How to Cite a Textbook for a Research Paper
Citing sources for a research paper bibliography or works cited page is not only crucial to the grade you will receive on it, but also confirms the authenticity of the information included in your academic work. This guide addresses research papers that are written in MLA format, which is the way you will cite the textbooks used to research your topic.
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Instructions
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For textbooks with one author, list the author in the last name, first name format. For textbooks with more than one author, list the first author in last name, first name format and subsequent authors in the first name last name format. For textbooks with more than three authors, list the first author's name followed by "et al." or, according to Purdue University, "You may list all the authors in the order in which their names appear on the title page." Place one period after the full list of the author names.
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Cite the underlined title of the book.
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Cite the place of publication followed by a colon (:) and then the publisher's company name, followed by a comma (,).
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Cite the textbook's given date of publication.
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Ensure that there are indentations at every line break in the textbook citation.
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Tips & Warnings
Purdue University states that a finished example of a textbook citation for a bibliography would look like this: "Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 2004." However, there must be indentations at every line break within a citation, so there would be a line break after "for" and before "Expanding" in the book's title.
