Citelle · Library
MLA 9: cite a edited-book chapter
Reference a separately authored chapter in MLA 9 with the edited book as italic container, edited by Leo Rowan, publisher, year and pp.
Chapter as source, book as container
In MLA the chapter is the source and the edited book is its container. The chapter title goes in quotation marks, the book title is italicized, and the editor is named after the container with edited by. Publisher, year and the chapter's page range follow.
Stone's chapter in the works-cited list looks like this: Stone, Maya. “A Sample Chapter.” Collected Sample Studies, edited by Leo Rowan, Example Press, 2024, pp. 12–18.
Chapter input in the workbench
Up to twenty rows can be added for authors and for editors. Enter editors in the order printed on the book's title page, since the workbench keeps that order. Use the Remove row button to drop an empty or mistaken row before you press Create reference.
- Choose MLA 9 works-cited entry and Separately authored book chapter.
- Add Maya Stone under Authors and Leo Rowan under Editors, in source order.
- Enter A sample chapter and A Sample Chapter, and Collected Sample Studies as the container.
- Fill Example Press, 2024 and 12-18. For MLA chapters, the page range and an editor are required.
- Press Create reference.
Several editors
The workbench joins all supplied editors with and after edited by. The Citelle app writes one editor in full, two joined with and, and three or more as the first editor followed by et al. Neither tool decides which contributors your source really has, so compare the editor line with the book's title page and the MLA examples linked below.
The chapter's page range in the workbench is shortened for MLA when it is long, so 436-444 would print as pp. 436–44; 12-18 stays as it is.
Adding the chapter in the app
Choose Book chapter on Citelle's Edit source screen to get the Editors section and the Pages field. Copy in-text gives (Stone 12), using the first page of the range; replace it with the page you quote. Switching the bibliography's style in the app reformats every entry, so you can check the same chapter in MLA and then in the style of another course.
Chapter mix-ups
- Putting the editor in the author slot.
- Italicizing the chapter title instead of the book title.
- Using the book's total pages instead of the chapter range.
- Treating a chapter in a single-author book as a separate contribution.
- Leaving out edited by because the editor's name is already on the book's cover.
Gather the source details
- Confirm that the chapter has its own author.
- Record the chapter title and containing book title separately.
- Record the book editor and publisher.
- Check the chapter’s published page range and any required edition details.
- Author
- Maya Stone
- Title as supplied
- A sample chapter
- Publication year
- 2024
- Containing work or site
- Collected Sample Studies
- Editor
- Leo Rowan
- Publisher
- Example Press
- Published pages
- 12-18
- Publication place
- London
Tools
Sources
Next guide: NLM Vancouver: cite a edited-book chapter