A basic pattern for citing books in a MLA Works Cited page.
Colons:
Colons should only be used between the place of publication and the publisher. For example:
Chicago: ALA, 1999.
Colons are often inserted arbitrarily to indicate a subtitle. For example:
Utah: A History.
Commas:
Commas are used within the inverted author name and between multiple authors, including before the last one. For example:
Moreno, John, and Suike Tikata.
Commas are used between the publisher and the year of publication.
ALA, 1999.
Underlining or Italics:
For titles of books, you can either underline or italicize. Do not underline or italicize the titles of the chapters, poems, plays, short stories, songs, essays, etc. that are within the book. For example:
“Old MacDonald.” Songs for Preschool.
Each citation should have a title.
Quotation Marks:
Use quotation marks for the titles of chapters, poems, plays, short stories, songs, essays, etc. that are within the book.
Quotes imply that the quoted portion is part of a larger title.
Never underline AND use quotes on the same words.
Miscellaneious:
If an encyclopedia or dictionary arranges articles alphabetically, you may omit volume and mage numbers.
Place of Publication:
For the place of publication, use only the city unless it is ambiguous. For example:
Springfield, MA: Turnder, 1965.
Do not use D.C. after Washington. For example:
Washington: GPO, 1985.