How to Cite an ISBN in MLA
Updated September 2026
Citing an isbn 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 book (by ISBN) reference as shown above. A real example, generated by our citation engine:
Martin, Robert C. Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship. Prentice Hall, 2008.
In-text(Martin)
Cite an isbn in MLA — free
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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 10- or 13-digit ISBN into the generator — hyphens optional. It works out what the source is, fills every field from the source's own record, and is already set to MLA.
- Copyright page — the back of the title page lists the ISBN
- Back cover — above or below the barcode
- Retailer/library listings — product details on Amazon, Google Books, or WorldCat
- eBook store pages — eBooks carry their own ISBNs, sometimes different from print
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
ISBN-specific pitfalls
- An ISBN identifies a book edition — citing by ISBN guarantees you cite the edition you actually used
- The ISBN itself never appears in the finished citation in any style
- Print and eBook editions may have different ISBNs and different years — cite yours
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 isbn?
- 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.
- ISBN-10 or ISBN-13 — does it matter?
- Either works in the generator; they identify the same edition. ISBN-13 (starting 978/979) is the modern standard.
- How do I cite an isbn 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.