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Citation Styles: MLA Works Cited

Citing Books

Book: General AuthorLastname, AuthorFirstname. Title. Edition. Publication Location: Publisher, Year.  Print.

Book:
Single Author

Gutman, Robert W. Mozart: A Cultural Biography. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999.  Print.
Book: Two or more works by Same Author

Gutman, Robert W. Mozart: A Cultural Biography. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999.  Print.

---. Richard Wagner: The Man, His Mind, and His Music. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1968. Print.

Book:
Two or Three Authors

Hock, Randolph, and Gary Price. The Extreme Searcher’s Internet Handbook: A Guide for the Serious Searcher. Medford: CyberAge Books, 2004.  Print.

Book:
Four or More Authors

Davidson, William, et al. Retailing Management. 6th ed. New York: Wiley, 1988.  Print.

Note: You may also include full names of all the authors in the order listed on the title page.

Book:
No Author

Begin citation with title. For example:

NAICS Desk Reference: The North American Industry Classification System Desk Reference. Indianapolis: JIST Works, 2000.  Print.
Book: Multivolume

If using two or more volumes of a multivolume work, cite the total number of volumes after the title (or editor). If published over several years, give the range of years.

Wright, Sewell. Evolution and the Genetics of Populations. 4 vols. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1968-78. Print.

When citing only one volume:

Wright, Sewell. Evolution and the Genetics of Populations. Vol. 2. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1969. Print.

If the one volume you are using has its own individual title, you may cite the book without reference to the other volumes.

Wright, Sewell. Theory of Gene Frequencies. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1969. Print.

Chapter in a Book

Willson, Jr., Robert F. "William Shakespeare's Theater." The Greenwood Companion to Shakespeare: A Comprehensive Guide for Students. Ed. Joseph Rosenblum. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. 47-64.  Print.

For additional examples and explanations, see pages 148-181 in the MLA Handbook (2009).

 

 

Citing Non-Periodical Works Only Online

An entry for a nonperiodical publication on the Web usually contains most of the following components, in sequence:

  1. Name of the author, compiler, director, editor, narrator, performer, or translator of the work
  2. Title of the work (italicized if the work is independent; in roman type and quotation marks if the work is part of a larger work
  3. Title of the overall Web site (italicized), if distinct from item 2
  4. Version or edition used
  5. Publisher or sponsor of the site; if not available, use N.p.
  6. Date of publication (day, month, and year, as available); if nothing is available, use n.d.
  7. Medium of publication (Web)
  8. Date of access (day, month, and year)

Each item is followed by a period except the publisher or sponsor, which is followed by a comma. Untitled works may be identified by a genre label (e.g., Home page, Introduction, Online posting), neither italicized nor enclosed in quotation marks, in the place where the title goes.

Example:

Quade, Alex. "Elite Team Rescues Troops behind Enemy Lines." CNN.com. Cable News Network, 19 Mar. 2007. Web. 21 Mar. 2007.

Example with no author:

"Hourly News Summary." National Public Radio. Natl. Public Radio, 20 July 2007. Web. 20 July 2007.

Website Home Page:

Liu, Alan, ed. Home page. Voice of the Shuttle. Dept. of English, U of California, Santa Barbara, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2008.

Online Map:

"Maplewood, New Jersey." Map. Google Maps. Google, 23 July 2007. Web. 23 July 2007.

Tweet (Twitter Post):

LastName, FirstName (Username). "The tweet in its entirety." Date, Time. Tweet.

Smith, John (smithdogg). "This has sure been a hot summer." 12 August 2011, 2:36 p.m. Tweet.

For additional examples and explanations, see pp. 184-187 in the MLA Handbook (2009).

 

 

Citing Sound Recordings, Musical Compositions, and Performances

You may include other information (names of performers, directors, etc.) if they are pertinent. List the most important as the main entry.

Entire Albums

The Beatles. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club’s Band. Capitol Records, 1967. LP.

Individual Songs

Sinatra, Frank. “Strangers in the Night.” Rec. 1966. My Way: The Best of Frank Sinatra. Warner, 1996. CD.

Spoken Word Recording

Darling, Sally, narr. To Kill a Mockingbird. 1960. By Harper Lee. Recorded Books, 1988. Audiocassette.

Musical Composition

Beethoven, Ludwig van. Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92. Boston: Oliver Ditson, 1932. CD.
Musical Score

If part of a series, include that information after the medium.

Beethoven, Ludwig van. Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92. 1811. New York: Belwin, 1994. Print. Kalmus ConcertMasters Series.

Performance

The Nutcracker. Dir. Richard Clark. Butler Ballet. Clowes Memorial Hall, Indianapolis. 2 Dec. 2008. Performance.


For additional examples and explanations, see pp. 193 -211 in the MLA Handbook (2009).

Guide borrowed from Butler University Libraries.

Citing Print Articles

Journal: General AuthorLastname, AuthorFirstname. "Article Title." Journal Title Vol.Num (Year): pages. Print.

Journal with Volume Numbers

Graham, Sarah. “Impossible to Hold: Women and Culture in the 1960s.” Journal of American Studies 40.2 (2006): 418-19. Print.

Journal with only Issue Numbers

Simmons, Carolyn, and Karen Becker-Olsen. “Achieving Marketing Objectives through Social Sponsorships.” Journal of Marketing 70 (2006): 154-69. Print.

Magazine (published week or every two weeks)

Reed, Stanley. “Seeing Past the War.” Business Week 21 Aug. 2006: 35-36. Print.

Newspaper

Seward, Zachary. “Colleges Expand Early Admissions.” Wall Street Journal 14 Dec. 2006, Eastern ed.: D1-D2. Print.

For additional examples and explanations, see pp. 136-148 in the MLA Handbook (2009).

 

 

Citing Online Articles

For scholarly journals that only exist in electronic form on the Web, cite the work like you would for a print article, only conclude the entry with the following items:

  1. Medium of publication consulted (Web)
  2. Date of access (day, month, and year)

If the publication does not include page numbers, use "n. pag." in place of the page numbers.

Example:

Shah, Parilah Mohd, and Fauziah Ahmad. "A Comparative Account of the Bilingual Education Programs in Malaysia and the United States." GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies 7.2 (2007): 63-77. Web. 8 Nov. 2008.

 

For articles retrieved full text from an online database, include the name of the database before "Web."

Example:

Chan, Evans. "Postmodernism and Hong Kong Cinema." Postmodern Culture 10.3 (2000): n. pag. Project Muse. Web. 20 May 2007.

 For additional examples and explanations, see pp. 189-193 in the MLA Handbook (2009).

 

 

Citing Online Works with Print Publication

If the nonperiodical work you are citing also appeared in print, you may determine that it is important to include the bibliographic data for the print publication as part of your entry. A book that was scanned for access in a database, for example, is usually cited this way. Instead of concluding with Print as the medium of publication, record the following information in sequence:

  1. Title of the database or website (italicized)
  2. Medium of publication consulted (Web)
  3. Date of access (day, month, and year)

Example:

Whittier, John G. "A Prayer." The Freedmen's Book. Ed. L. Maria Child. Boston, 1866. 178. Google Book Search. Web. 15 Aug. 2008.

Example:

Whitman, Walt. Preface. Leaves of Grass. By Whitman. Brooklyn, 1855. iii-xii. The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 12 Mar. 2008.

For additional examples and explanations, see pp. 187-189 in the MLA Handbook (2009).

 

 

Citing Personal Interviews, Films, and Television Programs

You may include other information (names of performers, directors, etc.) if they are pertinent. List the most important as the main entry.

Personal Interview

Bush, George W. Personal Interview. 10 Feb. 2007.

Film

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Universal Pictures, 1982. Film.

Recorded Film

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Dir. Chris Columbus. 2001. Warner Bros., 2002. DVD.

Broadcast TV Program

“The Soup Nazi.” Seinfeld. NBC. WTHR, Indianapolis. 2 Nov. 1995. Television.
Recorded TV Program "The Soup Nazi." Seinfeld: Season 7. NBC, 2006. DVD.

For additional examples and explanations, see pp. 193 -211 in the MLA Handbook (2009).