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MLA DOCUMENTATION STYLE

What is MLA? Most English and humanities courses (History, Philosophy, Art, etc.) use the Modern Language Association (MLA) style of documentation.

Works Cited Page in MLA Format:

• The Works Cited page lists all the sources that you have cited in your paper. Although you may have read more sources than you actually use in your paper, only those used specifically for support in your paper should be listed on the Works Cited page.
• Organize the list alphabetically by the last names of the authors (or editors). If a work had no author or editor, alphabetize by the first word of the title other than a, an, or the.
• The heading on the page should be: Works Cited. Use double-spacing for entire page.
• Below are examples of some of the most commonly used sources and their proper citation format.

Note: The second and additional lines of a bibliographic entry should be indented five (5) spaces from the left margin.

Book with one author:

Last name, first name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

O'Donnell, Niall. Irish Supremacy. Dublin: McCulliffe, 2003.

Book with two authors:

Author 1 and author 2. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

Cronkhite, Kristin, and Alistair Maitland. Police on the Highway: The True Story of a Journey to Chicago. Boston: MacAllyn, 2000.

Book with more four or more authors:

Author 1, et al. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

Lopez, Geraldo, et al. China and the West. Boston: Little, 2004.

Selection from an Anthology:

Author. “Title of Work.” Title of Collection. Editor's Name(s). Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication, pages.

Pratt, Mary Louise. “The Art of the Contact Zone.” David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. Ways of Reading . 8 th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004. 326-348.

An Anthology:

Editor's name. Title of Anthology. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

Menke, Phillip J., ed. American Law: Critical and Theoretical Approaches. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997.

Magazine or newspaper article :

Author. “Title of Article.” Title of PublicationDay Month Year: pages.

Doyle, James. “Culture and Media on the Island.” Time 21 Nov. 2000: 45-47.

Article in a scholarly journal:

Author. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal Volume (Year): pages.

Lever, Janet. “Sex Differences in the Games Children Play.” Social Problems 23 (1996): 478-87.

Book or article with no author named:

Encyclopedia of Virginia. New York: Somerset, 1998.

“Cigarette Sales Fall 30% as Pennsylvania Tax Rises.” New York Times 21 Nov. 2000: E21.

Article from a reference book :

“Ireland.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 1999 ed.

Interview:

Name of person interviewed. Personal Interview. Day Month Year. (Use if you have conducted the interview.)

Grunenwald, Joseph. Personal Interview. 21 Nov. 2006.

Name of person interviewed. Interview. Program. Network, Station, City. Day Month Year.

Rumsfeld, Donald. Interview. Frontline. PBS. WGBH, Boston. 10 Oct. 2005.

Television or radio program:

“Title of Episode.” Writer's Name. Director's Name. Name of Program . Network. Day Month Year.

“I'm Sorry I'm Lost.” By Alan Ball. Dir. Jill Soloway. Six Feet Under. HBO. 2 July 2005.

ELECTRONIC SOURCES :

Article in online journal or magazine:

Author. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal. Volume. Issue (Year): Pages. Paragraphs. Sections. Date of Access. <URL>.

Palfrey, Andrew. "Choice of Mates in Identical Twins.” Modern Psychology 4.1 (2003): 26-40. 25 Feb. 2006 <http://www.liasu.edu/modpsy/ palfrey4(1).htm>.

Article from a library subscribed database (ProQuest, EBSCO, etc.):

Author. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal. Volume. Issue (Year): Pages/paragraphs/sections. Name of Database. Name of Subscription Service, Name of University, City, Name of Library. Date of Access. <URL>.

Collins, Michael. “Freedom and the Modern Condition.” Irish Republic. 33 (1918): 45 pars. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Clarion University, Clarion Pa. Carlson Lib. 11 Aug 2005. <http://www.ir.org.freeandthemod/
erh/vol22/ir.htm>.

Professional or Business Web Sit:

Site Title. Date of Site Publication. Name of Sponsoring Business/Institution. Day Month Year <URL>.

Prius. 2006 Toyota Motor Corp. 2 Feb 2006 <http:// www.toyota.com/prius>.

American Verse Project. 16 May 2001. U of Michigan Humanities Text Initiative. 21 July 2005 <http://www.hti.umich.edu/a/amverse>.

Parenthetical Documentation for in Text Citation:

In MLA style, the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text. A complete reference should appear in your works cited list. The author's name may appear either in the sentence or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence.

Direct Quotation:

Romantic poetry is characterized by the “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (Wordsworth 211).

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (211).

Paraphrase:

Wordsworth extensively explores the role of emotion in the creative process (211).

In text citation of an Internet source by an unknown author use a shortened version of the title followed by the page or paragraph number:

While riding the metro in Ireland , “passengers should take care of their personal belongings, both in the Stations and whilst traveling on the trains" (Irish Rail par. 4).

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