Below are examples for the most common situations. For more detail, consult one of the following:
R 808.027 M685m3 MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing
(intended for graduate students, scholars, and professional writers)
R 808.027 M685m7 MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
(intended for high school and undergraduate students)
- Bibliographic citations for books
- Bibliographic citations for articles in books (encyclopedias, collections of essays, etc.)
- Bibliographic citations for printed periodical articles (magazine, journal, and newspaper articles)
- Bibliographic citations for personal interviews
- Bibliographic citations for electronic sources (web pages, articles from online databases)
Here is a web site with a nice overview of MLA style; try the links on the right side of the page.
Humanities: Documenting Sources
BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATIONS FOR BOOKS
1. Standard citation to a book
Baxter, John L. The History of Puerto Rico. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1986. Print.
2. A book with an editor
Baxter, John L., ed. The History of Puerto Rico. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1986. Print.
3. Two or three authors (or editors)
Baxter, John L., Peter Gwynne, and Lorraine McFee. The History of Puerto Rico. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1986. Print.
Baxter, John L., and Lorraine McFee, eds. The History of Puerto Rico. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1986. Print.
4. More than three authors
Baxter, John L., et al. The History of Puerto Rico. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1986. Print.
5. A particular edition of a book
Hooper, Wesley, and Karen Toliver. Calculus and Analytic Geometry. 5th ed. New York :
McGraw-Hill, 1978. Print.
6. A multi-volume set
Horecek, Leo, and Gerald Lefkoss. Programmed Ear Training. 4 vols. Boston: Harcourt, 1954. Print.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATIONS FOR ARTICLES IN BOOKS
1. An article in a general encyclopedia (like Encyclopedia Britannica or Encyclopedia Americana )
Dickinson, Charlotte . "Norman Conquest." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1985 ed. Print.
If no author is given:
"Nemanya Dynasty." Encyclopedia Americana . 1987 ed. Print.
2. An article in a subject encyclopedia or other alphabetized reference source
Tedeschi, J.D. "Interpersonal Communication." Encyclopedia of Psychology. Ed. Raymond J. Corsini.
4 vols. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1984. Print.
Taton, Rene. "Liouville, Joseph." Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Ed. Charles Coulston Gillespie.
16 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973. Print.
NOTE: Full publication information (editor, number of volumes, city, publisher, year of publication) is needed for these, but not volume or page numbers, since the sources are already in alphabetical order.
3. An article in an edited collection of essays
Carroll, Thomas F. "The Land Reform Issue in Latin America." Latin American Politics: 24 Studies of
the Contemporary Scene. Ed. Robert D. Tomasek. Garden City, NY: Anchor/Doubleday, 1966. 128-168. Print.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATIONS TO PERIODICAL ARTICLES
(from magazines, journals, & newspapers)
1. An article in a weekly magazine
Jeffries, Janet. "The Year in Television." Newsweek 23 Dec. 1989: 21-23. Print.
If the article is on pages 75, 76, 84, and 87, do this:
Taylor, Martin. "A Rothko Retrospective." New Yorker 6 May 1987: 75+. Print.
2. An article in a monthly magazine
Crickmer, Barry. "Can We Control Spending?" Nation's Business Apr. 1982: 22-24. Print.
3. An article in a journal with continuous pagination (continuing from issue to issue)
Brooks, Patricia. "Human Rights and the Rights of Groups." American Journal of Political Science
18 (1974): 725-41. Print.
4. An article in a journal without continuous pagination (each issue starting at page 1)
Mangan, Doreen. "Henry Casselli: Superb Contradictions." American Artist 38.2 (1974): 39-43. Print.
Another method uses the month or season to locate the issue:
Mangan, Doreen. "Henry Casselli: Superb Contradictions." American Artist 38 (Feb. 1974): 39-43. Print.
5. A newspaper article
Sharn, Lori. " Illinois Farmers Know the Times Are Bad." Kansas City Star 12 Sept. 1988: 6A. Print.
If no author is listed:
"Deadly Radon More Common Than Thought." New York Times 13 Aug. 1989, natl. ed.: 2+. Print.
NOTE: The above example specifies a particular edition of the New York Times.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATIONS FOR PERSONAL INTERVIEWS
Start with the name of the person interviewed.
Fife, Bernard. Personal interview. 15 Mar. 2003.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATIONS TO ELECTRONIC SOURCES
(web sites, articles from online databases)
Citing an entire web site:
Elements to include (if present) are:
- Author/editor of the web page
- Title of the web page
- Title of the overall web site
- Version or edition used
- Publisher or sponsor of the site; if not available, use N.p.
- Date the web page was published or last revised; if not available, use n.d.
- Type of source (in this case a web page)
- Date the web page was accessed
Funk, Ken, ed. Flight Deck Automation Issues. Oregon State University, Jun. 1999. Web. 14 Jan. 2003.
If your professor requires a URL for web sites, include it in angle brackets at the end of the entry.
Peterson, Susan Lynn. The Life of Martin Luther. Susan Lynn Peterson, 2005. Web. 24 Jan. 2009. <http://www.susanlynnpeterson.com/index_files/luther.htm>.
Citing an article or page on a web site:
“Media Giants." Frontline: The Merchants of Cool. PBS Online, 2001. Web. 7 Feb. 2005.
Citing an article from an online database:
Elements to include (if present) are:
- Author/editor of the article
- Title of the article or page
- Periodical title
- Volume and number of issue OR date of publication
- Page number(s)
- Database used to find the article
- Type of source (in this case Web)
- Date accessed
Siekman, Philip. “GE Bets Big on Jet Engines.” Fortune 30 Dec. 2002: 178B. Gale General OneFile. Web. 15 January 2010.
If your professor requires a URL for web sites, include it in angle brackets at the end of the entry. |
