MLA Works Cited Format Simplified
MLA requires a hanging indent and double-spacing for its citations. MLA (2009) requires use of italicization rather than underlining with, for
example, book and journal titles. While it no longer requires urls for internet sources, if it will be difficult for your reader to find the material
or if your instructor requires them, then you should use the url. End the entry with the url enclosed in angle brackets: <url>.
Book
MLA FORMAT
EXAMPLE
One Author
Author Last, First. Title of Work. Location:
Publisher, Year. Publication format.
Smith, Kevin C. Children’s Literature of the Harlem
Renaissance. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press,
2004. Print.
Two or Three Authors
First Author Last, First, and Second Author
First Last. Title of Work. Location:
Publisher, Year. Publication format.
Branson, Joseph J., and Bill Larson. Educating Rita. New York:
Norton, 2003. Print.
More than Three Authors
Author Last, First, et al. Title of Work.
Location: Publisher, Year.
Publication format.
Editor Last, First, ed. Title of Work.
Location: Publisher, Year.
Publication format.
McMillian, Stephan D., et al. Environmental Sciences. New York:
Pearson & Longman, 2002. Print.
E-book
Last, First. Title of Work. Location:
Publisher, Year. Electronic
Publisher. Web. Date retrieved.
Streibel, Barbara J. The Manager’s Guide to Effective Meetings.
New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Academic Complete
ebrary. Web. 12 May 2008.
Article or Chapter in an
Anthology
Author Last, First. "Work Title." Anthology
Title. Volume number. Ed. Editor
First Last. Location: Publisher, Year.
Pages. Publication format.
Shinn, Merideth, and Bradley Cooper Weitzman. “Homeless
Families are Different.” Homeless in America. Ed.
Jerald Baumohl. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1996. 118-20.
Print.
Editor
Revised 2009/ Based on 7th Edition of MLA Manual
Arthur, Kingsley, ed. Dismal State of American Education. New
York: Knopf, 2004. Print.
Newspaper
MLA Format
Example
With Author
Author Last, First. "Title of Article." Title of
Newspaper Date: Pages. Publication
format.
Brown, Sue. “A New Art.” Washington Post 25
Jan. 1998: A4. Print.
Letter to the Editor
Author Last, First. Letter. Title of Newspaper.
Date: Pages. Publication format.
Same as print, but add electronic retrieval
information to the end:
Author Last, First. "Title of Article." Title of
Newspaper Date: Pages. Database. Web.
Date of retrieval.
Same as print but pages may be missing:
Author. “Article Title.” Online Publication Title.
Sponsoring organization or publisher,
Publication date or last revision. Web.
Date of retrieval.
Ozick, Kathy. Letter. Arizona Republic 31 Oct.
2000: A8. Print.
Herdia, Christopher. “Cities Drawing Line on
Sprawl.” Los Angeles Times 14 Dec.
2004: A3. National Newspapers. Web. 4
Aug. 2009.
Newspaper Article from a Database
Article from an Online Publication
(NOT a subscription service)
Periodical Article
Magazine
Journal: Continuous Page
Numbers
(Note: MLA 2009 now notes that both the
issue and volume number should be used
whenever possible)
Article in an Online Database
CQ Researcher (subscription
database example)
MLA Format
Author Last, First. "Title of Article." Title of
Magazine Date: Pages. Publication format.
Author Last, First. "Title of Article." Title of Journal
Volume.Issue Number (Year): Pages.
Publication format.
Same as print format, but add electronic retrieval
information to the end of the entry:
Author Last, First. "Title of Article." Title of Journal
Volume.Issue Number (Year): Pages. Database.
Publication format. Date retrieved.
Author Last, First. “Article Title.” Publication. Date:
pages. Database. Web. Date retrieved.
(Note: use “n. pag” when no page numbers are available)
Revised 2009/ Based on 7th Edition of MLA Manual
Dylan, Bill. “I Need Help.” Editorial. New York
Times. New York Times, 16 May 2002.
Web. 15 July 2009.
Example
Garcia, Juan. “Who’s Reading Your Email?”
Fortune 3 Feb. 1994: 57-59. Print.
Brown, Paul. “New Architecture Today.” Art
Digest 25.3 (2002): 303-13. Print.
Bellon-Hare, Lawence Mike, et al. “Open Hands,
Open Hearts: Working with Native
Youth in the Schools.” Intervention in
School and Clinic 38.4 (2003): 225-35.
Print.
Vissing, Yvonne. “The Yellow School Bus Project:
Helping Homeless Students Get Ready
for School.” Phi Delta Kappan 85.4
(2003): 321-23. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 8 Aug. 2005.
Katel, Peter. “Oil Jitters.” CQ Researcher
Online. 4 Jan. 2008: n. pag. CQ
Researcher. Web. 15 June 2009.
Encyclopedia
General Encyclopedia
(Note: Many instructors will NOT allow you to
use a general encyclopedia as a source for an
academic essay.)
Specialized Encyclopedia
(Note: a sample of an entry in an online
reference database is also shown in the second
example.)
Web Site Article
With Author
Entire Website
Online Article
(Note: If publisher or site sponsor is not available,
use n.p. If no date of publication is available, use
n.d.)
Revised 2009/ Based on 7th Edition of MLA Manual
MLA Format
Example
Print encyclopedia:
Author Last, First. "Title of Entry." Title of
Encyclopedia. Edition. Year. Publication
format.
Online encyclopedia:
Author Last, First. “Title of Entry.” Title of
Encyclopedia. Publisher, Year. Web.
Retrieval date.
Author Last, First. "Entry Title." Encyclopedia Title.
Ed. Editor First Last. Edition # ed. Vol.
volume #. Location: Publisher, Date.
Publication Format.
(Note: For print versions, omit page numbers if
arranged alphabetically by article title.)
Hernandez, Joseph. “House Plants.” The
Encyclopedia Britannica. 15th ed. 1999.
Print.
Hernandez, Joseph. “House Plants.” The
MLA Format
Example
Give as much information as possible:
Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Section.”
Title of the Website. Sponsoring
organization or publisher, Publication date
or last revision. Web. Access date.
Name of Page. Sponsoring organization or publisher
if available. Web. Access date.
(Note: the name of a homepage author is not
italicized.)
Author Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.”
Title of the Website. Sponsoring
organization or publisher, Publication Date
or last revision. Web. Access Date.
Jameson, Eliot. “NCH FACT Sheets on
Homelessness.” National Coalition for
the Homeless. National Coalition for the
Homeless, 8 Jan. 2001. Web. 12 Aug.
2009.
Language & Humanities. Chandler-Gilbert
Community College. Web. 3 Aug. 2009.
Mark Twain Page. Web. 12 Dec. 2009.
Universe, Ruler O. Home page. Web. 1 July 2008.
Pantoja, Veronica. “Leaving Arizona.” College
News.com. College News, n.d. Web. 7
July 2009.
Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 1999. Web. 18
July 2009.
Moser, Teri. “Barbara Kingsolver.” Popular
Contemporary Authors. Ed. Michael D.
Sharp. Vol. 7. New York: Marshal
Cavendish, 2006. Print.
“Achievement Gap.” The Encyclopedia of
Education Online. Encyclopedia of
Education, 2006. Web. 9 Aug. 2009.
Other Source Types
MLA Format
Example
Lecture or Address (unpublished
paper/poster presentation)
Last Name, First Name. “Lecture Title.” Series if
relevant or sponsoring organization. Location.
Date. Lecture (or Address).
Title of Film. Director. Performers. Original Year of
Release. Distributor, Year. Medium.
Goddard, Terry. “Phoenix Today.” Honors Forum
Lecture Series. Phoenix College. 17 Oct.
2001. Lecture.
Cutthroat Island. Dir. Renny Harlin. Perf. Geena
Davis, and Matthew Modine. 1995.
Lionsgate, 2009. DVD.
It’s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf.
James Stewart and Donna Reed. RKO,
1946. Film.
Cooper, John. E-mail interview. 20 Aug. 2000.
Hogan, Linda. Personal interview. 18 Aug. 1999.
Kauffman, Rachel. “A New Look.” Rev. of The
Color Purple by Alice Walker. New Books
Reviews 6 Mar. 2001: 239-40. Print.
Film, Movie, or Video
Title of Film. Director. Performers. Distributor, Year.
Medium format.
Interview (you conduct yourself)
A Review
Online Posting
Last Name of Interviewee, First Name. Type of
interview. Date of interview.
Reviewer’s Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.”
Rev. of Title of Book by Author’s First Name
Last Name. Publication Title Date: page
numbers. Publication format.
Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Posting.”
Name of Forum or Website. Sponsor of Forum
or Website (N.p. if none), Date of posting.
Online posting. Date of access. <url>.
(Note that due to nature of posting, you should include
a url.)
Online Poem (available in print)
Poet Last Name, First Name. “Poem Title.” Publication
Title. City of publication: Publisher, Date.
Website. Publication format. Access date.
A Work of Visual Art
Artist Last Name, First Name. Title. Date of
composition (if unknown write N.d.). Medium
of Composition. Location, City. (Note: If a
private or anonymous collection, use the
phrase “Private collection“ rather than
location/city.
List information similar to film.
Title. Playwright, Playwright Name. Dir. Director
Name. Perf. Performer Name(s). Theater
Name, City. Date of performance.
Performance.
A Performance
Revised 2009/ Based on 7th Edition of MLA Manual
Ziegler, Jason. “Arizona Homeless Information
Source.” Community Activism Forum. N. p.,
12 Nov. 2004. Online posting. 8 Aug. 2005.
<http://forums.homelessness
/arizona/phoenix/issues/
msg1123494085458903.html?15>.
Dickinson, Emily. “I’m Nobody. Who are you?”
The Complete Poems. Boston: Little,
Brown, 1924. Bartleby.com. Web. 24
July 2009.
Van Gogh, Vincent. The Starry Night. 1889. Oil
on canvas. Museum of Modern Art, New
York.
Doubt. Playwright, John Patrick Shanley. Dir.
Matthew Weiner. Perf. Angelica
Howland, Lillie Richardson, and Sam
Ferracane. Herberger Theater, Phoenix.
12 Sept. 2008. Performance.
Radio or Television Program
(Note: provide each information element as
available)
“Episode.” Name of Program. Performer and Director
name(s) as appropriate. Network. Call letters
and city of local station. Broadcast date.
Medium of reception. Supplementary
information.
Revised 2009/ Based on 7th Edition of MLA Manual
“Barbara Kingsolver.” Arizona Show. Narr. Alice
Cooper. Dir. Craig Haffner. PBS. KAET.
6 Apr. 1993. Television. Transcript.
“Death and Love.” Weekend Edition Saturday.
Narr. Joseph Sojourner. Natl. Public
Radio. KJZZ, Phoenix. 25 Jan. 2002.
Radio.
Orlov 7
Works Cited
Heading is centered.
Adams, Scott. $ILBERTANDTHE7AYOFTHE7EASEL New York: Harper,
2002. 0RINT
List is alphabetized
by authors’ last
names (or by title
when a work has
no author).
American Management Association and ePolicy Institute. “2005
Electronic Monitoring and Surveillance Survey.” !MERICAN
-ANAGEMENT!SSOCIATION !MERICAN-ANAGEMENT!SSN
7EB&EB.
“Automatically Record Everything They Do Online! Spector Pro 5.0
!BBREVIATIONhNDv
INDICATESTHATTHE
ONLINE SOURCEHAs
NOUPDATEDATE
FAQ’s.” .ETBUSORG.ETBUSORG ND. 7EB17 Feb. 2006
Flynn, Nancy. “Internet Policies.” E0OLICY)NSTITUTE. E0OLICY)NST
ND7EBFeb. 2006.
Frauenheim, Ed. “Stop Reading This Headline and Get Back to
Work.” #.%4.EWSCOM. #.%4.ETWORKS11 July 2005. 7EB
&EB
First line of each
entry is at the left
margin; extra lines
are indented 1⁄ 2''.
Gonsalves, Chris. “Wasting Away on the Web.” E7EEKCOM:IFF
$AVIS%NTERPRISE(OLDINGS!UG2005. 7EB16 Feb. 2006
Kesan, Jay P. “Cyber-Working or Cyber-Shirking? A First Principles
Examination of Electronic Privacy in the Workplace.” &LORIDA
,AW2EVIEW 54 (2002): 289-332.0RINT
Double-spacing is
used throughout.
Lane, Frederick S., III. 4HE.AKED%MPLOYEE(OW4ECHNOLOGY
)S#OMPROMISING7ORKPLACE0RIVACY. New York: Amer.
Management Assn., 2003.0RINT
A work with four
authors is listed by
the first author’s
name and the abbreviation “et al.”
(for “and others”).
Tam, Pui-Wing, et al. “Snooping E-Mail by Software Is Now a
Workplace Norm.” 7ALL3TREET*OURNAL-AR"0RINT
Tynan, Daniel. “Your Boss Is Watching.” 0#7ORLD0#7ORLD
#OMMUNICATIONS/CT7EB17 3EPT. 2006
Source: Diana Hacker (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007).