Citing Sources for Research Projects: MLA Format

Compiled by John Bérubé, Justine Quimby, and Lynn Willey November 7, 2005

Books

A book by one author

Author's last name, first name. Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher, date

of publication.

Kjellgren, Eric. Splendid Isolation: Art of Easter Island. New York: Metropolitan

Museum of Art, 2001.

Two or more books by the same author

After the first entry the author’s name is replaced by three dashes.

McCullough, David. John Adams. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001.

---. Truman. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992.

1 of 8 A book by two or three authors

First author's last name, first name. Second author's first name last name. Title

of book. Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication.

Adler, Mortimer and Charles Van Doren. How to Read a Book. New York:

Simon And Schuster, 1972.

Gangi, David, Jay Darrin, and Steve Richardson. Life’s Not Fair: Get Used To

It. New York: Reality Press, 2005.

A book by four or more authors

First author’s last name, first name, et.al. Title of Book. Place of publication:

Publisher, date of publication.

O’Bannion, Brian, et. al. The Parched Garden. New York: The Spiny Press,

1953.

A book by corporate author

Corporate or government author. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication:

Publisher, date of publication.

Essex County Pigeon Fancier’s Association. Handbook of Pigeon Lore.

Boston: Squab Press, 2004.

A book without an author (anonymous)

Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication

Primary Colors. New York: Random House, 1996.

2 of 8 A Book with an editor

Editor’s last name, first name, ed. Title of book. Place of Publication: Publisher,

date of publication.

Nelson, Lindsay, ed. The Curmudgeon’s Book of Anecdote. New York: Rose

Press, 1974.

A Book with an Author and an Editor

Author’s last name, first name. Title of book. Ed. Editors first name, last name.

Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication.

Smithson, Edward. Vengeance. Ed. Irwin Corey. New York: Vermillion

Press, 1962.

A work in an anthology

Donne, John. "The Flea." Renaissance Poetry. Ed. Leonard Dean. Englewood

Cliffs, N.J., 1950, 11-17.

A Multi-volume Work

Author’s last name, first name. Title of book. Number of vols. Place of

publication: Publisher, date of publication.

Cecil, Lamar. Wilhelm II. 2 vols. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina

Press, 1996.

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An article in an encyclopedia or other alphabetically arranged reference book

Author's last name, first name [if no author, title of article comes first]. "Title of

article." Title of encyclopedia, edition.

Signed

Berger, Melvin. “Bagpipe.” World Book Encyclopedia. 1997 ed.

Unsigned

“Baroque.” World Book Encyclopedia. 1997 ed.

A signed article in a reference book

Author’s last name, first name. “Title of Article.” Title of Book.

date of publication.

Ackerman, Kim. “The Traditional Aboriginal art of the Kimberley region.” Oxford

Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture. 2000.

An unsigned article in a reference book

“Title of Article.” Title of Book. Date of Publication.

“Tharp, Twyla.” Who’s Who of American Women. 17th ed. 1991-92.

Government document

Government. Office. Title of document. Place: Publisher, Date.

United States. U.S. General Accounting Office. Student Testing: Current Extent

and Expenditures, with Cost Estimates for a National Examination.

Washington, DC: GPO, 1999.

4 of 8 A translation

Author's last name, first name. Title of book. Trans. translator's first name last

name [not inverted]. Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication.

Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables a New Unabridged Translation. Trans. Norman

MacAfee. New York: Signet Books, 1987.

Periodicals

A newspaper article

Author's last name, first name [if no author, title of article comes first]. "Title of

article." Title of newspaper Date of issue, edition, section: pages.

Signed

Barringer, Felicity. “Where Many Elderly Live, Signs of the Future.” New York

Times 7 Mar.1993, nat. ed., sec.1: 12.

Unsigned

. “Where Many Elderly Live, Signs of the Future.” New York

Times 7 Mar.1993, nat. ed., sec.1: 12.

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A magazine article

Author's last name, first name [if no author, title of article comes first]. "Title of

article." Title of magazine Date of issue, pages.

Thomas, Cathy Booth. “Finding the Way Home.” Time 6 June 2005, 26-29.

A journal article

Author's last name, first name [if no author, title of article comes first]. "Title of

article." Title of journal Volume (year): pages.

Lane, Evelyn Staudinger. “The Intergration of a Twelfth-Century Tower into

a Thirteenth-Century Church.” Journal of the Society of Architectural

Historians 64 (2005): 74-99.

Electronic Resources

Personal Site

Author. Home page. Last update. Date visited

Lancashire, Ian. Home page. 28 Mar. 2002. 15 May

2002 .

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A professional web page

Title. Editor. Date Published. Place. Date visited

Victorian Women Writers Project. Ed. Perry Willett. Dec. 200. Indiana U. 3 Feb.

2003 http://www.indiana.edu/~letrs/vwwp/.

Online Encyclopedia

“Title of Article.” Name of Database. Publisher, date of publication. Name of

Provider. Date of access. URL of database

"Giuliani, Rudolph." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Scholastic Library

Publishing, 2005. Memorial Hall Library. 7 November 2005.

An article in an online database (SIRS, eLibrary, Infotrac)

Author’s last name, first name. “Title of article.” Title of Journal. Date of

publication: page number. Name of database. Provider of database.

Date of access. URL of database

Banerjee, Tridib. “City Architecture.” Journal of the American Planning

Association 1 April 2002: 227. eLibrary. Memorial Hall Library.

22 June 2005. http://elibrary.bigchalk.com

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Personal Interview

Last name of person interviewed, First Name. Personal Interview. Date of

interview

Gorrivan, Phyllis. Personal Interview. 24 Apr. 2002

Films, Radio, and Television Programs

Title of Program. National Affiliate. Local Broadcasting Station, City. Date of

broadcast.

Evening News with Peter Jennings. ABC. WPLG, Miami. 12 Feb. 2004.

Sound Recording (Tape, CD, LP)

Author. Title of recording. Narrator. Number of cassettes. Publisher, Date.

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings, Book One.

Narrated by Rob Inglis. 12 audiocassettes. Recorded Books, 2001.

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