Book Chapter Citation Generator
Cite one chapter of an edited book: enter the chapter's author and title, the book's title and editors, the page range, the publisher and the year. You get the reference and in-text citation in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 and 10,834 other styles. Free, no sign-up.
Book Chapter Citation Examples
APA 7th editionReference list
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.
In-text: (Author, Year)
MLA 9th editionWorks Cited
Author Last, First. "Title of Chapter." Title of Book, edited by First Last, Publisher, Year, pp. xx–xx.
In-text: (Author xx)
Chicago (notes & bibliography)Bibliography
Author Last, First. "Title of Chapter." In Title of Book, edited by First Last. Publisher, Year.
In-text: 1. First Last, “Title of Chapter,” …
Chapter vs. Whole Book
Cite the chapter — not the whole book — whenever you are quoting or paraphrasing a single contribution to an edited collection or anthology where each chapter has its own author:
- Chapter author. The person who wrote the specific chapter you read — they lead the reference and appear in your in-text citation.
- Book editor(s). The person who compiled the whole volume — they appear after the word In, followed by (Ed.) or (Eds.) in APA. Enter them in the Editor(s) field above.
- Book title & pages. Give the italicized book title and the page range of the chapter so readers can find it inside the volume.
How to Cite a Book Chapter
- 1. Gather the chapter details. Note the chapter author(s), the chapter title, the book's editor(s), the book title, the page range of the chapter, the publisher, and the year.
- 2. Enter them & pick a style. The generator above opens on the Book Chapter source type — fill in the fields, including the Editor(s) and Book title, and choose APA, MLA, Chicago, or any of the 10,834 styles.
- 3. Cite. We build a full reference in the form Chapter Author. Chapter Title. In Editor (Ed.), Book Title (pp. x–y). Publisher. Edit any field, then copy or export it to BibTeX, RIS, CSV, or Word.
Book Chapter Citation Example
A real chapter with four editors, Stuart Hall's "Encoding/Decoding" in Culture, Media, Language (Hutchinson, 1980). The page range is 128–138.
APA 7th edition
Reference list:
Hall, S. (1980). Encoding/decoding. In S. Hall, D. Hobson, A. Lowe, & P. Willis (Eds.), Culture, media, language: Working papers in cultural studies, 1972–79 (pp. 128–138). Hutchinson.
In-text (parenthetical):
(Hall, 1980)
In-text (narrative):
Hall (1980)
MLA 9th edition
Works Cited:
Hall, Stuart. “Encoding/Decoding.” Culture, Media, Language: Working Papers in Cultural Studies, 1972–79, edited by Stuart Hall et al., Hutchinson, 1980, pp. 128–38.
In-text citation:
(Hall)
Chicago 18th edition (notes and bibliography)
Footnote:
Stuart Hall, “Encoding/Decoding,” in Culture, Media, Language: Working Papers in Cultural Studies, 1972–79, ed. Stuart Hall et al. (Hutchinson, 1980).
Bibliography:
Hall, Stuart. “Encoding/Decoding.” In Culture, Media, Language: Working Papers in Cultural Studies, 1972–79, edited by Stuart Hall, Dorothy Hobson, Andrew Lowe, and Paul Willis, 128–38. Hutchinson, 1980.
Chicago puts the chapter's page range in the bibliography entry, after the editors. The generator's bibliography line stops at the editors, so add the range yourself. In a footnote, give the page you cite, after the closing parenthesis.
Editors, Et Al. and Page Ranges
The editors are the part most people get wrong, because every style names them differently and counts them differently.
| APA 7 | MLA 9 | Chicago 18 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marker | In E. Editor (Ed.), or (Eds.) | edited by | In … edited by (bibliography), ed. (note) |
| How many editors | All are listed, up to 20 | One or two named; three or more: first editor and et al. | Bibliography: up to six; seven or more: first three and et al. Notes: three or more, first editor and et al. |
| Editor name order | Initials first: S. Hall | Full name, normal order | Full name, normal order |
| Pages | (pp. 128–138), full range | pp. 128–38, shortened | 128–38, shortened, no pp. |
| Edition or volume | Inside the parentheses: (2nd ed., pp. 5–10) | After the title: 2nd ed. | After the title: 2nd ed. |
MLA and Chicago shorten the second number of a range (128–38); APA writes it in full (128–138). If the book has an edition, volume or series number, enter it in the book title or edit it in; it belongs right after the title.
Chapter or Whole Book?
Cite the chapter when each chapter has its own author and the book has editors. If one person wrote the entire book, cite the book and give the chapter in the in-text citation or the footnote (ch. 4); an authored book has no editors to name.
| You read | Use |
|---|---|
| A chapter by its own author in a book edited by someone else | This page |
| One story, poem or essay in a collection | This page (or the Poem Citation Generator for a poem) |
| The whole edited collection | Anthology Citation Generator |
| A chapter in a book with a single author | Book Citation Generator, with the chapter in the locator |
| A chapter in an ebook | This page, plus the format from the Ebook Citation Generator |
Common Mistakes
- Putting the book's author or editor first. The reference begins with the person who wrote the chapter.
- Leaving out the editors. Readers search for the book by its editors, and APA and MLA both require them.
- Italicizing the chapter title. The chapter title is plain in APA and in quotation marks in MLA and Chicago. Only the book title is italic.
- Mixing up the two titles in MLA. The chapter is in quotation marks and Title Case; the book is italic and follows with the editors.
- Leaving out the page range. It tells the reader where the chapter starts and ends in the book. Keep it, even if you cite only one page.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I cite a chapter in an edited book in APA 7?
- Chapter author, year, chapter title in sentence case, then In, the editors' initials and surnames with (Ed.) or (Eds.), the book title in italics, the page range in parentheses, and the publisher: Hall, S. (1980). Encoding/decoding. In S. Hall, D. Hobson, A. Lowe, & P. Willis (Eds.), Culture, media, language (pp. 128–138). Hutchinson.
- How do I cite a book chapter in MLA 9?
- Chapter author, the chapter title in quotation marks, the book title in italics, edited by and the editors' names, the publisher, the year and the page range: Hall, Stuart. “Encoding/Decoding.” Culture, Media, Language, edited by Stuart Hall et al., Hutchinson, 1980, pp. 128–38. Three or more editors become the first one and et al.
- How do I cite a chapter in Chicago style?
- The footnote starts with the chapter author in normal order, then the chapter title in quotation marks, in, the book title in italics, ed. and the editors, and the publication details in parentheses. The bibliography entry reverses the first name and adds the chapter's page range before the publisher.
- What if the chapter author and the editor are the same person?
- Still cite the chapter, and give the editor as usual. In APA the same name appears twice: once as the author, once with (Ed.). MLA and Chicago do the same with edited by or ed.
- Do I cite the chapter or the whole book?
- Cite the chapter whenever you use a single contribution from an edited book. Cite the whole book only when you use the editors' own introduction or the volume as a whole.
- How do I cite an introduction, foreword or preface?
- Name its author and add the part's name, such as Introduction or Foreword, in the title position. The Foreword Citation Generator covers those parts.
- How many editors do I list?
- APA lists them all, up to 20. MLA 9 lists one or two and uses et al. from three. Chicago 18 lists up to six in the bibliography and uses et al. from three in notes.
Related Tools
How to cite a Book Chapter in each style
Format rules, templates, and worked examples for the styles most often required.