To cite a book, you need the author, year, title, edition if not the first, and publisher, arranged in the order your style requires. Styles differ mainly in punctuation, capitalization and whether they include the place of publication.
This page shows each major style side by side, using the same book, then covers editions, edited books, chapters and ebooks.
The Details Every Book Citation Needs
Take the details from the title page and copyright page, not the cover. Record the author or editor, the copyright year, the full title with subtitle, the edition, the publisher and, for some styles, the city of publication.
Include the edition only for second and later editions. Use the shortest clear publisher name, for example "Wiley" rather than "John Wiley & Sons, Inc.".
Book Citation Formats Compared
| Style | Title case | Place of publication | In-text form |
|---|---|---|---|
| APA 7 | Sentence case, italics | Not included | (Author, year, p. x) |
| MLA 9 | Title case, italics | Not included | (Author page) |
| Harvard | Usually sentence case, italics | Usually included | (Author, year, p. x) |
| Chicago notes | Title case, italics | Traditionally included; optional in the 18th edition | Footnote |
| Vancouver | Sentence case, no italics | Included | Number |
| IEEE | Title case, italics | Included | [Number] |
APA 7th Edition
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book: Subtitle (ed.). Publisher.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE.
In text: (Kahneman, 2011, p. 45) or Kahneman (2011) argues...
For two authors, join them with "&"; list up to 20 authors in the reference. Add a DOI as a link if the book has one.
MLA 9th Edition
Last, First. Title of Book: Subtitle. Edition, Publisher, Year.
Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.
Creswell, John W. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 4th ed., SAGE, 2014.
In text: (Kahneman 45)
For two authors, write "Last, First, and First Last". For three or more, give the first author followed by "et al.".
Harvard
Harvard has many institutional versions. The examples follow the widely taught Cite Them Right format; check your university's guide for small differences in punctuation.
Author, A. (Year) Title of book. Edition. Place: Publisher.
Kahneman, D. (2011) Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Creswell, J.W. (2014) Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. 4th edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
In text: (Kahneman, 2011, p. 45)
Chicago Notes and Bibliography
Note: 1. First Last, Title of Book (Place: Publisher, Year), page. Bibliography: Last, First. Title of Book. Place: Publisher, Year.
1. Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011), 45.
Short note: 2. Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow, 112.
Bibliography: Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.
The 18th edition of the Chicago Manual makes the place of publication optional. Follow your tutor's preference and be consistent.
Vancouver and IEEE
Both are numbered styles: sources are numbered in the order they are first cited, and the number appears in the text.
Vancouver: 1. Kahneman D. Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 2011.
Vancouver, later edition: 2. Creswell JW. Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks (CA): SAGE; 2014.
IEEE: [1] D. Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York, NY, USA: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.
In Vancouver, the number appears as a superscript or in brackets, depending on your institution. In IEEE, it appears in square brackets, such as [1].
Edited Books, Chapters and Translations
Whole Edited Book (APA)
Osei, M., & Lind, T. (Eds.). (2020). Teaching in clinical settings. Meridian Academic.
Chapter in an Edited Book
APA: Achieng, R. (2020). Peer learning in nursing education. In M. Osei & T. Lind (Eds.), Teaching in clinical settings (pp. 45–62). Meridian Academic.
Harvard: Achieng, R. (2020) 'Peer learning in nursing education', in Osei, M. and Lind, T. (eds) Teaching in clinical settings. London: Meridian Academic, pp. 45–62.
MLA: Achieng, Ruth. "Peer Learning in Nursing Education." Teaching in Clinical Settings, edited by Mary Osei and Tomas Lind, Meridian Academic, 2020, pp. 45–62.
The chapter examples use illustrative names. Cite the chapter author, not the editors, when you use one chapter.
Translated Book (APA)
Add the translator after the title and the original publication year at the end, for example "(A. Translator, Trans.)" and "(Original work published 1897)". In the text, give both years: (Author, 1897/2019).
Ebooks and Online Books
- APA 7: cite as a print book; add the DOI if there is one. Do not name the format or device.
- MLA 9: if the version matters, add it after the title, for example "Kindle ed.".
- Harvard: many versions add a URL with an accessed date for books read online; check your guide.
- Page numbers: if an ebook has no fixed pages, cite a chapter or section heading instead of a location number.
Common Mistakes When Citing Books
- Using the printing year or the year you read it instead of the copyright year.
- Italicizing the chapter title instead of the book title.
- Including the place of publication in APA 7, or leaving it out in Harvard or Vancouver.
- Forgetting the edition for second and later editions.
- Citing the editors when you used a single chapter by another author.
- Mixing title case and sentence case within one reference list.
How EssayHorse Helps with Book Citations
Send your paper and source list, with the style your course requires. A Standard, Master or Elite writer formats every book, chapter, article and webpage consistently, in the text and the reference list, or prepares a custom paper with full citations.
All work is done from scratch and plagiarism-checked, for study and reference. Deadlines run from 3 hours to 20 days, the price is shown before you pay, and free revisions within the scope of your original request are included.
Want Every Citation Right First Time?
Send your paper and source list. Your writer formats each book, article and webpage to your required style, in the text and the reference list.
Order Citation FormattingFree revisions · Full refund if late · Written from scratch for your order
Frequently Asked Questions
On the copyright page, usually on the back of the title page. Use the copyright year, not a reprint year.
Not in APA 7 or MLA 9. Most Harvard versions, Vancouver and IEEE include it. Chicago's 18th edition makes it optional.
Add the edition after the title: (2nd ed.) in APA, "2nd ed.," in MLA, "2nd edn." in Cite Them Right Harvard.
Start with the title in place of the author. In APA, use the title in italics in the in-text citation.
Cite the chapter author and title, then the editors, book title and chapter page range.
For direct quotations, yes. For paraphrases, APA encourages them but does not require them; check your tutor's preference.
Use a chapter or section name, or a paragraph number, instead of an ebook location number.
Yes in APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago and IEEE. Vancouver uses plain text.