Referencing Styles
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- Referencing something mentioned in another source (Secondary Referencing)
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Referencing a chapter
- Core elements
- Sample - Chapter in a print book
- Sample - Chapter in an ebook
- Punctuation and format of a reference
The 8th edition of the MLA Handbook aims to provide the principles of referencing using MLA rather than a list of rules to be followed. It suggests that rather than focussing on the format of a resource, that a series of Core elements and Containers be used to guide the creation of references.
Core elements:
In the works-cited list, Core elements are given in the order show below, with the punctuation as detailed below. Omit any element from an entry where it isn't relevant.
- Author.
- "Title"
- Title of container,
- Other contributors,
- Version,
- Number,
- Publisher,
- Publication date,
- Location.
An entry in the works-cited list should always end with a full stop/period.
Full explanation of each of the elements can be found in the 8th Edition of the MLA handbook, a brief explanation is given below:
1. Author.
The person(s) or organisation responsible for the work. Follow the Author Rules for MLA when dealing with multiple authors, editors, etc.
2. Title.
The title of the source you are using, eg. chapter title, essay, entry, etc. - the title of the chapter etc. should be given within quotation marks.
3. Title of container,
A container is the item which holds the entry you are using. So can be anything from a book (which contains a chapter you are referencing), a journal (which contains an article you are referencing), a website, blog, podcast (which contains a page, entry or broadcast article you are referencing) etc.. In the case of a chapter, the title of the container is the title of the book containing the chapter, the title should be given in italics.
4. Other contributors,
You can add details of other people who have a contribution to the source who are not the authors, with a descriptor for their role in the work, e.g. adapted by, edited by, illustrated by, translated by, narrated by, etc.
5. Version,
Where given within a work, this can include such things as revised edition, updated edition, 7th edition, unabridge version, director's cut. The term edition is normally abbreviated to "ed.".
6. Number,
This is used where there are multiple volumes of a work to provide the details of the volume you have used. Journals often have volumes and issues/parts. Volume is abbreviated to "vol." and issues/parts is abbreviated to "no". Numbers can also be used for television series, and episodes. Whatever source number you are giving ensure that the preceeding term which identifies it is included in your reference.
7. Publisher,
The full name of the publisher(s) of the work. As well as book publishers, film production companies and distributors, websites, etc. are given here. Not all sources require that you provide publishers. Journals, and websites which host a source, but are not involved in its production do not need to list a publisher.
8. Publication date,
Give the details of the publication date of the source you are citing. Where multiple dates are given for a source, e.g. where you are citing a source you have found online, and an online publication date is given alongside a date the source appeared in print, use the online date, as that is the date of the source you have used. Some books list the dates of all the previous editions of the book, use only the date of the edition you are referring to. For online sources, especially webpages which are updated and give the day and month in the date, include the full date.
9. Location
Locations can be a number of different things depending on the format of the source you are citing. For books, location can be the place of publication, for a chapter in a book or a journal article it can be the specific pages of the chapter/journal article, for online sources it can be a doi (digital object identifier) or URL, for a physical object it can be the collection it comes from, such as the museum it is located in, for a performance, the theatre it was performed in, etc.
In-text citation: (Chapter Author Surname page number) e.g.:
(Randall 106)
Entry in the works-cited list: Chapter author surname, first name. "Chapter title". Book title, edited by Editor first name surname, Publisher, Year, pp. chapter page range.
e.g.:
Randall, Briony. "Virginia Woolf's idea of a party". The Modernist Party, edited by Kate McLoughlin,
Edinburgh University Press, 2013, pp. 95-111.
- The Modernist PartyISBN: 9780748647316
In-text citation: (Chapter Author Surname page number) e.g.:
(North 106)
Entry in the works-cited list: Chapter author surname, first name. "Chapter title". Book title, edited by Editor first name surname, Publisher, Year, pp. chapter page range. Platform, URL.
e.g.:
North, Julian. "Jane Austen's Life on Page and Screen". Uses of Austen, edited by Gillian Dow and Clare
Hanson, Palgrave MacMillan, 2012, pp. 92-114. Dawsonera,
www.dawsonera.com/readonline/9781137271747/startpage/103.
- Uses of Austen by Gillian Dow (Editor); Clare Hanson (Editor)ISBN: 9780230319462
In-text citation
- Always in brackets.
- Give the name of the chapter author(s)
- Follow the Author rules for multiple authors, corporate authors and anonmymous works
- Where a work is anonymous give a shortened title for the work
- Give the page number you are referring to
- Do not use a comma between Author or Title and page number.
Entry in the works-cited list
Use the punctuation recommended in the Core Elements:
- Author of the chapter.
- "Title of the chapter".
- Title of container,
- Other contributors,
- Version,
- Number,
- Publisher,
- Publication date,
- Location.
For multiple authors follow the Author Rules.
The chapter title should be enclosed within "quotation marks"
Publication Titles should be italicised.
Location for a chapter is the page range of the chapter within the book.
Chapters in ebooks can be considered to have two containers, the book, and the platform the ebook is held on.
Only include the components required for your reference.
URLS should be supplied without any prefix (HTTP, HTTPS, etc), the full URL should be given to the source you are using, and the URL should not be hyperlinked.
Items in the works cited list are listed alphabetically by the surname of the author(s).
Hanging indents are used where a reference is longer than a single line to make the list easier to scan.
- Last Updated: Dec 6, 2024 4:44 PM
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