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Getting started:
1) MLA requires a hanging indent for its citations.
2) PLEASE BE SURE TO DOUBLE SPACE CITATIONS. (For space saving reasons, the citations below are single spaced.)
3) Entitle your reference sheet "Works Cited"
4) Alphabetize the works.
Note: This guide uses italics instead of underlining, which is different than the examples given in the MLA Handbook, 6th ed. However, MLA, 6th ed, does note (p. 94) that you may use italics rather than underlining when typing titles but suggests that you check with your instructor to determine their preference. Please note that these citation formats are for the works cited page. For information on in text citations please see: http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/research/mlaparen.html. Also see the USM Libraries' MLA Tutorial for formatting instructions.
Book by a Single Author/Editor
Book by Multiple Authors/Editors
If, instead of authors, the names of editors, translators or compilers appear on the title pages, then their name(s) should be listed. A comma should come after the name(s) and the proper abbreviation (eds., trans., or comps.) should follow the comma.
Book by More than Three Authors/Editors
If MORE THAN three persons authored/edited the book, only the first name (reversed) should appear, followed by a comma and "et al."
Second Work by Same Author
If an author or authors have their names on more than one text, check to see if the authorship of both texts is identical. If, and only if, the authors are in fact identical, then the listing for the second entry should be replaced with three hyphens and a period.
Corporate Authorship
A corporate author can be a commission, association, committee, etc. If the corporate author and the publisher are the same, the corporate author's name should still appear in the author position of a bibliographic entry as well as in the publisher position.
No Author identified
If no author can be identified, then a text is alphabetized by the first word of its title, excluding definite or indefinite articles (note that "The Shepherd's Consort" precedes Tesh, Sylvia Noble). If two or more anonymous works have the same title, find a publication fact that will distinguish one from the other, such as a publication date, and add it to their parenthetical references.
Edited Collections - no author given
Anthologies/Book Parts/Translations
If you refer to an article within an edited collection (book chapter, short stories, introduction, etc.) then the bibliographic entry should begin with the author of the referenced text. The name(s) of the editor(s), compiler(s), translator(s) in first name/last name order should follow the title of the publication preceded by "Ed." "Trans." "Comp".
Note: Page numbers of the article are included at the end of the citation.
If you mainly reference the specific comments and work of the translator, then the translator's name (reversed) should appear first, followed by a comma, "trans.", and a period. The author's name (in normal order), preceded by "By", should appear after the text's title.
Book in a Series
Multivolume Works
Make reference to specific volumes and page numbers within the text of your paper. When using only one volume in a multivolume work, insert the number of the volume you are using between the title and the publication information for that volume.
You may also add the total number of volumes at the end of the entry. If the volume has a different title from the entire work, your citation will appear as follows:
Encyclopedia Articles (article unsigned and signed)
Government Publications
The typical citation for a government document begins with the author. If no author is given, begin by identifying the government (United States, Mississippi, Mexico, etc.) and the agency that issued the document. Include the title of the publication, place, publisher and date. Well known historical documents (such as the United States Constitution) need only be documented in parenthetical citations. Legislative bills and acts must still be included in the works-cited-list.
For congressional documents, include number and session of Congress and the type and number of the publication before the publishing information.
For Congressional Records, include only the date and page numbers.
Patent
Give the name of the inventor, the title of the patent, the name of the assignee, the patent number (preceded by the word Patent) and the issue date.
Legal Sources
The MLA Handbook, 6th ed. suggests that you use The Blue Book: A Uniform System of Citation (Cambridge: Harvard Law Rev. Assn.), if you are going to frequently cite legal sources in your paper.
Legal Acts
To cite an act, state the name of the act, the Public Law number, the date it was enacted, and its Statutes at Large cataloging number.
Legal Cases
To cite a law case give the names of the first plaintiff and the first defendent, the case number, the name of the court, and the date of the decision.
Conference Proceedings
Conference proceedings are cited the same way as a book with the addition of all pertinent conference information.
Presentations in proceedings are treated like works in a collection.
Dissertation
ERIC Document - Materials Accessed Through a Computer Service
Include the following information: Author name (if given); publication information; title of the database (underlined); publication medium (Online); name of the computer service (EbscoHost, Silverplatter, etc.); date of access.
Footnotes or Endnotes in a Works Cited Page
Do not list the indirect source (the text listed in the endnote or footnote) in your bibliography. Only mention the actual source in which you found the information.
Journal with Continuous Pagination (page numbers continue from one issue to the next)
Note that with this type of journal, issue numbers are not necessary and the year is sufficient for the date.
Journal with Non-Continuous Pagination (each issue has separate page numbering)
Note here that the volume number (26) is followed by a period and then by the issue number (3); note also that the date is more specific than simply the year.
Article in a Weekly Periodical
Note that volume numbers are not listed for magazines. Periodical titles should be underlined.
Interviews
Films and Videotapes
Begin with the title, which should be underlined, followed by the director's name. Then, include any additional information that you find relevant, such as the names of lead actors. End with the distributor and year, separated by a comma.
Recordings
With commercial recordings, begin with the name of the contributor being cited. Then cite the title, the artist(s), the manufacturer, the catalog number, and the year of release. When using a medium other than a record, state the medium (eg. CD), immediately after the title. Underline the title of the record but as in musical compositions, do not underline titles identified by form, number, and key only. If necessary, state at the end of the entry, any relevant characteristics of the recording and whether the recording is no longer available. Cite spoken, non-musical recordings the same way. When citing jacket notes or any text accompanying a recording, state (in the following order), the author's name,the title of the material and a description of the ma terial (e.g. jacket notes) followed by the normal bibliography information mentioned above.
Computer Software
Writer of the program (if known), an underlined title of the program, the version of the program, a descriptive label, the distributor and the year of publication. At the end of the entry, add relevant information such as the operating system the program needs, number of kilobytes and form of the program. The medium can be, but is not limited to the following: online, CD-ROM, floppy disk, magnetic tapes. Pagination in electronic references is unavailable in many cases, thus left out of the citation.
Computer or Internet Resources
Almost all of the following is taken directly from the MLA Website's "MLA Style - FAQ" found through (http://www.mla.org/). Entries in a works-cited list for computer or Internet resources contain as many items from the list below as are relevant and available.
1. Name of the author, editor, compiler, or translator of the source (if available and relevant), reversed for alphabetizing and followed by an abbreviation, such as ed., if appropriate
2. Title of a poem, short story, article, or similar short work within a scholarly project, database, or periodical (in quotation marks); or title of a posting to a discussion list or forum (taken from the subject line and put in quotation marks), followed by the description Online posting
3. Title of a book (underlined)
4. Name of the editor, compiler, or translator of the text (if relevant and if not cited earlier), preceded by the appropriate abbreviation, such as Ed.
5. Publication information for any print version of the source
6. Title of the scholarly project, database, periodical, or professional or personal site (underlined); or, for a professional or personal site with no title, a description such as Home page
7. Name of the editor of the scholarly project or database (if available)
8. Version number of the source (if not part of the title) or, for a journal, the volume number, issue number, or other identifying number
9. Date of electronic publication, of the latest update, or of posting
10. For a work from a subscription service, the name of the service and--if a library is the subscriber--the name and city (and state abbreviation, if necessary) of the library
11. For a posting to a discussion list or forum, the name of the list or forum
12. The number range or total number of pages, paragraphs, or other sections, if they are numbered If only the starting page number is provided, give the number followed by a hyphen, a space and then a period.
13. Name of any institution or organization sponsoring or associated with the Web site
14. Date when the researcher accessed the source
15. Electronic address, or URL, of the source (in angle brackets); or, for a subscription service, the URL of the service's main page (if known) or the keyword assigned by the service Note: If the URL is too long and the source is a database, simply give the URL of the search page where you found the article. If there is no URL, give the URL for the homepage of the service that provides the database.
Scholarly Project
Professional Site
Personal Site
Academic Course Page
Academic Department Page
Book
Poem
Article in a Reference Database
Article in a Journal
Article in a Magazine
Article from a Subscription Service (i.e. EbscoHost, Lexis-Nexis, etc.)
Note: If a library is the subscriber, include the library name, city and state.
Posting to a Discussion List
Disclaimer: USM Libraries offer this handout as a guide only. We cannot offer suggestions or interpretations about citations. Please refer to the actual Style Manual or your teacher for clarifications.
Last modified: August 2006