Properly citing sources is a fundamental practice in academic and professional writing, signifying intellectual honesty and respect for original creators. It involves acknowledging borrowed ideas and information, preventing plagiarism and upholding academic integrity. Citing a specific section of a book, like a chapter or essay in an edited collection, differs from citing an entire book. This is because individual sections often have their own authors, titles, and page ranges, requiring clear identification for readers.
Essential Citation Components
To accurately cite a specific section of a book, several pieces of information are necessary across various citation styles. Identify the author(s) of the chapter or essay, as well as its specific title.
Next, gather details about the overall book, including its title and the name(s) of its editor(s), if applicable. The publisher’s name and the year of publication are also standard requirements. Finally, include the specific page range for the chapter or section, allowing readers to locate the information within the larger volume.
MLA Style Guidelines
The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is widely used in the humanities for citing sources. When referencing a chapter or essay within an edited book, MLA requires specific formatting for both the Works Cited entry and in-text citations. The Works Cited entry begins with the chapter author, followed by the chapter title in quotation marks, and then the overall book title in italics.
After the book title, include “edited by” and the editor(s)’s name(s), followed by the publisher, year of publication, and the chapter’s page range. For example: Neely, James H. “Semantic Priming Effects in Visual Word Recognition: A Selective Review of Current Findings and Theories.” Basic Processes in Reading: Visual Word Recognition, edited by Daniel Besner, Routledge, 1991, pp. 264–336. In-text citations for MLA consist of the chapter author’s last name and the page number, placed in parentheses.
APA Style Guidelines
The American Psychological Association (APA) style is commonly employed in the social sciences and emphasizes the author-date system. Citing a chapter from an edited book in APA involves a distinct structure for the reference list and in-text citations. The reference list entry starts with the chapter author(s)’s last name and initials, followed by the year of publication in parentheses, and then the chapter title in sentence case.
Next, “In” precedes the editor(s)’s initials and last name, followed by “(Ed.)” or “(Eds.)” in parentheses, and the italicized title of the edited book. The chapter’s page range is included in parentheses after the book title, followed by the publisher. For example: Neely, J. H. (1991). Semantic priming effects in visual word recognition: A selective review of Current Findings and Theories. In D. Besner (Ed.). Basic processes in reading: Visual Word Recognition (pp. 264–336). Routledge. In-text citations for APA include the chapter author’s last name and the year of publication; for direct quotes, a page number is also included (Neely, 1991, p. 270).
Chicago Style Guidelines
The Chicago Manual of Style offers two primary citation systems: the Notes-Bibliography (NB) system, used in humanities like history, and the Author-Date (AD) system, preferred in some social sciences. For the Notes-Bibliography system, a footnote or endnote for a chapter begins with the chapter author’s first name then last name, “Title of Chapter,” in Book Title, edited by Editor Name(s) (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), page number. The corresponding bibliography entry reverses the author’s name and includes the chapter’s page range.
In the Author-Date system, the reference list entry lists the chapter author’s last name, first name, year of publication, then “Chapter Title” in quotation marks, followed by Book Title, edited by the editor(s)’s name(s), and the chapter’s page range. For example: Neely, James H. 1991. “Semantic Priming Effects in Visual Word Recognition: A Selective Review of Current Findings and Theories.” In Basic Processes in Reading: Visual Word Recognition, edited by Daniel Besner, 264–336. Routledge. In-text citations for this system include the chapter author’s last name, the year, and a page number (Neely 1991, 270).