How to Cite an eBook in MLA
Updated September 2026
Citing an ebook in MLA comes down to one template and a handful of rules. Below: the exact 9th edition format, a real example produced by our citation engine, and the in-text form — or paste your source into the generator on this page and copy the finished citation.
The MLA format
Author Last, First. Title of Book. Edition ed., Publisher, Year.
MLA (9th edition) formats a eBook reference as shown above. A real example, generated by our citation engine:
Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House, 2006.
In-text(Dweck)
Cite an ebook in MLA — free
Set up for this page. Paste and go.
An ISBN finds the book's details.
Citation style
MLA Handbook, 9th edition (2021). Title case for titles, and containers rather than fixed source types.
Finding the pieces
Or skip the hunt: Paste the eBook's ISBN into the generator (eBooks have their own ISBNs). It works out what the source is, fills every field from the source's own record, and is already set to MLA.
- The copyright screen — eBooks reproduce the copyright page with year, publisher, and ISBN
- Store listing — publisher and date in the product details
- Edition — eBook editions can differ from print; cite the one you read
- A DOI or stable URL — academic eBooks from library platforms often have one
MLA's formatting rules at work
- Only the first author's name is inverted; co-authors appear in natural order with full first names
- Titles use Title Case — capitalize all principal words
- Source titles take quotation marks inside a container; standalone works are italicized
- The date sits near the end of the entry, in day-month-year form with abbreviated months
EBook-specific pitfalls
- Modern styles cite eBooks like print books — no [Kindle version] labels in APA 7 or MLA 9
- Avoid device-specific 'locations' as quote locators; use chapters or section names when pages don't exist
- Academic eBooks from databases add the DOI or platform URL at the end
In-text citations in MLA
MLA cites in the text with author and page: (Alvarez 12) — no comma, no year. Sources without page numbers (most web sources) cite the author alone: (Alvarez). Three or more authors use et al.: (Harris et al. 360).
No author? A shortened title stands in — quoted for articles and pages, italicized for whole works: ("First Words of Title").
Building the Works Cited
Every in-text citation pairs with a full entry on the Works Cited page, alphabetized by author. Add each citation to your bibliography as you generate it, and the Bibliography Builder assembles and exports the finished page to Word with the title, ordering, and indentation MLA requires.
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Go Premium — $5/monthFrequently asked questions
- What's the basic MLA format for an ebook?
- Author Last, First. Title of Book. Edition ed., Publisher, Year. — see the worked example above, generated by the same engine that powers the free citation tool.
- How do I cite a quote without page numbers?
- Use the chapter and paragraph: (Dweck, 2006, ch. 2, para. 14) in APA, or the chapter alone in MLA: (Dweck, ch. 2). Never use Kindle location numbers unless your instructor approves.
- How do I cite an ebook in MLA in-text?
- Author and page with no comma: (Alvarez 12); author alone when no pages exist: (Alvarez).
- Can I get this citation in other styles too?
- Yes — every result in the generator renders APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and IEEE simultaneously. Generate once, switch styles with one click.