MLA Style
This page contains general information about MLA style based on the 2016 8th Edition of the MLA Handbook. For specific examples of how to format materials, click on the tab for the type of material.
Works Cited Page
MLA Style requires a Works Cited page at the end of research papers. It must be titled Works Cited and entries are double spaced, with only one line between entries. Entries are ordered alphabetically by the last name of the author. After the first line of a citation, subsequent lines should be indented 5 spaces.
If you have more than one item by the same author, they are listed as follows, alphabetized by title:
Twain, Mark. Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World. Harper & Brothers, 1899.
---. Tom Sawyer Abroad. Harper & Brothers, 1896.
In-Text Citations
MLA Style uses parenthetical citations. After a quote or paraphrase from a source, add parentheses containing the author's name, a space, and the page number of the work.
Example: "Thankfully, the poet rings alarm bells" (Gross 80).
If you use more than one work by the same author, use a shortened form of the title in addition to the author's name.
Example: "Thankfully, the poet rings alarm bells" (Gross, "Tangled Web" 80).
If more than one author has the same last name, add their first initial.
Example: "Thankfully, the poet rings alarm bells" (J. Gross 80).
If you refer to the author in the sentence, leave their name out of the parentheses.
Example: Gross says that "the poet rings alarm bells" (80).
If the source does not have an author, use a shortened version of the title in the parentheses.
Example: "Thankfully, the poet rings alarm bells" ("Tangled Web" 80).
If you paraphrase the source, then you do not need to use quotation marks.
Example: In this book, Gross discusses the response of the poet (Gross 80).
If you use a quotation from a source that is not the original source of the quotation (an indirect source), use qtd. in.
Example: Glowinski describes a scene from his boyhood: "I could also hear the most horrible sentence again: 'We must call the police'" (qtd. in Gross 85).
The above quotes are from: Gross, Jan T. "A Tangled Web: Confronting Stereotypes Concerning Relations between Poles, Germans, Jews, and Communists." The Politics of Retribution in Europe. Edited by István Deák, Jan T. Gross, and Tony Judt, Princeton University Press, 2000, 74-129.
| Type of Source: | Format & General Example: |
|
Single Author |
Author's name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year of publication. Gutman, Robert W. Mozart: A Cultural Biography. Harcourt Brace, 1999. |
|
Anthology |
Editor's name, editor. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year of publication. Rosenblum, Joseph, editor. The Greenwood Companion to Shakespeare: A Comprehensive Guide for Students. Greenwood, 2005. |
|
Two Authors |
Author's names. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year of publication. Hock, Randolph, and Gary Price. The Extreme Searcher’s Internet Handbook: A Guide for the Serious Searcher. CyberAge, 2004. |
|
Three or More Authors |
Author's name(s). Title of the Book. Publisher, Year of publication. Davidson, William, et al. Retailing Management. Wiley, 1988. |
|
Corporate Author |
Author's name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year of publication. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The Fourth Yearbook. Little, 1929. |
|
No Author |
Title of the Book. Publisher, Year of publication. NAICS Desk Reference: The North American Industry Classification System Desk Reference. JIST Works, 2000. |
|
Scholarly Edition |
Author's name. Title of the Book. Editor(s). Editor(s) of the book. Publisher, Year of publication. Austen, Jane. Northanger Abbey. Editors. Barbara M. Benedict and Deirdre Le Faye. Cambridge UP, 2006. |
| Translated |
Author's name. Title of the Book. Translated by Translator's name. Publisher, Year of publication. Calvino, Italo. Why Read the Classics? Translated by Martin McLaughlin. New York: Vintage, 2000. |
| Introduction, Preface, Foreward, or Afterword |
Author of the cited part. Part being cited. Title of the Book, Author/Editor of the book, Publisher, Year of publication, Pages of the cited part. Rizvi, Gowher, and Guido Bertucci. Foreword. Decentralizing Governance: Emerging Concepts and |
|
Second or Subsequent Edition |
Author's name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year of publication. Walker, Douglas. The Geoscience Handbook. 4th ed. American Geological Institute, 2006. |
|
Multi-Volume Work |
Author's name. Title of the Book. Volume number(s) of the book. Publisher, Year of publication. Smith, Drew E. History of Poland. Vol. 2. Dover, 1958. Smith, Drew E. History of Poland. Dover, 1958. 3 vols. |
|
Republished Book |
Author's name. Title of the Book. Original publication year. Publisher, Year of publication. Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. 1811. Cambridge UP, 2006. |
| Part of an Anthology |
Author's name. "Part of the Anthology." Title of the Book, Editor of the anthology, Publisher, Year of publication. Pages of the cited piece. Willson, Jr., Robert F. "William Shakespeare's Theater." The Greenwood Companion to Shakespeare: A Comprehensive Guide for Students, edited by Joseph Rosenblum, Greenwood, 2005, pp. 47-64. |
| Multiple Parts of an Anthology |
Author's name. "Title of the Cited part." Editor's name, Page numbers of the cited part. Editor's name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year of publication. Barrett, Rachel. "Shakespeare's Women." Rosenblum, pp. 41-44. Rosenblum, Joseph, editor. The Greenwood Companion to Shakespeare: A Comprehensive Guide for Students. Greenwood, 2005. Willson, Jr., Robert F. "William Shakespeare's Theater." Rosenblum, pp. 47-64. |
For additional examples and explanations, see pp. 20-53 and pp. 102-110 in the MLA Handbook.
| Type of Source: | Format & General Example: |
|
Journal Article |
Author(s) name. "Title of the Article." Journal Title, Volume, Issue, Date of publication, Page numbers. Simmons, Carolyn, and Karen Becker-Olsen. “Achieving Marketing Objectives Through Social Sponsorships.” Journal of Marketing, vol. 70, no. 4, Oct. 2006, pp. 154-169. |
|
Newspaper Article |
Author's name. "Title of the Article." Newspaper Title, Date of publication, Page numbers. Seward, Zachary. “Colleges Expand Early Admissions.” Wall Street Journal, 14 Dec. 2006, pp. D1-D2. |
|
Magazine Article |
Author's name. "Title of the Article." Magazine Title, Date of publication, Page numbers. Reed, Stanley. “Seeing Past the War.” Business Week, 21 Aug. 2006, 35. |
For additional examples and explanations, see pp. 20-53 and pp. 102-110 in the MLA Handbook.
| Type of Source: | Format & General Example: |
| Website Page |
Author of page. "Title of Page." Title of Website, Date content posted, URL. Watson, Shawn. "What Causes a Toothache?" verywell, 29 July 2016, |
|
Entire Website |
Title of Website. Group responsible for publishing website, Date(s) content posted. URL. American Memory. Library of Congress, 1994-2017, memory.loc.gov. |
| Online Book |
Author's name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Year of publication. Title of Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1918. Google Book |
|
Online Article from Website |
Article author. "Article Title." Magazine or Journal title, Date published, URL Kluger, Jeffrey. “Searching for Life on the Newly Discovered Earthlike Planets.” TIME, 2 Mar. 2017, time.com/4688217/planets-science-space-exploration. |
| Online Image |
Artist's name. "Name of Image." Year created. Name of website, Date image created, URL. Monet, Claude. "Garden at Sainte-Adresse." TheMet, 1867, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437133. |
|
Article from a Library Database |
Article author. "Article title." Journal title, Volume, Issue, Date published, Page numbers. Database name. Schaafsma, Polly. "The Cave in the Kiva: The Kiva Niche and Painted Walls in the Rio Grande Valley." American Antiquity, vol. 74, no.4, 2009, pp. 664-690. Academic Search Premier, doi.org/10.1017/ |
|
NBER Working Paper |
Author's name. "Article Title." NBER Working Paper Number. Date published, URL Henderson, J. Vernon, Adam Storeygard, and David N. Weil. “Measuring Economic Growth From Outer Space.” NBER Working Paper 15199. Jul. 2009, www.nber.org/papers/w15199. |
|
|
Writer's name. "Title of the e-mail." Received by "insert recipient's name," Date of e-mail. Smith, Robert. “Re: Shakespeare’s plays.” Received by Joe Mills, 7 Jan. 2007. |
| Tweet |
Twitter username. "Full text of the tweet." Twitter, Date and time of tweet, URL of tweet. @BarackObama. “4 more years.” Twitter, |
For additional examples and explanations, see pp. 20-53 and pp. 102-110 in the MLA Handbook.
| Type of Source: | Format & General Example: |
|
TV Program |
"Title of the Episode or Segment." Title of the Program/Series, Relevant contributors, season, episode, Distributor, Date broadcasted. “The Soup Nazi.” Seinfeld, Directed by Andy Ackerman, performance by Larry Thomas, season 7, episode 6, Columbia TriStar Television, 1995. |
|
Entire Music Albums |
Artist/Performer. Title of Recording, Manufacturer, Year of issue. The Beatles. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club’s Band, Capitol Records, 1967. |
|
Individual Songs |
Artist/Performer. "Title of Song." Title of Recording, Manufacturer, Year of issue. Glenn Miller Orchestra. “In The Mood.” Swing Time, Ranwood, 2006. |
|
Audio Book |
Author. Title of Book. Narrator, Manufacturer, Date recording published. Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Narrated by Sally Darling, Recorded Books, 1988. |
|
Film |
Film Title. Film Director. Distributor, Year of release. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Directed by Steven Spielberg, Universal Pictures, 1982. |
|
Performance |
Title of Performance. Performers, Date performed, Location of Performance, City. The Nutcracker. Butler Ballet, 2 Dec. 2006, Clowes Memorial Hall, Indianapolis. |
| Painting |
Artist's name. Name of Image. Year created, Medium of composition, Collection or museum that houses the work, city. Monet, Claude. Coquelicots (Poppies, Near Argenteuil). 1873, oil on canvas, Musee d'Orsay, Paris. |
| Sculpture |
Artist's name. Name of Image. Year created. Medium of composition. Collection or museum that houses the work, city. di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Michelangelo. David. 1501-04, marble, Galleria dell'Accademia, |
For additional examples and explanations, see pp. 20-53 and pp. 102-110 in the MLA Handbook.
