MLA Citation Style An Overview MLA Handbook, 7 th ed.

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1 MLA Citation Style An Overview MLA Handbook, 7 th ed. There are two parts of MLA citation style: the Works Cited page and in-text citations. Works Cited Page General Information The Works Cited Page is a detailed list of resources you referenced in your paper. The list itself is double-spaced and Works Cited (no quotes) is centered at the top of the page. For the examples given in this overview, entries are not double-spaced to save space on the page. Entries are in alphabetical order based on the letter(s) at the beginning of the entry. If you have two different authors with the last name Smith, arrange them alphabetically by first name. For example: Smith, James Smith, Thomas If you have two works by the same author, you can use three hyphens in the place of the author s name after his/her first entry. Smith, James. My Life at Brewton-Parker. Mount Vernon: Rural, Print Seven Years to Graduate. Atlanta: Lazy, Print. If two or more resources have two or more authors with the same first name, alphabetize by last name. Smith, James and Barry Thomas Smith, James and Adam Wilson MLA Citation Style 1

2 Examples of specific types of entries Books Basic format: Author Last Name, Author First Name Middle Initial. Book Title. City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Print. : Crenshaw, James L. Defending God: Biblical Responses to the Problem of Evil. Oxford: Oxford UP, Print. Article in a Reference Book Author Last Name, Author First Name, Middle Initial. Title of Entry. Reference Book Title. Ed. Name of Editor. ed. Vol.. City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Print. for less common reference books: Seletsky, Robert E. Grace Notes. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Ed. Stanley Sadie. 2nd ed. Vol. 10. New York: Grove, Print. for common reference books: (Note that you can leave out place of publication, editor, and entry author.) Quiche. American Heritage College Dictionary. 3rd ed Print. When using more than one volume of a multivolume work, place the editor(s) in the author spot and state the total number of volumes. : Sadie, Stanley. ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd ed. 29 vols. New York: Grove, Print. Periodicals (in print format) Scholarly Journal Article Author Last Name, Author First Name Middle Initial. Title of Article. Name of Journal Volume.Issue (Year of Publication): Page numbers of full article. Print. : Ross, Catherine E. and John Mirowsky. Gender and the Health Benefits of Education. Sociological Quarterly 51.1 (2010): Print. MLA Citation Style 2

3 Newspaper Article Author Last Name, Author First Name Middle Initial. Title of Article. Newspaper Title Day Month Year: Page Number(s). Print. : Zoroya, Gregg. Alcohol Abuse Weighs on Army. USA Today 10 Feb. 2010: A1. Print. Periodicals found through a database (like Academic Search Complete) Scholarly Journal Article and Newspaper articles Same format as Print except remove Print. and add: Database. Web. Date Accessed. Tynes, Brendesha M. Internet Safety Gone Wild?: Sacrificing the Educational and Psychosocial Benefits of Online Social Environments. Journal of Adolescent Research 22.6 (2007): Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Websites Author Last Name, Author First Name Middle Initial (or Compiler, Editor, etc.). Title of the Work. * Title of Overall Website (if different from Title of Work). Version or Edition. Publisher/Sponsor (or N.p. if unavailable), Date of Publication (or n.d. if unavailable). Web. Date of Access. *Italicize Title of Work if independent (not a part of a broader website). S Verdict, Tom. Selig, Committee Considering Radical Realignment Plan. SI.com. SI.com, 9 Web. 10 MENC Government Relations What We Do. MENC.org. MENC, Web. 10 Gore, Al. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Web. 10 In-Text Citations The point of adding citations in your paper is to help your reader match the quote or idea to the corresponding source listed in your Works Cited page (Crenshaw 33) refers to page 33 of the entry below. Crenshaw, James L. Defending God: Biblical Responses to the Problem of Evil. Oxford: Oxford UP, Print. MLA Citation Style 3

4 Parenthetical references are usually placed at the end of a sentence. Place it as close to what you are referencing as possible without making the sentence awkward. One aspect to consider is that Job s experience, both in plot and specific dialogue, is very straightforward (Crenshaw 65). If you state the author s name in the sentence you do not need to include it in the parenthetical reference. Crenshaw notes that the author portrays Job s experience, both through plot and specific dialogue, as straightforward (65). If you have several thoughts in one paragraph by the same author, only state author in reference once. Thereafter, only reference the page number. : One aspect to consider is that the author portrays Job s experience, both in plot and specific dialogue, as very straightforward (Crenshaw 65). At the beginning of the story, for example, God gives Job no options within the test through which he suffers (66). If you use more than one volume of a multivolume source in your paper, distinguish the volumes in your citations. (Sadie 3: ) Sadie, Stanley. ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd ed. 29 vols. New York: Grove, Print. If you are referencing a work from your Works Cited page and the Works Cited entry begins with the title, use the title in the citation. ( MENC Government Relations ) Note: A lengthy title can be shortened. MENC Government Relations What We Do. MENC.org. MENC, Web. 10 MLA Citation Style 4

5 If you use two or more works by the same author, include at least part of the title in your citation. (J. Smith, My Life 94) Smith, James. My Life at Brewton-Parker. Mount Vernon: Rural, Print Seven Years to Graduate. Atlanta: Lazy, Print. These are some of the types of entries you would use in your papers. Plenty of other resources, such as music recordings and government documents, have their own formats. The MLA Handbook has guidelines for all of these. For more help, go to the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) website: MLA Citation Style 5