13 Works Cited: Book in Print
Next, we will use the template to look at creating Works Cited list citations for the sources evaluated in the previous chapters. Pay close attention to the punctuation, capitalization and font emphasis (italics) used.
Finding the core elements for the book from the previous chapter (there are four slides)
The citation for the book (click image to see it bigger)
The Core elements explained
1. Author.
- is the surname (=family name), followed by the given name(s). MLA asks to list up to two authors fully. If there are two authors, the name of the first author is inverted, followed by a comma, the word and and then the second name in regular order. For example:
- Smith, Beatrix A., and David Paul Fuller.
2. Title of Source.
- is the title of the book in title-style
- as the book is a complete unit in itself and not part of something bigger, the title is italicized
- if there is a subtitle, include it after the main title, separated by a colon :
3. Title of Container,
- not needed
4. Contributor,
- not needed for this example
- you would use this element to include information about other contributors, such as translators, illustrators and the like
5. Version,
- not needed for this example
- you would use this element to include edition information other than first editions, for example 2nd ed., limited ed., rev. ed. and the like
6. Number,
- not needed for this example
- you would use this element to include information about a specific book volume in a series
7. Publisher,
- cite only the main publisher; write publishers’ names in full, but omit words and abbreviations like Company (Co.), Corporation (Corp.), Incorporated (Inc.), and Limited (Ltd.)
- for academic institutions, abbreviate university with U and press with P
8. Publication Date,
- is the date the book was published; for books it is usually the copyright year (©2011)
9. Location.
- not needed
Now try it yourself!
The Library’s MLA Online Guide is a great resource to have on hand for creating reference citations.
Exercise 1: Find the elements needed for a Works Cited list citation for this book
Exercise 2: How do you write each core element in MLA Style?
See also section 2.90 of the MLA Handbook.
Capitalize the first word, the last word, and all principal words.
Capitalize the following:
-nouns
-pronouns (e.g. our, their)
-verbs
-adjectives
-adverbs
-subordinating conjunctions (e.g after, although, as, as if, as soon as, because, before, if, that, unless, until, when, where, while)
Do NOT capitalize the following if it is in the middle of a title:
-prepositions (e.g against, as, between, in, of, to, according to)
-coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet)
-the to in infinitives
-articles (a, an, the)
