How to Cite a Title of a Book in Your Essay

Learn the proper ways to cite a book in an essay.

Citing sources is a daunting task for some students and researchers. In her writing, "The Importance of Citation," Judy Hunter argues that academia uses critical thinking about established knowledge to "create new knowledge." Therefore, proper citation is a necessity. Citing book titles is tricky, but it just takes a little extra time to find the information needed to create the citation.

Instructions

Parenthetical Citations

1. Record all the information you need to cite the book. This includes the author, title, city of publication, publisher and year of publication. Most of this information is found at the beginning of a book.

2. Cite the book in the portion of your essay where the book is used. Find the relevant passage and introduce it by naming the author and the book, placing the title of the work in quotation marks. For example, "Judy Hunter identifies this same trend in her piece "The Importance of Citation," in which..."

3. Type the page number of the information cited. Type this at the end of the sentence or passage that relies on the book as evidence. Surround it with parentheses and make sure to place a period after them. For example, "In her piece "The Importance of Citation," Judy Hunter explains that academics is essentially using previously learned knowledge to create new knowledge (2)."

Works Cited Page Citation

1. Type the previously recorded information about the book on your "works cited" page. Type it in MLA format: Last name, first name. Title of book. Publication city: publisher, year of publication.

2. Format the "works cited" citation. Underline the title of the book and leave the rest of the citation as is. You may also italicize depending on your preference.

3. Review the citation. Ensure that it is proper arranged and formatted correctly. Also correct any spelling errors, verifying that the author's name is spelled correctly.

Tips & Warnings

• If the book cited has more than one author, include all names. For example, instead of "Judy Hunter explains..." type "Judy Hunter and Mark Jared explain..." For the works-cited page, simply include the second author after the first. Bear in mind that you do not have to have the second's author's last name in front of his or her first. For example "Hunter, Judy and Mark Jared."

• If there are volumes or editions for the work cited, place them between the title of the book and the publication city.

References

• Grinnell College: The Importance of Citation
• Purdue Owl: MLA Format and Style Guide