To cite a dictionary definition: If you are using an ...



To cite a dictionary definition: If you are using an online dictionary definition from a book that has been previously published in a hard copy format, use the “Perchloric acid” example to guide you. Notice that the entry follows the hardcopy structure first and then moves to the online information. The sample below came from The Owl from Purdue. I added the copyright year because I think it’s important what year a dictionary or encyclopedia was published. The Owl apparently disagrees with me and they could be correct. MLA did not provide an example of a dictionary definition for an online source. The Owl also did not mention anything about the URL, which MLA says is optional and also up to the instructor.

"Perchloric acid." The American Heritage Stedman’s Medical Dictionary. Boston: Houghton

Mifflin Company, 1995. . 2015. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. .

The following instructions are from the MLA book (7th ed.). I find it interesting that MLA asks for entry and definition numbers but does not ask for publication information. Perhaps this is because dictionaries are such commonly used texts. Or it could be that The Owl has more current information than I have.

If the definition comes with entry numbers or definition numbers, provide those following the appropriate abbreviation.

“Levy.” Entry 2. Def. 1. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Home & Office Edition.1998.

Print.

“Noon.” Def. 2. Dictionary.. 2015. Web. 30 Apr. 2015. .

To cite an encyclopedia, follow this example:

Allen, Anita L. “Privacy in Health Care.” Encyclopedia of Bioethics. Ed. Stephen G. Post. 3rd ed.

Vol. 4. New York: Macmillan-Thomson, 2004. Print.

The above example lists the author’s name and then the name of the section in the encyclopedia. The name of the encyclopedia is in italics, of course. “Ed.” is an abbreviation for the editor. If there are two or more editors, the abbreviation would be Eds. Feel free to list multiple editors using “et al.” Not that “al.” is not the word all. It is an abbreviation for a Latin word. The entry would look like this: Eds. Stephen G. Post, et al. If there are two editors, you may do this: Eds. Stephen G. Post and Margaret Anderson. Notice that there is no additional comma within the list of two editors. The edition and volume number follow accordingly and thenn the rest of the citation is normal for any hard-copy text.

To cite the Bible, follow these examples: (Note that the articles are ignored for the purpose of alphabetization.) I feel like I’ve seen more specific items in a works cited entry for the Bible, but I am not finding it currently. The last example of these two is acceptable for most Bible citations until further notice.

The Bible. Introd. and notes by Robert Carroll and Stephen Pricket. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998.

Print. Oxford World’s classics. Authorized King James Vers.

The Holy Bible. Wheaton: Crossway-Good News, 2003. Print. Eng. Standard Vers.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download