Quick Guide: MLA Style Citations What is MLA Style? MLA (Modern Language Association) Style is one of several citation and writing styles used in academia. MLA is mostly used in the Humanities especially English and Literature check with your instructors to determine their preferred citation style. This guide covers the most common sources and their related citation formats. For comprehensive information on MLA please refer to the following: MLA Handbook (8 th Edition) Raugust Library Ref. 808.027 M72 2016 For additional help or questions please contact the Reference & Instruction Librarian paige.stewart@uj.edu Formatting Guidelines Citation Page: Center the words Works Cited at the top of the page Order: List alphabetically. If there is no author alphabetize by title. Ignore initial articles like An, And, or The. Capitalize: Capitalize the first, last, and all significant words in the title and subtitle. Date of Access: If no copyright or publishing date online, then cite the most recent date that you accessed the source. Pages: If available, use page numbers for online journals and articles. If page numbers are not available, use par. or pars. to denote paragraph numbers. Use these in place of the p. or pp. abbreviation. Spacing: Double space the entire list (unless your instructor prefers otherwise). Indent: Use the hanging indent format. MS word: Paragraph Indentation Special: Hanging Parenthetical References MLA uses parenthetical citation which is different than Author-Date or Notes & Bibliography. 1. When you incorporate another s words or ideas, include a parenthetical citation. Give the author s last name and the page(s) of the source. If the author s name has been cited in the preceding sentence, then just cite the page(s). Medieval Europe was a place of travelling merchants, monetary exchanges, towns if not cities, and active markets in grain (Townsend 10). Townsend notes that Medieval Europe was a place of travelling merchants, monetary exchanges, towns if not cities, and active markets in grain (10). 2. For online resources, unless there are page or paragraph numbers, use only the author s last name. If no author is listed, then use the first word(s) of the title. 3. If you borrow more than once from a single source (and no other source) in a single paragraph, then you can place the citation at the end of the last borrowing. 1 Version: 5/8/2017
BOOK & BOOK SECTIONS One Author Mischel, Walter. The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control. Little, Brown and Company, 2014. In-text: (Mischel 89) Two or More Authors Bauman, Zygmunt, and Tim May. Thinking Sociologically. Blackwell Publishers, 2001. In-text: (Bauman and May 27-29) More than Three Authors Black, Jeremy A., et al. Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary. U of Texas P, 1992. In-text: (Black et al. 165) No Author New York Public Library American History Desk Reference. Macmillan, 1997. In-text: (New York Public 200-202) Scholarly Edition (Editor) Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. Edited by Claudia Johnson. Norton, 2001. In-text: (Austen 42) Corporate Author American Allergy Association. Allergies in Children. Random House, 1998. In-text: (American Allergy Association 12) To Touch the World: The Peace Corps Experience. Peace Corps, 1995. In-text: (Peace Corps 83) Article in a Reference Book McGuire, Randall H. Marxist Theory. The Oxford Companion to Archeology, edited Brian M. Fagan, Oxford U P, 1996, pp. 403-404. In-text: (McGuire 404) Later Editions of a Book Fronske, Hilda A. Teaching Cues for Sport Skills for Secondary School Students. 5 th ed., Benjamin Cummings, 2012. In-text: (Fronske 35-39) 2 Version: 5/8/2017
BOOK & BOOK SECTIONS (continued) The Bible New International Version. Edited by John R. Kohlenberger, Holman Bible, 1986. In-text: (New International Version, Josh 1.9) Government Publication United Nations. Consequences on Rapid Population Growth in Developing Countries. Taylor, 1991. In-text: (United Nations 3) E-Book (#5.6.2c p. 187) Smithsonian Institute. Resources for Teaching Middle School Science. National Academies Press, 1998. ebook Collection (EBSCOhost). In-text: (Smithsonian Institute 47) MLA recommends the use of URLs in the Works Cited, but the final determination will be made by your instructor. When citing a book from a database, the URL cannot always be accessed, so it is helpful to name the database. Since MLA 8 values concise citations, a long URL that will not necessarily lead to a source should be omitted from the citation. JOURNAL ARTICLES Include, whenever available, the issue number and volume number Print Journal Article Nelson, James. Odd Complaints and Doubtful Conditions: Norms of Hypochondria in Jane Austen and Catherine Belling. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, vol. 23, no. 4, 2014, pp. 193-200. In-text: (Nelson 197) Electronic Journal Article: Retrieved from an online database Barkley, Danielle. "No Happy Loves: Desire, Nostalgia, And Failure In Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind." Southern Literary Journal, vol. 47, no. 1, 2014, pp. 54-67. Academic Search Premier, doi:10.1353/slj.2014.0027. Accessed 5 May 2017. In-text: (Barkley 55-56) 3 Version: 5/8/2017
JOURNAL ARTICLES (continued) Online Only Journal Article no page numbers Dolby, Nadine. Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions. Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 7 Feb. 2017. In-text: (Dolby par. 4) Magazine Article Brown, Tina. A New Chapter: Sometimes, Change isn t Just Good, it s Necessary. Newsweek, 31 Dec. 2012, pp. 5-8. In-text: (Brown 7) Newspaper Article Jeromack, Paul. This Once, a David of the Art World Does Goliath a Favor. New York Times, 13 July 2012, late ed., p. B7+. In-text: (Jeromack B7) WEB SOURCES Webpage Lundman, Susan. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." ehow, www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html. Accessed 6 July 2017 In-text: (Lundman pars. 6-7) "Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview." WebMD, 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topicoverview. In-text: ( Athlete s Foot par. 10) Blog Gwerder, Caleb. Jimmie World Soccer. Sir Jimmie Blog, The University of Jamestown, www.uj.edu/university-news?cat=sir-jimmie&id=14769, 2 Jan. 2016. In-text: (Gwerder para. 1) Email Kelley, Brittany. English Reference Question. Received by Paige Stewart, 13 Nov. 2016. In-text: (Kelley) 4 Version: 5/8/2017
MEDIA Film: Feature The Phantom of the Opera. Directed by Joel Schumacher, performances by Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, and Patrick Wilson, Warner Brothers, 2004. In-text: (Phantom) TV Show Soul of the Elephant. Nature. PBS, 13 Oct. 2015. In-text: ( Soul ) CD Nirvana. "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Nevermind, Geffen, 1991. In-text: (Nirvana) Video Clip Virtual Campus Tour. YouTube, uploaded by University of Jamestown, 20 Dec. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9bkphxc3re&feature=youtu.be. In-text: ( Virtual ) OTHER COMMON SOURCES Interview: Published Blanchett, Cate. In Character with: Cate Blanchett. Notes on a Scandal, By Dr. Richard Eyre, Fox Searchlight, 2006. In-text: (Blanchett) Personal Interview Bratton, Phyllis. Personal interview. 13 Jan. 2016. In-text: (Bratton) 5 Version: 5/8/2017