The pattern at a glance
- Works CitedLast, First. "Title of Chapter." Title of Book, edited by First Last, Publisher, Year, pp. xx-xx.MLA calls this the container model: the chapter is the source, the book is its container.
- With a DOI... Publisher, Year, pp. xx-xx, https://doi.org/xxxx.
- In-text(Last page), for example (Lajoie 465)
Source and container: how MLA sees a chapter
MLA 9 builds every entry from core elements in a fixed order: author, title of source, title of container, other contributors, version, number, publisher, publication date and location. For a chapter, the chapter is the source and the edited book is the container, so the book title follows the chapter title and the editors come in as "other contributors".
That order explains the punctuation. The chapter title ends with a period inside its quotation marks because it closes the source part. Everything about the container is then separated by commas, and the entry ends with a period after the location, which for a chapter is the page range.
Unlike APA, MLA does not care whether the book is edited or authored when you decide to cite a chapter. If you read a chapter in a single-author book, you normally cite the whole book and give pages in your in-text citation, but you may cite the chapter title as a part of the book when the chapter has a distinct title and you want to show it.
Names, editors and page ranges in MLA
- Author names: first author inverted (Weigle, Sara Cushing); a second author keeps normal order after "and". Three or more authors become the first author plus "et al.".
- Editors: "edited by" followed by names in normal order, joined with "and" for two editors.
- Edition: write it after the editors as "3rd ed.", in the version slot of the container.
- Pages: "pp." for a range and "p." for one page. MLA shortens the second number when it shares the first digits, so 461-471 prints as 461-71.
- Publisher: as printed, with business words like "Inc." removed. Cities are not needed.
Field by field: MLA chapter entry
Fill these fields in the generator; the MLA element each one becomes is in the second column.
| Field | What to enter | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter authors | Author element: inverted first name, "and" before a second author. | Chapter opening page. |
| Chapter title | Title of source, in quotation marks, title case. | Chapter opening page. |
| Book title | Title of container, italic. | Title page. |
| Editors | Other contributors: "edited by" plus names. | Title page or the publisher's book page. |
| Edition | Version element, e.g. 3rd ed. | Title page. |
| Publisher and year | Publisher, then year of the book. | Copyright page. |
| Pages and DOI | Location element: pp. range, then DOI if available. | Contents page; DOI on the chapter landing page. |
MLA chapter citation examples
Two handbook chapters with DOIs, formatted by the generator's MLA 9 style file.
Two chapter authors, two editors
MLA 9th: Reference entry
Weigle, Sara Cushing, and Margaret E. Malone. “Assessment of English for Academic Purposes.” The Routledge Handbook of English for Academic Purposes, edited by Ken Hyland and Philip Shaw, Routledge, 2016, pp. 608–20, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315657455-53.
In-text citation: (Weigle and Malone)
The first author is inverted and the second is not. Ken Hyland and Philip Shaw follow "edited by" in normal order. A later edition of this handbook reprints the chapter on different pages, so the year and page range must match the edition you used.
Checked against DOI record (checked on 25 October 2026). Crossref chapter record: pages 608-620, 2016. A 2026 edition of the same handbook lists the chapter again with different pages, so check which edition you read.
Chapter in a third edition
MLA 9th: Reference entry
Lajoie, Susanne P. “Multimedia Learning with Simulations.” The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning, edited by Richard E. Mayer and Logan Fiorella, 3rd ed., Cambridge University Press, 2021, pp. 461–71, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108894333.048.
In-text citation: (Lajoie)
The edition appears after the editors as "3rd ed." and the page range is shortened to 461-71, which is how MLA writes ranges that share leading digits.
Checked against DOI record (checked on 25 October 2026). Crossref chapter record: pages 461-471, 2021; Open Library (ISBN 9781108841580) lists Richard E. Mayer and Logan Fiorella.
Formatted by the same citation engine that runs the generator above (citeproc-js with the official CSL style file). Italics follow the style.
MLA in-text citations for chapters
MLA in-text citations use the author's surname and the page number, with no comma and no year.
- Parenthetical: (Lajoie 465)
- Two authors: (Weigle and Malone 612)
- Author named in the sentence: Weigle and Malone argue that EAP tests should reflect real academic tasks (610).
- Three or more authors: (O'Halloran et al. 260)
- Two chapters by authors with the same surname: Add a first initial: (S. Weigle 612).
Never cite the editors in text for a chapter's ideas; the parenthetical points to the Works Cited entry that starts with the chapter author.
Frequent errors in MLA chapter citations
- Italicising the chapter title. Chapter titles take quotation marks; only the book is italic.
- Writing "Ed." before the editors. MLA 9 spells out "edited by" inside the entry.
- Leaving out the page range. The location element for a chapter is its page range; without it readers cannot find the chapter in a long book.
- Adding the year in the in-text citation. MLA uses author and page only: (Lajoie 465), not (Lajoie, 2021, p. 465).
MLA chapter citation FAQ
How do I cite a chapter in an edited book in MLA 9?
Last, First. "Chapter Title." Book Title, edited by First Last, Publisher, Year, pp. xx-xx. Add the DOI after the pages if there is one.
How do I cite a chapter from a single-author book in MLA?
Usually cite the whole book in Works Cited and give the page numbers in your in-text citation. Cite the chapter separately only when its title matters to your discussion.
Does MLA need the publisher city?
No. MLA 9 lists the publisher name only.
How do I cite a short story in an anthology?
It follows the same pattern: the story is the source in quotation marks and the anthology is the italic container, edited by its editors.
Style guides used on this page
Rules on this page were checked against these pages on 25 October 2026.