MLA Format for Source Cards and Works Cited Pages

 

            In your research paper, you must use MLA citation form to identify the information you’ve used and give credit to its authors. Consistency is crucial. Each work is usually identified by three key elements: author's name, title, and publication information. A period follows each of these elements. Additional information such as number of volumes or edition numbers may also be required.

The first line of each citation starts at the left margin; the second and any succeeding lines are indented. Each source is listed separately and is arranged alphabetically by the author's last name (use the title if there is no author).   Use

--- .   (three hyphens and a period) for an author’s name in each citation after the first one.

 

BOOKS

    By a single author:

         Lemann, Nicholas.  The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and

    How It Changed America.  New York: Knopf, 1991.

   Two  authors:

                    Gibaldi, Joseph, and Walter S. Achtert.  MLA Handbook for Writers of

    Research Papers.  3rd ed.  New York: Modern Language Association,  

   1988.

   Three authors:

                    Venolia, Jean P., Georgio Cordini, and Joseph Hitchcock.  What Makes

                            a Literary Masterpiece.  Chicago: Hudson, 1995.

   More than three authors:

                    Bailyn, Bernard, et al.  The Great Republic.  Lexington, MA: Heath,

               1977.

   Multi-volume work:

                    Dorival, Bernard.  Twentieth Century Painters.  2 vols.  New York:

                            Universe, 1958.

   Collection produced by editors:

                    Guernsey, Otis L., Jr., and Jeffrey Sweet, eds. The Burns Mantle

                           Theater Yearbook of 1989-90.  New York: Applause, 1990.

   One essay or article from an anthology or a collection:

                    Bruck, David.  “The Death Penalty.”  Current Issues and Enduring

   Questions.  5th ed.  Eds. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau.  Boston:

   Bedford, 1999. 

 

REFERENCE SOURCES

A general encyclopedia is not a good source for a college-level paper. Include full publication information for a subject encyclopedia. Use the volume or page number(s) only if the articles are not in alphabetical order.

 

   Article in a subject encyclopedia:

                     Hammond, William H. “Media and the War.”  Encyclopedia of the Vietnam

      War.  New York: Macmillan, 1996.

  

 

ARTICLES IN PERIODICALS

Each periodical entry must include the author’s name (when shown), the title of the article, the periodical name and page numbers. Journal citations include the volume and issue number and the publication year. For magazine and newspaper articles, omit the volume and issue number and include the complete date.

  

    Journal article:

                     Wernerfelt, Birgner.  “Advertising Content When Brand Choice

                             Is a Signal.”  Journal of Business  63.1 (1990): 91-98.

   Article in a weekly publication:

                     Ryback, Timothy W.  “Letter from Salzburg.”  New Yorker 

                             30 Dec. 1991: 62-75.

   Article in a monthly publication:

                     Alford, Jeffrey.  “Ap Nam? Kin Khao? Feeling at Home

                             in Thai Kitchens.”  Eating Well  Jan.-Feb. 1992: 44-55.

   Newspaper article:

                     Miller, David. “Tightening the Belt.”  Seattle Times  

                             5 Jan. 1992: A1+.

   Anonymous article:

                     “Saddam's Republican Guards.”  Time  4 Feb. 1991: 24.

   Editorial:

                     Schmemann, Serge.  “The World According to Gorbachev Disappears.” 

                             Editorial.  New York Times  8 Dec. 1991: E3.

 

PAMPHLETS

   Treat a pamphlet as you would a book:

                     Outsmarting Crime: A Guide to Safer Living.  n.p.: Washington

                             State Criminal Justice Training Commission, 1990.

    (Use n.p. for no place of publication or no publisher.)

 

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS

If no individual author is shown, give the governmental body (e.g., Washington State), followed by the agency name, and the usual publication information (title, place, publisher and date). For most federal publications, the publisher will be the Government Printing Office, which should be abbreviated GPO.

 

   State agency publication:

                    New York State.  Commission of the Adirondacks in the Twenty-First

                           Century.  The Adirondack Park in the Twenty-First Century. Albany:

   State of New York, 1990.

   Federal publication:

                    United States.  Dept. of Labor.  Child Care: A Workforce Issue. 

   Washington: GPO, 1981.

 

 

AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS

In general, citations for AV materials should include the title, the author (if available), the producing company and date. For music, if you are using a format other than compact disc, indicate the format.

   Video:

                    Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Dir. Denise Guyen.  Videocassette. 

                            SVE Inc., 1988.

   Television or radio program:

                    “Cuba and Cocaine.”  Frontline.  Narr. Bill Moyers.  Documentary

                            Consortium.  PBS.  WTVS, Miami.  18 Jan. 1990.

  

WORLD WIDE WEB RESOURCES

A citation for a World Wide Web resource includes the author (if given), the title of the article in quotation marks (if applicable), the underlined title of the complete work, the date of publication or the latest update, the organization sponsoring the site (if applicable), the date you accessed the document, and the complete URL inside < >.

 

Courrier, Kevin.  “Wonder Boys.”  iculture Film and TV Reviews.  25 Feb. 2000.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.  12 March 2000  <http://infoculture.cbc.ca/ 

archives/filmtv/filmtv_02262000_wonderboysreview.phtml>.

Personal site:

Lancashire, Ian. Home page. 1 May 1997.  12 March 2000 <http://

www.chass.utoronto.ca:8080/~ian/index.html>.

Book:

 Nesbit, E[dith]. Ballads and Lyrics of Socialism. London, 1908. Victorian

        Women Writers Project. Ed. Perry Willett. Apr. 1997. Indiana U.

                    12 March 2000 <http://www.indiana.edu/~letrs/vwwp/nesbit/ballsoc.html>.

Article in a reference database:

            “Fresco.” Britannica Online. Vers. 97.1.1. Mar. 1997. Encyclopaedia Britannica.

        12 March 2000 <http://www.eb.com:180>. 

(Note that a general encyclopedia is not a good source for a college paper.)

Article in a journal:

 Flannagan, Roy. “Reflections on Milton and Ariosto.” Early Modern Literary

         Studies 2.3 (1996) 12 March 2000 <http://unixg.ubc.ca:7001/0/e-

         sources/emls/02-3/flanmilt.html>.

 Article in a magazine:

            Landsburg, Steven E. “Who Shall Inherit the Earth?” Slate 1 May 1997. 12 March

        2000 <http://www.slate.com/Economics/97-05-01/Economics.asp>.

 Work from a subscription service:

            Koretz, Gene. “Economic Trends: Uh-Oh, Warm Water.” Business Week 21 July

        1997: 22. Electric Lib. Camden County College Lib., Blackwood, NJ. 

         12 March 2000 <http://www.elibrary.com/>.

 

Adapted from material published by Seattle Central Community College Library and by the MLA.  Refer to the latest MLA web page for additional information and examples.

<http://www.mla.org/ Click on MLA Style and then Frequently Asked Questions.