MLA Citation Guide

This guide is based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed.
For each of the following examples there are two parts. The first one explains the format that should be used at the end of the research paper, providing complete information on the resource (Works Cited). The second part corresponds to the citation included in the paper, immediately after the quotation (Parenthetical).

Numbers in square brackets refer to the paragraphs in the MLA Handbook.

NOTE: The new edition of the MLA Handbook, released in April 2009, introduces student writers to a significant revision of the documentation style. General paper formatting (margins, titles, etc.) and parenthetical citations remain the same, but the style for the Works Cited list is different from the guidelines in the previous edition.

  • No more underlining: MLA now recommends to italicize titles of independetly published works (books, periodicals, websites, etc.).
  • No more URLs: MLA no longer requires URLs for online sources (they can be included as supplementary information or whenever the citation does not help the reader in locating the source).
  • Publication medium: now each entry is followed by information about the publication medium to state whether the source is printed or online (other possibilities of medium are DVD, TV, etc.)

Click here to view the guide based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed.

PRINTED SOURCES

Book (one author) [5.5.2]

  • Work Cited:
    Cantor, Norman. The Civilization of the Middle Ages. New York: Harper, 1994.     Print.

  • Parenthetical: (Cantor 274)

 

Book (two or three authors)[5.5.4]

  • Work Cited:
    Caciagli, Mario, and Alan S. Zuckerman. Italian Politics: Emerging Themes and Institutional Responses. New York: Berghahn Books, 2001.     Print.
  • Parenthetical: (Caciagli and Zuckerman 143) *

If there are more than three authors, you may list the first only and then add et al. (abbreviation for "and others").

* For more than 3 authors: (Caciagli et al. 155)

Anthology [5.5.3]

  • Work Cited:
    Abrams, M.H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: Norton, 1968. Print.

  • Parenthetical: (Abrams 97)

Works in an Anthology [5.5.6]

  • Work Cited:
    Browning, Robert. “The Lost Reader.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: Norton, 1968: 937. Print.

  • Parenthetical: (Browning 937)

An Article in a Reference Book [5.5.7]

  • Work Cited:
    “Violence.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd. ed. 1989. Print.

  • Parenthetical: (“Violence”)

Journal Article [5.4.2]

  • Work Cited:
    Labanca, Nicola. “Colonial Rule, Colonial Repression and War Crimes in the Italian Colonies.” Journal of Modern Italian Studies 9.3 (2004): 300-313. Print.

  • Parenthetical: (Labanca 305)

Magazine Article [5.4.6]

  • Work Cited:
    Hoffman, Ross H., “Controlling Hurricanes.” Scientific American Oct. 2004: 38-45. Print.

  • Parenthetical: (Hoffman 43)

 

Newspaper Article [5.4.5]

  • Work Cited:
    Moffett, Sebastian. “As Yen surges, Tokyo remains on Sidelines.” Wall Street Journal Europe 26-28 Nov. 2004: M1. Print.

  • Parenthetical: (Moffett M1)

 

Review [5.4.7]

  • Work Cited:

Untitled review
Halber, Jacques. Rev. of On Photography, by Susan Sontag. Leonardo 12.4 (1979): 344. Print.

Titled review
Postlethwaite, Diana. "Scene Stealer." Rev. of In America , by Susan Sontag.The Women's Review of Books 17.9 (2000): 5-6. Print.

If the review is titled but unsigned, begin the entry with the title of the review.

  • Parenthetical: (Halber 344), (Postlethwaite 6 )

 

A Work of Visual Art [5.7.6]

  • Work Cited:

Bernini, Gianlorenzo. Ecstasy of St. Teresa. 1645-1652. Marble. Cornaro Chapel, S. Maria della Vittoria, Rome, Italy.

Reproduction
Van Gogh, Vincent. Parisian Novels. Private collection. Van Gogh and Gauguin: the Studio of the South. Ed. by Douglas Druick and Peter Kort Zegers. Thames and Hudson, 2001. Plate 71. Print.

  • Parenthetical: (Van Gogh)

.

AUDIOVISUAL SOURCES

When citing audiovisual sources (with the exception of music on CD), you need to specify the medium used and the publication date.

A Film or Video Recording [5.7.3]

  • Work Cited:
    L’Avventura. Dir. Michelangelo Antonioni. Cino del Duca, 1960. Criterion Collection, 2001.     DVD.

  • Parenthetical: (L'Avventura)

A Sound Recording [5.7.2]

  • Work Cited:
    Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. Così Fan Tutte. Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus. Cond. Herbert von Karajan. EMI, 1999. CD.

  • Parenthetical: (Mozart)

.

ON-LINE SOURCES

An entry for an online source should include the following components, in sequence:

  1. Name of the author, compiler, or editor of the content.
  2. Title of the work.
  3. Title of the overall Web site, if different from the previous title.
  4. Version or edition.
  5. Publisher or sponsor; if not available, use N.p.
  6. Date of publication; if not available, use n.d.
  7. Medium of publication (Web).
  8. Date of access.

 

Entire Internet Site [5.6.2]

  • Work Cited:
    Crane, Gregory R., ed. Perseus Digital Library. Tufts University, 2008. Web. 3 Nov. 2008.

  • Parenthetical: (Crane)

Document from an Internet Site [5.6.2]

  • Work Cited:
    Villani, Giovanni. "Florentine Chronicle." Internet Medieval Sourcebook. Fordham University, 21 Mar. 2007. Web. 3 Nov. 2008.

  • Parenthetical: (Villani)

Article in an Online Database [5.6.4]

  • Work Cited:
    Beck, James. "The Dream of Leonardo da Vinci." Artibus et Historiae 14.27 (1993):185-198. JSTOR. Web. 17 Apr. 2006.

Kaffine, Daniel. "The Politics of the Environment: Ideas, Activism, Policy." Energy Journal 29.3 (2008):180-182. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Nov. 2008.

  • Parenthetical: (Beck 186), (Kaffine 181-182)

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Last update: 1-7-2009