Citations 101 – How to Cite eBook MLA

Let’s talk citations. It’s about time to take the next step and elevate your eBooks with MLA citations with our complete and comprehensive guide on how to cite eBook MLA.

The world of citation can be a rather elaborate and complex one. But, despite seeming like a never-ending labyrinth of different formats, they’re an extremely important and unmissable part of your work. Failing to cite can, at times, come with grave circumstances.

So, whether you found an eBook online or stumbled across it as per a friend’s reference, you need to know how to cite an eBook in MLA. After all, the author who spent countless sleepless nights writing the piece you found interesting or even inspiring deserves some credit, don’t you think?

That’s precisely why you need to be well-versed in the world of citations, more specifically MLA, which is the go-to citation for all things humanities. So, let’s get to catching you up to speed with everything you need to know to cite your eBook in MLA style.

The Basics – Understanding Citations

First and foremost, let’s talk about the basics. It’s important that you know the “what” and “why” behind citing in the first place. So, let’s start with the “what”.

What are Citations Anyway?

Well, citations are a formal way of recognizing and giving due credit to the information you’re using in your writing that belongs to another source. So, for anything in your piece that didn’t come from that head of yours alone, you need to cite.

Citing is also important because it gives readers the ease of tracing back the information you’ve quoted or used. This is crucial for researchers. So, whether you’re using websites, eBooks, books, or journals in your writing, you need to cite.

Why is it important to cite?

Citations are extremely crucial in the world of writing because you must give all writers formal credit for their work and their original pieces. It not only keeps their efforts accredited but also enhances your work’s credibility and is a means of establishing authority.

Citations also show how somebody else’s work fits in with your own and becomes a part of the conversation. By citing one piece, you give readers access to not just one work in particular but a lot of similar topics and pieces that can aid their own reading and research.

 The Different Types of Citations

Now, as we get closer to finding out just how to cite an eBook in MLA, it’s important you know about all the other popular formats, too.

Along with MLA Citation Style, there are a few others that ride the popularity wave. These popular citation styles include APA and Chicago. Now, each of the citations also has different versions, for example, APA 6^th edition and APA 7^th edition.

Now, you must be wondering: how do you know which citation style to use?

Well, let’s break it down for you from one style to another.

APA Style:

First up, we have the APA citation style. The APA style is currently recognized by its 7^th edition. The citation was initially designed to be used in psychology. Today, though, it is used worldwide in not just psychology but numerous disciplines, which also include social sciences.

Here is an example of a possible APA 7^th edition reference citation:

Smith, J. (2020). The Art of Writing: A Comprehensive Guide. ABC Publishing.

Here is an example of an APA 7^th edition in-text citation:

(Wagemann & Weger, 2021)

Chicago Style Citation:

The Chicago citation style, or in other words, the Chicago author-date style, is one of the two citation styles that sum up the Chicago Manual of Style (17^th edition). This type of Chicago citation style is mostly used in the disciplines of sciences and social sciences.  

Here is an example of the Chicago author-date Citation:

Encarnação, João, and Gonçalo Calado. 2018. “Effects of Recreational Diving on Early Colonization Stages of an Artificial Reef in North-East Atlantic.” Journal of Coastal Conservation 22, no. 6 (December): 1209–1216. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45380397.

Here is an example of the in-text Chicago author-date citation

(Encarnação and Calado 2018)

Chicago Bibliography and Notes Citation:

The Chicago Bibliography and Notes citation style is one of the two major citation styles that sum up the 17^th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. This type of citation is most commonly used in writing in the disciplines of humanities.

Here is an example of a Chicago Bibliography and Notes entry reference citation:

Best, Jeremy. “Godly, International, and Independent: German Protestant Missionary Loyalties before World War I.” Central European History 47, no. 3 (September 2014): 585–611. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008938914001654.

Now, let’s dive deep into the citation you’ve been waiting for.

How To MLA Cite an eBook

An MLA citation or Modern Language Association Citation Style is very commonly used in the field of humanities. In other words, it is a common citation style found in works of literature and language. It uses very short citations of a parenthetical nature in writing that refer to a list in alphabetical order of the works that have been cited. 

It is found at the end of the work. The text that used MLA citation styles the most is often incredibly engaging and specific in nature. And so, MLA citations go hand in hand with works of philosophy, languages, and literature.

Now, when it comes to eBook citations, the basic rules stay the same, more or less. There are only a few tweaks. eBooks are electronic books that are usually either available for free on digital libraries and platforms or are for sale.

And so citing an eBook does significantly resemble citing a traditional book. The additional information, in this case, comes in the form of eBook editions as well as names of the device you’re reading the eBook on if needed.

eBook MLA Citation Structure

As we narrow down the citation structure, it’s important you remember eBook pages vary from one e-reader to another, as well as from one device to another, so aspects such as page numbers should not be mentioned in your eBook MLA citation.

Instead, it’s better to include chapter numbers or section numbers, if any.

eBook MLA Citation Format

Now that everything is sorted, here’s the format you should use to cite your eBooks in MLA style:

Last, First M. Book Title. E-book ed., Publisher, year of publication. Name of e-reader device.

eBook MLA Citation – Example

Here is an example of what your eBook Citation may look like using the format mentioned above.

Stoker, Bram. Dracula. E-book ed., Dover Publications, 2000. Kindle.

eBook MLA In-Text Citation – Format

If you want to use an in-text MLA citation to cite your eBook, here’s what the format would look like.

(Author Last Name)

eBook MLA In-Text Citation – Example

Lastly, here’s what an eBook In-text MLA citation would look like using the format mentioned above.

Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs