MLA Citations: Print Sources
A) Books:
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.
B) Encyclopedias:
Author of Article (if given). "Article Title." Title of Book. Edition. City of Publication: Publisher, Year.
C) A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection
Book parts include an essay in an edited collection or anthology, or a chapter of a book.
Lastname, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Pages.
D) Poetry or Short Stories
If in an anthology not compiled by the author:
If the specific literary work is part of the author's own collection:
E) Periodicals, journals and newspapers:
Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages.
F) Speeches, Lectures or other Oral Presentations
Provide the speaker’s name. Then, give the title of the speech (if any) in quotation marks. Follow with the name of the meeting and organization, the location of the occasion, and the date. Use the descriptor that appropriately expresses the type of presentation (e.g. Address, Lecture, Reading, Keynote speech, Guest Lecture).
Remember to use the abbreviation n.p. if the publisher is not known; use n.d. if the date is not known.
If published:
LastName, FirstName, ed. Conference Title (This does Not Include Conference Date and Location.) Conference Date, Conference Location. Place of publication: Publisher, Date of Publication. Print.
G) Interviews
If the interview was conducted personally:
LastName, FirstName. (The kind of interview – Personal interview, Telephone interview, E-mail interview). Date.
Always include as much information as is available/applicable, such as:
• Author and/or editor names (if available)
• Article name in quotation marks (if applicable)
• Title of the Website, project, or book in italics. (Remember that some Print publications have
Web publications with slightly different names. They may, for example, include the additional
information or otherwise modified information, like domain names [e.g. .com or .net].)
• Any version numbers available, including revisions, posting dates, volumes, or issue numbers.
• Publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing date.
• Take note of any page numbers (if available).
• Date you accessed the material.
• URL (if required, or for your own personal reference).
A) 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 of access.
B) 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.
Remember to use: n.p. if no publisher name is available and n.d. if not publishing date is given.
C) 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 not publishing date is given.
D) An Article from an Electronic Subscription Service
(i.e. WilsonWeb)
Provide the author/s name/s, article in quotation marks, title of the Journal in italics, publication date, page reference, medium of publication, and the date of access.
E) Web postings, Discussion Group or Blog Posting
Cite Web postings as you would a standard Web entry.
Editor, screen name, author, or compiler name (if available). “Posting Title.” Name of Site. Version number (if available). Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher). Medium of publication. Date of access.
Remember if the publisher of the site is unknown, use the abbreviation n.p.
A) An image (including a painting, sculpture or photograph)
Provide the artist's name, the work of art italicized, the date of creation, the institution and city where the work is housed. Follow this initial entry with the name of the Website in italics, the medium of publication, and the date of access.
For more specific examples for print and electronic sources, look at: MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (located in the library)
B) Films or Movies
List films by their title. Include the name of the director, the film studio or distributor, and the release year. If relevant, list performer names after the director’s name.
Use the abbreviation perf. to head the list. List film as the medium of publication. (If already on DVD, list DVD as the medium of publication)
C) Digital Files (PDFs, MP3s, JPEGs)
Determine the type of work to cite (e.g. article, image, sound recording) and cite appropriately. End the entry with the name of the digital format (e.g. PDF, JPEG file, Microsoft Word file, MP3)
D) Other electronic sources – YouTube clip
This section deals particularly with how to cite a YouTube clip.
LastName, FirstName., dir. Title of film clip. Date of publication online. Online video clip. YouTube. Date of access.
QUOTATIONS
Use and accuracy of quotations
Quotations are effective in research papers when used selectively. Quote only words, phrases, lines, and passages that are particularly interesting, vivid, unusual, or apt, and keep all quotations as brief as possible. Overquotation can bore your readers and might lead them to conclude that you are neither an original thinker nor a skilful writer.
You must construct a clear, grammatically correct sentence that allows you to introduce or incorporate a quotation with complete accuracy. Alternatively, you may paraphrase the original and quote only fragments, which may be easier to integrate into the text.
If you change a quotation in any way, make the alteration clear to the reader, following the rules and recommendations below.
BOOKS: Quotations less than four lines
If a quotation runs no more than four lines and requires no special emphasis, put it in quotation marks and incorporate it into the text.
You need not always reproduce complete sentences. Sometimes you may want to quote just a word or phrase as part of your sentence.
You may put a quotation at the beginning, middle or end of your sentence, or even divide it by your own words.
INCLUDING PAGE REFERENCES IN A QUOTATION (PARENTHETICAL REFERENCES)
If a quotation ending a sentence requires a parenthetical reference, place the sentence period after the reference. The page number is listed just as the number, not “p.” or “page.”!
BOOKS: Quotations more than four lines
If a quotation runs more than four lines, you must:
1) Set it off from your text by beginning a new line, indenting one inch from the left margin
2) Type it double-spaced, without adding quotation marks.
3) A colon generally introduces a quotation displayed in this way.
If you need to quote two or more paragraphs, indent the first line of each paragraph an additional quarter inch.
POETRY
If you quote part or all of a single line of verse that does not require special emphasis, put it in quotation marks within your text. You may also incorporate two or three lines in this way, using a slash with a space on each side ( / ) to separate them.
Verse quotations of more than three lines should begin on a new line. Unless the quotation involves unusual spacing, indent each line one inch from the left margin and double space between the lines, adding no quotation marks that do not appear in the original.
DRAMA
If you quote dialogue between two or more characters in a play:
1) Set the quotation off from your text.
2) Begin each part of the dialogue with the appropriate character’s name indented one inch from the left margin in all capital letters: HAMLET.
3) Follow the name with a period, and stated the quotation
4) Indent all subsequent lines in that character’s speech and additional quarter inch.
When the dialogue shifts to another character, start a new line indented one inch from the left margin. Maintain this pattern throughout the entire quotation.
DOCUMENTING SOURCES IN TEXT
In MLA documentation style, you acknowledge your sources by including what is called “brief parenthetical citations” in your piece of writing. These “brief parenthetical citations” are basically just the author’s surname and the page number from which you got the information you have quotated. These “brief parenthetical citations” should link up directly to your works cited list at the end of your piece.
Tells readers that the information in the
sentence was taken from page 197 of
a work by an author named Marcuse.
So, if a reader wants to know more about
this source, they can turn to the works-cited
list at the end of the piece, where, under
the name of Marcuse, they would find the
following information:
This entry states that the work’s author is Sybil Marcuse and its title is A Survey of Musical Instruments. The remaining information tells us that the work was published in New York City by Harper and Row in 1975. The word print indicates its form, which is a book.
HOW TO CREATE A WORKS CITED PAGE
This is a list of all the texts/works you have referred to in your piece.
A complete works cited list example
If your works referenced were…
( “A view from the Bridge” by Arthur Miller
( Diane Brown’s essay on robots in 1920s America – called “Robots throughout U.S History”
( Peter Jones’ article, “The life of robots” originally found on the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology website under the “Technology and Society” page.
Your Works Cited List should look like this:
Miller, Arthur. A view from the Bridge. United States of America: Viking Penguin Inc, 1955. Print
Brown, Diane. “Robots throughout U.S History”, from The Essays of Diane Brown. United States of America: Viking Press, 1978: pp. 3-7. Print
Jones, Peter. The life of Robots. Technology and Society. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 13 Sept. 2007. Web. 4 Nov. 2008. .
-----------------------
EXAMPLES:
Books with one author:
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.
Books with more than one author:
Irwin, Alexander, Joyce Millen and Dorothy Fallows. Global Aids: Myths and Facts.Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2003.
EXAMPLES:
“Basketball in Indiana.” Encyclopedia of Indiana. 3rd ed. New York: Somerset, 1993.
Fagan, Jeffrey. "Gangs and Drugs." Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol and Addictive Behavior. Ed.
Rosalyn Carson DeWitt. 2nd ed. 4 vols. New York: Macmillan, 2001.
EXAMPLE:
Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One. Ed. Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000. 24-34.
EXAMPLE:
Appenzellar, Tim. “Big Thaw.” National Geographic June 2007: 56-71.
EXAMPLES:
The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008. Web. 23 April 2008.
Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003. Web. 10 May 2006.
EXAMPLE:
"How to Make Vegetarian Chili." . eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.
EXAMPLE:
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 2009.
EXAMPLES:
Junge, Wolfgang, and Nathan Nelson. “Nature's Rotary Electromotors.” Science 29 Apr. 2005: 642-44. Science Online. 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.
EXAMPLE:
Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. “Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max Number of Rooms?” BoardGameGeek. BoardGameGeek, 29 Sept. 2008. Web. 5 Apr. 2009.
EXAMPLES:
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Museo National del Prado. Web. 22 May 2006.
Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive. Web. 22 May 2006.
EXAMPLE:
Stein, Bob. Computers and Writing Conference. Purdue University. Union Club Hotel, West Lafayette, IN. 23 May 2003. Keynote address.
EXAMPLES:
The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro. Polygram, 1995. Film.
If on DVD:
(Use the abbreviation perf. to head the list. End the entry with the appropriate medium of publication (e.g. DVD, VHS, Laser disc).
Ed Wood. Dir. Tim Burton. Perf. Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette. Touchstone, 1994. DVD.
EXAMPLES:
Beethoven, Ludwig van. Moonlight Sonata. Crownstar, 2006. MP3.
Smith, George. “Pax Americana: Strife in a Time of Peace.” 2005. Microsoft Word file.
Bentley, Phyllis. “Yorkshire and the Novelist.” The Kenyon Review 30.4 (1968): 509-22. JSTOR. PDF file.
FOR MORE MLA CITATION FORMAT INFORMATION,
VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE:
FOR AN EXAMPLE MLA CITATION PAPER, GO TO THE FOLLOWING LINK:
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
Alternatively, you can access the following resources on MLA citation in the Cedar School Library:
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th edition.
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EXAMPLE:
Burns, Robert. "Red, Red Rose." 100 Best-Loved Poems. Ed. Philip Smith. New York: Dover, 1995. 26. Print.
EXAMPLE:
Whitman, Walt. "I Sing the Body Electric." Selected Poems. New York: Dover, 1991. 12-19. Print.
MLA CITATIONS: PRINT SOURCES
MLA CITATIONS: ELECTRONIC SOURCES
MLA CITATIONS: VISUAL AND AUDIO SOURCES
EXAMPLE:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” wrote Charles Dickens of the eighteenth century.
EXAMPLE:
For Charles Dickens the eighteenth century was both “the best of times” and “the worst of times”
EXAMPLES:
Joseph Conrad writes of the company manager in Heart of Darkness, “He was obeyed, yet he inspired neither love nor fear, nor even respect.”
or
“He was obeyed,” writes Joseph Conrad of the company manager in Heart of Darkness, “yet inspired neither love nor fear, nor even respect.”
EXAMPLE:
For Charles Dickens the eighteenth century was both “the best of times” and “the worst of times” (35).
EXAMPLE:
At the conclusion of Lord of the Flies, Ralph and the other boys realise 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 (186).
EXAMPLE:
In Moll Flanders Defoe maintains the pseudoautobiographical narration typical of the picaresque tradition:
My true name is so well known in the records, or registers, at Newgate and in the Old Bailey, and there are some things of such consequence still depending there relating to my particular conduct, that it is not to be expected I should set my name or the account of my family to this work…
It is enough to tell you, that…some of my worst comrades, who are out of the way of doing me hard…know me by the name of Moll Flanders…(1).
Note the use of “…” (ellipsis) to indicate a break in quotation where the writer has selected particular lines and omitted others when selecting what to include in the essay.
EXAMPLE:
Reflecting on the “incident” in Baltimore, Cullen concludes, “Of all the things that happened there / That’s all that I remember” (11-12).
EXAMPLE:
Marguerite Duras’s screenplay for Hiroshima mon amour suggests at the outset the profound difference between observation and experience:
HE. You saw nothing in Hiroshima. Nothing,
SHE. I saw everything. Everything…the hospital, for instance, I saw it. I’m sure I did. There is a
hospital in Hiroshima. How could I help seeing it?
HE. You did not see the hospital. You saw nothing in Hiroshima. (2505-06)
Marcuse, Sibyl. A Survey of Musical Instruments. New York: Harper, 1975. Print.
EXAMPLE:
Ancient writers attributed the invention of the monochord to Pythagoras, who lived in the sixth century BC (Marcuse 197).
For books:
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.
For websites:
( Author and/or editor names (if available)
( Article name in quotation marks (if applicable)
( Title of the Website, project, or book in italics.
( Any version numbers available, including revisions, posting dates, volumes, or issue numbers.
( Publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing date.
( Take note of any page numbers (if available).
( Date you accessed the material.
( URL (if required, or for your own personal reference).
An example:
Jones, Peter. The Amazon Jungle’s Secrets. Technology and Society. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 13 Sept. 2007. Web. 4 Nov. 2008. .
(*Note A shorter piece of writing like an essay or journal entry does not have its title in italics. They are placed in inverted comma’s instead. See Diane Brown’s essay in this example)
EXAMPLES:
Poussaint, Alvin. F. Telephone interview. 10 December 1998.
Rowling, J.K. E-mail interview. 8 – 12 May 2002
Pei, I.M. Personal interview. 22 July 1993.
Shimabukuro, Jake. Ukulele weeps. 04 April 2008. Online video clip. YouTube. Accessed on 22 April 2006.
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