How to Cite a Book in MLA Format

Basic Information

• When you want to put together book origins, you need to make a note of the below bibliographic entries: author name(s), book title, publication date, publisher, place of publication. For all hardcopy books use the following:

Book with one Author

• Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of the Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Medium of Publication.

—Ackroyd, Peter. The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde. United Kingdom: Hamish Hamilton, 1983. Print.

Book with more than one Author(s)

• The first provided name appears as last name, first name sequence. Other names appear as first name last name sequence.

—Friedman, Milton, and Anna Jacobson Schwartz. A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960. USA: Princeton University Press, 1963. Print.

Book with no Author Information Available

• If the book has no author, start with the title, followed by the other items in alphabetical sequence. The below example might be part of entries of publications by John, Harry, and Stacy, Hathaway.

—Peterson's Annual Guides to Graduate Study. New Jersey: Peterson's, 1999. Print.