The Cybor Identities of Oryx and Crake." Margaret Atwood: The Open Eye, edited by John Moss and Tobi Kozakewich, U of Ottawa P, 2006, pp. 117-36. 

Cross Referencing Articles Found in One Book

Sometimes, you may cite several articles by different authors from one edited book. MLA now indicates that you may “cross reference” within your Works Cited list, so you don’t have to write out the full publication information for every article you cite.

To cross reference, you would include in the Works Cited, an entry for the entire collection under the editor’s name, plus an entry for each article you are citing, under each author’s name, with abbreviated publication information.  So, if you are citing two articles from one edited book, you would end up with three entries, one under the editor, plus two more, under each author:

Entire Collection:

Murphy, Christina, and Byron L. Stay, editors. The Writing Center Director’s Resource Book. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 2006.

Each Article:

Lerner, Neal. "Time Warp: Historical Representations of Writing Center Directors." Murphy and Stay, pp. 3-12.

Simpson, Jeanne. "Managing Encounters with Central Administration." Murphy and Stay, pp. 199-214.

Notice

• Each item appears in the Works Cited list in alphabetical order.

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Entry in a Reference Book (including Encyclopedia) or Dictionary

Reference Book/Encyclopedia Article - No Author Given

In-Text Citation

("Chile")

Works Cited

"Reference/Article Title." Title of Reference Book. Year of edition, p. Page or pp. Page Range.

“Reference Book Article." Title Reference Book, Number of edition if given, Any Editor or Publisher Information provided, and Date Created if given, URL, permalink or doi. 

Example:

"Chile." The Encyclopedia Americana. 2004, p. 146.

“Halloween." Encyclopaedia Britannica, 30 Oct.  2015, www.britannica.com/topic/Halloween.

Reference Book/Encyclopedia Article - Authored Entries

(Popham)

Works Cited:

Author's Last Name, First Name. "Article title." Title of Reference Book, edited by Editor's Name, Number of edition, Year of Publication, p. Page or pp. Page Range. 

Author's Last Name, Author’s First Name. “Reference Book Article." Title Reference Book, Number of edition if given, URL, permalink or doi. 

Example:

Popham, Elizabeth. "Arcadian Fiction." The Spenser Encyclopedia, edited by A.C. Hamilton, 2nd ed, 2006, pp. 51-2.

Pigliucci, Massimo. "Stoicism." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by James Fiesser and Bradley Dawden,  www.iep.utm.edu/stoicism/. 

Notice:

• When no author is given and you are using the article title in the in-text citation, you may shorten a longer title. When no author is given for the encyclopedia entry, the title of the entry begins the Works Cited list entry. Do not use Anonymous or Anon. Alphabetize the entry using the title.

Dictionary Entry 

In-Text Citation

("Sickle") ("Sepulchre")

Works Cited

"Dictionary Entry." Title of Dictionary, edited by Editor's Name, Year of Publication, p. Page or pp. Page Range. 

"Dictionary Entry." Title of Dictionary, Any Editor, Publication, and Date Created Information Given, URL, permalink or DOI. 

Example:

"Sickle, N." The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, edited by Katherine Barber, 2nd ed., 2004, p. 1448.

"Sepulchre." OED Online, Oxford University Press, December 2016, www.oed.com/view/Entry/176261?rskey=zxKqzl&result=1#eid. 

Notice:

• If your source offers a stable URL or permalink, use that over a URL.
• When citing encyclopedias, dictionaries or other reference books, you do not need to give full publication information, as shown in the first example.
• Because the second example (from The Spenser Encyclopedia) is not widely-used, but more specialized in topic, full publication information is given in the works cited list.

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Work in an Anthology

Short Work (eg. Poem, Short Story, Essay) in an Anthology

In-Text Citation 

(Dickinson line 6)

Works Cited

Author's Name: Last Name First. "Short Work (Poem) Title." Title of Anthology,  edited by  Editor's Name, Publisher, Year of Publication, p. Page or pp. Page Range. 

Example:

Dickinson, Emily. "You Cannot Make Remembrance Grow." The Poems of Emily Dickinson: Reading Edition, edited by R.W. Franklin, Belknapp P of Harvard U, 1999, p. 1536. 

Notice: 

• Because the in-text citation is for a poem, 6 refers to a line instead of a page number; a page number is used for a short story or an article. 
• As the works cited example shows, titles of short poems, short stories, essays or other works that have probably not been previously published on their own are enclosed in quotation marks.

Longer Work (eg. Play, Novel) in an Anthology

In-Text Citation

(Shakespeare 1.2.26-30)

Works Cited

Author's Name: Last Name First. Title of Short Work Previously Published on Its Own (Play). Title of Anthology, edited by Editor's Name, Publisher, Year of Publication, p. Page or pp. Page Range. 

Example:

Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. William Shakespeare: The Complete Works,  edited by Alfred Harbage, Penguin, 1969, pp. 930-76.

Notice:

• Because the in-text citation is for a play, 1.2.26-30 refers to act, scene and line numbers.
• In the works cited example, the work in the anthology is a play, which, like a novel or a long poem, has probably been previously published on its own. Therefore, the title of this work, as well as the title of the anthology, is put in italics. When in doubt, use quotation marks.

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Introduction, Preface, Foreword, Afterword

In-Text Citation

(McGlinn viii)

Works Cited

Last Name of the Author (of the section/element), First Name. Description of section or "Title" (if unique title provided). Title of Book, by Author's Name, Publisher, Year of Publication, pp. Page Range. 

Example:

McGlinn, Margeurite. Introduction. The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric, by Sister Miriam Joseph, Paul Dry Books, 2002, pp. vii-xi. 

Notice:

• The name of the part being cited, Introduction, Preface, Foreword, Afterword, etc. is in capitals, but not put in italics or enclosed in quotation marks.
  • If the part has a unique title, use it instead of a description such as Introduction, and place the title in quotation marks. 
• Sometimes, the writer of the Introduction, Preface, Foreword, Afterword, etc is the same as the author of the complete work. In that case, write the author’s last name only after the word “by” in the entry.
• Sometimes, an Introduction is paginated in Roman Numerals. If so, use the Roman Numerals to indicate the page range of the Introduction, as is done here.

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Article, Story, Poem etc. Found in a Course Pack

In-Text Citation

(Rossetti 55)

Works Cited

Author's Name: Last Name First. "Short Work (Poem) Title." Title of Course pack, compiled by Compiler's Name and/or Department, Publisher (if available), Year of Publication, p. Page or pp. Page Range. Location (institution name). 

Example:

Rossetti, Christina. "Goblin Market." English 1000: Introduction to English Literature, compiled by Department of English Literature, Canadian Scholar's Press, 2009, pp. 52-57, Trent University. 

Notice:

• The author's name is followed by the title of the work in the course pack, in this example, a poem, followed by the title of the course pack.
• If the title is for a longer work, use italics not quotation marks.
• The editor and the department of the course pack follows the title. If no person is given, simply put the department, in this case, the English literature department at Trent University.
• Course pack publisher and date are followed by the page range. Some course packs are paginated continuously, some are not but include page numbers found on the work. Use what you have. If you have both, we suggest you use the continuous pagination of the whole course pack.
• Citing a source found on Blackboard.