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How to Cite an E-book in MLA

E-book – A written work or composition that has been digitized and is readable through computers or e-readers (Kindles, iPads, NOOK, etc.).

Citing an e-book in MLA is similar to the regular format for citing a book in MLA  with added information about the e-book edition and the name of the e-reader device if applicable.

Citing an E-Book

Note: Some e-books may be available for download through your library.

Note: Since the page numbers of an e-book can vary across e-reader, text preferences, and other factors, you should not include a page number. This is because a consistent page number does not exist. You can include section numbers (sec., secs.) or chapter numbers (ch., chs.) instead, if they exist and you feel it would be helpful.

E-Book Citation Structure

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

E-Book Citation Example

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

E-Book In-text Citation Structure

(Author Last Name)

E-Book In-text Citation Example

Creating MLA in-text citations? See this  MLA in-text citation guide .

MLA Formatting Guide

MLA Formatting

• Annotated Bibliography
• Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Paraphrasing
• Page Numbers
• Sample Paper
• Works Cited
• MLA 8 Updates
• MLA 9 Updates
• View MLA Guide

Citation Examples

• Book Chapter
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Website (no author)
• View all MLA Examples

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Yes! Whether you’d like to learn how to construct citations on your own, our Autocite tool isn’t able to gather the metadata you need, or anything in between, manual citations are always an option. Click here for directions on creating manual citations.

If any important information is missing (e.g., author’s name, title, publishing date, URL, etc.), first see if you can find it in the source yourself. If you cannot, leave the information blank and continue creating your citation.

It supports MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, and over 7,000 total citation styles.

In general, a book (either authored or edited) is a printed version and may contain multiple editions. An e-book, on the other hand, is published online in multiple formats, e.g., epub, Kindle, and Nook.

For citing books in MLA format, the author names, the editor names (if it is an edited book), publisher name (city of publication is not required), edition, and published year details are needed.

For e-books, you should mention that you are referencing the e-book edition in the reference list entry.

Samples of in-text citations and works-cited-list entries for a book and an e-book are shown below.

In-text citations and work-cited-listed entries for a book

In-text citation template and example:

Author Surname (Page)

Roberts…(743)

Parenthetical:

(Author Surname Page)

(Roberts 743)

Works cited entry template and example:

Surname, First Name. Title of the Book . Publisher, Publication Date.

Roberts, Douglas A. Handbook of Research on Science Education . Routledge, 2013.

In-text citations and work-cited-list entries for an e-book

Author Surname

Lavonen et al.

(Author Surname)

(Lavonen et al.)

Note that page numbers are not included unless the pagination is the same as the print version of the book.

Works cited entry template and examples:

Surname, First M. Title of the Book . E-book or E-reader ed., Publisher, Publication Date.

Lavonen, Jari, et al. Learning Science: The Value of Crafting Engagement in Science Environments . E-book ed., Yale UP, 2020.

Note that if the e-book is published on a website, after the publication date, the name of the website is included in italics (if applicable), followed by the stable URL or DOI. For example:

Rotenberg, Robert.  Landscape and Power in Vienna . Johns Hopkins UP, 1995.  ACLS Humanities Ebook , hdl.handle.net/2027/heb.32489.

To cite an e-book, you will need to have basic information including the book’s author or editor, publication year, title, and publisher. The templates for in-text citations and works cited list entries of an e-book along with examples are given below.

In-text citation template and example

In parenthetical citations of an e-book, use the author’s surname without a page number.

(Author’s Last Name)

Works cited list template and example

Author’s Surname, First Name. Title of the Book . E-Book ed., Publisher, publication date. Name of e-reader device.

Baldwin, James. No Name in the Street . E-Book ed., Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2007. Kindle.

Use “E-Book ed.” after the title of the book. The name of the e-reader device can be included at the end of the citation as supplemental information.

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