how to cite a book

Citation of your book allows you to represent the contribution of other writers and researchers in your work. At present, it is one of the most critical parts of a book. It is the way to give credit to the other writers. These writers help you borrow words intentionally or unintentionally—however, the importance of book citation pushes people to learn how to cite a book.

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Book citation is also known as referencing. This is the way to provide evidence of your honesty. Citation of your book is one of the elements of your book. Before learning how to cite a book, you have to know what citation is clearly. Here we’ll discuss all those things and provide you with a complete guide about citing a book.

What Is Book Citation?

When you’re writing a book, you may paraphrase, quote, or summarize different contents from different sources. Giving credit to those sources in your book is book citation. In short, this is the act of telling your reader from where you’ve gathered information. This is a crucial way to avoid plagiarism. Book citations always include the author’s name. However, the form of a source can vary depending on which format the writer using.

Different Formats Of Book Citation

There are different formats of a book citation. Before knowing how to cite a book, it is vital to learn about these formats. Otherwise, you may use the wrong source in your book. However, the book citation has two different forms. These are APA and MLA styles.

When you’re writing a book in the social sciences like psychology or sociology, you should use the APA format. On the other hand, when your topic is in the humanities like literature, philosophy, you should use the MLA format.

How To cite A Book in APA

When you’re going to cite a book in APA style, you have to include certain elements. Without these elements, referencing won’t be fulfilled. Therefore, be careful of every aspect. Let’s have a look at them.

At first, you have to mention the author’s name. For this, you have to use the last name and initials; for example, William, R.K. You can use up to seven authors with the last word. If there are more than seven authors, you should include the first six names, followed by an ellipsis (…). Finally, put the last author’s name.
Another vital element of APA citation is the Year of Publication. This is a must-have element. You can give the year in brackets. A full stop can follow this year.
Here is the most crucial element. This is the title of the book. Generally, book titles are italicized. Remember to keep only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns in capital letters.
The next element of APA citation is the edition number. If the edition is not first, then you should include information about the edition.
Now it’s time to include the place of publication. For this, you have to list the city and the US state. However, you have to use the two-letter abbreviation. If the country names are outside of the UK or the USA, spell out the country names.
Don’t forget to mention the publisher’s name. However, you have to omit terms such as Publishers, Co., and Inc. You can retain the words Books and Press.

Some Tips Regarding APA Book Citation:

For a successful and influential APA citation, you can follow some tips. Many people often forget these tips, but here we’re going to show them up.

The first tip regarding the APA citation is using “Double-space”. Don’t forget to use double-space on your reference page.

You shouldn’t skip the “Indent”. Remember to keep the first line of each reference should be flush left with the page’s margin. However, every subsequent line of your concern should be indented.

Using a digital object identifier (DOI) is not a must-have criterion. If DOI is available, you can include it at the end of the reference page.

Currently, the internet is one of the most used sources for gathering information. If you have accessed an online database, you can follow the basic APA format. After that, simply include the full URL at the end.

Make sure you are following the other guidelines for your reference page.

How to Cite A Book In-Text Format

The act of putting someone else’s ideas or information in their language is known as a paraphrase. No matter you’re paraphrasing an idea or data, you still need to show the source. This is part of any academic writing process.

Generally, APA in-text citations follow a specific pattern which is, Author> Year of Publication.

However, if you need to follow in-text citation for a specific page or a range of pages in your book, you can choose this format, Author> Year of Publication, p. Page Number or pp. Page range.

How to Cite a Book in MLA

If you want to cite your book in MLA style, you have to include certain elements. These elements are the same as APA elements, but the form is quite different in MLA style. Let’s have a look at them.

Same as APA style, you have to include the author’s name first. However, you have to follow a different pattern in MLA citation while containing the author’s name. For this, you have to give the last name and name following the source’s presentation pattern: for example, Walton, Johnny. When there are two authors, you can simply reverse only the first name. This should be followed by “and”, and the second name should remain in regular order, such as Walton, Johnny, and Johnny Walton. For three or more authors, you have to list the first name, followed by et al. For example, Walton, Johny, et al.
The most crucial element of MLA citation is the title of the book. Generally, titles remain italicized when they are independent. However, if the title is a part of a larger source, you should add quotation marks and avoid italicizing.
Another prominent element of MLA citation is the publisher’s name. While including the publisher’s name, remember to use the abbreviated version: for example, FST P for FST Press or Executive BP for Executive Business Press.
The last element of MLA citation is the year of publication. You can simply give the year of publication following the actual presentation format in the source.

How to Cite a Book with Group Authorized Source

Here we’re going to discuss the sourcebook, which has a group author. This can make you feel your citation difficult, but in reality, it is quite an easy task. Different corporations, government agencies, organizations, etc., can be group authors.

Generally, a group publishes their book in coordination with individuals. Therefore, you can include the publishing organization following the same way you use to have the author’s name. You can keep the format of the rest of the citation as usual. However, it is vital to give the full name of the group author in your reference list and use abbreviations in your text.

How to Cite a Book with Unknown Authorized Source

Sometimes a writer can collect information from a source that has no exact author. At this time, the writer should move the title of the work to begin of the references. However, the writer should follow the date of publication as well. In addition, a writer can use “Anonymous” if the author’s work signed as Anonymous.

More Than One Works by the Same Author in The Same Year

It may happen that you’re using more than one reference by the same author or the same group of authors listed in the same order published in some year. In this case, you should check whether they have more specific dates. You should list before the works with only a year with a more precise date. This is better to list particular dates chronologically.

When two works have the same publication date, you should organize them in the reference list alphabetically. However, this alphabetical organization should follow the title of the article or chapter. If you identify references with the same date as a part of a series, you should list them in order of their places in the series.

How to Cite A Book With Republished Book Source with Editor

When you’re going to cite a book with republished book source, you need to include some different elements. These are,

It may happen that an authored book also credits an editor on the cover. In such a case, you have to include the editor in parentheses. However, you should leave italics after the book title.
Give the year of republication in the main date element of the reference. You have to include the year of the original publication. Remember, you have to include this at the end of the reference in parentheses after the words.
You can separate both publication date with a slash in the in-text citation. In this case, you should keep the earlier date first.

When The Source Is A Whole Authored Book

If you’re going to reference a whole authored book on your reference page, you must include the following elements.

No matter the book is printed or an ebook, you have to use the same format. This format is simply authorauthor> year of publication > Title > publisher of the book.
Don’t forget to mention the copyright date, which is shown on the book’s copyright page. You should know this date as the year of publication in your reference. However, it doesn’t matter whether the copyright date is different from the release date.
Now you have to include any edition information in parentheses after the title without italics.
DOI is another crucial fact in this case. If DOI is available, simply include the DOI in the reference after the publisher’s name.
Remember, you shouldn’t include the publisher location anywhere.
If you’re using an eBook as the source and doesn’t have a DOI, you can resolve readers by using a stable URL. Simply include the URL of the book in the reference. However, you can skip the name of the database in regard.

Importance of Book Citation

Here are some significant roles of a book citation:

It helps to acknowledge and respect the intellectual property right of a particular scholar.
Citation allows you to show your marker that you’re aware of the field you are writing and exploring.
It allows navigating your way through your chosen field of study or research.
Moreover, it represents a way for the readers to trace the sources of information you have used.
Indeed, it helps you to make your writing free from plagiarism. This is the most crucial fact people consider.
However, the copyright claim is much dangerous to ruin the fame of a book. Therefore, the citation is much more critical.

How To Cite A Book In AMA

There is another format of a book citation. This is an AMA style. To cite a book in AMA, you should include the following elements.

At first, you have to give the author’s name. You can simply put the last name and initials of up to six authors. If the author’s number is more than six, you can mention the first three names and follow by et al.
The title of the book is the next element. For this, you have to italicize the title and capitalize the first letter of every significant word.
You should include information about the edition if it is not the first edition.
You have to include the name of the city in which the book was published.
Input the name of the publisher. You have to use abbreviations.
At last, include the year of publication.

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