Rules for using Modern Languages Association (MLA) Style

What is MLA Style? Modern Languages Association (MLA) style is one of several styles for academic citation. It is used in the humanities, especially English. The examples in this handout cover the more common sources only. For more detailed information, refer to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers available in reference sections of all libraries.

General Rules for formatting a Works Cited Page Double space the entire list Use hanging indentation format (indent one-half inch from the left margin). In MS word use Format>Paragraph>Special>Hanging. If your citation extends to a second line, you must indent the second line (and each subsequent line thereafter) another half-inch further than the first line of the citation. Alphabetize entries by the authors last name or, if there is no author, by title, ignoring initial articles such as A, An, or The. Reverse the authors name for alphabetizing but otherwise give the authors name as it appears in the source. If there are two or more entries by the same author(s), give the name(s) in the first entry, and then use three hyphens (---) in place of the name(s) in the following entry or entries; alphabetize the entries by title. Capitalize the first, the last and all significant words of a title and subtitle regardless of how they are capitalized in your source. Shorten the publishers name. Use U for university and P for press. Italicize titles and subtitles for works published independently; use quotation marks for works published only as part of another work, e.g. an essay in a book or an article in a journal. To cite material from an online database to which a library subscribes, such as JSTOR, add the word Web before the date of access. Parenthetical References (or In-Text Citations) 1. Whenever you incorporate anothers words, facts, or ideas, insert a brief parenthetical acknowledgement. Give the authors last name and the page(s) of the source. If the authors name appears in the preceding sentence, you may omit it from the parenthetical citation. Example: Medieval Europe was a place of raids, pillages, slavery, and extortion (Townsend 10). Townsend notes that medieval Europe was a place of raids, pillages, slavery, and extortion (10).

2. For web resources, unless the pages or paragraphs are numbered, use only the authors last name. If no author is indicated, use the first word of the title. 3. If you borrow more than once from the same source within a single paragraph and no borrowing from another source intervenes, you may give a single parenthetical reference after the last borrowing. 4. In citing classic verse, plays and poems, omit page numbers and cite by division (act, scene, line #). Titles of famous works are often abbreviated (Ham. 1.5.3537).

Examples of Modern Languages Association (MLA) Style Citations

Book and Book Sections One authorWorks Cited Entry: Richler, Mordecai. Barneys Version. Toronto: Vintage Canada, 1997. Print. In-text citation: (Richler 37). Two or more authorsWorks Cited Entry: Barrows, Annie, and Mary Ann Shaffer. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. New York: Dial Press Trade Paperbacks, 2009. Print. In-text citation: (Barrows and Shaffer 5253). More than three authorsWorks Cited Entry: Gillis, Sander, et al. Grammar of the English Language. New York: Random House Canada, 1987. Print. In-text citation: (Gillis et al. 27). No authorWorks Cited Entry: A Guide to Our Federal Lands. Washington: National Geographic Soc., 1984. Print. In-text citation: (Guide 241242). AnthologyWorks Cited Entry: Lawall, Susan, and Maynard Mack, eds. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. 7 th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 1999. Print. In-text citation: (Lawall and Mack 142). Poem in an anthologyWorks Cited Entry: Blake, William. The Chimney Sweeper. The Longman Anthology of British Literature: Volume 2AThe Romantics and Their Contemporaries. Ed. David Damrosch. New York: Addison-Wesley Edu. Pub. Inc., 2003. Print. In-text citation: (Blake 117).

Article in a reference bookWorks Cited Entry: Holmes, Nancy. Writing programs in Canada. Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada. Ed. William H. New Toronto: U of Toronto P, 2002. 12291235. Print. In-text citation: (Holmes 1229). Introduction, Preface, Forward or AfterwardWorks Cited Entry: Glotfelty, Cheryl. Literary Studies in an Age of Environmental Crisis. Introduction. The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology. Eds. Cheryl Glotfelty and Harold Fromm. Athens U of Georgia P, 1996. xvxxxvii. Print. In-text citation: (Glotfelty xvi). Graphic novelWorks Cited Entry: Moore, Alan, writer, and Gibbons, Dave, artist. Watchmen. New York: DC Comics, 1986. Print. In-text citation: (Moore 1.37). Electronic bookWorks Cited Entry: Bradford, Richard. The Complete Critical Guide to John Milton. London: Routledge, 2001. MyiLibrary. Web. 29 July 2009. In-text citation: (Bradford 53). Electronic published before 1900: Retrieved from an online databaseWorks Cited Entry: Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe. London, 1719. Eighteenth Century Fiction. Web. 22 Dec. 2006. In-text citation: (Defoe 27).

Journal Articles Print journal articleWorks Cited Entry: Keyes, Daniel. The Imaginary Community of the Live Studio Audience of Television. Studies in Popular Culture. 21.3 (1999): 6578. Print. In-text citation: (Keyes 66).

Electronic journal article: Retrieved from an online databaseWorks Cited Entry: Lawrence, Sean. Gods that we adore: The Divine in King Lear. Renaissance: Essays on Values in Literature. 56.3 (2004): 143159. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Dec. 2008. In-text citation: (Lawrence 144). Article in a magazineWorks Cited Entry: Bemrose, John. Art of the Ordinary: Carol Shields Turned the Mundane Details of Middle-Class Life Into the Stuff of Vision. Macleans 28 July 2003: 46. Print. In-text citation: (Bemrose 46). Newspaper articleWorks Cited Entry: Squire, J.P. Couplet Canned by Council. Daily Courier [Kelowna] 20 Jan. 2004: A1. Print. In-text citation: (Squire A1).

Additional Common Sources Advertisement: PrintWorks Cited Entry: Telus. Advertisement. Macleans 11 Dec. 2006: 27. Print. In-text citation: (Telus 27). Advertisement: Internet siteWorks Cited Entry: Nike. Advertisement. Dont Wait for Winter. 15 Sept. 2005. Web. 17 Oct. 2007. In-text citation: (Nike). Interview: PublishedWorks Cited Entry: Fleming, Anne. Interview by Lana Okerlund. Room of Ones Own. 29. 1. (2006): 98. Print. In-text citation: (Fleming 98).

Interview: Conducted by researcherWorks Cited Entry: Castricano, Jodey. Personal Interview. 15 Dec. 2006. In-text citation: (Casticano). Class notes from a handout or course packWorks Cited Entry: Senger, Lainie. Historical Backgrounds to Beowulf. Eng. 153. Readings in Narrative. U of British Columbian Okanagan. 27 May 2009. Class notes. In-text citation: (Senger). Class notes from a lectureWorks Cited Entry: Senger, Lainie. Historical Backgrounds to Beowulf. Eng. U of British Columbian Okanagan. 27 May 2009. Lecture notes. In-text citation: (Senger).

Web Documents Internet site: Single authorWorks Cited Entry: Hogan, Joseph. The Urizen Books of William Blake. Voice of the Shuttle. Dept. of English. U of California, Santa Barbara, n.d. Web. 15 July 2009. In-text citation: (Hogan). * The order for sourcing a web document is as follows: the authors name (if known), the title of the article, the title of the website, the publisher or sponsor name (use n.p. [no publisher] if not provided), the date the website was created (use n.d. [no date] if not provided), the medium (i.e. Web), and the date of access. Internet site: no author: URL requiredWorks Cited Entry: The Intelligence of Dogs. n.p. n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2006. <http://www.petrix.com/dogint/>. In-text citation: (Intelligence). BlogWorks Cited Entry: Zack, Richard. Teaching Logic from Historical Sources. Logblog. n.p., 23 Nov. 2006. Web. 15 July 2009. In-text citation: (Zack).

Media A Film: FeatureWorks Cited Entry: Hamlet. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. Mel Gibson. Warner Bros., 1990. DVD. In-text citation: (Hamlet). A Film: DocumentaryWorks Cited Entry: The Tribal Mind. National Film Board of Canada, 1994. Videocassette. In-text citation: (Tribal). Television programWorks Cited Entry: Money, Truth and Spin. Narr. Linden MacIntyre. The Fifth Estate.CBC, Toronto, 8 Feb. 2006. Television. In-text citation: (Money). CDWorks Cited Entry: Letourneau, Denis, and Stu Goldberg. Reinventions. Dedication Records, 2006. CD. In-text citation: (Letourneau and Goldberg). Video Clip posted to an internet siteWorks Cited Entry: Margaret Atwood Lecture. 22 Dec. 2006. YouTube. Web. 22 Jan. 2007. In-text citation: (Margaret).

Sample Works Cited Page Start your works cited list on a new page and doublespace all entries. Entries must be arranged in alphabetical order.

Works Cited Barrows, Annie, and Mary Ann Shaffer. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. New York: Dial Press Trade Paperbacks, 2009. Print. Blake, William. The Chimney Sweeper. The Longman Anthology of British Literature: Volume 2AThe Romantics and Their Contemporaries. Ed. David Damrosch. New York: Addison-Wesley Edu. Pub. Inc., 2003. Print. Gillis, Sander, et al. Grammar of the English Language. New York: Random, 1987. Print. Glotfelty, Cheryl. Literary Studies in an Age of Environmental Crisis. Introduction. The Ecocriticism

Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology. Eds. Cheryl Glotfelty and Harold Fromm. Athens U of Georgia P, 1996. xvxxxvii. Print. Hamlet. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. Mel Gibson. Warner Bros., 1990. DVD. Margaret Atwood Lecture. 22 Dec. 2006. YouTube. Web. 22 Jan. 2007. Senger, Lainie. Historical Backgrounds to Beowulf. Eng. 153. Readings in Narrative. U of British Columbian Okanagan. 27 May 2009. Class notes. The Intelligence of Dogs. n.p. n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2006. <http://www.petrix.com/dogint/>.

Format Works Cited entries with a hanging indent (in MS word use Format>Paragraph> Special>Hanging