How to Reference a Textbook

There are many ways to reference a textbook.

Properly referencing a textbook in Modern Language Association (MLA) style can be one of the most frustrating parts of writing an essay, term paper or research paper. Sometimes a professor will require that you list textbooks that you referenced while researching a paper. There are many ways to reference a textbook, depending on who wrote the textbook and the type of textbook used, but MLA style is the one used most often.

Things You'll Need

• Author
• Edition number (if applicable)
• Date of publication
• Publisher
• Publisher’s location

Instructions

1. Create a "Reference" or "Works Cited" page (depending on your instructor's requirements). Center the text and title the page on a new page following the end of your paper. Skip two lines before beginning reference listings.

2. Type your listing in this format: author’s last name, comma, first name, period. Textbook title underlined, period. Edition number (if it is the first edition, skip this step), period. City of publication (if city is relatively unknown, put city’s name, comma, state), colon, publisher's name, comma, date of publication, period.

3. Add annotated references--a short synopsis of the information you found in the textbook--if the instructor asks for them. Write the textbook’s reference information followed by a sentence or two describing the textbook.

4. Highlight the text, right-click (or use the toolbar) and select "Paragraph." Using the pull-down menu under "Special," select "Hanging" to create hanging indents for all the references, which is required in a MLA paper.

Tips & Warnings

• Watch your punctuation. Points typically are deducted for forgetting punctuation or using it incorrectly.

• MLA-style papers are double-spaced.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish