| Use
the MLA Style Guide
Documenting your research
When you write a research paper, it is important to keep accurate records of the resources you've consulted and of the ideas you've quoted or used from others. The Modern Language Association (MLA) has established guidelines and formats on how to credit the authors of the sources you use and clarify which ideas belong to you and which belong to other sources. Documenting your sources includes creating a list of works cited that provides acknowledgement of and detailed information about your sources. Generally, you document what you've used from each source by giving a short parenthetical reference within the text of your research paper. |
References in
Your Text
List of Works Cited (Print Sources)
List of Works Cited (Electronic Sources)
Additional Websites |
 |
This guide provides selected examples from these sources:
|
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MLA Style Manual and Guide
to Scholarly Publishing
(Ref Desk PN147 .G444 1998) |
MLA Handbook for Writers
of Research Papers
(Ref Desk LB2369.M53 2003) |
Parenthetical References in your text:
Citing author's name in text
Tannen has argued this point (178-85).
or
This was argued by Kerrigan and Braden (210-15).
Citing author's name in reference
This point has already been argued (Tannen 178-85).
or
Others hold the opposite point of view (e.g., Kerrigan and Braden 210-15).
Citing entire works
McRae's The Literature of Science includes many examples of this
trend.
Corporate author
A study prepared by the United States Department of Commerce dismissed this as being obsolete (lines 14-16).
or
By 2010, government agencies will have solved this issue (Natl. Research Council 19).
Sources without page numbers
In the television series With Feathers, the segment entitled "Chicken Amok" features some shocking moments.
or
The SlideCat database is now available via the Internet and has changed the way researchers locate slides.
List of Works Cited (Print Materials)
Books, journals, magazines, and newspapers are identified by underlining
the title. Article or chapter titles are identified by "quotation
marks." "Works Cited" is the heading in the MLA style.
Begin each entry flush with the left margin. If an entry runs more than
one line, indent the following entry lines 5 spaces. Double space each
entry.
Book by one author
Rattenbury, Ken. Duke Ellington, Jazz Composer. New Haven: Yale
UP, 1990.
Book by two or more authors
Jakobson, Roman, and Linda R. Waugh. The Sound Shape of Language.
Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1975.
An anthology or compilation
Frye, Northrop, ed. Sound and Poetry. New York: Columbia UP, 1957.
Work in an anthology
Allende, Isabel. "Toad's Mouth." Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. A Hammock
beneath the Mangoes: Stories from Latin America.
Ed. Thomas
Colchie. New York: Plume, 1992. 83-88.
Article from a magazine
Bazell, Robert. "Science and Society: Growth Industry." New Republic
15
Mar. 1993: 13-14.
Article from a scholarly journal
Scotto, Peter. "Censorship, Reading, and Interpretation: A Case Study
from the Soviet Union." PMLA 109 (1994): 61-70.
Article from a newspaper
Feder, Barnaby J. "For Job Seekers, a Toll-Free Gift of Expert Advice."
New York Times 30 Dec. 1993, late ed.: D1+.
Government Publication
United States. Congress. Senate. Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments.
Hearings on the "Equal Rights Amendment". 91st Cong., 2nd sess.
S. Res. 61. Washington: GPO, 1970.
List of Works Cited (Electronic Sources)
Identifying a citation from an electronic publication (e.g. the World
Wide Web [WWW], an online database, or CD-ROM) may often require more information
than standard print resources. Some elements may vary or be changed into
something that makes sense in the context of electronic publishing. If
you cant find some of this information, cite what is available.
General GuidelinesArticles From An Online Periodical:
- authors name (if given)
- "title of work" (if any) in quotation marks
- name of periodical (underlined)
- volume number, issue number, or other identifying number
- year of publication
- range or total number of pages or paragraphs (if available)
- title of database (underlined)
Scholarly journals available online independently or as part of an archival database of journals (e.g. JSTOR, PCI, Project Muse) provide the following additional information:
Maynard, W. Barksdale. "Thoreau's House at Walden." Art Bulletin 81.2
(1999): 303-25. JSTOR. 19 Nov. 2002 < http://www.JSTOR.org>.
If the article was accessed through a library or institutional subscription service (e.g. Infotrac Expanded Academic, PsycInfo, Lexis-Nexis) provide the following additional information:
- name of database publisher/subscription service
- name and location of library or library system providing access
- date of access and URL of subscription service's home page, if known
Bueno, Eva Paulino. "Carolina Maria De Jesus in the Context of
Testimonios:
Race, Sexuality, and Exclusion." Criticism 41.
2
(1999): 257. Infotrac Expanded Academic ASAP, Gale. 22 Sept.
2000 <http://web4.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/>.
General GuidelinesOnline Reference Database, Scholarly Project, Professional,
Personal Site:
- authors name (if given)
- title of project (underlined)
- name of editor (if given)
- electronic publication info, including version number, date of electronic
publication or last update, and name of sponsoring institution
- date of access and <URL>
Article in a Reference Database
"Colour" Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Version 99.1
1999.
Encyclopædia Britannica. 22 December 1999 <http://www.eb.com:180/
bol/topic?eu=117710&sctn=26>.
Scholarly Project
Dickens Project. Ed. Jon Michael Varese. 1999. University of California,
Santa Cruz. 22 December 1999 <http://humwww.ucsc.edu/dickens>.
Professional Site
McHenry Library Instructional Services. Deborah A. Murphy. 20
December
1999. University of California,
Santa Cruz . 22
December 1999 <http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/instruction>.
Personal Site
Cayute, Ima. Home page. 10 August 1997 <http://www.cayute.ulib.ca>.
Online Government Publication
United States. Dept. of Justice. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. Juvenile Crime. by Henry Smith. Dec. 2001. 29 June 2003
<http://www.ncjrs.org/pdfiles1/191031.pdf>.
General GuidelinesOnline Book
- authors name (If editor, translator, etc., cite name followed
by appropriate abbreviation.)
- title of work (underlined)
- name of editor, etc. (if relevant)
- publication information
- date of access and <URL>
Dos Passos, John. One Man's Initiation: 1917; A Novel. Ithaca:
Cornell University Press, 1969. 1 January 1999. Internet Modern
History Sourcebook. 22 December 1999 <http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net/
wwone/initiation.html>.
General GuidelinesArticle In An Online Periodical
- authors name (if given)
- "title of work" (if any) in quotation marks
- name of periodical (underlined)
- volume number, issue number, or other identifying number
- date of publication
- range or total number of pages or paragraphs
- date of access and <URL>
Article in Online Journal
Carranza, L.E. "Le Corbusier and the Problems of Representation."
Journal
of Architectural Education 48.2 (1994).
22 September 1997
<http://wwwmitpress.mit.edu/jrnls-catalog/arch-ed-abstracts/
File:jae48- 2.html>.
Article in Online Newspaper
Ferriss, Susan. "Latino Rock - Hot Like a Volcano: Mission
District Label
1st to Focus on Trend." San Francisco Examiner
16 July 1995.
23 Sept. 1997 <http://www.examiner.com>.
Article in Online Magazine
Mindiola, Jim. "Selena & Me: A Virtual Chicanos Journey
of Discovery."
Frontera 2.1 (1997). 17 Sept. 1997 <http://www.mercado.com/
frontera/current/Selena/index.htm>.
General GuidelinesPublication On CD-ROM, Disk, Or Magnetic Tape
- authors name (If editor, translator, etc., cite name followed
by appropriate abbreviation.)
- title of publication (underlined)
- name or editor, etc. (if relevant)
- publication medium (CD-ROM, etc.)
- edition, release or version (if relevent)
- place of publication
- name of publisher
- date of publication
Singh, Susheela. "Early Marriage Among Women in Developing Countries."
International Family Planning Perspectives
22.4 (1996): 148+.
Contemporary Womens Issues. CD-ROM. RDS, Inc. 1992-present.
Additional information about MLA Style is available at the following Web sites:
For other style manuals in selected disciplines consult a reference
librarian for additional assistance.
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