How to Cite an Article Inside of a Book: A Comprehensive Guide

Navigating the world of academic citation can be tricky, especially when you’re dealing with sources within sources. Citing an article that appears within a larger book – an edited collection, for example – requires a specific approach that differs from citing a standalone journal article or a whole book. This guide will walk you through the process step-by-step, ensuring your citations are accurate and your research is properly attributed. We’ll cover the most common citation styles: MLA, APA, and Chicago. Whether you’re a student, researcher, or writer, understanding how to cite these kinds of sources correctly is crucial for maintaining academic integrity.

Why is Citing Articles Within Books Important?

Before we dive into the specifics, let’s understand why this nuanced form of citation is so important:

• Accurate Attribution: Giving credit where it’s due is the cornerstone of academic honesty. Proper citation acknowledges the specific author of the article and the editor(s) who compiled the book.
• Clarity and Precision: Citing the article within a book allows your readers to locate the exact source of the information you’re using. It prevents ambiguity and helps your audience track your research process.
• Avoiding Plagiarism: By clearly distinguishing between the article author and the book editor, you avoid misrepresenting someone else’s work as your own.
• Showing the Context: Indicating the book as well provides context for the article and is important for understanding the overall topic it appears within.
• Meeting Academic Standards: Most academic institutions and publications have specific guidelines for citing sources. Following these guidelines ensures your work meets the accepted standards of your field.

Key Elements for Citing an Article Inside a Book

When citing an article within a book, you’ll generally need the following pieces of information:

• Article Author(s): The name(s) of the person(s) who wrote the specific article.
• Article Title: The title of the individual article you are referencing.
• Book Editor(s): The name(s) of the person(s) who edited the book in which the article appears.
• Book Title: The title of the overall book containing the article.
• Page Numbers: The page range on which the article appears in the book.
• Publisher: The company that published the book.
• Publication Year: The year the book was published.

These core elements are adapted slightly according to the specific citation style you are using. Let’s explore how to format citations in MLA, APA, and Chicago styles in detail.

Citing an Article Inside a Book: MLA Style (9th Edition)

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is commonly used in the humanities. Here’s how to cite an article within a book in MLA 9th edition:

Format:

Author Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Book Title, edited by Editor First Name Last Name, Publisher, Year, pp. Page Numbers.

Example:

Butler, Judith. “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.” Performing Feminisms: Feminist Critical Theory and Theatre, edited by Sue-Ellen Case, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990, pp. 270-82.

Explanation of Elements:

• Butler, Judith: This is the author of the article. The last name is given first, followed by a comma and then the first name.
• “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.”: This is the title of the specific article. It is enclosed in quotation marks. Notice the period is placed inside the ending quotation mark.
• Performing Feminisms: Feminist Critical Theory and Theatre: This is the title of the larger book. Book titles are italicized.
• edited by Sue-Ellen Case: This indicates that Sue-Ellen Case is the editor of the book. The word “edited by” is always included.
• Johns Hopkins University Press: This is the name of the publisher of the book.
• 1990: This is the publication year of the book.
• pp. 270-82: This is the page range on which the article appears within the book. “pp.” stands for “pages.”

In-Text Citation (Parenthetical):

MLA in-text citations include the author’s last name and the page number where the information was found. For this example, the in-text citation would be:

(Butler 275)

If you are mentioning the author’s name in your sentence, you would only include the page number in the parentheses:

As Butler argues, “…” (275).

Key Points for MLA:

• Use “et al.” if there are three or more authors for the article, such as if there were three or more authors of the article instead of just Judith Butler you would cite the first author followed by et al.: Butler, et al., instead of the full list of names, it is the same rule for book editors as well.
• Capitalize all principal words in the titles of both the article and the book.
• Italicize the title of the book.
• Use “pp.” before the page numbers.
• Use commas between elements.
• If there are no page numbers available, like with online only publications, they are omitted.

Citing an Article Inside a Book: APA Style (7th Edition)

APA (American Psychological Association) style is commonly used in the social sciences. Here’s how to cite an article within a book in APA 7th edition:

Format:

Author Last Name, First Initial. Middle Initial. (Year). Article title. In Editor First Initial. Middle Initial. Editor Last Name (Ed.), Book title (pp. Page Numbers). Publisher.

Example:

Butler, J. (1990). Performative acts and gender constitution: An essay in phenomenology and feminist theory. In S. E. Case (Ed.), Performing feminisms: Feminist critical theory and theatre (pp. 270-282). Johns Hopkins University Press.

Explanation of Elements:

• Butler, J.: This is the author of the article. The last name is given first, followed by a comma and then the first initial. You should also include the middle initial if available.
• (1990): This is the publication year of the book, it is written immediately after the author and in parentheses.
• Performative acts and gender constitution: An essay in phenomenology and feminist theory.: This is the title of the article. Notice only the first word of the title and any proper nouns are capitalized. The title is not italicized and is followed by a period.
• In S. E. Case (Ed.),: This indicates that S. E. Case is the editor of the book. “Ed.” in parenthesis is used to show that the person is the editor and not the author. The word “in” comes before this, as well as a comma at the end.
• Performing feminisms: Feminist critical theory and theatre: This is the title of the larger book. Book titles are italicized.
• (pp. 270-282): This is the page range on which the article appears within the book. “pp.” stands for “pages”. This is in parentheses and is placed after the title of the book.
• Johns Hopkins University Press: This is the name of the publisher of the book.

In-Text Citation (Parenthetical):

APA in-text citations include the author’s last name and the year of publication and the page number. For this example, the in-text citation would be:

(Butler, 1990, p. 275)

If you are mentioning the author’s name in your sentence, you would only include the year and the page number in the parentheses:

As Butler (1990) argues, “…” (p. 275).

Key Points for APA:

• Use “et al.” if there are three or more authors, such as if there were three or more authors of the article instead of just Judith Butler you would cite the first author followed by et al.: Butler, et al., (Year), instead of the full list of names, it is the same rule for book editors as well.
• Capitalize only the first word of the article title, proper nouns, and the first word after a colon or dash.
• Capitalize all major words in the title of the book.
• Use “p.” or “pp.” before the page number(s).
• Use periods between elements, except in the page range.
• If there are no page numbers available, like with online only publications, they are omitted.

Citing an Article Inside a Book: Chicago Style (Notes and Bibliography)

Chicago style offers two main systems: notes and bibliography and author-date. The notes and bibliography system is commonly used in the humanities. Here’s how to cite an article within a book using this system:

Format (Bibliography Entry):

Author Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” In Book Title, edited by Editor First Name Last Name, Page Numbers. Publisher, Year.

Example:

Butler, Judith. “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.” In Performing Feminisms: Feminist Critical Theory and Theatre, edited by Sue-Ellen Case, 270-82. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990.

Explanation of Elements:

• Butler, Judith: This is the author of the article. The last name is given first, followed by a comma and then the first name.
• “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.”: This is the title of the specific article. It is enclosed in quotation marks.
• Performing Feminisms: Feminist Critical Theory and Theatre: This is the title of the larger book. Book titles are italicized.
• edited by Sue-Ellen Case: This indicates that Sue-Ellen Case is the editor of the book. The word “edited by” is always included.
• 270-82: This is the page range on which the article appears within the book. Note there is no “pp.”
• Johns Hopkins University Press: This is the name of the publisher of the book.
• 1990: This is the publication year of the book.

Format (Note/Footnote):

For footnotes or endnotes, the format is very similar to the bibliography entry, but with a few differences:

Author First Name Last Name, “Article Title,” in Book Title, ed. Editor First Name Last Name (Publisher, Year), Page Numbers.

Example Note/Footnote:

1. Judith Butler, “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,” in Performing Feminisms: Feminist Critical Theory and Theatre, ed. Sue-Ellen Case (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990), 275.

Explanation of Elements in the footnote:

• Judith Butler: This is the author of the article, but the name is reversed with the first name listed before the last name.
• “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,”: This is the title of the specific article. It is enclosed in quotation marks. A comma is placed at the end.
• in Performing Feminisms: Feminist Critical Theory and Theatre: This is the title of the larger book. Book titles are italicized.
• ed. Sue-Ellen Case: This indicates that Sue-Ellen Case is the editor of the book. The abbreviation “ed.” is used, and there is no comma.
• (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990): The publisher and year are put in parentheses with a comma in between.
• 275: This is the specific page number for the citation instead of a page range. Note there is no “pp.”

Key Points for Chicago Notes and Bibliography:

• Capitalize all major words in the titles of both the article and the book.
• Italicize the title of the book.
• In the bibliography, use the author’s last name first. In notes, use the author’s first name first.
• In notes, use “ed.” for editor(s). In the bibliography use “edited by”.
• There is no “pp.” before the page number(s) in either the bibliography or the notes.
• In the bibliography, use commas between the book title, editor(s), and page numbers.
• If there are no page numbers available, like with online only publications, they are omitted.

Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Citing articles within books can sometimes be tricky. Here are some common challenges and how to navigate them:

• Multiple Editors: If the book has more than two editors, use “et al.” in APA and MLA styles after the first editor’s name. For Chicago style, list all editors in the bibliography, and use “et al.” in the footnotes.
• Missing Information: If certain information, such as the publisher or publication year, is missing, try to locate it using online sources like WorldCat. If you cannot find it, follow the style’s rules for omission (like adding “n.d.” for no date).
• Online Books: If you accessed the book online, include the URL or DOI (Digital Object Identifier), as required by your citation style. Most styles now include DOI over the URL.
• Reprinted Articles: If the article was originally published elsewhere, include the original publication details if they are relevant and known.
• Confusion Between Author and Editor: Remember that the author is the person who wrote the specific article, while the editor is the person who compiled the book. Make sure to distinguish between the two in your citations.

Tips for Accurate Citations

Here are some general tips for citing accurately and efficiently:

• Keep a Detailed Record: As you conduct research, keep a detailed record of all the bibliographic information you might need. Save the book page and table of contents for reference, which is generally available online through google books, or amazon or your university’s library’s webpage.
• Use a Citation Management Tool: Consider using citation management tools like Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote to organize your sources and automatically format citations.
• Consult the Style Guide: Always refer to the official style guide for your chosen style (MLA, APA, Chicago) for the most precise and up-to-date rules.
• Double-Check Your Work: Proofread your citations carefully to ensure all details are accurate. Even a minor mistake can lead to confusion and inaccurate attribution.
• Pay attention to detail: Minor details such as using a comma instead of a period or italicizing a book title can make a big difference in how your citations look. Be mindful of these minor details.

Conclusion

Citing an article within a book may seem complicated, but with a clear understanding of the process and careful attention to detail, you can do it correctly and confidently. By following the specific rules of your chosen citation style (MLA, APA, or Chicago), you will ensure that your research is accurate, that you are giving proper credit, and that you are adhering to the standards of academic writing. Remember that meticulous citation is a cornerstone of scholarly integrity. If you are unsure about how to format a particular citation, it’s always best to double-check your style guide or ask a librarian or professor for help.