Skip to Main Content

University Library

LibGuides

Citing Sources in the Performing Arts

Books in MLA Style

Below, you will see examples of books cited in the MLA style. For more information on how to read these examples, see the Getting Started page of this LibGuide (see the tabs to the left.)

Examples of Books

Example Item


Bibliography

TEMPLATE:

Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of book. Publisher, Date of Publication.

 

EXAMPLE:

Nettl, Bruno. The Study of Ethnomusicology: Thirty-One Issues and Concepts. University of Illinois Press, 2006.


In-Text Citation

TEMPLATE:

(Last Name of Author, Pages)

 

EXAMPLE:

(Nettl, 32-33)


See Also: MLA Handbook 5.6 - One Author
MLA Handbook 5.23-5.30 - Title of Source Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.31-5.37 - Title of Container Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 6.3-6.30 - In-Text Citations: What to Include and How to Style It

Example Item


Bibliography

TEMPLATE:

Author Last Name, Author First Name and Author First Name Author Last Name. Title of book. Publisher, Date of Publication.

 

EXAMPLE:

Hepokoski, James, and Warren Darcy. Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the Late-Eighteenth Century Sonata. Oxford University Press, 2006.


In-Text Citation

TEMPLATE:

(Last Name of First Author and Last Name of Second Author, Pages)

 

EXAMPLE:

(Hepokoski and Darcy, 101-102)


See Also: MLA Handbook 5.7 - Two Authors
MLA Handbook 5.23-5.30 - Title of Source Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.31-5.37 - Title of Container Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 6.3-6.30 - In-Text Citations: What to Include and How to Style It

Example Item


Bibliography

TEMPLATE:

Author Last Name, Author First Name, et al. Title of book. Publisher, Date of Publication.

 

EXAMPLE:

Fink. Monika, et al. Musica Privata : die Rolle der Musik im privaten Leben : Festschrift zum 65. Geburtstag von Walter Salmen. Innsbruck, 1991.


In-Text Citation

TEMPLATE:

(Last Name of First Author et al., Pages)

 

EXAMPLE:

(Fink et al. 22)


See Also: MLA Handbook 5.8- Book With Three or More Authors
MLA Handbook 5.23-5.30 - Title of Source Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.31-5.37 - Title of Container Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 6.3-6.30 - In-Text Citations: What to Include and How to Style It

Example Item

Sometimes a label must be used to describe the role of the person or persons listed in the Author element. This most often occurs when the person is not the primary creator, such as for editors of collections of essays written by various authors.


Bibliography

TEMPLATE:

Contributor Last Name, First Name, Contribution. Title of book. Publisher, Date.

 

EXAMPLE:

Wierzbicki, James, et al., Editors. The Routledge Film Music Sourcebook. Routledge, 2012.


In-Text Citation

TEMPLATE:

(Last Name of Contributor, Pages)

 

EXAMPLE:

(Wierzbicki et al., 201)


See Also: MLA handbook 5.38-5.47 - Contributor Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.3-5.22 - Author Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.23-5.30 - Title of Source Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.31-5.37 - Title of Container Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 6.3-6.30 - In-Text Citations: What to Include and How to Style It

Example Item


Bibliography

TEMPLATE:

Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of book. Translated/Edited/Etc. by First Name Last Name, Publisher, Date of Publication.

 

EXAMPLE:

Schoenberg, Arnold. Theory of Harmony. Translated by Roy E. Carter, University of California Press, 1978.


In-Text Citation

TEMPLATE:

(Author Last Name, Pages)

 

EXAMPLE:

(Schoenberg 18-22)


See Also: MLA handbook 5.38-5.47 - Contributor Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.3-5.22 - Author Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.23-5.30 - Title of Source Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.31-5.37 - Title of Container Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 6.3-6.30 - In-Text Citations: What to Include and How to Style It

Example Item

This example item is the same as the one for 'Book Chapter or Section'. Notice how the citation looks different when referring to the entire book, as opposed to citing a specific chapter or section.


Bibliography

TEMPLATE:

Contributor Last Name, First Name, Contribution If Needed. Book Title. Publisher, Date.

 

EXAMPLE:

Melamed, Daniel R., editor. Bach Perspectives. Volume 8, University of Illinois Press, 2011.


In-Text Citation

TEMPLATE:

(Contributor Last Name, Pages)

 

EXAMPLE:

(Melamed 69-77)


See Also: MLA handbook 5.38-5.47 - Contributor Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.3-5.22 - Author Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.23-5.30 - Title of Source Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.31-5.37 - Title of Container Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 6.3-6.30 - In-Text Citations: What to Include and How to Style It

Example Item


Bibliography

TEMPLATE:

Author Last Name, Author First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Reference Work. Edited by Names of Editors, volume, Publisher, Date of Publication. Title of the Series.

 

EXAMPLE:

Auner, Joseph. "Primitivism and the Folk". Music in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. Edited by Walter Frisch, Volume 6, W.W. Norton and Company, 2013. Western Music in Context: A Norton History.


In-Text Citation

TEMPLATE:

(Author Last Name, Pages)

 

EXAMPLE:

(Auner, 64-67)


See Also: MLA handbook 5.38-5.47 - Contributor Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.3-5.22 - Author Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.23-5.30 - Title of Source Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.31-5.37 - Title of Container Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 6.3-6.30 - In-Text Citations: What to Include and How to Style It

Example Item


Bibliography

TEMPLATE:

Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of book. Edition, Publisher, Date of Publication.

 

EXAMPLE:

Burkholder, J. Peter, et al. A History of Western Music. 9th edition, W.W. Norton & Company, 2014.


In-Text Citation

TEMPLATE:

(Last Name of First Author et al., Pages)

 

EXAMPLE:

(Burkholder et al., 46)


See Also: MLA handbook 5.38-5.47 - Contributor Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.3-5.22 - Author Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.23-5.30 - Title of Source Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.31-5.37 - Title of Container Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 6.3-6.30 - In-Text Citations: What to Include and How to Style It

Example Item

This example item is the same as the one for 'Book Volume'. Notice how the citation looks different when referring to a specific section, as opposed to citing the entire book.


Bibliography

TEMPLATE:

Author Last Name, Author First Name. "Book Section." Title of Book. Translated/Edited/Etc by First Name Last Name, Publisher, Date of Publication, Page Range.

 

EXAMPLE:

Snyder, Kerala J. "Oratorio on Five Afternoons: From the Lubeck Abendmusiken to Bach's Christmas Oratorio." Bach Perspectives. Volume 8, edited by Daniel R. Melamed, Oxford University Press, 2011, 69-95.


In-Text Citation

TEMPLATE:

(Last Name of First Author and Last Name of Second Author, Pages)

 

EXAMPLE:

(Snyder, 71-90)


See Also: MLA handbook 5.38-5.47 - Contributor Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.3-5.22 - Author Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.23-5.30 - Title of Source Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.31-5.37 - Title of Container Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 6.3-6.30 - In-Text Citations: What to Include and How to Style It

Example Item

Electronic books are treated similarly to print books. The only difference is that after the citation you include the URL or DOI used to access the book.


Bibliography

TEMPLATE:

Author Last Name, Author First Name. Title of book, Publisher. Date of Publication. Database or Website Name, DOI or URL.

 

EXAMPLE:

Gordon, Tom. Called Upstairs: Moravian Inuit Music in Labrador, McGill-Queen's University Press. 2023. JSTOR E-Books, https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.5993258.1.


In-Text Citation

TEMPLATE:

(Last Name of Author, Pages)

 

EXAMPLE:

(Gordon 52)


See Also: MLA handbook 5.38-5.47 - Contributor Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.3-5.22 - Author Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.23-5.30 - Title of Source Element in Works Cited
MLA Handbook 5.31-5.37 - Title of Container Element in Works Cited