Chapter 21: Using MLA Style

How do I cite sources within the text of my document?

How do I prepare the list of works cited?

image Modern Language Association (MLA) style, used primarily in the humanities, emphasizes the authors of a source and the pages on which information is located in the source. Writers who use the MLA documentation system cite, or formally acknowledge, source information within their text using parentheses, and they provide a list of sources in a works cited list at the end of their document. The works cited list also indicates the medium of the source (print, Web, film, manuscript, and so on).

Caitlin Guariglia, Mi Famiglia

Jennie Tillson, Death, Taxes, and College Tuition

Vince Reid, The Changing Face of Online Gaming

For more information about MLA style, consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Seventh Edition. Information about the MLA Handbook can also be found at www.mla.org.

CITATIONS WITHIN YOUR TEXT
  1. Basic format for a source named in your text
  2. Basic format for a source not named in your text
  3. Entire source
  4. Corporate, group, or government author
  5. Unknown author
  6. Two or more works by the same author
  7. Two or more authors with the same last name
  8. Two or three authors
  1. Four or more authors
  2. Literary work
  3. Work in an edited collection or anthology
  4. Sacred text
  5. Two or more works cited together
  6. Source quoted in another source
  7. Source without page numbers

ENTRIES IN YOUR WORKS CITED LIST

image PRINT BOOKS

  1. One author
  2. Two or three authors
  3. Four or more authors
  4. Corporate or group author
  5. Unknown author
  6. Two or more books by the same author
  7. Editor(s)
  8. Author with an editor
  9. Translated book
  10. Edition other than the first
  11. Republished book
  12. Multivolume work
  13. Work in an edited collection or anthology
  14. Foreword, introduction, preface, or afterword
  15. Sacred text
  16. Dissertation or thesis

image SOURCES IN PRINT JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, AND NEWSPAPERS

  1. Article in a journal
  2. Article in a monthly or bimonthly magazine
  3. Article in a weekly or biweekly magazine
  4. Article in a newspaper
  5. Unsigned article
  6. Editorial
  7. Letter to the editor
  8. Review
  9. Published interview

image PRINT REFERENCE WORKS

  1. Entry in an encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, handbook, or almanac
  2. Map or chart
  1. Government publication
  2. Brochure or pamphlet

image FIELD SOURCES

  1. Personal interview
  2. Personal survey
  3. Unpublished letter
  4. Lecture or public address

image MEDIA SOURCES

  1. Film or video recording
  2. Television or radio program
  3. Sound recording
  4. Live performance
  5. Work of art
  6. Advertisement
  7. Cartoon

image ELECTRONIC SOURCES

  1. Article from an online database or subscription service
  2. Short work from a Web site
  3. Academic course or department Web site
  4. Personal Web site
  5. Message posted to a newsgroup, electronic mailing list, or online discussion forum
  6. Article or page on a wiki
  7. Blog
  8. E-mail message
  9. Online book
  10. Online periodical article
  11. Online film or video clip
  12. Online image
  13. DVD, Blu-ray disc, or CD-ROM
  14. Computer software or video game
  15. Other online sources