Authored book
Original research draft · October 2026
Working pattern
[Author], [Title] [pinpoint] ([edition] [year]).
Capture from the source
Author; title; edition; year; volume; page/section
Check before you use it
Compare the title page and cited passage to the edition named in the citation.
Common error: A quotation copied from an older edition may not appear at the new page.
Completed example
Author, book, publisher, editions, metadata error, and pages are fictional. No copyrighted text or actual author's position is reproduced or attributed here.
Lena Rowan, Mapping Public Records 146 (2d ed. 2024) [TRAIN-S64].
Read the supplied source facts
Fictional packet TRAIN-S64 supplies Lena Rowan's book Mapping Public Records, second edition, published by the fictional Northmere Study Press in 2024. The title page identifies Rowan as author, and page 146 contains the passage assigned for discussion. A first edition from 2018 places a related but differently worded passage at page 119. A bookseller's listing has mistakenly carried the first edition's publication year into the second edition's description. The assignment asks for the passage as it appears in the inspected second edition. The packet includes title, copyright, and relevant text pages.
Why this works
Use the author, title, edition, year, and pinpoint from the book actually inspected. The bookseller's metadata can assist discovery but should not override the title and publication pages. Do not update the edition label while retaining a quotation or page copied from the first edition. Compare the exact passage, including any qualification or revised terminology, before using it. If the work has multiple volumes, add the volume necessary to locate the page. The source card should preserve enough publication information to distinguish editions even when a library catalog groups them under one title record.
When the facts change
If comparing the author's changing view, cite the 2018 and 2024 passages separately and explain their differences. If an electronic rendition replaces stable pages with locations, inspect whether it preserves print pagination before using page 146. A device-specific location number should be identified as such rather than presented as a printed page. If a passage quotes another work, distinguish Rowan's discussion from the underlying author's words.
Apply the receiving court or publication’s requirements. These working forms do not establish citation permission, precedential weight, or support for a legal proposition.