MLA-4b: MLA list of works cited

An alphabetized list of works cited, which appears at the end of your research paper, gives publication information for each of the sources you have cited in the paper. Include only sources that you have quoted, summarized, or paraphrased. (For information about preparing the list, see MLA-5a. See a sample list of works cited.)

In an MLA works cited entry, invert the first author’s name (last name first, followed by a comma and the first name); put all other names in normal order. In titles of works, capitalize all words except articles (a, an, the), prepositions (into, between, and so on), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet), and the to in infinitives—unless they are the first or last word of the title or subtitle. Use quotation marks for titles of articles and other short works, such as brief documents from Web sites; italicize titles of books and other long works, such as entire Web sites.

Alphabetize entries in the list of works cited by authors’ last names (or by title if a work has no author). The author’s name is important because citations in the text of the paper refer to it and readers will look for it at the beginning of an entry in the alphabetized list.

1. Single author

2. Two or three authors

3. Four or more authors

Name all the authors or name the first author followed by “et al.” (Latin for “and others”). In an in-text citation, use the same form for the authors’ names as you use in the works cited entry. See item 7.

4. Organization as author

For a publication by a government agency, see item 73. Your in-text citation should also treat the organization as the author (see item 8).

5. Unknown author

Article or other short work

For other examples of an article with no author and of a television program, see items 13 and 65, respectively.

Book, entire Web site, or other long work

6. Two or more works by the same author If your list of works cited includes two or more works by the same author, first alphabetize the works by title (ignoring the article A, An, or The at the beginning of a title). Use the author’s name for the first entry only; for subsequent entries, use three hyphens followed by a period. The three hyphens must stand for exactly the same name or names as in the first entry.

This section shows how to prepare works cited entries for articles in print magazines, journals, and newspapers. See “General guidelines” and “Listing authors” for how to handle basic parts of the entries. See also “Online sources” for articles from Web sites and articles accessed through a library’s database.

7. Article in a journal (paginated by volume or by issue)

8. Article in a monthly magazine

9. Article in a weekly magazine

10. Article in a daily newspaper Give the page range of the article. If the article does not appear on consecutive pages, use a plus sign (+) after the first page number. If the city of publication is not obvious from the title of the newspaper, include the city in brackets after the name of the newspaper.

Page number with section letter

Page number with section number

11. Abstract of a journal article Include the word “Abstract” after the title of the article.

12. Article with a title in its title Use single quotation marks around a title of a short work or a quoted term that appears in an article title. Italicize a title or term normally italicized. (See also P5-c.)

13. Editorial or other unsigned article Begin with the article title and alphabetize the entry by the title in the list of works cited.

14. Letter to the editor

15. Review For a review of a book, a film, or another type of work, begin with the name of the reviewer and the title of the review, if it has one. Add the words “Rev. of” and the title of the work reviewed, followed by the author, director, or other significant contributor. Give the publication information for the periodical in which the review appears. If the review has no author and no title, begin with “Rev. of” and alphabetize the entry by the first principal word in the title of the work reviewed.

Items 16-33 apply to print books. For online books, see items 41 and 42.

16. Basic format for a book

17. Book with an author and an editor

The abbreviation “Ed.” means “Edited by,” so it is the same for one or multiple editors.

18. Book with an author and a translator “Trans.” means “Translated by,” so it is the same for one or multiple translators.

19. Book with an editor Begin with the editor’s name. For one editor, use “ed.” (for “editor”) after the name; for multiple editors, use “eds.” (for “editors”).

20. Graphic narrative or illustrated book For a book that combines text and illustrations, begin your citation with the person you wish to emphasize (writer, illustrator, artist) and list any other contributors after the title of the book. Use the abbreviation “illus.” and other common labels to identify contributors. If the writer and illustrator are the same person, cite the work as you would a book, with no labels.

21. Book with an author using a pseudonym Give the author’s name as it appears on the title page (the pseudonym), and follow it with the author’s real name in brackets.

22. Book in a language other than English If your readers are not familiar with the language of the book, include a translation of the title, italicized and in brackets. Capitalize the title according to the conventions of the book’s language, and give the original publication information.

23. Entire anthology An anthology is a collection of works on a common theme, often with different authors for the selections and usually with an editor for the entire volume. (For an anthology with one editor, use the abbreviation “ed.” after the editor’s name. For more than one editor, use “eds.”)

24. One or more selections from an anthology

One selections from anthology

The abbreviation “Ed.” means “Edited by,” so it is the same for one or multiple editors.

Two or more selections, with separate anthology entry

If you use two or more works from the same anthology in your paper, provide an entry for the entire anthology (see item 23) and give a shortened entry for each selection. Use the medium only in the entry for the complete anthology.

25. Edition other than the first Include the number of the edition (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on). If the book has a translator or an editor in addition to the author, give the name of the translator or editor before the edition number, using the abbreviation “Trans.” for “Translated by” (see item 18) or “Ed.” for “Edited by” (see item 17).

26. Multivolume work Include the total number of volumes before the city and publisher, using the abbreviation “vols.” If the volumes were published over several years, give the inclusive dates of publication. The abbreviation “Ed.” means “Edited by,” so it is the same for one or multiple editors.

27. Encyclopedia or dictionary entry List the author of the entry (if there is one), the title of the entry, the title of the reference work, the edition number (if any), the date of the edition, and the medium. Volume and page numbers are not necessary because the entries in the source are arranged alphabetically and are therefore easy to locate.

28. Sacred text Give the title of the sacred text (taken from the title page), italicized; the editor’s or translator’s name (if any); publication information; and the medium. Add the name of the version, if there is one.

29. Foreword, introduction, preface, or afterword

30. Book with a title in its title If the book title contains a title normally italicized, neither italicize the internal title nor place it in quotation marks.

31. Book in a series After the publication information, give the medium of publication and then the series name as it appears on the title page, followed by the series number, if any.

32. Republished book After the title of the book, give the original publication date, followed by the current publication information. If the republished book contains new material, such as an introduction or afterword, include information about the new material after the original date.

33. Publisher’s imprint If a book was published by a division (an imprint) of a publishing company, give the name of the imprint, a hyphen, and the name of the publisher.

MLA guidelines assume that readers can locate most online sources by entering the author, title, or other identifying information in a search engine or a database. Consequently, the MLA Handbook does not require a Web address (URL) in citations for online sources. If your instructor requires one, see the note at the end of item 34.

34. Entire Web site

Web site with author

Web site with organization (group) as author

Web site with no author

Web site with editor

See item 19 for listing the name(s) of editor(s).

Web site with no title

Use the label “Home page” or another appropriate description in place of a title.

NOTE: If your instructor requires a URL for Web sources, include the URL, enclosed in angle brackets, at the end of the entry. When a URL in a works cited entry must be divided at the end of a line, break it after a slash. Do not insert a hyphen.

35. Short work from a Web site Short works include articles, poems, and other documents that are not book length or that appear as internal pages on a Web site.

Short work with author

Short work with no author

36. Web site with an author using a pseudonym Begin the entry with the pseudonym and add the author’s or creator’s real name, if known, in brackets. Follow with the information required for a Web site or a short work from a Web site (see item 34 or 35).

37. Article in an online journal

38. Article in an online magazine Give the author; the title of the article, in quotation marks; the title of the magazine, italicized; the sponsor or publisher of the site (use “N.p.” if there is none); the date of publication; the medium; and your date of access.

39. Article in an online newspaper Give the author; the title of the article, in quotation marks; the title of the newspaper, italicized; the sponsor or publisher of the site (use “N.p.” if there is none); the date of publication; the medium; and your date of access.

40. Work from a database For a source retrieved from a library’s subscription database, first list the publication information for the source (see items 7-15) and then provide information about the database.

41. Online book-length work Cite an online book or an online book-length work, such as a play or a long poem, as you would a short work from a Web site (see item 35), but italicize the title of the work.

Give the print publication information for the work, if available (see items 16-33), followed by the title of the Web site, the medium, and your date of access.

42. Part of an online book Begin as for a part of a print book (see item 29). If the online book part has no page numbers, use “N. pag.” following the publication information. End with the Web site on which the work is found, the medium, and your date of access.

43. Digital archives Digital archives are online collections of documents or records—books, letters, photographs, data—that have been converted to digital form. Cite publication information for the original document, if it is available, using the models throughout section MLA-4b Then give the location of the document, if any, neither italicized nor in quotation marks; the name of the archive, italicized; the medium (“Web”); and your date of access.

44. Entry in an online reference work Give the author of the entry, if there is one. Otherwise begin with the title of the entry, in quotation marks. Then give the title of the site; the sponsor and the update date (use “n.d.” if there is none); the medium; and your date of access.

45. Online poem Cite as you would a short work from a Web site (item 35) or part of an online book (item 42).

46. Entire blog (Weblog) Cite a blog as you would an entire Web site (see item 34).

47. Entry or comment in a blog (Weblog) Cite an entry or a comment (a response to an entry) in a blog as you would a short work from a Web site (see item 35). If the comment or entry has no title, use the label “Weblog entry” or “Weblog comment.” Follow with the remaining information as for an entire blog in item 46.

48. Academic course or department home page Cite as a short work from a Web site (see item 35). For a course home page, begin with the name of the instructor and the title of the course or title of the page (use “Course home page” if there is no other title). For a department home page, begin with the name of the department and the label “Dept. home page.”

49. Online video clip Cite as you would a short work from a Web site (see item 35).

50. Online abstract Cite as you would an abstract of a journal article (see item 11), giving whatever print information is available, followed by the medium and your date of access. If you found the abstract in an online periodical database, include the name of the database after the print publication information (see item 40).

51. Online editorial or letter to the editor Cite as you would an editorial or a letter to the editor in a print publication (see item 13 or 14), followed by information for a short work from a Web site (see item 35).

52. Online review Begin the entry as you would for a review in a magazine or newspaper (see item 15). If the review is published in print as well as online, first give publication information as for an article in a periodical (see items 7-10). Then add the Web site on which the review appears, the medium (“Web”), and your date of access. If the review is published only on the Web, give the information required for a short work from a Web site (see item 35). If you found the review in a database, cite as in item 40.

53. E-mail message Begin with the writer’s name and the subject line. Then write “Message to” followed by the name of the recipient. End with the date of the message and the medium (“E-mail”).

54. Posting to an online discussion list When possible, cite archived versions of postings. If you cannot locate an archived version, keep a copy of the posting for your records. Begin with the author’s name, followed by the title or subject line, in quotation marks (use the label “Online posting” if the posting has no title). Then proceed as for a short work from a Web site (see item 35).

55. Entry in a wiki A wiki is an online reference that is openly edited by its users. Treat an entry in a wiki as you would a short work from a Web site (see item 35). Because wiki content is, by definition, collectively edited and can be updated frequently, do not include an author. Give the title of the entry; the name of the wiki, italicized; the sponsor or publisher of the wiki (use “N.p.” if there is none); the date of the last update; the medium; and your date of access.

56. Digital file A digital file is any document or image that exists in digital form, independent of a Web site. To cite a digital file, begin with information required for the source (such as a photograph, a report, a sound recording, or a radio program), following the guidelines throughout MLA-4b Then for the medium, indicate the type of file: “JPEG file,” “PDF file,” “MP3 file,” and so on.

57. Podcast If you view or listen to a podcast online, cite it as you would a short work from a Web site (see item 35). If you download the podcast and view or listen to it on a computer or portable player, cite it as a digital file (see item 56).

Podcast online

Podcast downloaded as digital file

58. Musical score For both print and online versions, begin with the composer’s name; the title of the work, italicized (unless it is named by form, number, and key); and the date of composition. For a print source, give the place of publication; the name of the publisher and date of publication; and the medium. For an online source, give the title of the Web site; the publisher or sponsor of the site; the date of Web publication; the medium; and your date of access.

59. Sound recording Begin with the name of the person you want to emphasize: the composer, conductor (“Cond.”), or performer (“Perf.”). For a long work, give the title, italicized (unless it is named by form, number, and key); the names of pertinent artists (such as performers, readers, or musicians); and the orchestra and conductor, if relevant. End with the manufacturer, the date, and the medium.

60. Film Begin with the title, italicized. Then give the director and the lead actors (“Perf.”) or narrator (“Narr.”); the distributor; the year of the film’s release; and the medium (“Film,” “Videocassette”). If your paper emphasizes a person or category of people involved with the film, you may begin with those names and titles (see item 61).

61. DVD For a film on DVD, cite as you would a film (see item 60), giving “DVD” as the medium.

62. Special feature on a DVD Begin with the title of the feature, in quotation marks, and the names of any important contributors, as for films or DVDs (item 60 or 61). End with information about the DVD, as in item 61, including the disc number, if any.

63. CD-ROM Treat a CD-ROM as you would any other source, but add the medium (“CD-ROM”).

64. Computer software or video game List the developer or author of the software (if any); the title, italicized; the distributor and date of publication; and the platform or medium.

65. Radio or television program Begin with the title of the radio segment or television episode (if there is one), in quotation marks. Then give the title of the program or series, italicized; relevant information about the program, such as the writer (“By”), director (“Dir.”), performers (“Perf.”), or narrator (“Narr.”); the network; the local station (if any) and location; the date of broadcast; and the medium (“Television,” “Radio”). For a program you accessed online, after the information about the program give the network, the original broadcast date, the title of the Web site, the medium (“Web”), and your date of access.

66. Radio or television interview Begin with the name of the person who was interviewed, followed by the word “Interview” and the interviewer’s name, if relevant. End with information about the program as in item 65.

67. Live performance For a live performance of a concert, a play, a ballet, or an opera, begin with the title of the work performed, italicized. Then give the author or composer of the work (“By”); relevant information such as the director (“Dir.”), the choreographer (“Chor.”), the conductor (“Cond.”), or the major performers (“Perf.”); the orchestra or the theater, ballet, or opera company, if any; the theater and location; the date of the performance; and the label “Performance.”

68. Lecture or public address Begin with the speaker’s name, followed by the title of the lecture (if any), in quotation marks; the organization sponsoring the lecture; the location; the date; and a label such as “Lecture” or “Address.”

69. Work of art Cite the artist’s name; the title of the artwork, italicized; the date of composition; the medium of composition (for instance, “Lithograph on paper,” “Photograph,” “Charcoal on paper”); and the institution and city in which the artwork is located. For artworks found online, omit the medium of composition and include the title of the Web site, the medium (“Web”), and your date of access.

70. Cartoon Give the cartoonist’s name; the title of the cartoon, if it has one, in quotation marks; the label “Cartoon” or “Comic strip”; publication information; and the medium. To cite an online cartoon, instead of publication information give the title of the Web site, the sponsor or publisher, the medium, and your date of access.

71. Advertisement Name the product or company being advertised, followed by the word “Advertisement.” Give publication information for the source in which the advertisement appears.

72. Map or chart Cite a map or a chart as you would a book or a short work within a longer work. Use the word “Map” or “Chart” following the title. Add the medium and, for an online source, the sponsor or publisher and the date of access.

This section includes a variety of sources not covered elsewhere. For online sources, consult the appropriate model in this section and also see items 34-55.

73. Government document Treat the government agency as the author, giving the name of the government followed by the name of the department and the agency, if any. For print sources, add the medium at the end of the entry. For online sources, follow the model for an entire Web site (item 34) or a short work from a Web site (item 35).

74. Historical document To cite a historical document, such as the US Constitution or the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, begin with the document author, if it has one, and then give the document title, neither italicized nor in quotation marks, and the document date. For a print version, continue as for a selection in an anthology (see item 24) or for a book (with the title not italicized). For an online version, cite as a short work from a Web site (see item 35).

75. Legal source

Legislative act (law)

Begin with the name of the act, neither italicized nor in quotation marks. Then provide the act’s Public Law number; its Statutes at Large volume and page numbers; its date of enactment; and the medium of publication.

Court case

Name the first plaintiff and the first defendant. Then give the volume, name, and page numbers of the law report; the court name; the year of the decision; and publication information. Do not italicize the name of the case. (In the text of the paper, the name of the case is italicized; see item 19 in MLA-4a.)

76. Pamphlet or brochure Cite as you would a book (see items 16-33).

77. Unpublished dissertation Begin with the author’s name, followed by the dissertation title in quotation marks; the abbreviation “Diss.”; the name of the institution; the year the dissertation was accepted; and the medium of the dissertation.

78. Published dissertation For dissertations that have been published in book form, italicize the title. After the title and before the book’s publication information, give the abbreviation “Diss.,” the name of the institution, and the year the dissertation was accepted. Add the medium of publication at the end.

79. Abstract of a dissertation Cite an abstract as you would an unpublished dissertation. After the dissertation date, give the abbreviation DA or DAI (for Dissertation Abstracts or Dissertation Abstracts International), followed by the volume and issue numbers; the year of publication; inclusive page numbers or, if the abstract is not numbered, the item number; and the medium of publication. For an abstract accessed in an online database, give the item number in place of the page number, followed by the name of the database, the medium, and your date of access.

80. Published proceedings of a conference Cite as you would a book, adding the name, date, and location of the conference after the title.

81. Paper in conference proceedings Cite as you would a selection in an anthology (see item 24), giving information about the conference after the title and editors of the conference proceedings (see item 80).

82. Published interview Name the person interviewed, followed by the title of the interview (if there is one). If the interview does not have a title, include the word “Interview” after the interviewee’s name. Give publication information for the work in which the interview was published.

If you wish to include the name of the interviewer, put it after the title of the interview (or after the name of the interviewee if there is no title).

83. Personal interview To cite an interview that you conducted, begin with the name of the person interviewed. Then write “Personal interview” or “Telephone interview,” followed by the date of the interview.

84. Personal letter To cite a letter that you received, begin with the writer’s name and add the phrase “Letter to the author,” followed by the date. Add the medium (“MS” for “manuscript,” or a handwritten letter; “TS” for “typescript,” or a typed letter).

85. Published letter Begin with the writer of the letter, the words “Letter to” and the recipient, and the date of the letter (use “N.d.” if the letter is undated). Then add the title of the collection and proceed as for a selection in an anthology (see item 24).

86. Manuscript Give the author, a title or a description of the manuscript, and the date of composition, followed by the abbreviation “MS” for “manuscript” (handwritten) or “TS” for “typescript.” Add the name and location of the institution housing the material. For a manuscript found online, give the preceding information but omit “MS” or “TS.” Then list the title of the Web site, the medium (“Web”), and your date of access.