51 MLA Style for a List of Works Cited

A list of works cited is an alphabetical list of the sources you have referred to in your essay. (If your instructor asks you to list everything you have read as background, call the list Works Consulted.)

Guidelines for author listings

The list of works cited is arranged alphabetically. The in-text citations in your writing point readers toward particular sources on the list (see Chapter 50).

NAME CITED IN SIGNAL PHRASE IN TEXT

Crystal explains….

NAME IN PARENTHETICAL CITATION IN TEXT

…(Crystal 107).

BEGINNING OF ENTRY ON LIST OF WORKS CITED

Crystal, David.

Models 1–5 explain how to arrange author names. The information that follows the name of the author depends on the type of work you are citing—a book (models 6–27); a print periodical (models 28–34); a written text from a digital source, such as an article from a Web site or database (models 35–53); sources from art, film, comics, or other media, including live performances (models 54–69); and academic, government, and legal sources (models 70–78). Consult the model that most closely resembles the kind of source you are using.

Formatting a List of Works Cited

AT A GLANCE

  • Start your list on a separate page after the text of your document and any notes.
  • Continue the consecutive numbering of pages.
  • Center the heading Works Cited (not italicized or in quotation marks) one inch from the top of the page.
  • Begin each entry flush with the left margin, but indent subsequent lines one-half inch. Double-space the entire list.
  • List sources alphabetically by the first word. Start with the author’s name, if available; if not, use the editor’s name, if available. If no author or editor is given, start with the title.
  • List the author’s last name first, followed by a comma and the first name. If a source has multiple authors, subsequent authors’ names appear first name first (see model 2).
  • Italicize titles of books and long works, but put titles of articles and other short works in quotation marks.
  • In general, use a period and a space after each element of the entry; look at the models in this chapter for information on punctuating particular kinds of entries.
  • For a book, list the city of publication (add a country abbreviation for non-U.S. cities that may be unfamiliar). Follow it with a colon and a shortened form of the publisher’s name—omit Co. or Inc., shorten names such as Simon & Schuster to Simon, and abbreviate University Press to UP.
  • List dates of periodical publication or of access to electronic items in day, month, year order, and abbreviate months except for May, June, and July.
  • Give a medium, such as Print or Web, for each entry.
  • List inclusive page numbers for a part of a larger work.

1. ONE AUTHOR

Put the last name first, followed by a comma, the first name (and initial, if any), and a period.

Crystal, David.

2. MULTIPLE AUTHORS

List the first author with the last name first (see model 1). Give the names of any other authors with the first name first. Separate authors’ names with commas, and include the word and before the last person’s name.

Martineau, Jane, Desmond Shawe-Taylor, and Jonathan Bate.

For four or more authors, either list all the names, or list the first author followed by a comma and et al. (“and others”).

Lupton, Ellen, Jennifer Tobias, Alicia Imperiale, Grace Jeffers, and Randi Mates.

Lupton, Ellen, et al.

3. ORGANIZATION OR GROUP AUTHOR

Give the name of the group, government agency, corporation, or other organization listed as the author.

Getty Trust.

United States. Government Accountability Office.

4. UNKNOWN AUTHOR

When the author is not identified, begin the entry with the title, and alphabetize by the first important word. Italicize titles of books and long works, but put titles of articles and other short works in quotation marks.

“California Sues EPA over Emissions.”

New Concise World Atlas.

5. TWO OR MORE WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR

Arrange the entries alphabetically by title. Include the author’s name in the first entry, but in subsequent entries, use three hyphens followed by a period. (For the basic format for citing a book, see model 6. For the basic format for citing an article from an online newspaper, see model 38.)

Chopra, Anupama. “Bollywood Princess, Hollywood Hopeful.” New York Times. New York Times, 10 Feb. 2008. Web. 13 Feb. 2008.

---. King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema. New York: Warner, 2007. Print.

Note: Use three hyphens only when the work is by exactly the same author(s) as the previous entry.

Print books

6. BASIC FORMAT FOR A BOOK

Begin with the author name(s). (See models 1–5.) Then include the title and subtitle, the city of publication, the publisher, the publication year, and the medium (Print). The source map shows where to find this information in a typical book.

Crystal, David. Language Play. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1998. Print.

Note: Place a period and a space after the name, title, and date. Place a colon after the city and a comma after the publisher, and shorten the publisher’s name—omit Co. or Inc., and abbreviate University Press to UP.

7. AUTHOR AND EDITOR BOTH NAMED

Bangs, Lester. Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung. Ed. Greil Marcus. New York: Knopf, 1988. Print.

Note: To cite the editor’s contribution instead, begin the entry with the editor’s name.

Marcus, Greil, ed. Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung. By Lester Bangs. New York: Knopf, 1988. Print.

8. EDITOR, NO AUTHOR NAMED

Wall, Cheryl A., ed. Changing Our Own Words: Essays on Criticism, Theory, and Writing by Black Women. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1989. Print.

9. ANTHOLOGY

Cite an entire anthology the same way you would cite a book with an editor and no named author (see model 8).

Walker, Dale L., ed. Westward: A Fictional History of the American West. New York: Forge, 2003. Print.

10. WORK IN AN ANTHOLOGY OR CHAPTER IN A BOOK WITH AN EDITOR

List the author(s) of the selection or chapter; its title, in quotation marks; the title of the book, italicized; Ed. and the name(s) of the editor(s); publication information; and the selection’s page numbers.

Komunyakaa, Yusef. “Facing It.” The Seagull Reader. Ed. Joseph Kelly. New York: Norton, 2000. 126-27. Print.

Note: Use the following format to provide original publication information for a reprinted selection:

Byatt, A. S. “The Thing in the Forest.” New Yorker 3 June 2002: 80-89. Rpt. in The O. Henry Prize Stories 2003. Ed. Laura Furman. New York: Anchor, 2003. 3-22. Print.

11. TWO OR MORE ITEMS FROM THE SAME ANTHOLOGY

List the anthology as one entry (see model 9). Also list each selection separately with a cross-reference to the anthology.

Estleman, Loren D. “Big Tim Magoon and the Wild West.” Walker 391-404. Print.

Salzer, Susan K. “Miss Libbie Tells All.” Walker 199-212. Print.

12. TRANSLATION

Bolaño, Roberto. 2666. Trans. Natasha Wimmer. New York: Farrar, 2008. Print.

13. BOOK WITH BOTH TRANSLATOR AND EDITOR

List the editor’s and translator’s names after the title, in the order they appear on the title page.

Kant, Immanuel. “Toward Perpetual Peace” and Other Writings on Politics, Peace, and History. Ed. Pauline Kleingeld. Trans. David L. Colclasure. New Haven: Yale UP, 2006. Print.

14. TRANSLATION OF A SECTION OF A BOOK

If different translators have worked on various parts of the book, identify the translator of the part you are citing.

García Lorca, Federico. “The Little Mad Boy.” Trans. W. S. Merwin. The Selected Poems of Federico García Lorca. Ed. Francisco García Lorca and Donald M. Allen. London: Penguin, 1969. Print.

MLA SOURCE MAP: Books

Take information from the book’s title page and copyright page (on the reverse side of the title page), not from the book’s cover or a library catalog.

image Author. List the last name first. End with a period. For variations, see models 2–5.

image Title. Italicize the title and any subtitle; capitalize all major words. End with a period.

image City of publication. If more than one city is given, use the first one listed. For foreign cities, add an abbreviation of the country or province (Cork, Ire.). Follow it with a colon.

image Publisher. Give a shortened version of the publisher’s name (Oxford UP for Oxford University Press). Follow it with a comma.

image Year of publication. If more than one copyright date is given, use the most recent one. End with a period.

image Medium of publication. End with the medium (Print) followed by a period.

A citation for the book on p. 477 would look like this:

Patel, Raj. The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy. New York: Picador, 2009. Print.

image

Combining Parts of Models

AT A GLANCE

What should you do if your source doesn’t match the model exactly? Suppose, for instance, that your source is a translated essay that appears in the fifth edition of an anthology.

  • Identify a basic model to follow. If you decide that your source looks most like an essay in an anthology, you would start with a citation that looks like model 10.
  • Look for models that show the additional elements in your source. For this example, you would need to add elements of model 14 (for the translation) and model 18 (for an edition other than the first).
  • Add new elements from other models to your basic model in the order indicated.
  • If you still aren’t sure how to arrange the pieces to create a combination model, check the MLA Handbook or ask your instructor.

15. TRANSLATION OF A BOOK BY AN UNKNOWN AUTHOR

Grettir’s Saga. Trans. Denton Fox and Hermann Palsson. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1974. Print.

16. BOOK IN A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH

Include a translation of the title in brackets, if necessary.

Benedetti, Mario. La borra del café [The Coffee Grind]. Buenos Aires: Sudamericana, 2000. Print.

17. GRAPHIC NARRATIVE

If the words and images are created by the same person, cite a graphic narrative just as you would a book (model 6).

Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. New York: Houghton, 2006. Print.

If the work is a collaboration, indicate the author or illustrator who is most important to your research before the title of the work. List other contributors after the title, in the order of their appearance on the title page. Label each person’s contribution to the work.

Stavans, Ilan, writer. Latino USA: A Cartoon History. Illus. Lalo Arcaraz. New York: Basic, 2000. Print.

18. EDITION OTHER THAN THE FIRST

Walker, John A. Art in the Age of Mass Media. 3rd ed. London: Pluto, 2001. Print.

19. ONE VOLUME OF A MULTIVOLUME WORK

Give the number of the volume cited after the title. Including the total number of volumes after the publication date is optional.

Ch’oe, Yong-Ho, Peter Lee, and William Theodore De Barry, eds. Sources of Korean Tradition. Vol. 2. New York: Columbia UP, 2000. Print. 2 vols.

20. TWO OR MORE VOLUMES OF A MULTIVOLUME WORK

Ch’oe, Yong-Ho, Peter Lee, and William Theodore De Barry, eds. Sources of Korean Tradition. 2 vols. New York: Columbia UP, 2000. Print.

21. PREFACE, FOREWORD, INTRODUCTION, OR AFTERWORD

After the writer’s name, describe the contribution. After the title, indicate the book’s author (with By) or editor (with Ed.).

Atwan, Robert. Foreword. The Best American Essays 2002. Ed. Stephen Jay Gould. Boston: Houghton, 2002. viii-xii. Print.

Moore, Thurston. Introduction. Confusion Is Next: The Sonic Youth Story. By Alec Foege. New York: St. Martin’s, 1994. xi. Print.

22. ENTRY IN A REFERENCE BOOK

For a well-known encyclopedia, note the edition (if identified) and year of publication. If the entries are alphabetized, omit publication information and page number.

Kettering, Alison McNeil. “Art Nouveau.” World Book Encyclopedia. 2002 ed. Print.

23. BOOK THAT IS PART OF A SERIES

Cite the series name (and number, if any) from the title page.

Nichanian, Marc, and Vartan Matiossian, eds. Yeghishe Charents: Poet of the Revolution. Costa Mesa: Mazda, 2003. Print. Armenian Studies Ser. 5.

24. REPUBLICATION (MODERN EDITION OF AN OLDER BOOK)

Indicate the original publication date after the title.

Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. 1813. New York: Dover, 1996. Print.

25. PUBLISHER’S IMPRINT

If the title page gives a publisher’s imprint, hyphenate the imprint and the publisher’s name.

Hornby, Nick. About a Boy. New York: Riverhead-Penguin Putnam, 1998. Print.

26. BOOK WITH A TITLE WITHIN THE TITLE

Do not italicize a book title within a title. For an article title within a title, italicize as usual and place the article title in quotation marks.

Mullaney, Julie. Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things: A Reader’s Guide. New York: Continuum, 2002. Print.

Rhynes, Martha. “I, Too, Sing America”: The Story of Langston Hughes. Greensboro: Morgan, 2002. Print.

27. SACRED TEXT

To cite individual published editions of sacred books, begin the entry with the title.

Qur’an: The Final Testament (Authorized English Version) with Arabic Text. Trans. Rashad Khalifa. Fremont: Universal Unity, 2000. Print.

Print periodicals

Begin with the author name(s). (See models 1–5.) Then include the article title, the title of the periodical, the date or volume information, the page numbers, and the medium (Print). The source map shows where to find this information in a sample periodical.

28. ARTICLE IN A PRINT JOURNAL

Follow the journal title with the volume number, a period, the issue number (if given), and the year (in parentheses).

Gigante, Denise. “The Monster in the Rainbow: Keats and the Science of Life.” PMLA 117.3 (2002): 433-48. Print.

29. ARTICLE IN A PRINT MAGAZINE

Provide the date from the magazine cover instead of volume or issue numbers.

Surowiecki, James. “The Stimulus Strategy.” New Yorker 25 Feb. 2008: 29. Print.

Taubin, Amy. “All Talk?” Film Comment Nov.-Dec. 2007: 45-47. Print.

Formatting Print Periodical Entries

AT A GLANCE

  • Put titles of articles from periodicals in quotation marks. Place the period inside the closing quotation mark.
  • Give the title of the periodical as it appears on the magazine’s or journal’s cover or newspaper’s front page; omit any initial A, An, or The. Italicize the title.
  • For journals, include the volume number, a period, the issue number, if given, and the year in parentheses.
  • For magazines and newspapers, give the date in this order: day (if given), month, year. Abbreviate months except for May, June, and July.
  • List inclusive page numbers if the article appears on consecutive pages. If it skips pages, give only the first page number and a plus sign.
  • End with the medium (Print).

30. ARTICLE IN A PRINT NEWSPAPER

Include the edition (if listed) and the section number or letter (if listed).

Longman, Jeré. “Kim Jong-il, Sportsman.” New York Times 21 Dec. 2011, late ed.: B12. Print.

Note: For locally published newspapers, add the city in brackets after the name if it is not part of the name: Globe and Mail [Toronto].

31. ARTICLE THAT SKIPS PAGES

When an article skips pages, give only the first page number and a plus sign.

Tyrnauer, Matthew. “Empire by Martha.” Vanity Fair Sept. 2002: 364+. Print.

32. EDITORIAL OR LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Include the writer’s name, if given, and the title, if any, followed by a label for the work.

“California Dreaming.” Editorial. Nation 25 Feb. 2008: 4. Print.

Galbraith, James K. “JFK’s Plans to Withdraw.” Letter. New York Review of Books 6 Dec. 2007: 77-78. Print.

33. REVIEW

Franklin, Nancy. “Teen Spirit.” Rev. of Glee, by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan. New Yorker 10 May 2010: 72-73. Print.

Schwarz, Benjamin. Rev. of The Second World War: A Short History, by R. A. C. Parker. Atlantic Monthly May 2002: 110-11. Print.

MLA SOURCE MAP: Articles in Print Periodicals

image Author. List the last name first. End with a period. For variations, see models 2–5.

image Article title. Put the title and any subtitle in quotation marks; capitalize all major words. Place a period inside the closing quotation mark.

image Periodical title. Italicize the title; capitalize all major words. Omit any initial A, An, or The.

image Volume and issue / Date of publication. For journals, give the volume number and issue number (if any), separated by a period; then list the year in parentheses and follow it with a colon.

For magazines, list the day (if given), month, and year.

image Page numbers. List inclusive page numbers. If the article skips pages, put the first page number and a plus sign. End with a period.

image Medium. Give the medium (Print). End with a period.

A citation for the magazine article on p. 483 would look like this:

Quart, Alissa. “Lost Media, Found Media: Snapshots from the Future of Writing.” Columbia Journalism Review May/June 2008: 30 - 34. Print.

image

34. UNSIGNED ARTICLE

“Performance of the Week.” Time 6 Oct. 2003: 18. Print.

Digital written-word sources

Digital sources such as Web sites differ from print sources in the ease with which they can be—and frequently are—changed, updated, or even eliminated. In addition, the various electronic media do not organize their works the same way. The most commonly cited electronic sources are documents from Web sites and databases. For help determining which is which, see 49b.

Citing Digital Sources

AT A GLANCE

When citing sources accessed online or from an electronic database, give as many of the following elements as you can find:

1. Author. Give the author’s name, if available.

2. Title. Put titles of articles or short works in quotation marks. Italicize book titles.

For works from databases: For works from the Web:
3. Title of periodical, italicized. 3. Title of the site, italicized.
4. Publication information. After the volume/issue/year or date, include page numbers (or n. pag. if no page numbers are listed). 4. Name of the publisher or sponsor. This information usually appears at the bottom of the page.
5. Name of database, italicized, if you used a subscription service such as Academic Search Premier. 5. Date of online publication or most recent update. This information often appears at the bottom of the page. If no date is given, use n.d.

6. Medium of publication. Use Web.

7. Date of access. Give the most recent date you accessed the source.

If you think your readers will have difficulty finding the source without a URL, put it after the period following the date of access, inside angle brackets, with a period after the closing bracket.

35. WORK FROM A DATABASE

The basic format for citing a work from a database appears in the source map.

For a periodical article that is available in print but that you access in an online database through a library subscription service such as Academic Search Premier, begin with the author’s name (if given); the title of the work, in quotation marks; the title of the periodical, italicized; and publication information for the print version of the work (see models 28–34). Include the page numbers from the print version; if no page numbers are available, use n. pag. Then give the name of the online database, italicized; the medium (Web); and your most recent date of access.

Collins, Ross F. “Cattle Barons and Ink Slingers: How Cow Country Journalists Created a Great American Myth.” American Journalism 24.3 (2007): 7-29. Communication and Mass Media Complete. Web. 7 Feb. 2008.

36. ARTICLE FROM THE WEB SITE OF A JOURNAL

Begin an entry for an online journal article as you would one for a print journal article (see model 28). If an article does not have page numbers, use n. pag. End with the medium consulted (Web) and the date of access.

Gallagher, Brian. “Greta Garbo Is Sad: Some Historical Reflections on the Paradoxes of Stardom in the American Film Industry, 1910-1960.” Images: A Journal of Film and Popular Culture 3 (1997): n. pag. Web. 7 Aug. 2009.

37. ARTICLE IN A MAGAZINE ON THE WEB

See model 29 for print publication information if the article appears in print. After the name of the magazine, give the sponsor of the Web site, the date of publication, the medium (Web), and the date of access.

Shapiro, Walter. “The Quest for Universal Healthcare.” Salon. Salon Media Group, 21 Feb. 2008. Web. 2 Mar. 2008.

38. ARTICLE IN A NEWSPAPER ON THE WEB

After the name of the newspaper, give the publisher, publication date, medium (Web), and access date.

Bustillo, Miguel, and Carol J. Williams. “Old Guard in Cuba Keeps Reins.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2008. Web. 26 Feb. 2011.

MLA SOURCE MAP: Articles from Databases

Library subscriptions—such as EBSCOhost and Academic Search Premier—provide access to huge databases of articles.

image Author. List the last name first. End with a period. For variations, see models 2–5.

image Article title. Enclose the title and any subtitle in quotation marks.

image Periodical title. Italicize it. Exclude any initial A, An, or The.

image Print publication information. List the volume and issue number, if any; the date of publication, including the day (if given), month, and year, in that order; and the inclusive page numbers. If an article has no page numbers, write n. pag.

image Database name. Italicize the name of the database.

image Medium. For an online database, use Web.

image Date of access. Give the day, month, and year, then a period.

A citation for the article on p. 487 would look like this:

Arnett, Robert P. “Casino Royale and Franchise Remix: James Bond as Superhero.” Film Criticism 33.3 (2009): 1-16. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 May 2011.

image

39. BOOK ON THE WEB

Provide information as for a print book (see models 6–27); then give the name of the Web site, the medium, and the date of access.

Euripides. The Trojan Women. Trans. Gilbert Murray. New York: Oxford UP, 1915. Internet Sacred Text Archive. Web. 12 Oct. 2011.

Note: Cite a part of an online book as you would a part of a print book (see models 10 and 21). Give the print publication information (if any); the name of the site; the medium (Web); and the date of access.

Riis, Jacob. “The Genesis of the Gang.” The Battle with the Slum. New York: Macmillan, 1902. N. pag. Bartleby.com: Great Books Online. Web. 31 Mar. 2011.

40. POEM ON THE WEB

Include the poet’s name, the title of the poem, and the print publication information (if any) as you would for part of an online book (model 39). End with the name of the site, the medium (Web), and the date of access.

Dickinson, Emily. “The Grass.” Poems: Emily Dickinson. Boston, 1891. Humanities Text Initiative American Verse Project. Web. 6 Jan. 2011.

41. EDITORIAL OR LETTER IN A WEB PERIODICAL

Include the word Editorial or Letter after the author (if given) and title (if any). End with the periodical name, the sponsor of the Web site, the date of posting or most recent update, the medium, and the access date.

“The Funding Gap.” Editorial. Washington Post. Washington Post, 5 Nov. 2003. Web. 19 Oct. 2010.

Moore, Paula. “Go Vegetarian.” Letter. New York Times. New York Times, 25 Feb. 2008. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.

42. REVIEW IN A WEB PERIODICAL

Cite an online review as you would a print review (see model 33). End with the name of the Web site, the sponsor, the date of electronic publication, the medium, and the date of access.

Seitz, Matt Zoller. “A Modern Horror Film.” Rev. of The Social Network, dir. David Fincher. Salon. Salon Media Group, 4 Oct. 2010. Web. 24 May 2011.

43. ENTRY IN A WEB REFERENCE WORK

Cite the entry as you would an entry from a print reference work (see model 22). Follow with the name of the Web site, the sponsor, date of publication, medium, and date of access.

“Tour de France.” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2006. Web. 21 May 2006.

44. WORK FROM A WEB SITE

For basic information on citing a work from a Web site, see the source map. Include all of the following elements that are available: the author; the title of the work in quotation marks; the name of the Web site, italicized; the name of the publisher or sponsor (if none is available, use N.p.); the date of publication (if not available, use n.d.); the medium (Web); and the date of access.

“America: A Center-Left Nation.” Media Matters for America. Media Matters for America, 27 May 2009. Web. 31 May 2011.

Stauder, Ellen Keck. “Darkness Audible: Negative Capability and Mark Doty’s ‘Nocturne in Black and Gold.’” Romantic Circles Praxis Series. U of Maryland, 2003. Web. 28 Sept. 2003.

45. ENTIRE WEB SITE

Follow the guidelines for a specific work from the Web, beginning with the name of the author, editor, compiler, director, narrator, or translator, followed by the title of the Web site, italicized; the name of the sponsor or publisher (if none, use N.p.); the date of publication or last update; the medium of publication (Web); and the date of access.

Bernstein, Charles, Kenneth Goldsmith, Martin Spinelli, and Patrick Durgin, eds. Electronic Poetry Corner. SUNY Buffalo, 2003. Web. 26 Sept. 2006.

Weather.com. Weather Channel Interactive, 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2011.

For a personal Web site, include the name of the person who created the site; the title or (if there is no title) a description such as Home page, not italicized; the name of the larger site, if different from the personal site’s title; the publisher or sponsor of the site (if none, use N.p.); the date of the last update; the medium of publication (Web); and the date of access.

Ede, Lisa. Home page. Oregon State. Oregon State U, 2010. Web. 17 May 2010.

MLA SOURCE MAP: Works from Web Sites

You may need to browse other parts of a site to find some of the following elements, and some sites may omit elements. Uncover as much information as you can.

image Author. List the last name first. End with a period. If no author is given, begin with the title. For variations, see models 2–5.

image Title of work. Enclose the title and any subtitle of the work in quotation marks.

image Title of Web site. Give the title of the entire Web site, italicized.

image Publisher or sponsor. Look for the sponsor’s name at the bottom of the home page. If no information is available, write N.p. Follow it with a comma.

image Date of publication or latest update. Give the most recent date, followed by a period. If no date is available, use n.d.

image Medium. Use Web and follow it with a period.

image Date of access. Give the date you accessed the work. End with a period.

A citation for the work on p. 491 would look like this:

Tønnesson, Øyvind. “Mahatma Gandhi, the Missing Laureate.” Nobelprize.org. Nobel Foundation, 1 Dec. 1999. Web. 4 May 2005.

image

46. ACADEMIC COURSE WEB SITE

For a course site, include the name of the instructor, the title of the course in quotation marks, the title of the site in italics, the department (if relevant) and institution sponsoring the site, the date (or n.d.), the medium (Web), and the access date.

Creekmur, Corey K., and Philip Lutgendorf. “Topics in Asian Cinema: Popular Hindi Cinema.” University of Iowa. Depts. of English, Cinema, and Comparative Literature, U of Iowa, 2004. Web. 13 Mar. 2007.

For a department Web site, give the department name, the description Dept. home page, the institution (in italics), the site sponsor, the medium (Web), and the access information.

English Dept. home page. Amherst College. Amherst Coll., n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2011.

47. BLOG

For an entire blog, give the author’s name; the title of the blog, italicized; the sponsor or publisher of the blog (if there is none, use N.p.); the date of the most recent update; the medium (Web); and the date of access.

Little Green Footballs. Little Green Footballs, 23 Aug. 2011. Web. 23 Aug. 2011.

Note: To cite a blogger who writes under a pseudonym, begin with the pseudonym and then put the writer’s real name (if you know it) in square brackets.

Atrios [Duncan Black]. Eschaton. N.p., 27 June 2011. Web. 27 June 2011.

48. POST OR COMMENT ON A BLOG

Give the author’s name; the title of the post or comment, in quotation marks (if there is no title, use the description Web log post or Web log comment, not italicized); the title of the blog, italicized; the sponsor of the blog (if there is none, use N.p.); the date of the most recent update; the medium (Web); and the date of access.

Marcotte, Amanda. “Rights without Perfection.” Pandagon. N.p., 16 May 2010. Web. 16 May 2010.

49. ENTRY IN A WIKI

Because wiki content is collectively edited, do not include an author. Treat a wiki as you would a work from a Web site (see model 44). Include the title of the entry; the name of the wiki, italicized; the sponsor or publisher of the wiki (use N.p. if there is no sponsor); the date of the latest update; the medium (Web); and the date of access. Check with your instructor before using a wiki as a source.

“Fédération Internationale de Football Association.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 June 2011. Web. 27 June 2011.

50. POSTING TO A DISCUSSION GROUP OR NEWSGROUP

Begin with the author’s name and the title of the posting in quotation marks (or the words Online posting). Follow with the name of the Web site, the sponsor or publisher of the site (use N.p. if there is no sponsor), the date of publication, the medium (Web), and the date of access.

Daly, Catherine. “Poetry Slams.” Poetics Discussion List. SUNY Buffalo, 29 Aug. 2003. Web. 1 Oct. 2005.

51. POSTING TO A SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE

To cite a posting on Facebook or another social networking site, include the writer’s name, a description of the posting, the date of the posting, and the medium of delivery. (The MLA does not provide guidelines for citing postings on such sites; this model is based on the MLA’s guidelines for citing email.)

Ferguson, Sarah. Status update. 6 Mar. 2008. Facebook posting.

52. EMAIL OR MESSAGE ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE

Include the writer’s name; the subject line, in quotation marks (for email); Message to (not italicized or in quotation marks) followed by the recipient’s name; the date of the message; and the medium of delivery (E-mail). (MLA style hyphenates e-mail.)

Harris, Jay. “Thoughts on Impromptu Stage Productions.” Message to the author. 16 July 2006. E-mail.

53. TWEET

Include the writer’s real name, if known, with the user name (if different) in parentheses. If you don’t know the real name, give just the user name. Include the entire tweet, in quotation marks. End with date and time of message and the medium (Tweet).

BedfordBits. “#4C12 ‘Think of citations as a guide for the engaged reader.’ Writing center tutor quoted by E. Kleinfeld. See http://citationproject.net/” 23 Mar. 2012, 4:01 p.m. Tweet.

Visual, audio, multimedia, and live sources

54. FILM OR DVD

If you cite a particular person’s work, start with that name. If not, start with the title; then name the director, distributor, and year of release. Other contributors, such as writers or performers, may follow the director. If you cite a DVD instead of a theatrical release, include the original film release date and the label DVD. For material found on a Web site, give the name of the site or database, the medium (Web), and the access date.

Black Swan. Dir. Darren Aronofsky. Perf. Natalie Portman. Fox Searchlight, 2010. Film.

Spirited Away. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. 2001. Walt Disney Video, 2003. DVD.

Winner, Michael, dir. Death Wish. Perf. Charles Bronson. Paramount, 1974. Netflix. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.

55. ONLINE VIDEO CLIP

Cite a short online video as you would a work from a Web site (see model 44).

Weber, Jan. “As We Sow, Part 1: Where Are the Farmers?” YouTube. YouTube, 15 Mar. 2008. Web. 27 Sept. 2010.

56. TELEVISION OR RADIO PROGRAM

In general, begin with the title of the program, italicized. Then list important contributors (narrator, writer, director, actors); the network; the local station and city, if any; the broadcast date; and the medium. To cite a particular person’s work, begin with that name. To cite a particular episode from a series, begin with the episode title, in quotation marks.

The American Experience: Buffalo Bill. Writ., dir., prod. Rob Rapley. PBS. WNET, New York, 25 Feb. 2008. Television.

“The Suitcase.” Mad Men. Writ. Matthew Weiner. Dir. Jennifer Getzinger. AMC, 5 Sept. 2010. Television.

Note: For a streaming version online, give the name of the Web site, italicized. Then give the publisher or sponsor, a comma, and the date posted. End with the medium (Web) and the access date.

Limbaugh, Rush. The Rush Limbaugh Show. RushLimbaugh.com. Premier Radio Networks, 29 Feb. 2012. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.

Citing Sources without Models in MLA Style

AT A GLANCE

To cite a source for which you cannot find a model, collect as much information as you can find—about the creator, title, sponsor, date of posting or latest update, the date you accessed the site and its location—with the goal of helping your readers find the source for themselves, if possible. Then look at the models in this section to see which one most closely matches the type of source you are using.

In an academic writing project, before citing an electronic source for which you have no model, also be sure to ask your instructor for help.

57. BROADCAST INTERVIEW

List the person interviewed and then the title, if any. If the interview has no title, use the label Interview and name the interviewer, if relevant. Then identify the source. To cite a broadcast interview, end with information about the program, the date(s) the interview took place, and the medium.

Revkin, Andrew. Interview with Terry Gross. Fresh Air. Natl. Public Radio. WNYC, New York, 14 June 2006. Radio.

Note: If you listened to an archived version online, provide the site’s sponsor (if known), the date of the interview, the medium (Web), and the access date. For a podcast interview, see model 64.

Revkin, Andrew. Interview with Terry Gross. Fresh Air.NPR.org. NPR, 14 June 2006. Web. 12 Jan. 2009.

58. UNPUBLISHED OR PERSONAL INTERVIEW

List the person interviewed; the label Telephone interview, Personal interview, or E-mail interview; and the date the interview took place.

Freedman, Sasha. Personal interview. 10 Nov. 2011.

59. SOUND RECORDING

List the name of the person or group you wish to emphasize (such as the composer, conductor, or band); the title of the recording or composition; the artist, if appropriate; the manufacturer; and the year of issue. Give the medium (such as CD, MP3 file, or LP). If you are citing a particular song or selection, include its title, in quotation marks, before the title of the recording.

Bach, Johann Sebastian. Bach: Violin Concertos. Perf. Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman. English Chamber Orch. EMI, 2002. CD.

Sonic Youth. “Incinerate.” Rather Ripped. Geffen, 2006. MP3 file.

Note: If you are citing instrumental music that is identified only by form, number, and key, do not underline, italicize, or enclose it in quotation marks.

Grieg, Edvard. Concerto in A minor, op. 16. Cond. Eugene Ormandy. Philadelphia Orch. RCA, 1989. LP.

60. MUSICAL COMPOSITION

When you are not citing a specific published version, first give the composer’s name, followed by the title.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. Don Giovanni, K527.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. Symphony no. 41 in C major, K551.

Note: Cite a published score as you would a book. If you include the date the composition was written, do so immediately after the title.

Schoenberg, Arnold. Chamber Symphony No. 1 for 15 Solo Instruments, Op. 9. 1906. New York: Dover, 2002. Print.

61. COMPUTER GAME

Include the version after the title, then the city and publisher, date, and medium.

Grand Theft Auto: Tales from Liberty City. PlayStation 3 vers. New York: Rockstar Games, 2009. DVD-ROM.

Cite an online game as you would a work from a Web site (see model 44).

The Sims 3. PC vers. TheSims.com. Electronic Arts, 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.

62. LECTURE OR SPEECH

List the speaker; title, in quotation marks; sponsoring institution or group; place; and date. If the speech is untitled, use a label such as Lecture.

Colbert, Stephen. Speech. White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. YouTube. YouTube, 29 Apr. 2006. Web. 20 May 2011.

Eugenides, Jeffrey. Portland Arts and Lectures. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, OR. 30 Sept. 2003. Lecture.

63. LIVE PERFORMANCE

List the title, appropriate names (such as writer or performer), the place, and the date. To cite a particular person’s work, begin the entry with that name.

Anything Goes. By Cole Porter. Perf. Klea Blackhurst. Shubert Theater, New Haven. 7 Oct. 2003. Performance.

64. PODCAST (STREAMING)

Include all of the following that are relevant and available: the speaker, the title of the podcast, the title of the program, the host or performers, the title of the site, the site’s sponsor, the date of posting, the medium (Web), and the access date. (This model is based on MLA guidelines for a short work from a Web site. For a downloaded podcast, see model 65.)

“Seven Arrested in U.S. Terror Raid.” Morning Report. Host Krishnan Guru-Murthy. 4 Radio. Channel 4 News, 23 June 2006. Web. 27 June 2010.

65. DIGITAL FILE

A citation for a file that you can download—one that exists independently, not only on a Web site—begins with citation information required for the type of source (a photograph or sound recording, for example). For the medium, indicate the type of file (MP3 file, JPEG file).

Officers’ Winter Quarters, Army of Potomac, Brandy Station. Mar. 1864. Prints and Photographs Div., Lib. of Cong. TIFF file.

“Return to the Giant Pool of Money.” This American Life. Narr. Ira Glass. NPR, 25 Sept. 2009. MP3 file.

66. WORK OF ART OR PHOTOGRAPH

List the artist or photographer; the work’s title, italicized; the date of composition (if unknown, use n.d.); and the medium of composition (Oil on canvas, Bronze). Then cite the name of the museum or other location and the city. To cite a reproduction in a book, add the publication information. To cite artwork found online, omit the medium of composition, and after the location, add the title of the database or Web site, italicized; the medium consulted (Web); and the date of access.

Chagall, Marc. The Poet with the Birds. 1911. Minneapolis Inst. of Arts. artsmia.org. Web. 6 Oct. 2011.

General William Palmer in Old Age. 1810. Oil on canvas. National Army Museum, London. White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India. By William Dalrymple. New York: Penguin, 2002. 270. Print.

Kahlo, Frida. Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair. 1940. Oil on canvas. Museum of Mod. Art, New York.

Citing Visuals That Appear in Your Text

AT A GLANCE

If you choose to include images in your text, you need to cite and caption them correctly (see pp. 468–69).

  • For a work that you have created, the works-cited entry should begin with a descriptive phrase from the image’s caption (“Bus stop in Los Angeles”), a label (“Photograph by author”), and the date.
  • For a visual reproduced from another source, you can include the complete citation information in the caption (see model 19 on p. 468), or you can indicate the source to allow readers to find it on the list of works cited. If you give the complete citation in the caption and do not cite the visual elsewhere in your text, you can omit the visual from your works-cited page.

67. MAP OR CHART

Cite a map or chart as you would a book or a short work within a longer work and include the word Map or Chart after the title. Add the medium of publication. For an online source, end with the date of access.

“Australia.” Map. Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection. U of Texas, 1999. Web.4 Nov. 2010.

California. Map. Chicago: Rand, 2002. Print.

68. CARTOON OR COMIC STRIP

List the artist’s name; the title (if any) of the cartoon or comic strip, in quotation marks; the label Cartoon or Comic strip; and the usual publication information for a print periodical (see models 28–31) or a work from a Web site (model 44).

Johnston, Lynn. “For Better or Worse.” Comic strip. FBorFW.com. Lynn Johnston Publications, 30 June 2006. Web. 20 July 2006.

Lewis, Eric. “The Unpublished Freud.” Cartoon. New Yorker 11 Mar. 2002: 80. Print.

69. ADVERTISEMENT

Include the label Advertisement after the name of the item or organization being advertised.

Microsoft. Advertisement. Harper’s Oct. 2003: 2-3. Print.

Microsoft. Advertisement. New York Times. New York Times, 11 Nov. 2003. Web. 11 Nov. 2003.

Academic, government, and legal sources (including digital versions)

If an online version is not shown here, use the appropriate model for the source and then end with the medium and date of access.

70. REPORT OR PAMPHLET

Follow the guidelines for a print book (models 6–27) or an online book (model 39).

Allen, Katherine, and Lee Rainie. Parents Online. Washington: Pew Internet and Amer. Life Project, 2002. Print.

Environmental Working Group. Dead in the Water. Washington: Environmental Working Group, 2006. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.

71. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATION

Begin with the author, if identified. Otherwise, start with the name of the government, followed by the agency. For congressional documents, cite the number, session, and house of Congress (S for Senate, H for House of Representatives); the type (Report, Resolution, Document) in abbreviated form; and the number. End with the publication information. The print publisher is often the Government Printing Office (GPO). For online versions, follow the models for a work from a Web site (model 44) or an entire Web site (model 45).

Gregg, Judd. Report to Accompany the Genetic Information Act of 2003. US 108th Cong., 1st sess. S. Rept. 108-22. Washington: GPO, 2003. Print.

Kinsella, Kevin, and Victoria Velkoff. An Aging World: 2001. US Bureau of the Census. Washington: GPO, 2001. Print.

United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Emergency and Remedial Response. This Is Superfund. Jan. 2000. Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 16 Aug. 2002.

72. PUBLISHED PROCEEDINGS OF A CONFERENCE

Cite proceedings as you would a book.

Cleary, John, and Gary Gurtler, eds. Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy 2002. Boston: Brill Academic, 2003. Print.

73. DISSERTATION

Enclose the title in quotation marks. Add the label Diss., the school, and the year the work was accepted.

Paris, Django. “Our Culture: Difference, Division, and Unity in Multicultural Youth Space.” Diss. Stanford U, 2008. Print.

Note: Cite a published dissertation as a book, adding the identification Diss. and the university after the title.

74. DISSERTATION ABSTRACT

Cite as you would an unpublished dissertation (see model 72). For the abstract of a dissertation using Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI), include the DAI volume, year, and page number.

Huang-Tiller, Gillian C. “The Power of the Meta-Genre: Cultural, Sexual, and Racial Politics of the American Modernist Sonnet.” Diss. U of Notre Dame, 2000. DAI 61 (2000): 1401. Print.

75. PUBLISHED INTERVIEW

List the person interviewed; the title of the interview (if any) or the label Interview and the interviewer’s name, if relevant. Then provide information about the source, following the appropriate model.

Paretsky, Sara. Interview. Progressive. Progressive Magazine, 14 Jan. 2008. Web. 12 Feb. 2011.

Taylor, Max. “Max Taylor on Winning.” Time 13 Nov. 2000: 66. Print.

76. UNPUBLISHED LETTER

Cite a published letter as a work in an anthology (see model 10). If the letter is unpublished, follow this form:

Anzaldúa, Gloria. Letter to the author. 10 Sept. 2002. MS.

77. MANUSCRIPT OR OTHER UNPUBLISHED WORK

List the author’s name; the title (if any) or a description of the material; the form of the material (such as MS for manuscript) and any identifying numbers; and the name and location of the library or research institution housing the material, if applicable.

Woolf, Virginia. “The Searchlight.” N.d. TS. Ser. III, Box 4, Item 184. Papers of Virginia Woolf, 1902-1956. Smith Coll., Northampton.

78. LEGAL SOURCE

To cite a court case, give the names of the first plaintiff and defendant, the case number, the name of the court, and the date of the decision. To cite an act, give the name of the act followed by its Public Law (Pub. L.) number, the date the act was enacted, and its Statutes at Large (Stat.) cataloging number.

Eldred v. Ashcroft. No. 01-618. Supreme Ct. of the US. 15 Jan. 2003. Print.

Museum and Library Services Act of 2003. Pub. L. 108-81. 25 Sept. 2003. Stat. 117.991. Print.

Note: You do not need an entry on the list of works cited when you cite articles of the U.S. Constitution and laws in the U.S. Code.