Citations - MLA in a Nutshell
(This should not replace use of other MLA resources)What do you need to know how to cite?
Authors
Basic Book
Book with Editor(s)
Article/Chapter from an Anthology
Article from a Periodicals
Article from an Online Periodical
Online Book
Article from a Database
Work of Art
Personal Interview
Government Publication
Recommended Resources
MLA Works Cited:
List author's last name first; if more than one author, they should be listed in the order they are in the text.
Single Author
Hemingway, Ernest.
Multiple Authors
Smith, John L., and Martha Brown.
Smith, John L., Suzanne Smith, and Martha Brown.
For four or more authors, either list all the authors, or the first author followed by "et al."
James, Jordan, Sarah Smith, Judy Lynch, and Marshall Grey.
Or
James, Jordan, et al.
Corporate Author
American Civil Liberties Union.
United States. Department of Agriculture.
Unknown Author
Begin citation with the work's title.
Titles of articles and other short works are put in quotation marks. Titles of books and websites are underlined.
More than one works by the same author
Use the author's name only in the first entry. For other entries use three hyphens followed by a period. Titles should be in alphabetical order.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Penguin, 1997.
---. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1946.
Citing Books
There are three parts in the basic book format. Each is followed by a period and one space.
1) Author;
2) title, underlined; and
3) publication information.
Author
Robbins, Tom. Still Life with Woodpecker. New York: Bantam Books, 1980.
Author with Editor
Kerouac, Jack. Atop on Underwood. Ed. Paul Marion. New York: Penguin, 2000.
Editor
Haycox, Stephen W., and Mary Childers Mangusso, ed. An Alaska Anthology: Interpreting the Past. Seattle: Univ. of WA Press, 1996.
Work that is a part of an Anthology
This citation has six parts:
1) author of work, not the editor of the anthology;
2) title of the selection;
3) title of the anthology;
4) editor's name;
5) publication information; and
6) page numbers of work.
Dauenhauer, Richard L. "Two Missions to Alaska." An Alaska Anthology: Interpreting the Past. Ed. Stephen W. Haycox and Mary Childers Manausso. Seattle: Univ. of WA Press, 1996. 76-88.
Citing Articles in Periodicals
These citations have seven parts:
1) author;
2) title of work, in quotations;
3) periodical title, underlined;
4) volume, if needed;
5) issue, if needed;
6) date; and
7) page numbers.
Monthly Magazine
de Zengotita, Thomas. "Attack of the Superzeroes." Harper's Magazine Dec. 2004: 35-42.
Weekly Magazine
Quinn-Judge, Paul, and Yuri Zarakhovich. "The Orange Revolution." Time 6 Dec. 2004:50-54.
**For articles on consecutive pages, note the page range, such as 124-137. For articles that are not consecutive, note the first page it appears on and a plus sign, such as 53+.
Journal Numbered by Volume
These journals start numbering at page 1 in the first issue of the year, and page numbers continue throughout the year instead of starting with page 1 in each issue. In these citations only not the volume number, year, and pages.
Egerton, George. "Entering the Age of Human Rights: Religion, Politics, and Canadian Liberalism, 1945-50." The Canadian Historical Review 85 (2004): 451-179.
Journal Numbered by Issue
This referees to journals in which each issue begins with the page number 1. After the volume number, put a period and then the issue number.
Messud, Claire. "Then." Kenyon Review 26.4 (2004): 34-45.
Daily Newspaper
Bowlen, Scott. "What in the World? Fisherman Lands Odd Fish that's Rarely Caught." The Ketchikan Daily News 18-19 Dec. 2004: B1.
Website citations have seven parts:
1) author;
2) title;
3) name of editor;
4) date of publication;
5) name of sponsoring organization;
6) date accessed; and
7) URL, in brackets.
Websites with Author
Peterson, Susan Lynn. The Life of Martin Luther. 1999.9 Mar. 2001 <http://pweb.netcom/~supeters/luther.htm>.
Corporate Author Website
United States. General Services Administration. FirstGov.gov 22 Dec. 2004 <http://www.firstgov.gov>.
Websites with Unknown Author
Margaret Sanger PApers Project. 18 Oct. 2000. History Dept., New York U. 3 Apr. 2001 <http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sanger/>.
Poems, Essays or Other Short Works in an Online Book
The title should be in quotation marks, followed by the title of the book, underlined. If you're citing the introduction or other section of the book, don't use quotation marks.
Mill, John Stuart. "On Liberty." Harvard Classics, vol. 25, pt. 2. Ed. Charles Eliot. New York: P.F. Collier & Sons, 1914. Bartleby.com:Great Books Online. 2001. 21 Dec 2004 <http://bartleby.com/25/2>.
Article from a Database
These citations have six parts:
1) bibliographic information (author, title, etc.);
2) name of database, underlined;
3) name of service;
4) name and location of library where you retrieved the article;
5) date accessed; and
6) URL.
Uhir, Paul. "Re-intermediation in the Republic of Science: Moving from Intellectual PRoperty to Intellectual Commons." Information Services & Use 23.2/3 (2003): 63/66. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOHost. UAS Ketchikan Campus Lib., Ketchikan, AK. 21 Dec. 2004 <http://web6.epnet.com>.
Citing Multimedia
Work of Art
These citations have three parts:
1) artist's name;
2) name of work, underlined; and
3) institution and city where it can be found.
Kandinsky, Vasily. Composition 8.July 1923. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. 21 Dec. 2004 <http://www.guggenheimcollection.org/site/artist_work_md_71_7.html>.
Personal Interview
Name of person interviewed, followed by "personal interview" and date of the interview.
Stevens, Ted. Personal Interview. 22 Dec. 2004.
Citing Other Sources
Government Publications
The government agency is considered the author. First list the government (i.e., United States), and then the name of agency. For publications found online, add date accessed and URL at the end.
United States. United States Forest Service. Lumber Recovery Studies of Alaska Sawmills, 1997-1999. Portland, OR: Pacific Northwest Research Station, 2002. 22 Dec. 2004 <http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/gtr544/gtr544a.pdf>.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
Hacker, Diana. A Writer's Reference. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003.
Diana Hacker's website. http://www.dianahacker.com/
Citation Style Handbook: MLA
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/writer_resources/citation_styles/mla/mla.htm
Citing Electronic Sources
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite5.html
All information regarding APA citations is taken from :
Hacker, D. (2003). A Writer's Reference (5th ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.