MLA Format Citation Generator for Book – Problem-Free Referencing
If you study humanitarian subjects at college, you will be assigned to create essays, research papers, term papers, and other works in MLA style. It means that your teachers want you to format your citations and references in a certain way. It is typical for academic world – papers in different disciplines follow different formatting rules.
Why is it so important to mark your quotations and create correct reference lists? There are a couple of reasons for that. First, you cannot avoid using outside sources like books, scientific journals, newspapers, and other materials to create a thoughtful paper. You have to base your ideas and interpretations on the previous research to give credibility to your work. Every time you use someone’ ideas in your text, it is necessary to mention the author you are referring to. This is one of the main rules of academic community – always give credit to the original authors, unless you will be claiming that these findings were made by you. To put it simply, claiming that someone’s ideas belong to you is considered as an academic crime called plagiarism. You already know that being a plagiarizer is a risky move, which entails serious problems. The pickiest professors give their gruel to plagiarizers by excluding them from colleges.
Beyond ethical reasons, there is also a practical one. Think about your readers that might want to learn more about the subject. When you inform them about the sources you have used, you provide them with an opportunity to retrieve those sources and get more information about the topic.
If you don’t feel like formatting your paper by hand, then use our free MLA book citation generator! This tool will help you create perfect references without any problems and efforts. There is nothing simpler than using it – just choose the source type and style, insert all the source details, and the tool will do the rest. Automatic citations and references save your time and help you avoid mistakes!
How to create an MLA in text citation for book – a guide with examples
In-text citations are used to identify the parts of your paper that reference certain outside sources. MLA in text citation for the book should include the author’s last name and the page numbers. If you mention author’s last name in a sentence, then you don’t have to place it in brackets.
The citation is usually located at the end of the sentence or in the middle of it. When you divide your sentence with a citation, make sure to place it somewhere where there is a logical pause.
General format:
- (Author’s Last Name page number).
- Author’s Last Name claimed… (page numbers).
Example:
- The idea of automatic writing was presented by French absurdists (Johnson 12).
- As Johnson claims (12), the idea of automatic writing belongs to French authors.
Please note that you don’t have to place a comma between the author’s last name and a page number.
If the source has more than one author, you should include their last names and initials. Put “&” if there are two authors and use a comma if there is more. Also, don’t forget to include a page number.
General format for a book with two authors:
- (First Author’s Initials and Last Name & Second Author’s Initials and Last Name number of page).
Example:
- (J. Smith & H. Brown 16).
General format for a book with three authors:
- (First Author’s Last Name, Second Author’s Last Name and Third Author’s Last Name number of page)
Example:
- (Sanders, Danilov, and Smith 66).
General format for a book with more than three authors:
- (First Author’s Last Name et al. Number of page).
Example:
- (Williams et al. 76).
Don’t waste your time trying to create citations on your own – use our MLA format citation generator for book! You can use it for all types of sources.
MLA referencing style for a book – Arranging your references on the last page
When you create a reference for a book in your “Works Cited” page, make sure to include the author’s name, the title of the book, city, the name of the publisher, year, and type of source (print or online).
General format:
- Author’s Last Name, Author’s First Name. Title of the Book. City: Name of Publisher, Year of Publication, Type of source.
Example:
- Stoker, Bram. Dracula. London: Wordsworth Classics, 1997. Print.
MLA referencing style for a book asks a writer to reverse author’s first and last name, placing comma after the last name. Unlike in APA, the name should not be abbreviated.
If you use a source written by two or three authors, list them just like they are listed on the title page of the source. Note: only the name of the first author should be reversed, while all the others should appear in a normal order. The names should be separated by a comma with a word “and” before the last author’s name. If the book has more than three authors, you only need to include the first author’s name followed by “et al.”
Example for a book with three authors:
- Williams, James, Anthony Robinson, and John Smith. The Book of Wisdom. St. Petersburg: Science and Technology, 1989. Print.
Example for a book with more than three authors:
- Linsdell, George, et al. Language and Culture. London: Penguin Publications, 2011. Print.
If you are not sure that you are ready to devote your time to formatting your paper on your own, then rely on us and our online citation tool! It works with MLA style 8th edition, so check it out and create perfect automatic citations and references for free! There is no need to delve into guidelines and handbooks anymore – we have created an amazing generator that makes students’ life easier.