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MLA Style Guide 9th Edition

Intro

Entry in a Reference Book

 

Referring to an entry in a reference book is similar to referring to an authored chapter in an edited book. If there is no author for the entry you are referring to, begin with the title of the entry. Include page numbers.

Entry in a reference book

TEMPLATE:

Last, First. "Title of Entry in Quotations." Title of Work in Italics, edited by First Last, Publisher, year, pages.

 

EXAMPLE:

Skorupski, Tadeusz. "Tibet." Mythology: an Illustrated Encyclopedia, edited by Richard Cavendish, Little, Brown and Company, 1992, pp. 48-57.

There are different ways to format in-text citations, as outlined below:

Reference Information

Skorupski, Tadeusz. "Tibet." Mythology : an Illustrated Encyclopedia, edited by Richard Cavendish, Little, Brown and Company, 1992, pp. 48-57.

In-text Citation Guidelines

Examples                                                                                                           

 

Include the author's name and page number in brackets at the end of the sentence.

 

Consider this a paraphrased sentence (Skorupski 55).                        

 

Include the author's name as part of the sentence and the page number in brackets at the end of the sentence. The first time the author is mentioned in text use their full name (excluding middle initials), and use their last name only after that.

 

According to Tadeusz Skorupski, "consider this a direct quote" (55)Skorupski goes on to argue that this is a paraphrased sentence (56).

Remember, in-text citation formatting changes depending on a number of factors.