MLA Style Guide

MLA STYLE GUIDE

The Modern Language Association has developed guidelines for documenting sources of research. The complete rules appear in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 7^th edition (shelved at the Reference Desk). Examples of types of commonly cited works appear below.

General Information

• Start your Works Cited list on a new page (use a Page Break in your document).
• Arrange citations alphabetically by author’s last name.
• Double space your paper, including the Works Cited page.
• Use hanging indents.  See MLA Handbook or instructions.

Citing Sources in Text

            MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. These citations refer the reader to the Works Cited List at the end of your paper.  Below are examples of in-text citations: 

• One Work by One Author- Television coverage of presidential elections changed dramatically between 1968 and 1988 (Hallin 5).
• One Work by Multiple Authors- Marx and Engels described human history as marked by class struggles (79; ch. 1).

·         Unknown Author- An anonymous Wordsworth critic once argued that his poems were too emotional ("Wordsworth Is a Loser" 100).

Works Cited

            The Works Cited list appears at the end of your paper and should contain citations for all the works you cite in your text.  Details on how to prepare a Works Cited list are found in the MLA Handbook (129) or Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/.>

Web Resources For Citation Styles:

JCTC’s Research Guide on Citations <http://jefferson.kctcs.libguides.com/citations>

University of Iowa Guide to Citation Style Guides <http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/journalism/cite.html>

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ >

Input and print citations:

EasyBib <http://www.easybib.com/>

KnightCite Citation Service <http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/index.php>

Son of Citation Machine < http://citationmachine.net/>

Print Sources

Books, Book Chapters and Entries in Anthologies

Book with a single author follows this format:

Author last name, first name. Title of Book in Italics: Subtitle of Book. City where published: Company that published, year published. Medium.

Tannen, Deborah. You Were Always Mom's Favorite!: Sisters in Conversation Throughout Their Lives. New York: Random House, 2009. Print.

Book with two or more authors (but less than six authors) follows this format:

Author last name, first name and 2nd author’s first name then last name. Title of Book in Italics: Subtitle of Book. City where published: Company that published, year published. Medium.

Simon, Rita J. and Rhonda M. Roorda. In Their Siblings' Voices: White Non-Adopted Siblings Talk About Their Experiences Being Raised With Black and Biracial Brothers and Sisters. New York: Columbia UP, 2009. Print.

Article or individual chapter in a book follows this format:

Author last name, first name. “Chapter Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of Book in Italics: Subtitle of Book. City where published: Company that published, year published. Pages for chapter. Medium.

Conley, Dalton. "Love is a Pie." The Pecking Order: Which Siblings Succeed and Why. New York: Pantheon, 2004. 54-73. Print.

Encyclopedias

Entry with a named author:       

Author last name, first name. “Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of  Encyclopedia in Italics. Edition. Medium.

Economides, Michael J.  “Petroleum.” The World Book Encyclopedia. 2011 ed.  Print.

Entry without a named author:

 “Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of Encyclopedia in Italics. Edition. Medium.

“Exxon Mobile Corporation.” The World Book Encyclopedia. 2011 ed.  Print.

Entry from a specialized encyclopedia (not World Book or Britannica):

Last name, first name. “Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of Encyclopedia in Italics: Subtitle. City where published: Company that published, Year published.  Page numbers. Medium.

Wenz, Peter S. "Environmental Ethics." Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. Donald M. Borchert.  2nd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2006. 258-261. Print.

Magazine, Journal and Newspaper Articles:

A periodical is a publication that appears regularly at a fixed interval (e.g. a newspaper, a magazine or a scholarly journal). Use this format if you have a physical copy of the article. If you have a PDF, ask your instructor if you should use this format or the electronic format.

Print Magazine article:

Author last name, first name. “Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of Magazine in Italics date published as DD Mon. YYYY: Page numbers. Medium.

Rowley, Barbara and Amy Roberts. "The Joy of Reading." Parenting  Sept. 2006: 88. Print.

Print Journal article:

Author last name, first name. “Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of Journal in Italics Volume number.Issue number (Year published in parentheses): Page numbers. Medium.

Hoffman, Jessica L. “Looking Back and Looking Forward: Lessons Learned from Early Reading First.” Childhood Education: Infancy Through Early Adolescence 87.1 (2010): 8-16. Print.

Print Newspaper article with a named author (signed):

Author last name, first name. “Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of Newspaper in Italics date published as DD Mon. YYYY, Edition: Page number. Medium.

Banchero, Stephanie. "Students Score Poorly on Science Test." Wall Street Journal 26 Jan. 2011, Eastern ed.: A2.  Print.

Entry without a named author (unsigned):

 “Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of newspaper in Italics date published as DD Mon. YYYY, Edition: Page number. Medium.

“Where Schools Fall Short.”  New York Times 5 Dec. 2011, late ed.: A26. Print.

Electronic Sources

Books and Encyclopedias:

Electronic Book (from a source such as eBrary, Google Books or an e-Reader):

Author last name, first name. Title of Book in Italics: Subtitle of Book. City where published: Company that published, Year. Database source in Italics. Medium. Date book accessed as DD Mon. YYYY.

Hoffman, Saul D. and Rebecca A. Maynard, eds. Kids Having Kids: Economic Costs and Social
Consequences of Teen Pregnancy. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press, 2008.
Google Books. Web. 20 Jan. 2011 .

Engelbrecht, Tracy. The Girl Who Couldn't Say No: Memoir of a Teenage Mom. Johannesburg, South Africa: Oshun, 2007.  Kindle file.

Electronic General Encyclopedia:

“Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of Encyclopedia in Italics. Edition. Medium. Date accessed as DD Mon. YYYY.

"Ali, Muhammad." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2011. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.

Electronic Specialized Encyclopedia found via a subscription database (like Credo or Access Science):

Author Last Name, First name. “Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of Encyclopedia in Italics: Subtitle. City where published: Company that published, Year published. Database source in Italics. Medium. Date accessed as DD Mon. YYYY.

Evensen, Bruce J. "Boxing." Encyclopedia of Urban America: The Cities and Suburbs. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1998. Credo Reference. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.

Wikipedia (may not be accepted by your instructor):

“Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of Website in Italics. Company that published website, Date last revised as DD Mon. Year. Medium. Date accessed as DD Mon. YYYY.

"The Rumble in the Jungle." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Nov. 2011. Web. 7 Dec. 2011.

Films or Videorecordings:

Film (as seen in theater):

Title of Movie in Italics. Dir. First Name Last Name. Perf. First Name Last Name, First Name Last Name, First Name Last Name, etc. Movie distributor, Year released. Format.

 Avatar. Dir. James Cameron. Perf. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver. Twentieth Century Fox, 2009. Film.

DVD or Videorecording (VHS):

Title of Movie in Italics. Dir. First Name Last Name. Perf. First Name Last Name, First Name Last Name, First Name Last Name, etc. Year movie released. Movie distributor, Year DVD released. Format.

 The Blind Side. Dir. John Lee Hancock. Perf. Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw. 2009. Warner Home Video, 2010. DVD.

Video from a database (such as Films on Demand *Films on Demand Citation Generator produces an INVALID MLA citation!):

Title of Video. Video producer, Year produced. Database source. Medium. Date accessed as DD Mon. YYYY.

Antibiotics: The Double-Edged Sword. Films Media Group, 2003. Films On Demand. Web. 7 Dec. 2011.

Video on the web (such as from YouTube)

Video Title in Italics. Narrator or Director’s First Name Last name. Title of Website in Italics. Website publishing company, date published as DD Mon. Year. Medium. Date accessed as DD Mon. YYYY.

 Introduction to Hinduism (Part 1/5). Narr. Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami. YouTube. YouTube, 13 Mar. 2009. Web. 7 Dec. 2011.

Journal Articles and Newspapers in subscription databases:

Many subscription databases will format citations for you. Look for words like “Citation Tools” or “Cite” or “Cite This” or “Citation” and pick the MLA format. However, these tools are not 100 percent accurate. It is always best to proofread any citations formatted by a database.

Electronic Magazine article:

Author last name, first name. “Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of Magazine in Italics date published as DD Mon. YYYY: Page numbers. Database source in Italics. Medium. Date accessed written as DD Mon. YYYY.

Interlandi, Jeneen. "Are We Running Out of Antibiotics?” Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2010: 46-50. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Jan. 2011.

Electronic Journal article:

Author last name, first name. “Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of Journal in Italics Volume number.Issue number (Year published): Page numbers. Database source in Italics. Medium. Date accessed as DD Mon. YYYY.

Torpy, Janet. "Coughs, Colds, and Antibiotics." JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association (2003).  Academic OneFile. Web. 7 Dec. 2011.

Electronic Newspaper article:

Author last name, first name. “Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of Newspaper in Italics [Newspaper city if not in title] date published written as DD Mon. Year, edition: Page number. Database source in Italics. Medium. Date accessed as DD Mon. YYYY.

Carter, Darla.  "Dirty Little Secret In Your Soap? Chemical Triclosan Raises Questions." The Courier-Journal [Louisville, KY] 27 May. 2010, Metro ed.: D1.  ProQuest. Web. 7 Dec. 2011.

Online Sources – the WEB

When citing electronic sources, some elements may be missing or must be translated into elements that make sense. For example, instead of an author's name there may only be a login name or instead of a title, there may only be a filename.  When in doubt it is better to give too much identifying information about the website than too little. For additional information, check the MLA Handbook or Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL).

Web Page or Report on a Web Page with named author (signed):

Author last name, first name. “Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of Website in Italics. Website publishing company, date published as DD Mon. Year. Medium. Date accessed as DD Mon. YYYY.

Pasnau, Robert. "The Islamic Scholar Who Gave Us Modern Philosophy." Humanities. The National Endowment for the Humanities, Nov.-Dec. 2011. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.

Web Page or Report on a Web Page with unnamed author (unsigned):

 “Article Title in Quotation Marks.” Title of Website in Italics. Website publishing company, date published as DD Mon. Year. Medium. Date accessed as DD Mon. YYYY.

"Fundamental Buddhism Explained Summary." Fundamental Buddhism Explained. Buddhist Instruction Ministry, 1997. Web. 23 Mar. 2005.