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These step-by-step instructions and examples are a great starting place for many homework projects. Follow these steps to break up a big assignment into doable pieces, learn how to efficiently complete each part to get the most out of your time, and organize your work to finish everything when due.
Citation Guide: MLA Style
MLA style was developed by the Modern Language Association (MLA), an organization promoting the study of language and literature. MLA is the standard style for formatting papers and reports in many high schools and colleges. It is also used by a number of scholarly publications.
This citation guide offers a brief introduction to MLA style, and it illustrates proper citation format for a number of commonly used research sources. The list of Print Sources includes resources typically found in a library, such as books, journals, magazines, and newspapers. The list of Electronic Sources includes resources found online or published on DVD or CD-ROM, including encyclopedias, journals, magazines, newspapers, and government documents. The information in this guide is based on the sixth edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (2003). For more complete information, consult the MLA Handbook or the official MLA Web site.
MLA is one of several commonly used styles for citing references. Your school, or your instructor, may require a different citation style, such as APA style, developed by the American Psychological Association, or Chicago style, developed by the University of Chicago Press and described in the Chicago Manual of Style. When in doubt about which style to use, ask your instructor.
Citations are notes acknowledging the source of ideas, information, and quoted passages used in a research paper. A complete citation typically includes the author, title, publisher, date, and other information to help readers locate the original source.
There are at least three good reasons for citing references:
- It’s the right thing to do. Using another writer’s words or ideas without citing the source is plagiarism.
- Citations allow readers to look up your sources. This helps put your ideas and conclusions into context.
- For school papers, citations are usually required.
The list of Works Cited, sometimes labeled References or Bibliography in other citation styles, is an alphabetized list of citations at the end of a research paper. The list is double-spaced, and each item is formatted with a hanging indent; that is, the second and subsequent lines are indented more than the first line. For example:
Bailey, Garrick and James Peoples. Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. Belmont,
CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 1999.
References that appear within the body of a paper are called in-text citations. The first time a source is mentioned, it should be cited as part of the text. The citation, including pertinent page numbers, is enclosed in parentheses and added to the end of a sentence. For example:
… By the end of the 1980s, Gorbachev was losing patience with the
Lithuanian independence movement (Serrill 29). …
If referring to the work as a whole, omit page numbers from the in-text citation:
… In response to Lithuania’s declaration of independence, the
Soviet Union imposed an economic blockade (Serrill). …
The citation can also be written into a sentence, with any page numbers in parentheses at the end of the sentence:
… According to Serrill, by the end of the 1980s, Gorbachev was
losing patience with the Lithuanian independence movement (29). …
A number of features set MLA apart from other citation styles.
- Titles are underlined, rather than italicized.
- Important words in titles are capitalized.
- Web addresses, or URLs, are contained within angle brackets (<>).
- For each source listed in the Works Cited, the name of the main author is written in last-first order, e.g., Doe, John. Any subsequent names are written in first-last order, e.g., Doe, John, Jane Roe, and Ronald Roe.
- If there is more than one author, names are separated by commas; the word “and” precedes the final name.
- Whenever possible, the full first and middle names of authors are used. If only initials are available, it is acceptable to use them.
- If referring to a particular section of a work, page numbers for that section are included in the in-text citation, but not in the list of Works Cited. With the exception of journal articles and printable documents, electronic sources do not usually display page numbers; if page numbers cannot be found, there is no need to include them.
For each type of research source, a format “formula” is provided, followed by an example drawn from an existing published work. Each citation is shown in two forms: first as it would appear in the list of Works Cited, then as it would appear as an in-text citation.
Author, First Middle. Book Title. City {include state, province, or country abbreviation if
city is not well known}: Publisher, year published.
In text: (Author start page-end page of specific reference) or (Author)
Example:
Salinger, Jerome David. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951.
In text: (Salinger 106-107) or (Salinger)
Author, First Middle and First Middle Author2. Book Title. City {include state, province,
or country abbreviation if city is not well known}: Publisher, year published.
In text: (Author and Author2 start page-end page of specific reference) or (Author and Author2)
Example:
Bailey, Garrick and James Peoples. Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. Belmont, CA:
Thomson Wadsworth, 1999.
In text: (Bailey and Peoples 96-99) or (Bailey and Peoples)
Author, First Middle, First Middle Author2, and First Middle Author3. Book Title. City
{include state, province, or country abbreviation if city is not well known}: Publisher,
year published.
In text: (Author, Author2, and Author3 start page-end page of specific reference) or (Author, Author2, and Author3)
Example:
Sebranek, Patrick, Verne Meyer, and Dave Kemper. Write for College. Wilmington, MA: Great
Source Education Group, 2004.
In text: (Sebranek, Meyer, and Kemper 231) or (Sebranek, Meyer, and Kemper)
(Two authors in this example)
Author, First Middle and First Middle Author2. Book Title (xth ed.). City {include state,
province, or country abbreviation if city is not well known}: Publisher, year published.
In text: (Author and Author2 start page-end page of specific reference) or (Author and Author2)
Example:
Mertler, Craig A. and Carol M. Charles. Introduction to Educational Research (5th ed.).
Boston: Pearson Allyn & Bacon, 2005.
In text: (Mertler and Charles 321) or (Mertler and Charles)
(Two authors in this example)
Author, First Middle and First Middle Author2. “Article Title.” Journal Title, Volume.Issue (Year
published): start page-end page of entire article {start page+ if pages are discontinuous}.
In text: (Author and Author2 start page-end page of specific reference {start page+ if pages are discontinuous}) or (Author and Author2)
Example:
O’Connell, John F. and George M. Perkins. “The Economics of Private Liberal Arts Colleges.” Journal
of Business, 76.3 (2003): 499-514.
In text: (O’Connell and Perkins 501) or (O’Connell and Perkins)
(One author in this example)
Author, First Middle. “Article Title.” Magazine Title Day Mo. Year {publication date}:
start page-end page of entire article {start page+ if pages are discontinuous}.
In text: (Author start page-end page of specific reference {start page+ if pages are discontinuous}) or (Author)
Example:
Serrill, Michael S. “Soviet Union War of Nerves.” Time 2 Apr. 1990: 26-30.
In text: (Serrill 29) or (Serrill)
(One author in this example)
Author, First Middle. “Article Title.” Newspaper Title Day Mo. Year {publication date}:
start page-end page of entire article {start page+ if pages are discontinuous}.
In text: (Author start page-end page of specific reference {start page+ if pages are discontinuous}) or (Author)
Example:
Rood, Lee. “The Steep Costs of Driving Drunk.” Des Moines Register 31 Dec. 2005: A12-A13.
In text: (Rood A12) or (Rood)
“Article Title.” Newspaper Title Day Mo. Year {publication date}: start page-end page
of entire article {start page+ if pages are discontinuous}.
In text: (“Article Title” start page-end page of specific reference {start page+ if pages are discontinuous}) or (“Article Title”)
Example:
“Gas Prices: Pollution Rules May Be Eased.” The Seattle Times 26 Apr. 2006: A1+.
In text: (“Gas Prices” A5) or (“Gas Prices”)
(One author in this example)
Author, First Middle. “Article Title.” Title of Reference Work. Year published. Day Mo. Year
{date retrieved from Web}.
In text: (Author)
Example:
Hart, John. “Water Pollution.” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 2006. 19 Apr. 2006.
In text: (Hart)
“Article Title.” Title of Reference Work. Year published. Day Mo. Year {date retrieved from Web}.
In text: (“Article Title”)
Example:
“Common Cold.” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 2006. 10 Nov. 2006.
In text: (“Common Cold”)
(One author in this example)
Author, First Middle. “Article Title.” Title of reference work. DVD {or CD-ROM}. City
{include state, province, or country abbreviation if city is not well known}: Publisher, year
published.
In text: (Author)
Example:
Hart, John. “Water Pollution.” Microsoft Student 2007. DVD. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation,
2006.
In text: (Hart)
“Article Title.” Title of Reference Work. DVD {or CD-ROM}. City {include state, province, or country
abbreviation if city is not well known}: Publisher, year published.
In text: (“Article Title”)
Example:
“Common Cold.” Microsoft Student 2007. DVD. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2006.
In text: (“Common Cold”)
(Five authors in this example)
Author, First Middle, First Middle Author2, First Middle Author3, First Middle Author4, and First
Middle Author5. “Article Title.” Journal Title Volume.Issue (Year published): start page-
end page {if available}. Day Mo. Year {date retrieved from Web}.
In text: (Author et al. start page-end page of specific reference) or (Author et al.)
Example:
Muntner, Paul, Jiang He, Jeffrey A. Cutler, Rachel P. Wildman, and Paul K. Whelton. “Trends in
Blood Pressure Among Children and Adolescents.” Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA) 291.17 (2004): 2107-2113. 22 May 2007.
In text: (Muntner et al., 2110-2111) or (Muntner et al.)
(One author in this example)
Author, First Middle. “Article Title.” Magazine Title Day Mo. Year {publication date}. Day Mo. Year
{date retrieved from Web}.
In text: (Author)
Example:
Nash, J. Madeleine. “Where the Waters are Rising.” Time 25 Apr. 2005. 20 Feb. 2006.
In text: (Nash)
(One author in this example)
Author, First Middle. “Article Title.” Newspaper Title Day Mo. Year {publication date}. Day
Mo. Year {date retrieved from Web}.
In text: (Author)
Example:
Waxman, Sharon. “Hollywood Welcomes New Crop of Moguls.” The New York Times
19 Apr. 2005. 2 Jan. 2007.
In text: (Waxman)
Government {city, state, province, or country}. Agency. Title of Publication. City {include
state, province, or country abbreviation if city is not well known}: Publisher {if available},
year published. Day Mo. Year {date retrieved from Web}.
In text: (Government Agency start page-end page of specific reference{if available}) or (Government Agency)
Example:
United States. Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement. Innovations
in Education: Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification. Washington, D.C.:
Education Publications Center, 2004. 20 Apr. 2006.
In text: (United States Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement 2-3) or (United States Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement)
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