HOW TO USE
MLA Format
This document is available online at http://library.stmarys-ca.edu/subjects/general/citing/mla.pdf
Every scholarly field has its preferred citation format or “style.” The MLA style, as presented in this handout, is widely accepted
in most disciplines in the Humanities.
The Modern Language Association (MLA) has released the 7th edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
(2009). General paper formatting (margins, headings, etc.) and in-text citations remain the same, but all Works Cited entries are
different from the 6th edition guidelines.
Some of the most significant changes are listed here:
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No more underlining. MLA now recommends italicizing titles of published works (books, periodicals, films, etc.)
No more URLs. Website entries still require authors, article names, website names, etc. URLs are encouraged only if
the citation information is insufficient to easily find the source.
Identification of publication medium required. The MLA no longer recognizes a default medium although most
entries will be listed as Print or Web. These markers will appear at the end of the entry and markers for Web sources are
followed by the date of access.
New abbreviations. Web site entries now require a publisher name, a date of publication, and/or page numbers. When
this information is not available, write n.p. for no publisher given, n.d. for no date, and n. pag. For no pagination.
CREATING PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS
In the Text of Your Paper
The Modern Language Association (MLA) citation format requires citation within the text rather than endnotes or footnotes.
Citation in the text provides information, usually the name of the author and the page number(s), to lead the reader to the
accompanying bibliographical entry. Complete information about each source cited in the text is supplied in a list of Works Cited,
which is placed at the end of the research paper.
For example: In the text of a research paper:
Americans’ expansive food choices at the supermarket may be making them sick. “Our bewilderment in the supermarket is no
accident; the return of the omnivore’s dilemma has deep roots in the modern food industry…” (Pollan 5).
At the end of the same research paper, in a section called Works Cited, this entry is included in correct alphabetical order together
with other entries for works cited:
Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.
Only a few of the MLA citation rules can be demonstrated in the brief space, which follows. For more detailed information you
need to consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (on Reserve and in Reference, 808.02 G350e).
MLA 2009 SAMPLE ENTRIES
CREATING A LIST OF WORKS CITED
At the End of Your Paper
BOOKS
In citing BOOKS, normally arrange the information in the following order: (1) author’s name; (2) title; (3) city of publication
(4)publisher’s name; (5)publication date; (6)medium of publication
No Author
The Smithsonian: A History. New York: Smithsonian, 1993. Print.
By a Single Author
McConnell, Frank. Storytelling and Mythmaking: Images from Film and Literature. New York: Oxford UP, 1979. Print.
Churchill, Winston S. A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. 4 vols. New York: Dodd, 1956-58. Print.
By Two or Three Authors
Berry, Jason, Jonathan Foose, and Tad Jones. Up from the Cradle of Jazz: New Orleans Music Since World War II.
Athens: U of Georgia P, 1986. Print.
By More Than Three Authors
Belenky, Mary Field, et al. Women’s Ways of Knowing. New York: Basic, 1986. Print.
Two or more books by the same author
Johnson, Carol M. and Paul V. Wright. Jungle Room Jubilee. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978. Print.
---. A World Far, Far Away. New York: Norton, 1998. Print.
By a Corporate or Group Author
Columbia University. Faculty Handbook. New York 1987. Print.
American Library Association. Intellectual Freedom Manual. 2nd ed. Chicago: ALA, 1983. Print.
Editor in place of author
Wall, Cheryl A., ed. Changing Our Own Words: Essays on Criticism, Theory, and Writing by Black Women. New
Brunswick: Rudgers UP, 1989. Print.
A Translation
Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Viking, 1996. Print.
Reference book with no author
The Times Atlas of the World. Rev. Ed. London: Times, 1984. Print.
Edition other than the first
Clinton, Barb S. Politics and the Religious Right. Ed. F.G. Patterson. 2nd ed. Toronto: Pegasus, 1999. Print.
Bible or other Sacred Text
New Jerusalem Bible. Henry Wansbrough, gen. ed. New York: Doubleday, 1985. Print.
ERIC Document
Snyder, Howard N., and Melissa Sickmund. Challenging the Myths: 1999 National Report Series. Juvenile Justice
Bulletin. ERIC Document Reproduction Service, 2000. ED454351. Print.
ARTICLES IN ANTHOLOGIES OR COLLECTIONS
Dawes, Greg. “Pablo Neruda 1904-l973, Chilean poet.” Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature. Ed. Verity
Smith. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1977. 582-5. Print.
Rubinstein, Arye. “Children with AIDS and the Public Risk.” AIDS: Facts and Issues. Ed. Victor Gong and Norman
Rudnick. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1986. 99-103. Print.
Viviano, Benedict T. “The Birth of Jesus (1:18-25).” The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Eds. Brown, Raymond E.,
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990. Print.
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ARTICLES IN PERIODICALS
In citing SCHOLARLY JOURNAL ARTICLES, normally arrange the information in the following order:
(1) author’s last name, first name; (2) “article title”; (3) journal title; (4) volume number; (5) issue number; (6) date of
publication (year); (7) inclusive page numbers; medium of publication (print).
Example:
Graves, Philip El, and Donald M. Waldman. “Multimarket Amenity Compensation and the Behavior of the Elderly.”
The American Economic Review 81.5 (1991): 1374-1381. Print.
For journals that have consecutive page numbering across all issues in a single volume, include only the volume number in the
citation:
Example:
Copeland, Eleanor. “Fictions of Employment: Jane Austen and the Woman’s Novel.” Studies in Philology 85 (1988):
114-24. Print.
Citing MAGAZINE ARTICLES is similar to the scholarly journal (above) but include the exact date (no parentheses) and do not
include volume and issue.
Example:
“The New Politics of Abortion.” Time 17 July 1989: 96-109. Print.
If the article in not printed on consecutive pages, include only the first page number followed by a plus sign.
Example:
Jacobs, Paul V., and Mary K. Peters. “Killing Time: Prisoners in America’s Toughest Prisons.” U.S. News and World
Report 10 May 1999: 78+. Print
ARTICLES IN NEWSPAPERS
When citing newspapers:
Omit the initial article of the title, e.g. A, An, The, even if it is present.
If the newspaper is not a nationally recognized paper, e.g. USA Today, Wall Street Journal, etc., include the city
name of the newspaper in square brackets [ ] after the newspaper name.
Do not include the volume and issue numbers even if they are present.
Abbreviate all months according the handbook except for May, June, and July.
If an edition is listed, include this after the date
If each section of the paper has separate page numbers, include the section number or letter with the page
numbers.
If the article is not printed on consecutive pages, include only the first page number followed by a + sign.
Examples:
Smith, James P. “Build It and They Will Come.” New York Times 2 May 1987, late ed.:C2+. Print.
Alaton, Salem. “So, Did They Live Happily Ever After?” Globe and Mail [Toronto] 27 Dec. 1997:D1+. Print.
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
Web Site
You will need some or all of the following information. Follow the general rules as for print sources, i.e. authors, titles, and
publication information and follow the format below including as much information as is available.
Author, editor, or name of person creating site (if given and relevant). If no person is named, begin with the title of
the work.
Title of work (in quotations if work is part of a larger work). Untitled works may be identified by a genre label, e.g.
Home page, Introduction, etc.
Title of the overall Web site (italicized).
Version or edition used.
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Publisher or sponsor of the site; if not available, use n.p.
Date of publication [day, month, and year, as available]; if nothing is available, use n.d.
Medium of publication, i.e. Web.
Date of when the researcher accessed the site [day, month, and year].
URLs are now optional. However, you should include a URL if your instructor requires it or if needed if your reader
may not be able to locate the resource without one. If you include it, add it immediately following the date of
access, a period, and a space. Enclose the URL in angle brackets, and conclude with a period.
Example: <http://www.blakearchive.org/blake/>.
Examples:
Individual Web Page
Burt, Sharon. “Maya Angelou.” Voices from the Gaps: Women Writers of Color. Department of English and Program
of American Studies, University of Minnesota, 23 Aug. 2000. Web. 16 October 2008.
Scholarly Articles
Hanson, Mary Ellen. “Jean Claude Van Damme: A Man on a Mission.” Popular Culture 56 (1999). Web. 25 Nov. 2003
<http://www.storey.com/pop/234.htm>.
Article from an Online Database (e.g. JSTOR, Academic Onefile, etc.)
Herold, Niels. “Pedagogy, Hamlet, and the Manufacture of Wonder.” Shakespeare Quarterly 46:2 (1995):125-134
JSTOR. Web. 31 Dec. 2000.
Chan, Evans. “Postmodernism and Hong Kong Cinema.” Postmodern Culture 10.3 (2000): n.pag. Project Muse. Web.
5 June 2008.
Article in a Reference Database
“Fresco.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Web. 15 May 2008.
Electronic Book
Lamb, Charles. On The Tragedies of Shakespeare. Hoboken: BiblioBytes, 1820. 1 June 2000. NetLibrary. Web. 16
October 2008.
Posting to a Discussion List
Callanson, J. W. “Teaching Undergraduates the Basics of Searching.” 1 Oct. 1998. STS-L: Science and Technology
Section, ACRL. [email protected]. Online Posting.
E-mail Communication
Bruggink, John. “Occurrence of Black Bears in the U.P.” Message to Kevin McDonough. 23 Aug. 1999. E-mail.
OTHER SOURCES
DVD
Gallipoli. Dir. Peter Weir. Perf. Mel Gibson and Mark Lee. 1981. Paramount, 1999. DVD.
Film or Video
Addicted Brain. Prod. Roger Bingham. Films for the Humanities, 1987. Videocassette.
TV Programs
“Frederick Douglass.” Civil War Journal. Narr. Danny Glover. Dir. Craig Haffner. Arts and Entertainment Network. 6 Apr. 1993.
Television.
Performance of a Play
Heartbreak House. By George Bernard Shaw. Dir. Robin Lefevre. Perf. Philip Bosco and Swoosie Kurtz. Roundabout Theatre
Company. Amer. Airlines Theatre, New York. 1 Oct. 2006. Performance.
Recordings
The Beatles. “The Long and Winding Road.” Let It Be. Apple Records, n.d. LP.
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Interviews
Rosser, James. Personal Interview. 20 Nov. 1992.
Work of Visual Art
Bearden, Romare. The Train. 1974. Photogravure and aquatint. Museum of Mod. Art, New York.
For other examples, changes in MLA citation style, or additional information consult the latest MLA
Handbook (in Ref 808.02 G350e) or the official MLA Web site at http://www.mla.org.
HowToUse\MLA Format. SW: rev.8/2009
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