Our sample citations are based on MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed., 2003 (Ref LB2369.G53 2003. This is the most complete and up-to-date print guide to MLA style in the Library. . Resources for using the APA, Chicago, and CBE format are listed on the Citation Styles Home page. For more examples and further explanation of MLA citation style, please consult the following information.
LPC Library's Template for MLA Citations
- Need extra help? Fill-in guide to citation of the most common resources.
NoodleBib - Generate, edit, and publish an MLA Works Cited list that complies with the rules of the current MLA Handbook. It is a Web application that allows you to create and edit MLA works cited online. Add and edit references on the fly. It will take care of punctuation and producing a polished source list that's correctly formatted and ready to print! See sample citations below, done through NoodleBib.
Best in-depth online guide:
Humanities: Documenting Sources - MLA Style, English and Other Humanities, links to finding sources, MLA in-text citations, list of works cited, information notes, manuscript format, and sample paper.
Humanities: Overview - Researching in the Humanities, Research and Documentation Online, by Diane Hacker. How to do research in the discipline.
Citation Style Guides, The Library @ Seattle Central, Seattle Central Community College.
MLA Format, Writers’ Workshop: Bibliography Styles Handbook, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Sources: Their Use and Acknowledgement, Dartmouth College.
The following examples of works cited citations are arranged with bolded explanatory material first, which you will not put it in your works cited list. The citation examples follow and should be double spaced and have a hanging indentation. However, hanging indentations are not easily displayed on the Internet. If these examples look odd on your computer, follow the format shown in NoodleBib.
The citations contain the following elements in the order given:
The author is always listed first as the most important element of any citation; title always follows, either italicized or underlined; then publication information. Use the punctuation shown exactly! Every citation has these elements with slight variations. Check author order carefully for books with more than one author on the title page of each book. If the book has no author, start with title. If no place of publication is given, use the abbreviation n.p. If no publisher is given, use the abbreviation n.p. If no date of publication is given use n.d.
Dry, Richard. Leaving. New York: St. Martin's Pr., 2002.
Dunn, Erica H., and Diane L. Tessaglia-Hymes. Birds at Your Feeder: A
Guide to Feeding Habits, Behavior, Distribution, and Abundance.
New York: W. W. Norton, 1999.
Atwan, Robert, Donald McQuade, and John W. Wright.
Edsels, Luckies, and
Frigidaires: Advertising the American Way. New
York: Dell, 1979.
Belenky, Mary Field, et al.
Women's Ways of Knowing: The Development
of Self, Voice, and Mind. New York: Basic,
1986.
Dry, Richard. The Perfect English Class. 46th ed. Oakland: BS Pr., 2006.
The Oxford Book of Death. Ed. D. J. Enright. New York: Oxford UP, 1983.
Mamet, David. Oleanna: A Play in Two Acts. The
Best Plays of 1992-1993.
Eds. Otis L. Guernsey, Jr. and Jeffrey Sweet. New York: Limelight,
1993. 150-164
Eagan, Catherine M. "‘ White,’ If ‘Not Quite’: Irish Whiteness in the Nineteenth-Century
Irish-American Novel." New Directions in Irish American History. Ed. Kevin Kenny.
Madison, WI: Wisconsin UP, 2003. 140-155.
Payne, James L. "Democracy Is Not Best for All Countries." Democracy:
Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Mike Wilson. Detroit: Thomson-Gale,
Conservative (31 Jan. 2005).
Soto, Gary. Buried Onions. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1997.
- - -. The Elements of San Joaquin. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh UP,
1977.
Use NoodleBib for more information on citing religious works.
The Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Bible, 1984.
Quran: The Final Testament [Authorized English Version]. Trans.
Rashad Khalifa. Rev. III ed. Fremont: Universal Unity, 2001.
The following examples of works cited citations are arranged with bolded explanatory material first, which you will not put it in your works cited list. The citation examples follow and should be double spaced and have a hanging indentation. However, hanging indentations are not easily displayed on the Internet. If these examples look odd on your computer, follow the format shown in NoodleBib.
The citations contain the following elements in the order given.
"Islam." The New Encyclopedia Britannica:
Micropaedia. 15th ed.
Vol. 11. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 2002. 409-410.
Amar, Akhil Reed. "Speedy Trial." Encyclopedia of Crime & Justice.
Ed. Joshua Dressler. 2nd ed. Vol. 4. New York: MacMillan Reference
USA, 2002. 1495-1500.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. "Table. 111. Death Rates from Heart Disease
by Sex and Age: 1990 to 2002." Statistical Abstract of the United.
States: 2006. 125th ed. Washington, DC: GPO, 2005. 89.
U. S. Department of Labor, and Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Registered
Nurses." Occupational Outlook Handbook: 2004-05 Edition.
Washington, DC: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, 2004. 301-304.
"13-8. Immunization and ORT Use." African Development Indicators 2002.
Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2002. 316.
Szuberla, Guy. "Damon Runyon." Dictionary of Literary Biography: American
Short-Story Writers, 1910-1945, First Series. Ed. Bobby Ellen Kimbel.
Vol. 86. Detroit: Gale Research, 1989. 234-251.
"Sagan, Carl (Edward) 1964-." Contemporary Authors: New Revision
Series.
Ed. James Lesniak. Vol. 36. Detroit: Gale, 1992. 332-338.
Ryan, Maureen. "Barbara Kingsolver's Lowfat Fiction." Journal
of American Culture
(Winter 1995): 77-82. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W.
Hunter. Vol. 130. Detroit: Gale, 2000. 91.
The citations contain the following elements in the order given.
Start with the title if no author is listed. Use the punctuation shown in the examples below.
Note: When citing references from an electronic print resource or Internet source you may turn off the auto-formatting of the URL (in Microsoft Word) so it is not underlined and highlighted in blue. This will make your works cited page appear more consistent. Go to the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect, select the AutoFormat As You Type tab and midway down under Replace as you type deselect (uncheck) Internet and network paths with hyperlinks.
Encyclopedia Americana Online. Scholastic Library Publishing - <http://ea.grolier.com/>
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia & History
Reference Center. EBSCO - <http://search.epnet.com/>
Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Scholastic Library Publishing - <http://gme.grolier.com/>
Literature Resource Center. Thomson Gale (CLC, DLB, Contemporary Authors) - <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/>
LitFinder. Thomson Gale - <http://www.litfinder.com/>
Merck Index - <http://themerckindex.cambridgesoft.com/>
Opposing Viewpoints. Thomson Gale - <http://www.galenet.com/servlet/OVRC>
Garrow, David J. "King, Martin Luther, Jr." Encyclopedia Americana Online. Scholastic
Library Publishing. 10 May 2006 <http://ea.grolier.com/>.
"Helen Fielding 1959 -." Contemporary Authors Online. Literature
Resource Center.
Thomson Gale. LPC Lib., Livermore. 4 May 2006 <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/>.
Ryan, Maureen. "Barbara Kingsolver's Lowfat Fiction." Journal
of American Culture
(Winter 1995): 77-82. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W.
Hunter. Vol.
130. Detroit: Gale, 2000. 91. Literature Resource Center.
Thomson Gale. LPC Lib., Livermore. 12 June 2006 <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/>.
Richardson, Robert D. "Ralph Waldo Emerson." Dictionary of Literary Biography: American
Literary Critics and Scholars, 1800-1850. Ed. John W. Rathburn. Vol. 59.
Detroit: Gale Research, 1987. 108-129. Literature Resource Center.
Thomson Gale. LPC Lib., Livermore. 11 May 2006 <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/>.
"Slash and Burn Agriculture." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2006.
Scholastic Library Publishing.10 May 2006 <http://gme.grolier.com/>.
Katzman, David M. "Black Migration." Reader's Companion to American History.
Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. 114. History Reference Center.
EBSCO. LPC Lib., Livermore. 6 June 2006 <http://search.epnet.com/>.
Nash, David. "The Dance." Contemporary American Poets. Ed. Horace
C. Baker. Stratford, 1929. Litfinder. Thomson Gale. LPC Lib., Livermore.
23 Apr. 2006 <http://www.litfinder.com/>.
"Acetone." Merck Index. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck, 2001-2005. 15 May 2006
<http://themerckindex.cambridgesoft.com>.
The following examples of works cited citations are arranged with bolded explanatory material first, which you will not put it in your works cited list. The citation examples follow and should be double spaced and have a hanging indentation. However, hanging indentations are not easily displayed on the Internet. If these examples look odd on your computer, follow the format shown in NoodleBib.
The citations for periodical materials in print contain the following elements in the order given.
Do not add the name of a database at the end of your citation if you read the text from the print magazine. Add the name of the database only if you use a full-text article from a database.
Jost, Kenneth. "Transgender Issues." CQ Researcher 5 May 2006: 385-408.
Blevins, Lea. "Warning Sign for Drunken Drivers" Tri-Valley Herald
31 May 2006: Valley 1+.
Cota, Susan A. "The Duties of a Community College District Chancellor."
Top Dog 20.3 (Mar. 2006): 36-105.
Dry, Richard. "How I Came To Write Forty-Five Editions
of an
English Text." Community College Journal 46
(2006): 114-26.
"The Starry Sky." Odyssey Jan. 1994: 26-27.
Begley, Sharon. "A Healthy Dose of Laughter." Newsweek 4
Oct.
1992: 74+.
The citations contain the following elements in the order given.
Note: When citing references from an electronic print resource or Internet source, you may turn off the auto-formatting of the URL (in Microsoft Word) so it is not underlined and highlighted in blue. This will make your works cited page appear more consistent. Go to the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect, select the AutoFormat As You Type tab and midway down under Replace as you type deselect (uncheck) Internet and network paths with hyperlinks.
The information needed for a full-text article is exactly the same as an article in print. You just add the database information. Use the basic "http" address of the Web database, not each article's address (See the list below). If no author is listed, start with the article title. Do not use Associated Press, Washington Post, or New York Times as an author. If page numbering is not available in the article, use the abbreviation n.pag.
Page Numbering in Citations: Many databases,
such as EBSCO or NewsBank give the page that an article begins on in
a magazine or journal and how many pages are in the article.
However, if the article is full text but is not an image, you will
not know the exact pages that the article covers. If the article
starts on page 67, you may use 67+ to show that the article starts
on page 67 and continues. If it is a PDF file (an image), you
will see the pages and should use the actual pages in the citation,
such as 67-72, or if the paging isn't continuous specifiy the actual pages separated by commas, such as 67, 72. If page numbering is not available in the article,
use the abbreviation n.pag.
Page Numbering in Parenthetical Documentation: You
also use the abbreviation n.pag. in parenthetical
documentation if you do not know the exact page number of information
quoted in a multi-page article (Author n.pag.).
EBSCO Databases: - <http://search.epnet.com/>
Use the same URL for all EBSCO databases, for example,
Academic Search Premier & Health Source.
America's Newspapers. NewsBank - <http://infoweb.newsbank.com/>
CountryWatch - <http://www.countrywatch.com/>
CQ Researcher Online - <www.thecqresearcher.com/>
Ethnic NewsWatch and GenderWatch. ProQuest - <http://proquest.umi.com/>
Opposing Viewpoints. Thomson Gale - <http://www.galenet.com/servlet/OVRC>
Stewart, James Brewer. "Reconsidering the Abolitionists in an Age of Fundamentalist Politic."
Journal of the Early Republic 26.1 (Spring 2006): 1-23. Academic Search Premier.
EBSCO. LPC Lib., Livermore. 10 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com/>.
Steinhauer, Jennifer. ""Never Mind Debating Mars and Venus: Who's 'the Decider'?"
New York Times 26 Apr. 2006: National Desk 16+. America's Newspapers.
NewsBank. 10 May 2006 <http://infoweb.newsbank.com/>.
Jost, Kenneth. "Transgender Issues." CQ Researcher Online 5
May 2006:
385-408. 12 June 2006 <www.thecqresearcher.com/>.
Kawamota, Kevin. "Silent Stones Speak in Portland's Japanese
American Plaza." Northwest Asian Weekly 9 October
1998: 9.
Ethnic NewsWatch. ProQuest. LPC Lib., Livermore.
22 June 2006 <http://proquest.umi.com/>.
Harris, Shanette M. "Racial Differences in Predictors of College
Women's Body Image Attitudes." Women & Health 30
June
1994: 89. GenderWatch. ProQuest. LPC Lib., Livermore.
22 July 2002 <http://proquest.umi.com/>.
Egerton, Douglas R. "Thomas Jefferson: The Revolution of Ideas." History Teacher
May 2005: 401. History Reference Center. EBSCO. LPC Lib., Livermore.
18 June 2006 <http://search.epnet.com/>.
Cooper, Marc. "Arnold Show: Canceled." Nation 28 Nov. 2005: 10-11.
MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. LPC Lib., Livermore.
10 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com/>.
Macko, Steve. "Juvenile Crime and Violence Are Increasing." Juvenile Crime.
Ed. Auriana Ojeda. Greenhaven, 2002. Rpt. of "Kids with No Hope,
No Fear, No Rules, and No Life Expectancy." EmergencyNet News
Service 18 May 1996. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center.
Thomson Gale.
LPC Lib., Livermore. 4 June 2006 <http://www.galenet.com/servlet/OVRC>.
Rigotti, Nancy. "Staying Safe: How to Quit Smoking." Newsweek
3 Oct. 2005: 56. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center.
Thomson Gale. LPC Lib., Livermore. 16 May 2006
<http://www.galenet.com/servlet/OVRC>.
"Sudan." Country Review. CountryWatch. LPC Lib., Livermore.
5 May 2006 <http://www.countrywatch.com>.
"Ecuadorans Stage Protest, Demand US Oil Company Expulsion."
Country Wire [Quito] 9 May 2006. CountryWatch. LPC Lib.,
Livermore. 10 May 2006 <http://www.countrywatch.com>.
The following examples of works cited citations are arranged with bolded explanatory material first, which you will not put it in your works cited list. The citation examples follow and should be double spaced and have a hanging indentation. However, hanging indentations are not easily displayed on the Internet. If these examples look odd on your computer, follow the format shown in NoodleBib.
Citations for reviews of books found in periodicals, books and electronic print resources contain the following elements in the order given:
Note: When citing references from an online database or Internet source, you may turn off the auto-formatting of the URL (in Microsoft Word) so it is not underlined and highlighted in blue. This will make your works cited page appear more consistent. Go to the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect, select the AutoFormat As You Type tab and midway down under Replace as you type, uncheck Internet and network paths with hyperlinks.
Academic Search Premier. EBSCO - <http://search.epnet.com/>
America's Newspapers. Newsbank - <http://infoweb.newsbank.com/>
Literature Resource Center (Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism,
Dictionary of Literary Biography, etc.) Thomson Gale - <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/>
Baxter, Tracy. Rev. of Earth Follies: Coming to Feminist
Terms
with the Environmental Crisis, by Joni Seager. Sierra
May/June 1994: 82-83.
Kennedy, Randall. "Looking for Zora." Rev. of I
Love Myself When I Am Laughing
and Then Again When I Am Looking Mean and Impressive,
by Zora Neale Hurston. New York Times Book Review
30 Dec. 1979: 8, 17.
Rev. of Outlands: Journeys to the Outer Edges of Cape Cod,
by Robert Finch. Time 3 Nov. 1986: 84.
Keymer, David. Rev. of A Time To Kill, by John Grisham.
"John Grisham 1955(?) -." Contemporary
Literary Criticism.
Ed. James P. Draper. Vol. 84. Detroit: Gale, 1995. 190.
King, Bruce. Rev. of White Teeth, by Zadie Smith. World Literature
Today. Winter 2001: 116. Academic
Search Premier. EBSCO.
LPC Lib., Livermore. 28 June 2006 <http://search.epnet.com/>.
Podhoretz, John. Rev. of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,
by Michael Chabon. Commentary June
2001: 68. Literature Resource
Center. Thomson Gale. LPC Lib., Livermore. 24 June 2006
<http://infotrac.galegroup.com/>.
Paumgarten, Nick. "Acknowleged." Rev. of The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown.
New Yorker 5 May 2003: 36. Literature
Resource Center. Thomson Gale.
LPC Lib., Livermore. 1 Mar. 2006 <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/>.
The following examples of works cited citations are arranged with bolded explanatory material first, which you will not put it in your works cited list. The citation examples follow and should be double spaced and have a hanging indentation. However, hanging indentations are not easily displayed on the Internet. If these examples look odd on your computer, follow the format shown in NoodleBib.
These citations are from general Internet sources, not from LPC electronic print resources (databases). Citations for Web site information should contain as much data that you can find to identify the material, as follows in the order given:
You may have to go to the homepage of an institution to find publication data. To cite subscription databases, such as Academic Search Premier, CountryWatch, Encyclopedia Britannica Online, Ethnic NewsWatch, GenderWatch, Literature Resource Center, use the links to examples in the Reference, Periodicals and Electronic Print Resources, or Book Review sections.
Schwarzenegger, Arnold. "Schwarzenegger Outlines Budget Philosophy: Pay Down
Debt & Invest in Schools." Welcome to California: Updates from the
Office of the Governor. 11 May 2006. State of California. 12 June 2006
<http://www.governor.ca.gov/>.
To cite a law case give the names of the first plaintiff and the first defendant, the case number, the name of the court,
the date of the decision, followed by the title of the home page, date accessed, and URL. Use NoodleBib's section Law Case under Legal Sources for help.
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld. No. 03-6696. Supreme Ct. of the US. 28 June 2004.
Supreme Court of the United States. 13 Sept. 2005.
<http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/03pdf/03-6696.pdf>.
The sample citation shows an online newspaper article with an author listed. Use NoodleBib's section Newspaper or Newswire (Online) for help.
Roug, Louise. "Hussein Defense Witnesses Admit Lying." Los Angeles Times:
latimes.com 11 June 2006. 12 June 2006 <http://www.latimes.com/>.
The following sample citations show entire web sites, articles within a web site, web sites with authors, web sites with no authors. Use NoodleBib's section "Web Site under Electronic/Online (Exclusively)" for help.
All Allergy. 2002. 17 May 2006 <http://www.allallergy.net/>.
"Californium [7440-71-3]." ChemFinder.com: Database
and Internet Searching. 2004.
CambridgeSoft. 12
June 2006. <http://chemfinder.cambridgesoft.com/result.asp>.
COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts. Winter 2006.
COPIA. 17 May 2006 <http://www.copia.org/>.
Lanham, Howard G. American Military Patches, Other Insignia and Decorations
of World War Two. 17 May 2006 <http://www.angelfire.com/md2/patches/>.
The following examples of works cited citations are arranged with bolded explanatory material first, which you will not put it in your works cited list. The citation examples follow and should be double spaced and have a hanging indentation. However, hanging indentations are not easily displayed on the Internet. If these examples look odd on your computer, follow the format shown in NoodleBib.
If you cite an individual song on the CD, put the song title in quotations. Do not specify CD as a medium. Titles of music identified by number, key or form are neither underlined nor put in quotation marks.
Glass, Philip. "Opening." Glassworks. CBS Masterworks, 1982.
Beethoven, Ludwig van. Symphonies no. 4 & no. 5. Cond. Leonard Bernstein,
New York Philharmonic. Sony Classical, 1997.
Lloyd Webber, Andrew. The Phantom of the Opera: The Original
London Cast. Polydor, 1987.
Amadeus. 2001. DVD. Warner Home Video, 2002.
Glassman, Gary. Secret of Photo 51. Videocassette. WGBH Boston Video, 2003.
Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery. DVD.
PBS. Warner Home Video, 2001.
Bodmer, Karl. "Woman of the Nation Teton Sioux Woman." ARTstor. LPC Lib., Livermore.
19 Oct. 2007 <http://www.artstor.org>.
Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx, Paramount Photo, Circa 1930,
**I.V. Photograph. Motion Picture & Television Photo Archive. 1930.
Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. LPC Lib., Livermore, CA.
22 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com/>.
Kushner, Tony. Angels in America: Millennium Approaches.
Marines Memorial Theatre, San Francisco. 13 Oct. 1994.
"Bee - Political Movement." Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Comedy
Central. 22 May 2006. Comedy Central. 19 June 2006
<http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/videos/samantha_bee/index.jhtml>.
Tarte, Mark. Personal interview. 13 Mar. 2006.
Use the following links to access the LPC Library short guides to citing specific types of resources in the MLA style.
Email a
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