MLA Works Cited and In-Text Documentation
This guide will provide you basic information on citing sources using MLA style, however you should consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th Ed. for more detailed instructions. The MLA Handbook is available at the Reference Desk and a few copies are available for checkout in the nonfiction section of the library (808.027 Gib).
Rules of Thumb for Parenthetical References See also: Chapter 6 in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th edition
Put the author's name, either in the text or parenthetical reference, unless no author is given. If no author's name is listed for a work, substitute the title or an abbreviated title in the text or parenthetical citation. Underline the title if the source is a book; if the source is an article, use quotation marks. Parenthetical references usually before a period at the end of a sentence. However, when quoting four or more lines as block quotes, indent the section one inch or 10 spaces and reference information after the period.
Rules of Thumb for Works Cited Entries See also: Chapter 5 in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th edition
Begin the works cited page on a new page following your research paper text. Center Works Cited at one inch down from the page’s top. Begin each entry at the left margin and indent additional lines five spaces from the left margin. Alphabetize entries by author’s last name. Alphabetize by the first word of the title if no author is given (NOTE: Do not alphabetize by “a, an, or the” if they appear at the first title word.) Put one space (or two spaces depending on your professor’s requirements) after periods separating sections of a citation. Double space between lines in each entry and between each separate listing.
PRINT SOURCES
BOOK, One Author (MLA 5.6.1) Works Berlinski, David. Newton's Gift: How Sir Isaac Newton Unlocked the System of the Cited World. New York: Free, 2000. In the Text Without Newton's foundation, the world of science would indeed be a different one (Berlinski 12). OR Berlinski asserts that without Newton's foundation, the world of science would indeed be a different one (12).
Harris County Public Library- Cy-Fair College Branch http://www.cy-faircollege.com/library [email protected] 281-290-3210 TLW 10/26/04 MLA Works Cited and In-Text Documentation – Page 2
BOOK, Two or Three Authors (MLA 5.6.4) Works Morgan, Deborah, John Beck and Nick Engler. How to Build Outdoor Structures. Cited New York: Sterling, 1987. In the Text (Morgan, Beck, and Engler 58). If citing three authors, separate with a comma.
BOOK, More than Three Authors (MLA 5.6.4) Works Gilman, Sandra, et al. Hysteria Beyond Freud. Berkeley: U of California P, 1993. Cited In the Text Gilman's Hysteria Beyond Freud is one of the most interesting books on the history of hysteria.No need to use parenthetical information when you cite the entire book. OR (Gilman et al. 79).
BOOK, An Editor (MLA 5.6.2) Works Stokesbury, Leon, ed. The Made Thing: An Anthology of Contemporary Cited Southern Poetry. New York: Anchor-Doubleday, 1994. In the Text (Stokesbury 45).
BOOK, An Editor in Addition to an Author (MLA 5.6.12) Works Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Ed. F. W. Robinson. Boston: Cited Houghton, 1957. In the Text (Chaucer 45).
BOOK, Corporate Author (MLA 5.6.8) Works American Medical Association. Essential Guide to Depression. New York: Pocket, Cited 1998. In the Text The American Medical Association defines depression as a "unipolar disorder" (40). OR Depression is considered to be a “unipolar disorder” (Amer. Medical Assn. 40).
BOOK, Excerpted Sources from Multivolume Critical Anthologies (includes Contemporary Literary Criticism, Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, etc.) (MLA 5.6.7) Works Daches, David. "W. H. Auden: The Search for a Public.” Poetry 54 (1939): 148- Cited 56. Rpt. in Poetry Criticism. Ed. Robyn V. Young. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1991.
332-33. In the Text (Daches 332). Essay or Work in an Anthology (MLA 5.6.7) Works Weyler, Karen A. “Captivity Narratives.” The History of Southern Women’s Cited
Harris County Public Library- Cy-Fair College Branch http://www.cy-faircollege.com/library [email protected] 281-290-3210 TLW 10/26/04 MLA Works Cited and In-Text Documentation – Page 3
Literature. Ed. Carolyn Perry and Mary Louise Weaks. Baton Rouge:
Louisiana UP, 2002. 25 – 31. In the Text (Weyler 30).
Book in a Series (such as Opposing Viewpoints, Taking Sides and Contemporary World Issues) (MLA 5.6.16) Works Dupler, Doug. Energy: Shortage, Glut, or Enough. Information Plus Ref. Ser. Cited Detroit: Gale, 2001. In the Text (Dupler 174).
Encyclopedia Article (MLA 5.6.8) Works Gates, David M. "Astronomy." Encyclopedia Americana. 1996 ed. Cited
In the Text (Gates 174).
Article from a Magazine (MLA 5.7.6) Works Simons, John. "Improbable Dreams." U. S. News and World Report 22 Mar. 1997: 4- Cited 7. In the Text (Simons 4-5).
Article from a Newspaper (MLA 5.7.5) If an edition is named, add a comma after the date and give the edition (e.g., late ed., natl. ed.). Newspapers generally contain several sections which are paginated separately; you will need to indicate the section and the page number of the article. If the article continues onto another page, write only the first page number followed by a plus sign.
Works Barnes, Michael. "In Harm's Way; Curator and Archaeologist Scramble to Protect Cited Iraq's Art and Remnants of Ancient Civilizations." Austin American-Statesman
22 Mar. 1994, late ed.: A1+.
"Archaeological Treasures Could Become Casualties: Much of Early Civilization's
History Yet Undocumented." Seattle Post-Intelligencer 3 Apr. 2003, final ed.:
A8+. In the Text ("Archaeological" A8). If no author, use abbreviated title.
Article in a Scholarly Journal with Continuous Pagination (MLA 5.7.1) Works Chan, Marjorie. "Corporate Espionage and Workplace Trust/Distrust." Journal of Cited Business Ethics 42 (2003): 45-59. In the Text (Chan 47).
Harris County Public Library- Cy-Fair College Branch http://www.cy-faircollege.com/library [email protected] 281-290-3210 TLW 10/26/04 MLA Works Cited and In-Text Documentation – Page 4
Article in a Scholarly Journal that Pages Each Issue Separately (MLA 5.7.2) Some journals begin each issue on page 1 rather than numbering continuously throughout the annual volume. In this case, you must include the issue number in your citation. Type the volume number, a period and the issue number (no spaces): "7.2" indicates volume 7, issue 2. Works Hallin, Daniel C. "Sound Bite News: Television Coverage of Elections, 1968-1988." Cited Journal of Communication 42.2 (1992): 5-24. In the Text (Hallin 7).
INTERNET SOURCES When available, give the following information: title of site, name of the site editor, electronic publication information (version, date of publication or update, name of sponsoring institution), date of access, url. If there are no page numbers, omit them. However, check with your instructor. Some allow the browser’s page numbers to be used from a printed web site. If there are numbered paragraphs or sections, use par. plus the paragraph number.
Web Page with no Author (MLA 5.9.2) Works Mr. William Shakespeare. Ed. Terry A. Gray. Version 4.0. 7 May 2003. 28 Aug. 2003 Cited
In the Text (Mr. William). No author, use abbreviated title. No page numbers, so omit.
Web Page with no Author, includes section or paragraph numbers (MLA 5.9.2) Works Internet Medieval Sourcebook. Ed. Paul Halsall. 8 Jan. 2000. Fordham U Center for Cited Medieval Studies. 31 Aug. 2003
Web Page with Author, no Date Provided (MLA 5.9.1) Works Dawe, James. The Jane Austen Page. 16 Sept. 2003 Cited
755-64. 12 Sept. 2003
Online Government Publication (MLA 5.9.3c)
Harris County Public Library- Cy-Fair College Branch http://www.cy-faircollege.com/library [email protected] 281-290-3210 TLW 10/26/04 MLA Works Cited and In-Text Documentation – Page 5
Works United States. Dept. of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Computer Software Cited Engineers.” Occupational Outlook Handbook. 2004-05. 21 Jun. 2004
Electronic book, free from Internet (MLA 5.9.7) Works Cather, Willa. One of Ours. 1922. Bartleby.com: Great Books Online. Ed. D. Cited Appleton. 29 Aug. 2003
Poem from Online Book (MLA 5.9.3) Works Keats, John. “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” Poetical Works. 1884. Bartleby.com Great Cited Books Online. 15 June 2004
ARTICLES FROM LIBRARY DATABASES These are subscribed to by your library, therefore you must indicate which library you retrieved them from: Cy-Fair Coll. Lib., Cypress, TX. ProQuest (MLA 5.9.7) If periodical is a scholarly journal such as Lancet, instead of month and day, use volume number.
Works Rawe, Julie. "Young and Jobless." Time 10 June 2002: 36- . Research Library. Cited ProQuest. Cy-Fair Coll. Lib., Cypress, TX. 28 Sept. 2003
Academic Search Premier (MLA 5.9.7) Works Massaro, John. "Press Box Propaganda? The Cold War and Sports Illustrated, Cited 1956." Journal of American Culture 26 (2003): 361-70. Academic Search
Premier. EBSCOhost. Cy-Fair Coll. Lib., Cypress, TX. 23 Sept. 2003
Literature Resource Center (MLA 5.9.7) Works Johnson, Greg. "Gilman's Gothic Allegory: Rage and Redemption in 'The Yellow Cited Wallpaper.' " Studies in Short Fiction 26 (1989): 521-30. Literature Resource Harris County Public Library- Cy-Fair College Branch http://www.cy-faircollege.com/library [email protected] 281-290-3210 TLW 10/26/04 MLA Works Cited and In-Text Documentation – Page 6
Center. Gale Group. Cy-Fair Coll. Lib., Cypress, TX. 28 Sept. 2003
CQ Researcher (MLA 5.9.7) Works Bettelheim, Adriel. "Public Broadcasting: Should the Government Subsidies Cited Continue." CQ Researcher 29 Oct. 1999: 929-52. CQ Researcher Online.
Congressional Quarterly. Cy-Fair Coll. Lib., Cypress, TX. 18 Oct. 2003
Electronic Book from NetLibrary (MLA 5.9.7) Works Burner, Eric. And Gently He Shall Lead Them. New York: NYU P, 1994. Cy-Fair Cited Coll. Lib., Cypress, TX. 27 Oct. 2003
MULTIMEDIA SOURCES
Film From Theater (MLA 5.8.3) Works Gone with the Wind. Dir. Victor Fleming. Perf. Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. Cited Selznick/MGM, 1939. In the Text Moviegoers of all time remember the closing line, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn” (Gone). DVD / Videocassette (MLA 5.8.3) Works Gone with the Wind. Dir. Victor Fleming. Perf. Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. 1939. Cited DVD. Warner, 1999. In the Text Butterfly McQueen steals the scene from Vivien Leigh with her line, “I don’t know nothin’ about birthing babies” (Gone).
TV Show (MLA 5.8.1)
Works “Episode 1.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Perf. Sarah Michelle Gellar. FOX. KRIV, Cited Houston. 3 Apr. 1997. In the Text Sarah Gellar demonstrates the ability to laugh at herself (“Episode 1”).
Performance (MLA 5.8.4) Works The Cherry Orchard. By Anton Chekov. Dir. Trevor Nunn. Perf. Vanessa Redgrave. Cited Royal National Theatre, London. 30 Oct. 2000. In the Text Chekov allows the theatre fan to feel the sadness of the decaying gentry (Cherry). Harris County Public Library- Cy-Fair College Branch http://www.cy-faircollege.com/library [email protected] 281-290-3210 TLW 10/26/04 MLA Works Cited and In-Text Documentation – Page 7
Song from an Album or CD (MLA 5.8.2) Works Wilson, Gretchen and John Rich. “Redneck Woman.” Perf. Gretchen Wilson. Here Cited for the Party. Sony, 2004. In the Text Every Texas female can relate to the song “Redneck Woman” (Wilson and Rich).
Song Lyric from the Internet (MLA 5.9.1) Works The Beatles. “Eleanor Rigby.” Beatles Eleanor Rigby Lyrics. 15 Jun. 2004 Cited
Claire Gunnels, Monica Norem and Tracy Williams, Librarians Copyright © 2004 [Cy-Fair College Branch Library]. All rights reserved. Revised: 19 Oct. 2004
Harris County Public Library- Cy-Fair College Branch http://www.cy-faircollege.com/library [email protected] 281-290-3210 TLW 10/26/04