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How to Reference a Book in MLA Style

Properly referencing a book in MLA style can be one of the most frustrating parts of writing an essay, term paper or research paper. Sometimes, a teacher will require that you list the books that you read while researching a paper. A teacher may also ask for an annotated reference; this a brief summary of the relevant information that you found in the book. In this article, I will explain how to reference a work of fiction written by a single author in MLA style and how to create an annotated reference.

Things You'll Need

  • Book
  • Computer
  • Microsoft Word program
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Instructions

  1. How to Create a Reference Page

    • 1

      Create a reference page. On a new page following the end of your paper, center the text and title the page "References." Skip a line. Right click on the tool bar of Word and select "Paragraph." Using the pull-down menu under "Special," select "Hanging."

    • 2

      Type the author's last name followed by a comma, the author's first name and a period. Add a space.

    • 3

      Type the book's title and underline it. Type a period (do not underline the period). Add a space.

    • 4

      Type the city of publication (if the city is relatively unknown, put the city’s name, a comma, then the state). Add a colon, then type the publisher's name, a comma, the date of publication and a period. Example of a book reference in MLA style:Pasternack, Boris. Doctor Zhivago. New York: H. Wolff Book Mfg. Co., 1958.

    Create an Annotated Reference Page

    • 5

      Create a reference page. On a new page following the end of your paper, center the text and title the page "References." Skip a line. Right click or ton the tool bar, and select "Paragraph." Using the pull-down menu under "Special," select "Hanging."

    • 6

      Type the author's last name followed by a comma, the author's first name and a period. Add a space.

    • 7

      Type the book's title and underline it. Type a period (do not underline the period). Add a space.

    • 8

      Type the city of publication (if the city is relatively unknown, put the city’s name, a comma and the state). Add a colon, then type the publisher's name, a comma, the date of publication and a period. Add a space.

    • 9

      Write a sentence or two summarizing the information that you found in the book. Make sure the summary is relevant to the topic of your paper. Example of an Annotated Reference in MLA style: Pasternack, Boris. Doctor Zhivago. New York: H. Wolff Book Mfg. Co., 1958. This novel depicts a love story between two women and a man during the Russian Revolution of 1917.

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