Academic Skills Center
Asnuntuck Community College
Room 130
(860) 253-3164
MLA STYLE GUIDE
This guide is based on the Seventh Edition of the MLA Handbook forWriters of Research Papers
(2009) and sets the documentation style for writing in English, history, education, and fine arts
classes. Marketing and business courses may also employ MLA documentation. MLA
style requires two elements for citing outside sources: parenthetical (in text) references
and a Works Cited list (at the end). Together, these elements direct a reader to the sources
consulted. For the system to function, all authors cited in the text must also appear in the
Works Cited list, and conversely, all sources listed in Works Cited must be paraphrased or
quoted in the text.
PARENTHETICAL REFERENCES
Whether paraphrasing (restating in your own words) or quoting an author directly, you must
credit the source; however, the information provided will vary depending on whether your
source was in print or electronic form. When citing print sources, author and page number
must be identified. Note that end punctuation follows the parenthetical reference.
Examples:
Quotation 1 – less than 40 words; incorporated in text; author is unnamed so is included in
the parenthetical reference at the end:
It may be true that “in the appreciation of medieval art the attitude of the observer is of
primary importance” (Robertson 136).
Quotation 2 – less than 40 words, incorporated in text; author is named so
omitted from parenthetical citation
It may be true, as Robertson maintains, that “in the appreciation of medieval art the attitude of
the observer is of primary importance” (136).
Quotation 3 – more than four lines, a.) set apart from the text in a block quote; b.)
indented 10 spaces from the left margin; c.) doublespaced with no quotation marks; d.)
introduced by a complete sentence followed by a colon; and e.) end punctuation appears
before the parenthetical reference:
At the conclusion of Lord ofthe Flies, Ralph and the other boys realize the horror of their
actions:
The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to
them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that
seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before
the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other
little boys began to shake and sob too. (Golding 186)
Since electronic sources usually do not provide fixed page numbers or any kind of section
numbering,omit numbers from your parenthetical references. However, if your source does
include fixed page numbers or section numbering (such as numbering of paragraphs), cite the
relevant numbers using the appropriate abbreviation: i.e. (Moultrip pars. 1920) Pars is
the abbreviation for paragraphs.
Frequently asked questions:
1. What should I do when an author cites the ideas or work of another person, and I want to
use the information in my paper?
Give both sources credit by listing the source where you found the information in the Works
Cited list and citing the original work in the text. For such quotations or paraphrases, use “qtd in
. . ..” to indicate the source you actually consulted. For example:
Ravitch argues that high schools are pressured to act as "social service centers, and they
don't do that well" (qtd. in Weisman 259).
In this example, Ravitch’s quote was found on page 259 of Weisman’s work. Only publication
information about Weisman’s work would appear on the Works Cited list.
2. How should I handle in text citations when my source has no author, only a title?
Abbreviate the title, beginning with the word by which the entry is alphabetized in the Works
Cited list. Use double quotation marks around words from the title of an article or chapter,
and italicize words from the title of a periodical, book, brochure or report.
Sample Works Cited List Entries – MLA Style Rules
A book with one
author
Uzawa, Hirofumi. Economic Theory and Global Warming.
Cambridge: Cambridge up, 2003. Print.
A book with two
authors
Eggins, Suzanne and Diane Slade. Analyzing Casual Conversation.
London: Cassell, 1997. Print.
An edition of a book
Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for
Contemporary Students. 3rd Ed. New York:
Pearson/Longman, 2004. Print.
A work from an anthology
or collection of works
Dickinson, Emily. “Because I could not stop for Death.” The
Article from daily
newspaper
Krugman, Andrew. “Fear of Eating.” New York Times 21 May 2007
late ed.: A1. Print.
Newspaper article
found online
Dean, Cornelia. “Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet.” New
York Times. New York Times, 22 May 2007. Web. 25 May
2009.
Article from scholarly
journal found in
library database
Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century
England.” Historical Journal 50.1 (2007): 173-196.
Proquest. Web. 27 May 2009.
Article from an onlineonly scholarly journal
Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current
Conditions Social Work and Society: The International
Online-Only Journal 6.2 (2000): n. pag. Web. 8 Feb. 2009.
Article in a Web magazine
Shulte, Bret. “Putting a Price on Pollution.” Usnews.com. US News
and World Report, 6 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.
No author
“Business: Global Warming’s Boom Town; Tourism in Greenland.”
The Economist 26 May 2007: 82. Print.
Web Site
The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at
Purdue and Purdue U. 2008. Web. 23 April 2008.
Films or movies
The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel
Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del
Toro. Polygram, 1995. Film.
Television episodes
“The One Where Chandler Can’t Cry.” Friends: The Complete Sixth
Season. Writ. Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen. Dir. Kevin
Bright. Warner Brothers, 2004. DVD.
Government document
United States. Cong. Senate. Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources. Hearing on the Geopolitics of Oil. 110th Cong.,
1st sess. Washington: GPO, 2007. Print.
Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009: 853. Print.
Sample List of Sources – MLA Style
Works Cited
“Business: Global Warming’s Boom Town; Tourism in Greenland.” The Economist 26 May 2007:
82. Print.
Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. 3rd Ed. New
York: Pearson/Longman, 2004. Print.
Dean, Cornelia. “Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet.” New York Times. New York Times,
22 May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.
Dickinson, Emily. “Because I could not stop for Death.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to
Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009: 853. Print.
Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions.” Social Work and
Society: The International Online-Only Journal 6.2 (2000): n. pag. Web. 8 Feb. 2009.
Eggins, Suzanne and Diane Slade. Analyzing Casual Conversation. London: Cassell, 1997. Print.
Krugman, Andrew. “Fear of Eating.” New York Times 21 May 2007 late ed.: A1. Print.
Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historial Journal
50.1 (2007): 173-196. Proquest. Web. 27 May 2009.
Shulte, Bret. “Putting a Price on Pollution.” Usnews.com. US News and World Report, 6 May
2007. Web. 24 May 2009.
“The One Where Chandler Can’t Cry.” Friends: The Complete Sixth Season. Writ. Andrew Reich
and Ted Cohen. Dir. Kevin Bright. Warner Brothers, 2004. DVD.
The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U. 2008. Web.
23 Apr. 2008.
The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri,
Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro. Polygram, 1995. Film.
United States. Cong. Senate. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearing on the
Geopolitics of Oil. 110th Cong., 1st sess. Washington: GPO, 2007. Print.
Uzawa, Hirofumi. Economic Theory and Global Warming. Cambridge: Cambridge up, 2003.
Print.
Formatting the Works Cited list:
1. Type the words, Works Cited, at the top of a new page, centered and underlined.
2. Alphabetize and double-space all entries. (They’ve been single-spaced above to save
space.)
3. Capitalize the first and all important words in a title.
4. Italicize the titles of books and other publications (journals, newspapers, magazines).
5. Use quotation marks around the title of articles.
6. Align the first line with the left margin and Tab or indent all subsequent lines five
spaces.
Remember: If you have questions, ask your instructor and the Academic Skills Center staff for
help or go to http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ to find additional
information and examples.
Additional Tips on Handling Electronic Sources
It is always a good idea to print or save Web pages for future reference. Most Web browsers will
include electronic URL/electronic address informationwhen you print, which makes
later reference easy. Also, you might use the Bookmark function in your Web browser in order to
return to documents more easily.
Basic Style for Citations of Electronic Sources
Here are some common features you should try to find before citing electronic sources in MLA
style. Not every Web page will provide all of the following information; however, collect as
much of it as possible:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Author and/or editor names (if available)
Article name in quotation marks (if applicable)
Title of the Website, project, or book in italics
Date of version or revision
Publisher information, including publisher name and date of publication to the Web
Date you accessed the material
URL (if required, or for your own personal reference)
Web Sources
Web sites (in MLA style, the "W" in Web is capitalized, and "Web site" or "Web sites"
are written as two words) and Web pages are arguably the most commonly cited form of
electronic resource today. Below are a variety of Web resources that you might need to cite.
An Entire Web Site
Basic format:
Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number. Name of
institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource
creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date you accessed the site.
Note: It is necessary to list your date of access because web postings are often updated,
and information available on one date may no longer be available later. Here is an example:
The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U.
2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2008.
A Listserve, Discussion Group, or Blog Posting
Cite Web postings as you would a standard Web entry. For single author blogs,
include the author name (or screen name or alias, as a last resort); blogs with many authors or
an anonymous author should be listed by the title of the blog itself:
Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. “Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max Number of Rooms?”
BoardGameGeek. BoardGameGeek, 29 Sept. 2008. Web. 5 Apr. 2009.
A Page on a Web Site
For an individual page on a Web site, list the author or alias if known, followed by the
information covered above for entire Web sites. Use n.p. if no publisher name is available and
n.d. if no publishing date is given.
“How to Make Vegetarian Chili.” eHow.com. eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.
Stolley, Karl. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The OWL at Purdue. 10 May 2006.
Purdue University Writing Lab. Web. 12 May 2006.
An Image, Including a Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph
Include the artist's name, the work of art italicized, the year the work was created, the institution
(e.g., a gallery or museum) and city where the work is housed. Follow this information with the
name of the Web site in italics, the medium of publication, and the date of access.
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo Nacional
del Prado, Madrid. Museo Nacional del Prado. Web. 22 May 2006.
In the next example, the owner of the online site for the image is different than the image's
home museum:
Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive. Web.
22 May 2006.
An Article in a Web Magazine
Provide the author name, article name in quotation marks, title of the Web magazine in italics,
publisher name, publication date, medium of publication, and the date of access. Remember to
use n.p. if no publisher name is available and n.d. if no publishing date is given.
Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing The Living Web." A List Apart: For People Who
Make Websites. A List Apart Mag., 16 Aug. 2002. Web. 4 May 2006.
An Article in an Online Only Scholarly Journal
Provide the author(s) name(s), the name of the article in quotation marks, the title of the
publication in italics, volume and issue numbers, the year of publication, and the date of access.
Because MLA requires a page range for articles that appear in scholarly journals, use the
abbreviation n.pag. to indicate that there is no pagination for the publication since it appears
exclusively in an online format.
Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future
directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-only Journal 6.2 (2008): n.
pag. Web. 20 May 2009.
An Article in an Online Scholarly Journal That Also Appears in Print (include page
range)
Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological
and Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious Diseases 6.6 (2000): 595-600. Web.
8 May 2006.
An Article from an Electronic Subscription Service
Cite materials accessed via a library database such as Academic Search Premier, ProQuest,
Academic OneFile and others just as you would cite a scholarly journal that appears in print. In
addition, provide the title of the database italicized, the medium of publication, and the date of
access.
Junge, Wolfgang, and Nathan Nelson. “Nature’s Rotary Electromotors.” Science 29 Apr. 2005:
642-44. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Mar. 2009.
Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.” Historical
Journal 50.1 (2007): 173-96. ProQuest. Web. 27 May 2009.
Email or Other Personal Communication
Give the author of the message, followed by the subject line in quotation marks. State to whom
the message was sent, the date the message was sent, and the medium of publication. This
same format may be used for personal interviews or personal letters. Instead of "Email to John
Smith," you would have "Personal interview."
Author. "Title of the message (if any)." Message to person's name. Date of the message. Medium.
Neyhart, David. “Re: Online Tutoring.” Message to Joe Barbato. 1 Dec. 2000. E-mail.
Adapted from the Comprehensive Guide to M.L.A. Format and Style – 2009 from Purdue
University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL). For complete guide, go to
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ or visit the Academic Skills Center, Room
130, Asnuntuck Community College, Enfield, CT.