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Guide to Citing Research Sources: MLA Style

You can use this guide to citing sources in MLA (Modern Language Association) style, which is

the style used primarily in the humanities, such as English language and literature. For further

information, see the book MLA Handbook, 8th Edition (Located at the Library’s Research

Help/Information Desk).

NoodleTools, a web based citation software at: http://www.noodletools.com/login.php will

generate a citation or “Works Cited” list from fill-in information the user provides. NoodleTools

use is free, but you must register for the site using a campus computer, before using it off campus.

Works Cited The Works Cited listing, placed at the end of your paper, sets forth basic information about your

sources, including the author’s name, title of the work and publication information. Sources are

alphabetized by the author’s last name. The list is double-spaced with a hanging indent of five spaces.

The following citations are examples of commonly used resources in a Works Cited list:

BOOKS (not accessed online):

General Formula:

Author’s last name, first name middle name. (exactly as it appears on the title page) Title of Work. (as it

appears on title page) Revised/updated edition (if specified), Publisher, date of publication.

One Author: Hoff, Lee Ann. Crisis: How to Help Yourself or Others in Distress or Danger. 2nd ed., Oxford UP, 2014.

Note: in publisher names, replace “University Press” with the abbreviation “UP.” Also eliminate business words from the name, such as Company (Co.), Corporation (Corp.), Incorporated (Inc.), and Limited (Ltd.).

Two Authors:

Kane, Joseph Nathan, and Janet Podell. Facts about the Presidents: A Compilation of Biographical and

Historical Information. Wilson, 2009.

Three or more Authors:

Delpeuch, Francis, et al. Globesity: A Planet out of Control? Earthscan, 2009.

An Editor or Compiler

Ball, Michael, and Martin Wietschel, editors. The Hydrogen Economy: Opportunities and Challenges.

Cambridge UP, 2009.

Author and Illustrator, Translator or Editor:

Xinran. China Witness: Voices from a Silent Generation. Translated by Nicky Harman and Julia Lovell,

Pantheon, 2009.

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Corporation, Association, Committee or other group in which individuals are not named on title

page:

George Philip & Son. Atlas of the World. Oxford UP, 2007.

Note: When you are citing a corporation as an author, the full corporate name is used.

One work from an Anthology or Book Chapter:

Bryant-Bertrail, Sarah. “Old Spirits in a New World: Pacific Northwest Performance: Identity,

Authenticity, Theatricality.” Native American Performance and Representation, edited by S. E.

Wilmer, U of Arizona P, 2009, pp. 40-60.

Title within a Title:

Whitman, Cedric H. “The Odyssey and Change.” Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Odyssey,

edited by Howard W. Clarke, Prentice-Hall, 1983, pp. 72-92.

Introduction, a Preface, a Foreword or an Afterword:

Cajete, Greg. Foreword. Simon J. Ortiz: A Poetic Legacy of Indigenous Continuance, edited by Susan

Berry Brill de Ramirez and Evelina Zuni Lucero, U of New Mexico P, 2009, pp. ix–xii.

ARTICLES (not accessed online):

General Formula:

Author’s name. (last, first middle-- as it appears on title page). “Title of the article.” Name of Journal,

vol. xx, no. xx, date of publication, pp. ##-##.

Article in a Journal or Magazine with volume and issue numbers:

Calabresi, Massimo. “The War on Secrecy.” Time, vol. 176, no. 24, 13 Dec. 2010, pp. 30-32.

Article in a Scholarly Journal with issue number only:

Hollander, Gail M. “Securing Sugar: National Security Discourse and the Establishment of Florida’s

Sugar-Producing Region.” Economic Geography, no. 4, 2005, pp. 339-58.

Newspaper Article in different editions:

Broad, William. “New Advice on the Unthinkable: How to Survive a Nuclear Bomb.” New York Times,

National ed., 16 Dec. 2010, pp. A1+.

Note: If an article starts on one page and continues at a non-consecutive page within the publication, cite the first page with a plus (+) sign to indicate it continues. Cite a range of page numbers when the article

is paginated continuously.

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Article in a Dictionary or Encyclopedia:

“Citation.” Definition 3. Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford UP, 1989.

Note: Signed articles in an encyclopedia should include the author’s name and the title of the article in

quotes at the beginning of the citation.

Doe, John. “Missing Persons.” New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed., 1993.

WEBSITES & ONLINE PUBLICATIONS:

General Formula:

Author’s name. (last, first middle). “Title of the Document.” Title of the Internet site, Publisher of site

(if different from the author or title of the site), Date of publication or latest revision, website

address (without http://).

General Web Page

Griffin, R. Morgan. “E-Cigarettes 101.” Smoking Cessation Health Center, WebMD, 2015,

www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/features/electronic-cigarettes.

Note: it is optional whether to include the date you accessed the website, but is recommended if the source provides no publication date; add this to the end of the citation in this format: Accessed 3 Aug. 2016.

Newspaper (Article on newspaper website or on newswire)

Bhanoo, Sindya N. “Humans, like Animals, Are Fearless without Amygdala.” New York Times,

16 Dec. 2010, www.nytimes.com/2010/12/21/science/21obbrain.html?_r=0.

Note: New York Times in print is a periodical publication; its website is not.

Essay in an Online Database:

Chittom, Lynn-nore, and Nancy Sprague. "Point: The Increase in Autism Cases in the US Comes from a

Widened Definition of Autism." Points Of View: Autism, 1 Mar 2016, p. 2. Points of View

Reference Center, EBSCO, ezproxy.uwc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true& db=pwh&AN=28675175&site=pov-live.

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E-Book (with publisher and date) from a database:

Rozakis, Laurie. Test Taking Strategies and Study Skills for the Utterly Confused. McGraw-Hill, 2003.

eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), ezproxy.uwc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,cpid&custid=s5805083&db=nlebk&AN=81230&site=ehost-

live&scope=site.

ARTICLES ACCESSED ONLINE:

General Formula:

Author’s name. (last, first middle-- as it appears on title page). “Title of the article.” Name of Journal,

vol. xx, no. xx, date of publication, pp. ##-##. Name of database containing article (if applicable),

DOI (if available) or website address (without http://). If from an online articles database, use the

“permalink” address is available).

Scholarly Journal Article in Online Database (with DOI):

Chan, Evans. “Postmodernism and Hong Kong Cinema.” Postmodern Culture, vol. 10, no. 3, May 2000.

Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/pmc.2000.0021.

Scholarly Journal Article in Online Database (with permalink):

Giralt, Gabriel F. “Realism and Realistic Representation in the Digital Age.” Journal of Film and

Video, vol. 62, no. 3, 2010, pp. 3-16. Communication and Mass Media Complete,

ezproxy.uwc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,

ip,cpid&custid=s5805083&db=ufh&AN=52526880&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Article in an e-Journal (not from an articles database):

Jani, Bushra Juhi. “Narrative as Soft Violence in Margaret Drabble’s The Pure Gold Baby.” Socrates,

vol. 3, no. 1, 2015. www.socratesjournal.com/index.php/socrates/article/view/123.

OTHER SOURCES:

T.V. or Radio Broadcast- General Formula:

“Title of the episode or segment.” Title of the program or series, Name of the network, (if any)

Broadcast date. Online service (if applicable) and URL.

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Television:

“Annie Oakley.” American Experience, PBS, 30 Jan. 2012. Hulu, www.hulu.com/watch/52638.

Radio:

“Writer’s Block? Try Getting Competitive.” Weekend Edition Sunday, NPR, 24 Nov. 2013.

Film or Video Recording - General Formula:

Title. Directed (or created) by first name last name, Distributor, Year of release.

Film/Video:

Hunger Games. Directed by Gary Ross, Lionsgate, 2012.

Interviews-General Formula:

Name of person interviewed. (last, first middle) “Title of the Interview.” (If the interview has no title,

use Interview with no italics or quotation marks.) Name of Publication. (add appropriate

bibliographic information according to the source: if the interview is in a book, include publisher

and date of publication. If the interview is in a periodical, include volume and issue numbers, date

of publication and page numbers.)

Published Interview:

Cyrus, Miley. Interview. People, vol. 80, no. 17, 25 October 2013, pp. 4-5.

Cyrus, Miley. “Why I Twerk.” Teens Living Dangerously, by Richard York, Wilson, 2013, pp. 72-

86. Interview.

Interview that you conducted:

Obama, Barack. Interview. 25 Oct. 2013.

Obama, Barack. Telephone interview. 25 Oct. 2013.

E-mail message received by you:

Boyle, Anthony T. “Re: Utopia.” Received by the author, 21 June 1997.

Tweets:

@persiankiwi. “We have report of large street battles in east & west of Tehran now - #Iranelection.”

Twitter, 23 June 2009, 11:15 a.m., twitter.com/persiankiwi/status/2298106072.

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PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS IN-TEXT

MLA style requires use of parenthetical citations in text, rather than footnotes or endnotes. The

reference in the citation (source and/or page number) is usually placed at the end of all punctuation,

except the last punctuation mark. The purpose is to lead the reader from sources cited within the paper to

the alphabetically arranged Works Cited list at the end of your paper. Citations of online resources

follow the same rules as for print sources. Examples follow:

One name: In text: Langman contends that mass violence in schools is not new (3). In reference: The

difference in school violence today is that teenagers are the perpetrators (Langman 3-4).

Two names: In text: Ramirez and Lucero argue that Ortiz’s writing has had a tremendous impact on

contemporary Native American literature (52). In reference: Ortiz is one of the most influential writers

of contemporary Native American literature (Ramirez and Lucero 52).

Name and title in text: In his book, Why Kids Kill, Langman explores the psychological causes of

school shootings. (Note: a page number is not necessary when citing the reference as a whole.)

Citing a work listed by title: “Soft skills” are those that are required for work, but are not listed in a job

description (“Preparing for your Career”).

Quotations in text: Langman defines paranoid people as “obsessed with independence and self-

control” (33).

“Paranoid people are obsessed with independence and self-control; they are hypersensitive about being

influenced by others” (Langman 33).

Volume and page of a multi-volume work: According to the Encyclopedia of Careers and

Vocational Guidance, assessment tests are an important tool in determining an occupation that is right

for you (1: 10-14).

Name of a corporate author in text: The Modern Language Association has simplified the MLA

citation style for works published on the Web (xvii).