A general rule of thumb for referencing a book is to list the author's name, followed by the year, book title, location of publication and the name of the publisher. The title should be underlined or in italics. More formally, however, there are two styles for citing references: APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association). The following steps will assist MLA style references for books, with sources below to both APA and MLA style guides.
Instructions
- 1
Reference a book with the following elements in order: author(s) or editor(s), the complete title, edition (if indicated), place of publication, the shortened name of the publisher, date of publication. Underline the title. For example:
Example: Dickory, Hick. How to Smoke Salami (underlined). 3rd ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Publisher, 1990.
2Reference a book with two authors by using "and" and listing the second author with first name first and last name second. Example: Crumb, Susan, and Donald Crumbly. Worlds of Experience (underlined). New York, NY: Mom & Pop Publishing, 2004.
3Reference a book with three authors by listing the first author traditionally (last name, first name), follow with second author's name, "and," then the last author. Make sure to list the second and third authors with first name first and last name second. Example: Lowe, Theo, Ben Green, and Howie Jackson. The Silent War: How Neighborhood Turf Battles Rage Unobserved (underlined). Berkeley, CA Norton Press, 1999.
4Reference a book with more than three authors using the "et al." abbreviation. The "et al." used in a citation is short for the Latin "et alli" which means "and others." Example: Gilford, Steven, et al. Baby Steps: a Guide to Parenting in the New Millenium (underlined). Berkeley: U of California P, 2002.
5Reference a corporate author by the title of the corporation. Example: James Smithsonian Museum of Science. The History of James Smithsonian (underlined). 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: Washington Press, 1973.
