Government agency as author (MLA)

In-text citation

MLA-60

One government agency reports that seat belt use saved an average of more than fourteen thousand lives per year in the United States between 2000 and 2010 (United States, Dept. of Transportation, Natl. Highway Traffic Safety Administration 231).

Explain

  • When a government agency is treated as the author, it is alphabetized in the list of works cited under the name of the government, such as “United States.” For this reason, you must name the government in your in-text citation.
  • When the agency name has many elements, as in this example, it is best to use a parenthetical citation so as not to interrupt the text with a long string of names.
  • Abbreviations are used in the works cited entry and in a parenthetical citation. All elements are spelled out in a signal phrase.

Works cited entry

United States, Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic Safety Facts 2010: A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Crash Data from the Fatalit Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System. www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811659.pdf. Accessed 12 Apr. 2013.

Directory to MLA in-text citation models

Related in-text citation model:

Corporate author