How to Cite From a Book: APA, MLA, Chicago and More

To cite from a book, you give the author, title, publisher and year in a reference entry, and add a short in-text citation with a page number wherever you quote or closely paraphrase. The exact order and punctuation depend on the style your journal, department or thesis handbook requires. This guide gives the book pattern for APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE and AMA, with invented example books, so you can match your own source to the right template. Edition checked as of October 2026: APA 7th (2020), MLA 9th (2021), Chicago 18th (2024).

The format: what goes into a book citation

Every style asks for the same core facts about a printed book: who wrote it, what it is called, which edition (if not the first), who published it and in what year. Styles differ in how they order and punctuate those elements. Here is the pattern for each.

• APA 7th: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the book (7th ed.). Publisher. DOI or URL. Names are inverted with initials, only the first word of the title (and subtitle) and proper nouns are capitalised, the title is italic, the edition goes in parentheses after the title, and there is no publisher location. Multiple publishers are separated by a semicolon. A DOI is written as https://doi.org/…, with no period after it.
• MLA 9th: Last, First. Title of Book. Publisher, Year. A later edition is added after the title and before the publisher, for example “2nd ed.,”. City of publication is no longer used except for pre-1900 books, publishers with offices in more than one country, or publishers unknown in North America.
• Chicago 18th (notes and bibliography): a full note reads Firstname Lastname, Title (Publisher, Year), page. The bibliography entry reads Lastname, Firstname. Title. Publisher, Year. The 18th edition no longer requires the place of publication for books.
• Chicago 18th (author-date): Lastname, Firstname. Year. Title. Publisher.
• Harvard (Cite Them Right variant): Surname, Initial. (Year) Title. Edition (if later than the first). Publisher. Harvard has no single governing manual, so institutions differ in small details. Use the variant your institution names, and apply it consistently.
• IEEE: J. K. Author, Title, City, State, Country: Publisher, year. IEEE keeps the publisher location. List up to six authors; for more than six, give the first author followed by “et al.”
• AMA: Authors. Title. Edition. Publisher; year. AMA gives no publisher location.

Examples: how to cite a book in each style

These books and authors are invented examples, not real publications. Swap in the details from your own title page and copyright page.

APA 7th reference list entry

Smith, J., & Lee, K. (2024). Writing for review boards (2nd ed.). Example Press.

MLA 9th works cited entry

Okafor, Ada. Reading the Methods Section. Example Press, 2021.

With a later edition: Okafor, Ada. Reading the Methods Section. 2nd ed., Example Press, 2023.

Chicago 18th notes and bibliography

Full note: 2. Maria Alvarez, Writing the Methods Section (Example Press, 2019), 55-56.

Short note: 3. Alvarez, Writing the Methods Section, 60.

Bibliography: Alvarez, Maria. Writing the Methods Section. Example Press, 2019.

Chicago 18th author-date

Alvarez, Maria. 2019. Writing the Methods Section. Example Press.

Harvard (Cite Them Right variant)

Smith, J. (2020) Studying citation habits. Example Press. For a later edition, put the edition statement after the title, before the publisher.

IEEE

J. Smith and A. Lee, Widget Design. Springfield, IL, USA: Example Press, 2020.

Chapter in an edited book (APA 7th)

Smith, J. (2021). Sampling basics. In R. Doe & P. Roe (Eds.), Field methods handbook (pp. 11-26). Example Press.

Editor names are not inverted, the chapter title is not italic, and the edition and page range share one parenthesis, with the edition first.

In-text citation version: citing from a specific page

The reference entry tells readers what the book is. The in-text citation tells them where in the book your sentence comes from. When you quote, always add a page number; when you paraphrase a specific passage, a page number helps the reader find it.

• APA: (Author, year) or Author (year). A direct quotation needs author, year and page. For a book by three or more authors that looks like (Smith et al., 2024, p. 20). With three or more authors, APA uses the first author’s surname plus “et al.” from the first citation onward. Quotations of 40 words or more are set as a block quotation.
• MLA: author and page number, no comma and no “p.”: (Okafor 116). For three or more authors, use the first author plus “et al.”: (Okafor et al. 47).
• Chicago notes-bibliography: a numbered footnote or endnote. The first note gives full details; later notes can be shortened to author, short title and page, as in the example above.
• Chicago author-date: (Alvarez 2019, 25), with the year after the surname and a comma before the page.

Common errors

• Adding a publisher city where the style no longer wants one. APA, MLA (in most cases) and Chicago 18th do not require it. IEEE does.
• Capitalising an APA title like a headline. APA book titles use sentence case, with capitals only on the first word of the title and subtitle and on proper nouns.
• Dropping the edition. If you used the 2nd or later edition, the edition statement belongs in the entry in every style listed above, in the position that style specifies.
• Quoting without a page number. APA, MLA and Chicago all expect a page (or equivalent locator) for a direct quotation.
• Using “et al.” at the wrong threshold. In APA in-text citations it applies from three authors, and in MLA it also applies from three authors; IEEE lists up to six authors before using it.
• Mixing styles in one document. A thesis or manuscript should follow one style throughout, as set by the journal’s author instructions or the university’s thesis handbook.

Style-guide edition: which version applies

This page follows the current editions as of October 2026: APA 7th edition (2020), MLA 9th edition (2021) and Chicago Manual of Style 18th edition (2024). Chicago 18th changed book citations in one visible way: the place of publication is no longer required. Harvard is a family of variants rather than a single edition; the pattern above follows the Cite Them Right variant used by many UK universities. If your journal or university names a specific edition or variant, that instruction overrides anything here.

For manuscripts, follow the journal’s author guidelines, which also decide whether references are numbered or author-date. For a thesis, follow the institution’s thesis handbook, then apply the style consistently to every book in the bibliography. For related help, see citation styles and referencing formats, quoting and citing sources correctly, Vancouver referencing style, and how to cite a preprint. The dictionary entries for parenthetical citation and bibliography define the terms used here.

Frequently asked questions

How do I cite a book properly in APA?

Use Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the book (edition). Publisher. Invert the author’s name, use sentence case for the title, italicise it, and leave out the publisher location.

How do I cite this book if it has three or more authors?

In APA, the reference list names up to 20 authors with an ampersand before the last, while in-text citations use the first author plus “et al.” In MLA, the works cited entry gives the first author followed by “et al.” and the in-text form is (Okafor et al. 47).

How do I cite from a book, as opposed to citing the whole book?

The reference entry stays the same. The difference is the in-text citation, which adds the page number of the passage: (Smith et al., 2024, p. 20) in APA for a book with three or more authors, (Okafor 116) in MLA, or a note ending in the page number in Chicago.

Do I still need the place of publication?

Not in APA, and in MLA only in the exceptions listed above. Chicago 18th no longer requires it. IEEE still includes city, state and country.

How do I cite a later edition?

APA puts it in parentheses after the title, as in (2nd ed.). MLA puts “2nd ed.,” after the title and before the publisher. AMA places the edition after the title. Harvard places it after the title if it is later than the first.

How do I cite a chapter from a book with different chapter authors?

Use the chapter pattern: in APA, Author. (Year). Chapter title. In Editor (Ed.), Book title (pp. #-#). Publisher. Chicago 18th no longer requires the chapter page range in the bibliography for a chapter in an edited book.

Sources

All sources below were checked on 28 October 2026.

• APA Style, Reference Examples (PDF, last updated 3 March 2026): https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-examples.pdf
• APA Style, Reference Guide (PDF, last updated 23 March 2026): https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-guide.pdf
• APA Style, In-Text Citation Checklist (PDF): https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/in-text-citation-checklist.pdf
• Concordia University, St. Paul library, MLA Books guide (page last updated 24 September 2026): https://library.csp.edu/mla/books
• Florida State College at Jacksonville library, MLA 9 Books guide (page last updated 11 February 2026): https://guides.fscj.edu/MLA9/books
• The Chicago Manual of Style Online, What’s New in the 18th Edition: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/help-tools/what-s-new.html
• Widener University libraries, Chicago 18 examples guide (page last updated 29 June 2026): https://widener.libguides.com/Chicago18/examples
• Open University library, Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right): https://university.open.ac.uk/library/referencing-and-plagiarism/quick-guide-to-harvard-referencing-cite-them-right
• Newcastle University, Cite Them Right Harvard style sheet (August 2025): https://www.ncl.ac.uk/mediav8/academic-skills-kit/file-downloads/manage-info/2025%20Cite%20Them%20Right%20Harvard%20Style%20Sheet.pdf
• IEEE Reference Guide (version 3.28.2025): https://journals.ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/IEEE_Reference_Guide.pdf

The book titles and authors in the examples are invented for illustration and do not refer to real publications.