How to Cite Ebooks

eBook citations are similar to citations for print books.

Citations of eBooks are very similar to original print book citations. However, they do include the name of the database or website the eBook was retrieved from. You need only list the name of the database if you use a licensed database that is accessed through a library, i.e. netLibrary or ebrary. If you cite an eBook that is openly accessible on the web, you must list the full URL you retrieved the book from.

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Author's last Name, first Name and middle initial
Title of book and book edition
Place of publication
Publisher and year of publication
Name of the eBook database
Place and date of access

Instructions

- 1
  
  Gather the citation information you will need. This information is usually found on the first page or at the very beginning of the eBook.
- 2
  
  Create a Works Cited page using standard MLA (Modern Language Association) style. Add a page break at the end of your paper and center the title Works Cited at the top of the new page.
- 3
  
  Skipping a line, list the author of the eBook. Start with the author’s last name and separate it from the author's first name with a comma. Place a period at the end of the entry. For example: McKenzie, Earl.
- 4
  
  List the title of the eBook after the author’s name. Italicize or underline the title. Place a period at the end of the entry. For example: Philosophy in the West Indian Novel.
- 5
  
  List the remaining publication information in this order: the book edition; place of publication; publisher; year; name of database; place of access; and date of access after the title. For example: Kingston, Jamaica: UWI Press, 2009. ebrary. Web. 25 June, 2010.
- 6
  
  Double-space your works cited list and make sure that the second line of your entry is indented.
- 7
  
  Make sure that your final entry looks like this:
  
  McKenzie, Earl. Philosophy in the West Indian Novel. Kingston, Jamaica: UWI Press, 2009. ebrary. Web. 25 June, 2010.
- 8
  
  To create a parenthetical citation in the body your work, include the author and page number(s) in parentheses after the material to be cited. For example: He argues that “the philosophical study of West Indian literature has an important role to play in the emergence of Caribbean philosophy” (McKenzie 4).

Tips & Warnings

Failure to cite sources in an academic essay, whether electronic or otherwise, can result in severe academic punishment and expulsion at almost all institutes of higher education.

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