MLA Style Guide

MLA Style Guide

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The following guide was developed to assist students with the MLA style guide. The MLA Handbook is available on Reserve. Please consult the handbook for more information and examples.

Creating a Works Cited List | Citing Electronic Publications | Parenthetical Documentation

Creating a Works Cited List

The list of works cited appears at the end of a research paper and includes full bibliographic entries for sources referred to within the paper. The list of works cited should appear in alphabetical order and be double-spaced with the heading Works Cited centered at the top of the page.

Sample Citations

BOOKS— Basic Format:

Author. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year.

BOOK BY ONE AUTHOR: [See section 5.6.1 of the MLA Handbook]

Paglia, Camille. Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily

Dickinson. New Haven: Yale UP, 1990.

BOOK BY TWO OR MORE AUTHORS: [5.6.4]

Kerrigan, William, and Gordon Braden. The Idea of the Renaissance. Baltimore:

Johns Hopkins UP, 1989.

If there are 3 or more authors (or editors), you have two options: (1) list all names
in the order in which they appear on the title page, or (2) use the name of first
author/editor followed by et al.

Roark, James L., Michael P. Johnson, Sarah Stage, and Alan Lawson. The American

Promise: A History of the United States to 1877. Boston: Bedford, 1998.

OR

Roark, James L., et al. The American Promise: A History of the United States to 1877.

Boston: Bedford, 1998.

BOOK WITH AN EDITOR: [5.6.2]

Diamond, Arlyn, ed. The Authority of Experience: Essays in Feminist Criticism. Amherst:

U of Massachusetts P, 1977.

BOOK WITH AN AUTHOR & EDITOR: [5.6.12]

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York:

Washington Square-Pocket, 1992.

BOOK WITH NO AUTHOR OR EDITOR'S NAME ON THE TITLE PAGE: [5.6.11]

New York Public Library Student's Desk Reference. New York: Prentice, 1993.

DEFINITION OR ESSAY FROM A REFERENCE BOOK: (e.g., dictionary, biography,
encyclopedia): [5.6.8]

(Note that there are three examples in this citation guide – two under this section and
one under the next – which refer to Novels for Students and other such Gale …for Students
series.)

“Jabberwocky.” Poetry for Students. Ed. Elizabeth Thomasan. Vol. 11. Detroit: Gale,

1998. 90-100.

Use the above model when citing text in the Novels for Students or Poetry for Students
series which is not attributed to a particular author such as information from the
“Themes” section.

Miller, Tyrus. “ Winesburg , Ohio.” Novels for Students. Ed. Marie Rose

Napierkowski. Vol.4. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 235-39.

A reference citation should contain the author’s name when the reference book entry
is attributed to a specific author. Place the title of the reference book entry in
quotation marks, but don’t forget to underline titles of books and plays.

"Plagiarism." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 10th ed. 1993.

When citing an article from a familiar reference book, do not include full publication
information – only list edition number (if given) and publication date. (In other words,
when citing from a well-known reference source, exclude editor, publication place,
publication company, and number of volumes.)

REPRINTED WORK IN AN ANTHOLOGY OR BOOK COLLECTION: [5.6.7]

Booth, David. "The Role of the Storyteller — Sholem Aleichem and Elie Wiesel."

Judaism 42 (1993): 298-312. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism.

Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 165. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 318-25.

Castille, Philip Dubuisson. “Dilsey’s Easter Conversion in Faulkner’s The Sound and the

Fury.” Studies in the Novel 24 (1992): 423-33. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed.

Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 313-17.

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from Birmingham Jail." The Norton Anthology of African

American Literature. Ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Nellie Y. McKay. New York:

Norton, 1997. 1854-66.

ARTICLES — Basic Format:

Author. "Title of the Article." Name of the Periodical. Publication Information.

ARTICLE FROM A SCHOLARLY JOURNAL: [5.7.1-2]

Barthelme, Frederick. "Architecture." Kansas Quarterly 13.3-4 (1981): 77-80.

Scotto, Peter. "Censorship, Reading, and Interpretation: A Case Study from the

Soviet Union." PMLA 109 (1994): 61-70.

If each issue of the journal is paged separately, be sure to include volume &
issue numbers as in the first example.

ARTICLE FROM A NEWSPAPER: [5.7.5]

Feder, Barnady J. "For Job Seekers, a Toll-Free Gift of Expert Advice." New York

Times 30 Dec. 1993, late ed.: D1+.

Abbreviate all months but May, June and July in article citations.

ARTICLE FROM A MAGAZINE: [5.7.6]

Hafner, Katie. "Making Sense of the Internet." Newsweek 24 Oct. 1994: 46-48.

If pagination is not printed on consecutive pages, simply listed the first page number
followed by a plus sign (see "Article from a Newspaper"). Even if listed, do not give
volume and issue numbers.

VIDEO RECORDING: [5.8.3]

A Room of One's Own. By Virginia Woolf. Dir. Patrick Garland. Perf. Eileen Atkins. 1990.

Videocassette. Films for the Humanities, 1995.

Sense and Sensibility. By Jane Austen. Dir. Ang Lee. Perf. Emma Thompson, Kate

Winslet, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman. 1995. DVD. Columbia TriStar, 1996.

A video entry generally begins with the title (underlined) and includes the director,
distributor, original release date (if relevant), medium (videocassette, DVD, laser
disc, etc.) and date of distribution. If deemed pertinent, data such as the names
of the writer, performers and producers may be included between the title and
the distributor.

SOUND RECORDING: [5.8.2]

Holiday, Billie. "God Bless the Child." Rec. 9 May 1941. The Essence of Billie Holiday.

Columbia, 1991.

Simon, Paul. The Rhythm of the Saints. Warner Bros., 1990.

INTERVIEW: [5.8.7]

Blackmun, Harry. Interview with Ted Koppel and Nina Totenberg. Nightline. ABC. WABC,

New York. 5 Apr. 1994.

LECTURE, SPEECH, ADDRESS OR READING: [5.8.11]

Atwood, Margaret. "Silencing the Scream." Boundaries of the Imagination Forum. MLA

Convention. Royal York Hotel, Toronto. 29 Dec. 1993.

Citing Electronic Publications

COMPLETE ONLINE SCHOLARLY PROJECT OR INFORMATION DATABASE:
[See section 5.9.2 of the MLA Handbook]

Music History 102: A Guide to Western Composers and their Music from the Middle Age

to the Present. Ed. Robert Sherrane. 14 Dec. 1997. Internet Public Library. 29 Nov.

1999 <http://www.ipl.org/exhibit/mushist/index.html>.

DOCUMENT WITHIN A SCHOLARLY PROJECT OR INFORMATION DATABASE:
[5.9.1]

"Gregorian Chant." Music History 102: A Guide to Western Composers and their Music

from the Middle Age to the Present. Ed. Robert Sherrane. 14 Dec. 1997. Internet

Public Library. 3 Dec. 1999 <http://www.ipl.org/exhibit/mushist/middle/index.htm#chant>.

“This Day in Technology History: August 20.” History Channel.com. 2002. History Channel.

14 May 2002 <http://historychannel.com/>. Path: Technology History; This Day in

Technology History.

ONLINE BOOK AVAILABLE INDEPEPENTLY: [5.9.3.a]

Rawlins, Gregory J. E. Moths to the Flame: The Seductions of Computer Technology. Cambridge:

MIT P, 1996. MIT Press. 29 Nov. 1999 <http://mitpress.mit.edu/e-books.mother>.

Whitley, Bernard E., and Patricia Keith-Spiegel. Academic Dishonesty : An Educator's Guide.

Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1998. netLibrary. 2004. 15 Nov. 2004 <http://www.

netlibrary.com/AccessProduct.aspx?ProductId=66177>.

If available, list the editor's name (e.g., Ed. Jane Doe) after the title of the work.

ONLINE BOOK WITHIN A SCHOLARLY PROJECT: [5.9.3.a]

Cather, Willa. My Antonia. 1918. InforM@Maryland. July 1999. U of Maryland. 29 Nov. 1999

<http://www.inform.edu/EdRes/ReadingRoom/Fiction/Cather/MyAntonia>.

If available, list the editor's name (e.g., Ed. John Smith) after the name of the scholarly project.

ARTICLE IN AN ONLINE SCHOLARLY JOURNAL: [5.9.4.a]

Calabrese, Michael. "Between Despair and Ecstasy: Marco Polo's Life of the Buddha."

Exemplaria 9.1 (1997). 22 June 1998 <http://web.english.ufl.edu/english/exemplaria/

calax.htm>.

If pages or paragraphs are numbered, add this information after the date of publication:
(1997): 11 pp. or (1997): 34 pars.

ARTICLE IN AN ONLINE NEWSPAPER OR FROM AN ONLINE NEWSWIRE: [5.9.4.b]

Kisor, Henry. "Making E-books." Chicago Sun-Times 2 Jan. 2000. 3 Feb. 2000

<http://www.suntimes.com/output/kisor/kisor02.html>.

ARTICLE IN AN ONLINE MAGAZINE: [5.9.4.c]

Potter, Jerry O. "A Tragic Postscript." American History Nov. 1996. 25 Jan. 2000.

<http://www.thehistorynet.com/AmericanHistory/articles/1999/08992_text.htm>.

WORK FROM A LIBRARY-PROVIDED ONLINE DATABASE: [5.9.7]

The citations for works accessed through your library’s subscription databases are
composed of two parts: the first component is a citation for the actual article or
document accessed online and the second part is a reference to the online database
used. Richard Bland College students should use this format when citing from VIVA
databases. (Special note about the some databases: the start of URLs may
vary slightly depending on the session number assigned to your search. For instance, you
may need to change the “web3” portion of the Internet address to “web4” or “web6”—
take a look at the address bar when you first access the database.)

Hafner, Katie. "Making Sense of the Internet." Newsweek 24 Oct. 1994: 46-48. General

OneFile. Gale. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg, VA. 3 Feb. 2003 <http://

find.galegroup.com/menu/start?prod=ITOF>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the online
database Academic OneFile:

Academic OneFile. Gale. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg, VA. 9 Mar. 2005

<http://find.galegroup.com/menu/start?prod=AONE>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the online
database Business & Company ASAP:

Business & Company ASAP. Gale. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg, VA. 9 Mar.

2005 <http://find.galegroup.com/menu/start?prod=BCPM>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online VIVA database Business & Company Resource Center:

Business & Company Resource Center. Gale. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg,

VA. 9 Mar. 2005 <http://find.galegroup.com/menu/start?prod=BCRC-0>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online VIVA database CINAHL:

CINAHL. EBSCOhost. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg, VA. 13 Sep. 2005

<http://web5.epnet.com>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online VIVA database Encyclopedia Britannica:

Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Richard Bland Coll. Lib.,

Petersburg, VA. 9 Mar. 2005 <http://search.eb.com>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online VIVA database ERIC:

ERIC. EBSCOhost. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg, VA. 13 Sep. 2005

<http://web23.epnet.com>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the online
database Expanded Academic ASAP :

Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg, VA. 9 Mar.

2005 <http://find.galegroup.com/menu/start?prod=EAIM>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online VIVA database Factiva:

Factiva. Dow Jones & Reuters. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg, VA. 9 Mar. 2005

<http://global.factiva.com>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online database Gale Virtual Reference Library:

Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg, VA. 3

Feb. 2006 <http://find.galegroup.com/menu/start?prod=GVRL-0>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online VIVA database General OneFile.

General OneFile. Gale. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg, VA. 3 Feb.

2003 <http://find.galegroup.com/menu/start?prod=ITOF>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online database General Reference Center Gold:

General Reference Center Gold. Gale. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg,

VA. 3 Feb. 2003 <http://find.galegroup.com/menu/start?prod=GRGM>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online VIVA database Health & Wellness Resource Center:

Health & Wellness Resource Center. Gale. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg,

VA. 9 Mar. 2005 <http://find.galegroup.com/menu/start?prod=HWRC-2>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online database Health Reference Center Academic:

Health Reference Center Academic. Gale. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg,

VA. 9 Mar. 2005 <http://find.galegroup.com/menu/start?prod=HRCA>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the online
database InfoTrac Criminal Justice.

InfoTrac Criminal Justice. Gale. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg, VA. 3 Feb.

2003 <http://find.galegroup.com/menu/start?prod=SPJ.SP00>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online VIVA database Literature Resources from Gale :

Literature Resources from Gale. Gale. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg, VA. 9

Mar. 2005 <http://find.galegroup.com/menu/start?prod=LITRG>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online VIVA database Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center:

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg,

VA. 13 Sep. 2005 <http://find.galegroup.com/menu/start?prod=OVRC>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online VIVA database Oxford English Dictionary:

Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg,

VA. 13 Sep. 2005 <http://dictionary.oed.com/entrance.dtl>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online VIVA database Project Muse:

Project Muse. Johns Hopkins. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg, VA. 9 Mar. 2005

<http://muse.jhu.edu>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online VIVA database PsycARTICLES:

PsycARTICLES. EBSCOhost. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg, VA. 13 Sep. 2005

<http://web25.epnet.com>.

Append the following information to your article/document citation if you used the
online VIVA database PsycINFO:

PsycINFO. EBSCOhost. Richard Bland Coll. Lib., Petersburg, VA. 13 Sep. 2005 <http://

http://web23.epnet.com>.

Parenthetical Documentation

Parenthetical documentation refers to the brief acknowledgement of sources within a research paper. Generally, parenthetical documentation includes the author's last name followed by a page reference.

Sample Citations

[See section 6.2-3 of the MLA Handbook]

Direct Quote - Author's name in reference:

"Miss Emily turns out to be not a Southern lady; she is a Clytemnestra,

a figure out of tragedy" (Brooks 161).

Direct Quote — Author's name in text:

Brooks explains that "Miss Emily turns out to be not a Southern lady;

she is a Clytemnestra, a figure out of tragedy" (161).

Paraphrasing - Author's name in reference:

Miss Emily and her madness are likened to the tragic character of

Clytemnestra (Brooks 161).

Paraphrasing - Author's name in text:

Brooks likens Miss Emily and her madness to the tragic character of

Clytemnestra (161).

Corresponding Works Cited listing:

Brooks, Cleanth. William Faulkner: Toward Yoknapatawpha and Beyond.

New Haven: Yale UP, 1978.

Miscellaneous Guidelines for Parenthetical References

If you are citing a work with no author or editor, you need to incorporate the title of the work into the reference. Use the complete title if brief; otherwise, use an abbreviated version. Give enough of the title so that it can be easily located in the works cited. [6.4.4]

ex: ("Death") for "Death of a Writer." Editorial. New York Times.
Sample parenthetical reference — A New York Times editorial referred to Ralph Ellison as "a writer of universal reach" ("Death").

If your works cited page includes two or more works by the same author, you must include the title (or part of the title) in the parenthetical reference. [6.4.6]

ex: (Dickens, Oliver Twist 30) and (Dickens, David Copperfield 47).

When eliminating words in a direct quote, use an ellipsis [...]. An ellipsis that completes a sentence should contain four periods [....]. [3.7.5]

When a quotation runs to more than four typed lines, set it off from the text by beginning the quotation on a new line and by indenting the entire quotation one inch (or ten spaces) from the left margin. The quotation should be double-spaced. Do not add quotation marks. Place the page reference after the period of the last sentence of the quotation; leave a space between the period and the page reference. [3.7.2]

When citing a play, you need to use act, scene & line numbers (in that order and separated by periods) rather than page numbers. [6.4.8]

ex: (Ham. 5.4.27-32) for Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 4, Lines 27-32

If your works cited page has two authors with the same last name, use their first initials. Write out full first names if initials are identical. [6.2]

ex: (C. Bronte 20) and (E. Bronte 99-100)

You may abbreviate the titles of literary and religious works. It is usually best to introduce an abbreviation in parentheses immediately after the first use of the full title in the text. [7.7]

ex: " In All's Well That Ends Well (AWW), Shakespeare ...."

For abbreviations commonly used, see:

         Bible - 7.7.1
         Shakespeare - 7.7.2
         Chaucer - 7.7.3
         Other literary works - 7.7.4

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Last Update: January 30, 2008