If you refer to a textbook within a published work, you must provide enough information about it to guide interested readers to the original source. You'll likely use one of the three main styles, depending on the type of text you're writing. The APA, or American Psychological Association, style is appropriate for works that have to do with the social sciences. The MLA style, or Modern Language Associations, is most commonly used in the liberal and humanities arts. The CMS style, or Chicago Manual of Style, is used for citations within published books. In each style, a brief intra-textual quotation guides the reader to a more detailed list at the end of the work.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Quote a Textbook Using the APA Style
Step 1. Enter an intra-text quotation
Write the intra-text reference in parentheses, as close to the quote as possible. Include the following information in parentheses (unless you can include one or more information within the text itself; in which case there is no reason to repeat it in the quote in parentheses):
- The surname of the author, or the surnames of the authors, followed by a comma. Separate multiple surnames with a comma and use "&" instead of "e" at the end of the list of authors' names.
- The year of publication. If you are referring to a particular quote or passage, you must also include the page number, preceded by "p." and separated from the year of publication with a comma. Example: (Smith, 2005, p. 42). If you're referring to a general idea covered in the textbook, you don't need to include the page number. Example: (Smith, 2005).
- Any punctuation marks in the sentence - eg. commas, periods, etc. - goes out of brackets.
Step 2. Cite the textbook on the Sources page
Please include all or all of the following information about the book in question on the Sources page located at the end of your work:
- Full name of the author, in the format surname name, followed by a period. If there are multiple authors, put a comma between each name, adding a final comma and preceding the last author's name with an "&".
- Year of publication in brackets followed by a period.
- The title of the book. End with a period.
- If the book is not a first edition, include the edition after the title, in parentheses. Put a period outside the brackets. Do not use italics. Example: (IV ed.).
- Write the place of publication followed by a colon, then add the publisher's name and end with a final period. For example: New York, NY: Dover.
Method 2 of 3: Quote a Textbook Using the MLA Style
Step 1. Enter an intra-text quotation
Write the intra-text reference in parentheses, as close to the quote as possible. As with the APA style, punctuation goes outside the parentheses. Include the following information, unless you have already entered it in the text, in which case there is no need to repeat it in parentheses:
- Author's surname. If you mention multiple authors (from different books) with the same surname, please include their initials or, if necessary, their full names. If the book was written by multiple authors, as is often the case, list all the surnames in the order they appear on the cover.
- Mention the page number (s). Do not put a comma between the author name and the page numbers and do not write "p." before them as for APA-style quotes. Examples: (Doe 42), (P. Smith 202), (R. Smith 16).
Step 2. Cite the textbook on the Cited Works page
For each book, please include all or all of the following information on the Cited Works page:
- Name of the author, in the format surname name, ending with a period. If there are multiple authors, list them in the order they appear on the cover, separated by commas (including a trailing comma). Precede the last author's name with "e".
- The title of the textbook as it appears on the first page of the book, written in italics. End with a period. If the book is not a first edition, include the edition number after the title, but don't write it in italics. End with a point. Example: II ed.
- City of publication followed by a colon, then by the name of the publishing house, by a comma and finally by the year of publication followed by a period. For example: New York: Dover, 2003.
- Include "Printed" - the medium of publication - at the end of the entry.
Method 3 of 3: Quote a Textbook Using the CMS Style
Step 1. Insert a note within the text
To cite sources, the CMS style resorts to footnotes rather than intra-textual citations. Place a note number as soon as possible after the quote or phrase whose source you need to provide. The corresponding footnote (which can be either a footnote or a footnote at the end of the chapter or book) should include the following information:
- Name of the author, followed by a comma. If the footnote is the second reference to this specific work, include only the author's surname, followed by a comma. Use the same system to list multiple authors of the same volume.
- The title of the book, as it appears on the first page, written in italics, followed by a comma. If this is the second reference to this specific work, use an abbreviated version of the title.
- Then write the following information in brackets: the place of publication of the textbook followed by a colon; the name of the publisher followed by a comma; publication date. Example: (New York: Penguin, 1999). If this is the second reference to this specific work, omit this information.
- Number or page numbers separated by a hyphen, followed by a period. Example: 99 - 104. Use the same format in the case of consecutive citations of the same work.
Step 2. Cite the textbook on the Bibliography page
Include all or all of the following information in the bibliography:
- Name of the author, surname, name, followed by a period. If there are multiple authors, list them in the order they appear on the first page, separated by a comma (add a trailing comma). Precede the last name with "e".
- The title of the book as it appears on the first page, written in italics. End with a period. If the book is not a first edition, include the edition number after the title, but don't italicize it. End with a period. Example: II ed.
- City of publication, followed by a colon, then the name of the publisher, followed by a comma, and finally the year of publication followed by a period. For example: New York: Dover, 2003.
