MLA Format for a Works Cited Page of a Research Paper
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Follow punctuation, capitalization, and underlining provided in examples.
Indent five spaces on all but the first line of each entry.
Double-space within and between all entries.
Alphabetize entries by author; if no author is given, begin with title.
When listing an online source originally printed in a book, journal, or other printed format, use the
general guidelines you would use to cite the printed form, followed by the Internet citation.
Databases [MLA 5.9.7] are cited just like the print version with the addition of the name of the database
underlined, the name of the service, the library, the date of access, and URL if known.
PAPER REFERENCES
[Remember to double space and indent all but first lines]
BOOK, ONE AUTHOR MLA 5.6.1
Kaku, Michio. Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey through Parallel Universes, Time Warps and the
Enth Dimension. New York: Oxford UP, 1994.
BOOK, TWO OR THREE AUTHORS MLA 5.6.4
Maddock, Richard C., and Richard L. Fulton. Marketing to the Mind: Right Brain Strategies for Advertising
and Marketing. Westport, CT: Quorum, 1996.
BOOK, MORE THAN THREE AUTHORS MLA 5.6.4
Gilman, Sandra, et al. Hysteria Beyond Freud. Berkeley: U of California P, 1993.
BOOK, AN EDITOR MLA 5.6.2
Lopate, Philip, ed. The Art of the Personal Essay: an Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present.
New York: Anchor-Doubleday, 1994.
BOOK, CORPORATE AUTHOR MLA 5.6.6
Public Agenda Foundation. The Health Care Crisis: Containing Costs, Expanding Coverage.
New York: McGraw, 1992.
BOOK, AN EDITOR IN ADDITION TO AN AUTHOR MLA 5.6.12
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Ed. F. W. Robinson. Boston: Houghton, 1957.
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED SCHOLARLY ARTICLE REPRINTED IN A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS
MLA 4.6.7
Frye, Northrop. "Literary and Linguistic Scholarship in a Postliterate Age." PMLA 99 (1984):990-95.
Rpt. in Myth and Metaphor: Selected Essays, 1974-88. Ed. Robert D. Denhom. Charlottesville:
UP of Virginia, 1990. 18-27.
EXCERPTED SOURCES FROM MULTIVOLUME CRITICAL ANTHOLOGIES (like CLC, TCLC, LC) MLA 5.6.7
Daches, David. "W. H. Auden: The Search for a Public." Poetry 54 (1939): 148-56. Poetry Criticism.
Ed. Robyn V. Young. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1991. 332-33.
BOOK IN A SERIES (like Opposing Viewpoints, Taking Sides, and Contemporary World Issues)
MLA 5.6.16
Neruda, Pablo. Canto General. Trans. Jack Schmitt. Latin Amer. Lit. and Culture 7. Berkeley: U of
California P, 1991.
ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE
MLA 5.6.8
Gates, David M. "Astronomy." Encyclopedia Americana. 1996 ed.
ARTICLE FROM A MAGAZINE
MLA 5.7.6
Simons, John. "Improbable Dreams." U. S. News and World Report 22 Mar. 1997: 4-7.
ARTICLE FROM A WEEKLY NEWS SERVICE
MLA 5.7.6
Jost, Kenneth. "Independent Counsels Re-examined." CQ Researcher 7 May 1999: 377-84.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
MLA 5.7.5
Feder, Barnaby J. "For Job Seekers, a Toll-Free Gift of Expert Advice." New York Times
22 Mar. 1994, late ed.: A1+.
ARTICLE IN A SCHOLARLY JOURNAL WITH CONTINUOUS PAGINATION
MLA 5.7.1
Scotto, Peter. "Censorship, Reading, and Interpretation: A Case Study from the Soviet Union."
PMLA 109 (1994): 61-70.
ARTICLE IN A SCHOLARLY JOURNAL THAT PAGES EACH ISSUE SEPARATELY MLA 5.7.2
Hallin, Daniel C. "Sound Bite News: Television Coverage of Elections, 1968-1988."
Journal of Communications 42.2 (1992): 5-24.
INTERNET SITES
Author’s surname, first name. “Title of the document.” Information about print publication (follow the
recommendations for print publications in 5.6 for books and 5.7 for periodical articles). Information
about electronic publication (Title of the site/editor’s name/version number/date of electronic
publication or latest update/name of organization or institution that sponsors the site). Date of access
<URL>.
NO AUTHOR MLA 5.9.1
“City Profile: San Francisco.” CNN.com. 2002. Cable News Network. 14 May 2002 <http://www.cnn.com/
TRAVEL/atevo/city/SanFrancisco/intro.html>.
AUTHOR MLA 5.9.3
Ross, Don. “Game Theory.” 11 Sept. 2001. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. Edward N. Zalta. Fall
2002 ed. Center for the Study of Lang. and Information, Stanford U. 1 Oct. 2002
<http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/game-theory/>.
DATABASES
PROQUEST DIRECT MLA 5.9.7
Faircloth, Anne, and Ed Brown. "The Best Cities for Business." Fortune 23 Nov. 1998: 142-45+.
PA Research II. ProQuest Direct. Kingwood Coll. Lib., Kingwood. 8 May 2001
<http://www.umi.com/proquest>.
LIBRARY SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE MLA 5.9.7
Youakim, Sami. “Work-Related Asthma.” American Family Physician 64 (2001): 1839-52. Health Reference
Center. InfoTrac. Los Altos High School Lib. 12 Jan. 2002 <http://www.galegroup.com/>.
LITERATURE RESOURCE CENTER MLA 5.9.7
Colmer, John. "E. M. Forster: Overview." Reference Guide to English Literature. 2nd ed. Ed. D. L. Kirkpatrick.
2nd ed. St. James P, 1991. Reproduced in Literature Resource Center. Gale Group. Kingwood Coll. Lib.,
Kingwood. 8 May 2001 <http://galenet.gale.com>.
Grieder, Josephine. "Orthodox and Paradox: The Structure of 'Candide'." French Review 57.4 (1984):
485-92. Literature Resource Center. Gale Group. Kingwood Coll. Lib., Kingwood. 8 May 2001
<http://galenet.gale.com>.
ONLINE WEEKLY NEWS SERVICE MLA 5.9.7
Bettelheim, Adriel. "Public Broadcasting: Should the Government Subsidies Continue." CQ Researcher
29 Oct. 1999: 929-52. CQ Researcher. Congressional Quarterly. Kingwood Coll. Lib., Kingwood.
8 May 2001 <http://libraryip.cq.com>.
ONLINE PERIODICAL MLA 5.9.4a-b
Hebel, Sara. "Appeals Court Says Colleges May Consider Applicant's Race in Striving for Diversity."
Chronicle of Higher Education 6 Dec. 2000. 7 Dec. 2000
<http://chronicle.com/daily/2000/12/2000120601n>.
ONLINE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATION MLA 5.9.3d
United States. Dept. of Justice, Natl. Inst. of Justice. Prosecuting Gangs: A National Assessment.
By Claire Johnson, Barbara Webster, and Edward Connors. Feb. 1995. 31 Aug. 2000
<http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/pgang.txt>.
PRIMARY SOURCES
INTERVIEW
MLA 5.8.7
Smith, Jones. Personal interview. 22 July 2000.
PERSONAL LETTER
MLA 5.8.13
Munoz, Leticia. Letter to the author. 12 Feb. 1989.
E-MAIL MLA 5.9.9
Harner, James L. E-mail to the author. 20 Aug. 2002.
(Other similar primary source materials, such as home movies/videos, photographs, etc. should be cited
in a similar manner.)
ONLINE POSTING
MLA 5.9.9
Valentine, Mike Banks. Online posting. 16 May 2002. Online Privacy. 30 May 2002
<http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/[email protected]?7>.
VISUAL MEDIA
FILM, VIDEO, etc.
MLA 5.8.3
It's a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed. RKO, 1946.
A WORK OF ART
MLA 5.8.6
Bernini, Gianlorenzo. Ecstasy of St. Teresa. Santa Maria della Vittoria. Rome.
USE OF IBID. AND OP. CIT.
Ibid. (Latin) is used instead of repeating the previous reference.
1. Lashley, C. (1995) Improving study skills. A competence approach. London, Cassell.
2. Ibid. 155
3. Ibid. 170
Op.Cit. (Latin) is used after an author’s name to mean the same work as last cited for this author.
1. Bennett, C. (1996) Researching into teaching methods in colleges & universities.
London, Kogan Page.
2. Manger, J.J (1995). The essential internet information guide. New York, McGraw Hill.
3. Bennett, C. op.cit. 175.
Et.al (Latin) commonly used as an abbreviation for ‘and others’
Bennett, H et al. (1990) Managing Education. London, Falmer Press.
(This page adapted from the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: MLA, 2003
and from the Modern Language Association web site at http://www.mla.org/selsti.htm ) Some material comes
from the Kingwood College Library website: http://www.nhmccd.edu/lrc/kc/mlastyle.htm and the Leeds
Metropolitan University Website: http://www.lmu.ac.uk/lss/ls/docs/Harvard/usefulhints.htm)