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Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Formatting and Style Guide

Please use the example at the bottom of this page to cite the Purdue OWL in
MLA.
General Format

MLA style specifies guidelines for formatting manuscripts and using the
English language in writing. MLA style also provides writers with a system
for referencing their sources through parenthetical citation in their essays and
Works Cited pages.

Writers who properly use MLA also build their credibility by demonstrating
accountability to their source material. Most importantly, the use of MLA
style can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism, which is the
purposeful or accidental uncredited use of source material by other writers.
If you are asked to use MLA format, be sure to consult the MLA Handbook
for Writers of Research Papers (7th edition). Publishing scholars and
graduate students should also consult the MLA Style Manual and Guide to
Scholarly Publishing (3rd edition). The MLA Handbook is available in most
writing centers and reference libraries; it is also widely available in
bookstores, libraries, and at the MLA web site. See the Additional Resources
section of this handout for a list of helpful books and sites about using MLA
style.
Paper Format

The preparation of papers and manuscripts in MLA style is covered in

chapter four of the MLA Handbook, and chapter four of the MLA Style
Manual. Below are some basic guidelines for formatting a paper in MLA
style.
General Guidelines

• Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x
11-inch paper.
• Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font (e.g. Times
New Roman). Whatever font you choose, MLA recommends that the
regular and italics type styles contrast enough that they are
recognizable one from another. The font size should be 12 pt.
• Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks (unless
otherwise instructed by your instructor).
• Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.
• Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin.
MLA recommends that you use the Tab key as opposed to pushing the
Space Bar five times.
• Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-
hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin.
(Note: Your instructor may ask that you omit the number on your first
page. Always follow your instructor's guidelines.)
• Use italics throughout your essay for the titles of longer works and,
only when absolutely necessary, providing emphasis.
• If you have any endnotes, include them on a separate page before your
Works Cited page. Entitle the section Notes (centered, unformatted).
Formatting the First Page of Your Paper

• Do not make a title page for your paper unless specifically requested.
• In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your
instructor's name, the course, and the date. Again, be sure to use
double-spaced text.
• Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or
place your title in quotation marks; write the title in Title Case
(standard capitalization), not in all capital letters.
• Use quotation marks and/or italics when referring to other works in
your title, just as you would in your text: Fear and Loathing in Las
Vegas as Morality Play; Human Weariness in "After Apple Picking"
• Double space between the title and the first line of the text.
• Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last
name, followed by a space with a page number; number all pages
consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from
the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor or other
readers may ask that you omit last name/page number header on your
first page. Always follow instructor guidelines.)

Here is a sample of the first page of a paper in MLA style:

Image Caption: The First Page of an MLA Paper
Section Headings

Writers sometimes use Section Headings to improve a document’s

readability. These sections may include individual chapters or other named
parts of a book or essay.

Essays

MLA recommends that when you divide an essay into sections that you
number those sections with an arabic number and a period followed by a
space and the section name.
1. Early Writings
2. The London Years
3. Traveling the Continent
4. Final Years

Books

MLA does not have a prescribed system of headings for books (for more
information on headings, please see page 146 in the MLA Style Manual and
Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd edition). If you are only using one level of
headings, meaning that all of the sections are distinct and parallel and have
no additional sections that fit within them, MLA recommends that these
sections resemble one another grammatically. For instance, if your headings
are typically short phrases, make all of the headings short phrases (and not,
for example, full sentences). Otherwise, the formatting is up to you. It should,
however, be consistent throughout the document.

If you employ multiple levels of headings (some of your sections have

sections within sections), you may want to provide a key of your chosen level
headings and their formatting to your instructor or editor.

Sample Section Headings

The following sample headings are meant to be used only as a reference. You
may employ whatever system of formatting that works best for you so long as
it remains consistent throughout the document.

Numbered:

1. Soil Conservation
1.1 Erosion
1.2 Terracing
2. Water Conservation
3. Energy Conservation

Formatted, unnumbered:

Level 1 Heading: bold, flush left

Level 2 Heading: italics, flush left

Level 3 Heading: centered, bold

Level 4 Heading: centered, italics

Level 5 Heading: underlined, flush left

How to Cite the Purdue OWL in MLA

Entire Website

The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. Date of access.

Individual Resources

Contributors' names and the last edited date can be found in the orange boxes
at the top of every page on the OWL.

Contributors' names. "Title of Resource." The Purdue OWL. Purdue U

Writing Lab, Last edited date. Web. Date of access.

Russell, Tony, Allen Brizee, and Elizabeth Angeli. "MLA Formatting and
Style Guide." The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 4 Apr. 2010. Web.
20 July 2010.

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics

Guidelines for referring to the works of others in your text using MLA style
are covered in chapter six of the MLA Handbook and in chapter seven of
theMLA Style Manual. Both books provide extensive examples, so it's a good
idea to consult them if you want to become even more familiar with MLA
guidelines or if you have a particular reference question.
Basic In-Text Citation Rules

In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text is done by using
what is known as parenthetical citation. This method involves placing
relevant source information in parentheses after a quote or a paraphrase.

General Guidelines

• The source information required in a parenthetical citation depends (1.)

upon the source medium (e.g. Print, Web, DVD) and (2.) upon the
source’s entry on the Works Cited (bibliography) page.
• Any source information that you provide in-text must correspond to the
source information on the Works Cited page. More specifically,
whatever signal word or phrase you provide to your readers in the text,
must be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of the
corresponding entry in the Works Cited List.
In-Text Citations: Author-Page Style

MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. This means
that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation
or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference
should appear on your Works Cited page. The author's name may appear
either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or
paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses,
not in the text of your sentence. For example:

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous

overflow of powerful feelings" (263).

Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful

feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process
(263).

Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell
readers that the information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a
work by an author named Wordsworth. If readers want more information
about this source, they can turn to the Works Cited page, where, under the
name of Wordsworth, they would find the following information:

Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford U.P., 1967. Print.

In-text Citations for Print Sources with Known Author

For Print sources like books, magazines, scholarly journal articles, and
newspapers, provide a signal word or phrase (usually the author’s last name)
and a page number. If you provide the signal word/phrase in the sentence,
you do not need to include it in the parenthetical citation.

Human beings have been described by Kenneth Burke as "symbol-using

animals" (3). Human beings have been described as "symbol-using animals"
(Burke 3).

These examples must correspond to an entry that begins with Burke, which
will be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of an entry in the
Works Cited:

Burke, Kenneth. Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature,

and Method. Berkeley: U of California P, 1966. Print.
In-text Citations for Print Sources with No Known Author

When a source has no known author, use a shortened title of the work instead
of an author name. Place the title in quotation marks if it's a short work (e.g.
articles) or italicize it if it's a longer work (e.g. plays, books, television
shows, entire websites) and provide a page number.

We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because

this region has “more readily accessible climatic data and more
comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . . ”
(“Impact of Global Warming” 6).

In this example, since the reader does not know the author of the article, an
abbreviated title of the article appears in the parenthetical citation which
corresponds to the full name of the article which appears first at the left-hand
margin of its respective entry in the Works Cited. Thus, the writer includes
the title in quotation marks as the signal phrase in the parenthetical citation in
order to lead the reader directly to the source on the Works Cited page. The
Works Cited entry appears as follows:

“The Impact of Global Warming in North America.” GLOBAL WARMING:

Early Signs. 1999. Web. 23 Mar. 2009.

We'll learn how to make a Works Cited page in a bit, but right now it's
important to know that parenthetical citations and Works Cited pages allow
readers to know which sources you consulted in writing your essay, so that
they can either verify your interpretation of the sources or use them in their
own scholarly work.
Author-Page Citation for Classic and Literary Works with Multiple Editions

Page numbers are always required, but additional citation information can
help literary scholars, who may have a different edition of a classic work like
Marx and Engels's The Communist Manifesto. In such cases, give the page
number of your edition (making sure the edition is listed in your Works Cited
page, of course) followed by a semicolon, and then the appropriate
abbreviations for volume (vol.), book (bk.), part (pt.), chapter (ch.), section
(sec.), or paragraph (par.). For example:

Marx and Engels described human history as marked by class struggles (79;
ch. 1).
Citing Authors with Same Last Names

Sometimes more information is necessary to identify the source from which a

quotation is taken. For instance, if two or more authors have the same last
name, provide both authors' first initials (or even the authors' full name if
different authors share initials) in your citation. For example:
Although some medical ethicists claim that cloning will lead to designer
children (R. Miller 12), others note that the advantages for medical research
outweigh this consideration (A. Miller 46).
Citing a Work by Multiple Authors

For a source with three or fewer authors, list the authors' last names in the
text or in the parenthetical citation:

Smith, Yang, and Moore argue that tougher gun control is not needed in the
United States (76).
The authors state "Tighter gun control in the United States erodes Second
Amendment rights" (Smith, Yang, and Moore 76).

For a source with more than three authors, use the work's bibliographic
information as a guide for your citation. Provide the first author's last name
followed by et al. or list all the last names.

Jones et al. counter Smith, Yang, and Moore's argument by noting that the
current spike in gun violence in America compels law makers to adjust gun
laws (4).

Or

Legal experts counter Smith, Yang, and Moore's argument by noting that the
current spike in gun violence in America compels law makers to adjust gun
laws (Jones et al. 4).

Or

Jones, Driscoll, Ackerson, and Bell counter Smith, Yang, and Moore's
argument by noting that the current spike in gun violence in America
compels law makers to adjust gun laws (4).
Citing Multiple Works by the Same Author

If you cite more than one work by a particular author, include a shortened
title for the particular work from which you are quoting to distinguish it from
the others.
Lightenor has argued that computers are not useful tools for small children
("Too Soon" 38), though he has acknowledged elsewhere that early exposure
to computer games does lead to better small motor skill development in a
child's second and third year ("Hand-Eye Development" 17).

Additionally, if the author's name is not mentioned in the sentence, you

would format your citation with the author's name followed by a comma,
followed by a shortened title of the work, followed, when appropriate, by
page numbers:

Visual studies, because it is such a new discipline, may be "too easy" (Elkins,
"Visual Studies" 63).
Citing Multivolume Works

If you cite from different volumes of a multivolume work, always include the
volume number followed by a colon. Put a space after the colon, then provide
the page number(s). (If you only cite from one volume, provide only the page
number in parentheses.)

. . . as Quintilian wrote in Institutio Oratoria (1: 14-17).

Citing the Bible

In your first parenthetical citation, you want to make clear which Bible you're
using (and underline or italicize the title), as each version varies in its
translation, followed by book (do not italicize or underline), chapter and
verse. For example:

Ezekiel saw "what seemed to be four living creatures," each with faces of a
man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (New Jerusalem Bible, Ezek. 1.5-10).

If future references employ the same edition of the Bible you’re using, list
only the book, chapter, and verse in the parenthetical citation.
Citing Indirect Sources

Sometimes you may have to use an indirect source. An indirect source is a

source cited in another source. For such indirect quotations, use "qtd. in" to
indicate the source you actually consulted. For example:
Ravitch argues that high schools are pressured to act as "social service
centers, and they don't do that well" (qtd. in Weisman 259).

Note that, in most cases, a responsible researcher will attempt to find the
original source, rather than citing an indirect source.
Citing Non-Print or Sources from the Internet

With more and more scholarly work being posted on the Internet, you may
have to cite research you have completed in virtual environments. While
many sources on the Internet should not be used for scholarly work
(reference the OWL's Evaluating Sources of Information resource), some
Web sources are perfectly acceptable for research. When creating in-text
citations for electronic, film, or Internet sources, remember that your citation
must reference the source in your Works Cited.

Sometimes writers are confused with how to craft parenthetical citations for
electronic sources because of the absence of page numbers, but often, these
sorts of entries do not require any sort of parenthetical citation at all. For
electronic and Internet sources, follow the following guidelines:

• Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry
that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website
name, film name).
• You do not need to give paragraph numbers or page numbers based on
your Web browser’s print preview function.
• Unless you must list the website name in the signal phrase in order to
get the reader to the appropriate entry, do not include URLs in-text.
Only provide partial URLs such as when the name of the site includes,
for example, a domain name, like CNN.com or Forbes.com as opposed
to writing out http://www.cnn.com or http://www.forbes.com.
Miscellaneous Non-Print Sources

Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo stars Herzog's long-time film partner, Klaus

Kinski. During the shooting of Fitzcarraldo, Herzog and Kinski were often at
odds, but their explosive relationship fostered a memorable and influential
film.
During the presentation, Jane Yates stated that invention and pre-writing are
areas of rhetoric that need more attention.

In the two examples above “Herzog” from the first entry and “Yates” from
the second lead the reader to the first item each citation’s respective entry on
the Works Cited page:

Herzog, Werner, dir. Fitzcarraldo. Perf. Klaus Kinski. Filmverlag der

Autoren, 1982. Film.

Yates, Jane. "Invention in Rhetoric and Composition." Gaps Addressed:

Future Work in Rhetoric and Composition, CCCC, Palmer House Hilton,
2002. Print.
Electronic Sources

One online film critic stated that Fitzcarraldo is "...a beautiful and terrifying
critique of obsession and colonialism" (Garcia, “Herzog: a Life”).
The Purdue OWL is accessed by millions of users every year. Its “MLA
Formatting and Style Guide” is one of the most popular resources (Stolley et
al.).

In the first example, the writer has chosen not to include the author name in-
text; however, two entries from the same author appear in the Works Cited.
Thus, the writer includes both the author’s last name and the article title in
the parenthetical citation in order to lead the reader to the appropriate entry
on the Works Cited page (see below). In the second example, “Stolley et al.”
in the parenthetical citation gives the reader an author name followed by the
abbreviation “et al.,” meaning, “and others,” for the article “MLA Formatting
and Style Guide.” Both corresponding Works Cited entries are as follows:

Garcia, Elizabeth. "Herzog: a Life." Online Film Critics Corner. The Film
School of New Hampshire, 2 May 2002. Web. 8 Jan. 2009.

Stolley, Karl. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The OWL at Purdue. 10
May 2006. Purdue University Writing Lab. 12 May 2006 .
Multiple Citations
To cite multiple sources in the same parenthetical reference, separate the
citations by a semi-colon:

. . . as has been discussed elsewhere (Burke 3; Dewey 21).

When a Citation Is Not Needed

Common sense and ethics should determine your need for documenting
sources. You do not need to give sources for familiar proverbs, well-known
quotations or common knowledge. Remember, this is a rhetorical choice,
based on audience. If you're writing for an expert audience of a scholarly
journal, for example, they'll have different expectations of what constitutes
common knowledge.

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Formatting Quotations

When you directly quote the works of others in your paper, you will format
quotations differently depending on their length. Below are some basic
guidelines for incorporating quotations into your paper. Please note that all
pages in MLA should be double-spaced.
Short Quotations

To indicate short quotations (fewer than four typed lines of prose or three
lines of verse) in your text, enclose the quotation within double quotation
marks. Provide the author and specific page citation (in the case of verse,
provide line numbers) in the text, and include a complete reference on the
Works Cited page. Punctuation marks such as periods, commas, and
semicolons should appear after the parenthetical citation. Question marks and
exclamation points should appear within the quotation marks if they are a
part of the quoted passage but after the parenthetical citation if they are a part
of your text. For example:

According to some, dreams express "profound aspects of personality"

(Foulkes 184), though others disagree.
According to Foulkes's study, dreams may express "profound aspects of
personality" (184).
Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects of personality"
(Foulkes 184)?

Mark breaks in short quotations of verse with a slash, /, at the end of each
line of verse: (a space should precede and follow the slash)

Cullen concludes, "Of all the things that happened there / That's all I
remember" (11-12).
Long Quotations

For quotations that extend to more than four lines of verse or prose: place
quotations in a free-standing block of text and omit quotation marks. Start the
quotation on a new line, with the entire quote indented one inch from the left
margin; maintain double-spacing. Only indent the first line of the quotation
by a half inch if you are citing multiple paragraphs. Your parenthetical
citation should come after the closing punctuation mark. When quoting
verse, maintain original line breaks. (You should maintain double-spacing
throughout your essay.) For example:

Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him throughout her
narration:
They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or even in their room, and I
had no more sense, so, I put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be
gone on the morrow. By chance, or else attracted by hearing his voice, it
crept to Mr. Earnshaw's door, and there he found it on quitting his chamber.
Inquiries were made as to how it got there; I was obliged to confess, and in
recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity was sent out of the house.
(Bronte 78)
When citing long sections of poetry, keep formatting as close to the original
as possible:

In his poem "My Papa's Waltz," Theodore Roethke explores his childhood
with his father:
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
We Romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself. (quoted in Shrodes, Finestone, Shugrue 202)
Adding or Omitting Words In Quotations

If you add a word or words in a quotation, you should put brackets around the
words to indicate that they are not part of the original text.

Jan Harold Brunvand, in an essay on urban legends, states: "some individuals

[who retell urban legends] make a point of learning every rumor or tale" (78).

If you omit a word or words from a quotation, you should indicate the deleted
word or words by using ellipsis marks, which are three periods ( . . . )
preceded and followed by a space. For example:

In an essay on urban legends, Jan Harold Brunvand notes that "some

individuals make a point of learning every recent rumor or tale . . . and in a
short time a lively exchange of details occurs" (78).

Please note that brackets are not needed around ellipses unless adding
brackets would clarify your use of ellipses.

When omitting words from poetry quotations, use a standard three-period

ellipses; however, when omitting one or more full lines of poetry, space
several periods to about the length of a complete line in the poem:

These beauteous forms, Through a long absence, have not been to me

As is a landscape to a blind man's eye:
....................
Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart; And passing even into my purer
mind, With tranquil restoration. . . (22-24, 28-30)
Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.
Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Footnotes and Endnotes

Because long explanatory notes can be distracting to readers, most academic
style guidelines (including MLA and APA) recommend limited use of
footnotes/endnotes; however, certain publishers encourage or require note
references in lieu of parenthetical references.

MLA discourages extensive use of explanatory or digressive notes. MLA

style does, however, allow you to use endnotes or footnotes forbibliographic
notes, which refer to other publications your readers may consult:

1. See Blackmur, especially chapters three and four, for an insightful analysis
of this trend.
2. On the problems related to repressed memory recovery, see Wollens 120-
35; for a contrasting view, see Pyle 43; Johnson, Hull, Snyder 21-35; Krieg
78-91.
3. Several other studies point to this same conclusion. See Johnson and Hull
45-79, Kather 23-31, Krieg 50-57.

Or, you can also use footnotes/endnotes for occasional explanatory notes(also
known as content notes), which refers to brief additional information that
might be too digressive for the main text:

4. In a 1998 interview, she reiterated this point even more strongly: "I am an
artist, not a politician!" (Weller 124).
Numbering Endnotes and Footnotes in the Document Body

Endnotes and footnotes in MLA format are indicated in-text by superscript

Arabic numbers after the punctuation of the phrase or clause to which the
note refers:

Some have argued that such an investigation would be fruitless.6

Scholars have argued for years that this claim has no basis,7 so we would do
well to ignore it.

Note that when a long dash appears in the text, the footnote/endnote number
appears before the dash:

For years, scholars have failed to address this point8—a fact that suggests
their cowardice more than their carelessness.

Do not use asterisks (*), angle brackets (>), or other symbols for note
references. The list of endnotes and footnotes (either of which, for papers
submitted for publication, should be listed on a separate page, as indicated
below) should correspond to the note references in the text.
Formatting Endnotes and Footnotes

Endnotes Page

MLA recommends that all notes be listed on a separate page entitled Notes
(centered, no formatting). (Use Note if there is only one note.) The Notes
page should appear before the Works Cited page. This is especially important
for papers being submitted for publication.

The notes themselves should be listed by consecutive arabic numbers that

correspond to the notation in the text. Notes are double-spaced with a
hanging indent. (Each endnote is indented five spaces; subsequent lines are
flush with the left margin.) Place a period and a space after each endnote
number. Provide the appropriate note after the space.

Footnotes (below the text body)

In the case that you need to format footnotes on the same page as the main
text, begin footnotes four lines (two double-spaced lines) below the main
text. Footnotes are single-space with a hanging indent. (Each footnote is
indented five spaces; subsequent lines are flush with the left margin.) Place a
period and a space after each footnote number. Provide the appropriate note
after the space.

For more information on using endnotes and footnotes, consult “Using Notes
with Parenthetical Documentation” in the MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers, 7th edition (sec. 6.5, 230-32), or the MLA Style Manual and
Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd edition (sec. 7.5, 259-60).

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Works Cited Page: Basic Format

According to MLA style, you must have a Works Cited page at the end of
your research paper. All entries in the Works Cited page must correspond to
the works cited in your main text.
Basic Rules

• Begin your Works Cited page on a separate page at the end of your
research paper. It should have the same one-inch margins and last
name, page number header as the rest of your paper.
• Label the page Works Cited (do not italicize the words Works Cited or
put them in quotation marks) and center the words Works Cited at the
top of the page.
• Double space all citations, but do not skip spaces between entries.
• Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations five spaces so that
you create a hanging indent.
 • List page numbers of sources efficiently, when needed. If you refer to a
journal article that appeared on pages 225 through 250, list the page
numbers on your Works Cited page as 225-50.
Additional Basic Rules New to MLA 2009

• For every entry, you must determine the Medium of Publication. Most
entries will likely be listed as Print or Web sources, but other
possibilities may include Film, CD-ROM, or DVD.
• Writers are no longer required to provide URLs for Web entries.
However, if your instructor or publisher insists on them, include them
in angle brackets after the entry and end with a period. For long URLs,
break lines only at slashes.
• If you're citing an article or a publication that was originally issued in
print form but that you retrieved from an online database, you should
type the online database name in italics. You do not need to provide
subscription information in addition to the database name.
Capitalization and Punctuation

• Capitalize each word in the titles of articles, books, etc, but do not
capitalize articles (the, an), prepositions, or conjunctions unless one is
the first word of the title or subtitle: Gone with the Wind, The Art of
War, There Is Nothing Left to Lose.
• New to MLA 2009: Use italics (instead of underlining) for titles of
larger works (books, magazines) and quotation marks for titles of
shorter works (poems, articles)
Listing Author Names

Entries are listed alphabetically by the author's last name (or, for entire edited
collections, editor names). Author names are written last name first; middle
names or middle initials follow the first name:

Burke, Kenneth
Levy, David M.
Wallace, David Foster
Do not list titles (Dr., Sir, Saint, etc.) or degrees (PhD, MA, DDS, etc.) with
names. A book listing an author named "John Bigbrain, PhD" appears simply
as "Bigbrain, John"; do, however, include suffixes like "Jr." or "II." Putting it
all together, a work by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be cited as "King,
Martin Luther, Jr.," with the suffix following the first or middle name and a
comma.
More than One Work by an Author

If you have cited more than one work by a particular author, order the entries
alphabetically by title, and use three hyphens in place of the author's name for
every entry after the first:

Burke, Kenneth. A Grammar of Motives. [...]

---. A Rhetoric of Motives. [...]

When an author or collection editor appears both as the sole author of a text
and as the first author of a group, list solo-author entries first:

Heller, Steven, ed. The Education of an E-Designer. Heller, Steven and

Karen Pomeroy. Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design.
Work with No Known Author

Alphabetize works with no known author by their title; use a shortened

version of the title in the parenthetical citations in your paper. In this case,
Boring Postcards USA has no known author:

Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulations. [...]

Boring Postcards USA. [...]

Burke, Kenneth. A Rhetoric of Motives. [...]

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Works Cited Page: Books

When you are gathering book sources, be sure to make note of the following
bibliographic items: author name(s), book title, publication date, publisher,
place of publication. The medium of publication for all “hard copy” books is
Print.

For more information, consult “Citing Nonperiodical Print Publications” in

the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th edition (sec. 5.5,
148-81), or the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd
edition (sec. 6.6, 185-211).
Basic Format

The first-give author’s name or a book with a single author's name appears in
last name, first name format. The basic form for a book citation is:

Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of

Publication. Medium of Publication.
Book with One Author

Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987.
Print.

Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. Denver: MacMurray, 1999. Print.

Book with More Than One Author

The first given name appears in last name, first name format; subsequent
author names appear in first name last name format.

Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer
Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000. Print.
If there are more than three authors, you may choose to list only the first
author followed by the phrase et al. (Latin for "and others") in place of the
subsequent authors' names, or you may list all the authors in the order in
which their names appear on the title page. (Note that there is a period after
“al” in “et al.” Also note that there is never a period after the “et” in “et al.”).

Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications
for Expanding the Teaching of Composition. Logan, UT: Utah State UP,
2004. Print.

or

Wysocki, Anne Frances, Johndan Johnson-Eilola, Cynthia L. Selfe, and

Geoffrey Sirc. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding
the Teaching of Composition. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 2004. Print.
Two or More Books by the Same Author

List works alphabetically by title. (Remember to ignore articles like A, An,

and The.) Provide the author’s name in last name, first name format for the
first entry only. For each subsequent entry by the same author, use three
hyphens and a period.

Palmer, William J. Dickens and New Historicism. New York: St. Martin's,
1997. Print.

---. The Films of the Eighties: A Social History. Carbondale: Southern Illinois
UP, 1993. Print.
Book by a Corporate Author or Organization

A corporate author may include a commission, a committee, or a group that

does not identify individual members on the title page. List the names of
corporate authors in the place where an author’s name typically appears at the
beginning of the entry.

American Allergy Association. Allergies in Children. New York: Random,

1998. Print.
Book with No Author
List by title of the book. Incorporate these entries alphabetically just as you
would with works that include an author name. For example, the following
entry might appear between entries of works written by Dean, Shaun and
Forsythe, Jonathan.

Encyclopedia of Indiana. New York: Somerset, 1993. Print.

Remember that for an in-text (parenthetical) citation of a book with no

author, provide the name of the work in the signal phrase and the page
number in parentheses. You may also use a shortened version of the title of
the book accompanied by the page number. For more information see In-text
Citations for Print Sources with No Known Author section of In-text
Citations: The Basics, which you can link to at the bottom of this page.
A Translated Book

Cite as you would any other book. Add "Trans."—the abbreviation for
translated by—and follow with the name(s) of the translator(s).

Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age

of Reason. Trans. Richard Howard. New York: Vintage-Random House,
1988. Print.
Republished Book

Books may be republished due to popularity without becoming a new edition.

New editions are typically revisions of the original work. For books that
originally appeared at an earlier date and that have been republished at a later
one, insert the original publication date before the publication information.
For books that are new editions (i.e. different from the first or other editions
of the book), see An Edition of a Book below.

Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble. 1990. New York: Routledge, 1999. Print.

Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine. 1984. New York: Perennial-Harper, 1993.

Print.
An Edition of a Book
There are two types of editions in book publishing: a book that has been
published more than once in different editions and a book that is prepared by
someone other than the author (typically an editor).

A Subsequent Edition

Cite the book as you normally would, but add the number of the edition after
the title.

Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary

Students. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2004. Print.

A Work Prepared by an Editor

Cite the book as you normally would, but add the editor after the title.

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Margaret Smith. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998.
Print.
Anthology or Collection (e.g. Collection of Essays)

To cite the entire anthology or collection, list by editor(s) followed by a

comma and "ed." or, for multiple editors, "eds" (for edited by). This sort of
entry is somewhat rare. If you are citing a particular piece within an
anthology or collection (more common), see A Work in an Anthology,
Reference, or Collection below.

Hill, Charles A., and Marguerite Helmers, eds. Defining Visual Rhetorics.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004. Print.

Peterson, Nancy J., ed. Toni Morrison: Critical and Theoretical Approaches.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997. Print.
A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection

Works may include an essay in an edited collection or anthology, or a chapter

of a book. The basic form is for this sort of citation is as follows:
Lastname, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's
Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page range of entry. Medium
of Publication.

Some examples:

Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide:

Helping Writers One to One. Ed. Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann,
2000. 24-34. Print.

Swanson, Gunnar. "Graphic Design Education as a Liberal Art: Design and

Knowledge in the University and The 'Real World.'" The Education of a
Graphic Designer. Ed. Steven Heller. New York: Allworth Press, 1998. 13-
24. Print.

Note on Cross-referencing Several Items from One Anthology: If you cite

more than one essay from the same edited collection, MLA indicates
you maycross-reference within your works cited list in order to avoid writing
out the publishing information for each separate essay. You should consider
this option if you have several references from a single text. To do so, include
a separate entry for the entire collection listed by the editor's name as below:

Rose, Shirley K., and Irwin Weiser, eds. The Writing Program Administrator
as Researcher. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1999. Print.

Then, for each individual essay from the collection, list the author's name in
last name, first name format, the title of the essay, the editor's last name, and
the page range:

L'Eplattenier, Barbara. "Finding Ourselves in the Past: An Argument for

Historical Work on WPAs." Rose and Weiser 131-40. Print.

Peeples, Tim. "'Seeing' the WPA With/Through Postmodern Mapping." Rose

and Weiser 153-67. Print.

Poem or Short Story Examples:

Burns, Robert. "Red, Red Rose." 100 Best-Loved Poems. Ed. Philip Smith.
New York: Dover, 1995. 26. Print.
Kincaid, Jamaica. "Girl." The Vintage Book of Contemporary American
Short Stories. Ed. Tobias Wolff. New York: Vintage, 1994. 306-07. Print.

If the specific literary work is part of the an author's own collection (all of the
works have the same author), then there will be no editor to reference:

Whitman, Walt. "I Sing the Body Electric." Selected Poems. New York:
Dover, 1991. 12-19. Print.

Carter, Angela. "The Tiger's Bride." Burning Your Boats: The Collected
Stories. New York: Penguin, 1995. 154-69. Print.
Article in a Reference Book (e.g. Encyclopedias, Dictionaries)

For entries in encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works, cite the
piece as you would any other work in a collection but do not include the
publisher information. Also, if the reference book is organized alphabetically,
as most are, do not list the volume or the page number of the article or item.

"Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed. 1997. Print.

A Multivolume Work

When citing only one volume of a multivolume work, include the volume
number after the work's title, or after the work's editor or translator.

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria. Trans. H. E. Butler. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Loeb-

Harvard UP, 1980. Print.

When citing more than one volume of a multivolume work, cite the total
number of volumes in the work. Also, be sure in your in-text citation to
provide both the volume number and page number(s). (See Citing
Multivolume Works on the In-Text Citations – The Basics page, which you
can access by following the appropriate link at the bottom of this page.)

Quintilian. Institutio Oratoria. Trans. H. E. Butler. 4 vols. Cambridge: Loeb-

Harvard UP, 1980. Print.

If the volume you are using has its own title, cite the book without referring
to the other volumes as if it were an independent publication.
Churchill, Winston S. The Age of Revolution. New York: Dodd, 1957. Print.
An Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword

When citing an introduction, a preface, a forward, or an afterword, write the

name of the author(s) of the piece you are citing. Then give the name of the
part being cited, which should not be italicized or enclosed in quotation
marks.

Farrell, Thomas B. Introduction. Norms of Rhetorical Culture. By Farrell.

New Haven: Yale UP, 1993. 1-13. Print.

If the writer of the piece is different from the author of the complete work,
then write the full name of the principal work's author after the word "By."
For example, if you were to cite Hugh Dalziel Duncan’s introduction of
Kenneth Burke’s book Permanence and Change, you would write the entry as
follows:

Duncan, Hugh Dalziel. Introduction. Permanence and Change: An Anatomy

of Purpose. By Kenneth Burke. 1935. 3rd ed. Berkeley: U of California P,
1984. xiii-xliv. Print.
Other Print/Book Sources

Certain book sources are handled in a special way by MLA style.

The Bible

Give the name of the specific edition you are using, any editor(s) associated
with it, followed by the publication information. Remember that your in-text
(parenthetical citation) should include the name of the specific edition of the
Bible, followed by an abbreviation of the book, the chapter and verse(s). (See
Citing the Bible on the In-Text Citations – The Basics page, which you can
access by following the appropriate link at the bottom of this page.)

The New Jerusalem Bible. Ed. Susan Jones. New York: Doubleday, 1985.
Print.

A Government Publication
Cite the author of the publication if the author is identified. Otherwise, start
with the name of the national government, followed by the agency (including
any subdivisions or agencies) that serves as the organizational author. For
congressional documents, be sure to include the number of the Congress and
the session when the hearing was held or resolution passed. US government
documents are typically published by the Government Printing Office, which
MLA abbreviates as GPO.

United States. Cong. Senate. Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources.Hearing on the Geopolitics of Oil. 110th Cong., 1st sess.
Washington: GPO, 2007. Print.

United States. Government Accountability Office. Climate Change: EPA and

DOE Should Do More to Encourage Progress Under Two Voluntary
Programs. Washington: GPO, 2006. Print.

A Pamphlet

Cite the title and publication information for the pamphlet just as you would a
book without an author. Pamphlets and promotional materials commonly
feature corporate authors (commissions, committees, or other groups that
does not provide individual group member names). If the pamphlet you are
citing has no author, cite as directed below. If your pamphlet has an author or
a corporate author, put the name of the author (last name, first name format)
or corporate author in the place where the author name typically appears at
the beginning of the entry. (See also Books by a Corporate Author or
Organization above.)

Women's Health: Problems of the Digestive System. Washington: American

College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2006. Print.

Your Rights Under California Welfare Programs. Sacramento, CA:

California Dept. of Social Services, 2007. Print.

Dissertations and Master's Theses

Dissertations and master's theses may be used as sources whether published

or not. Cite the work as you would a book, but include the designation Diss.
(or MA/MS thesis) followed by the degree-granting school and the year the
degree was awarded.

If the dissertation is published, italicize the title and include the publication
date. You may also include the University Microfilms International (UMI)
order number if you choose:

Bishop, Karen Lynn. Documenting Institutional Identity: Strategic Writing in

the IUPUI Comprehensive Campaign. Diss. Purdue University, 2002. Ann
Arbor: UMI, 2004. Print.

Bile, Jeffrey. Ecology, Feminism, and a Revised Critical Rhetoric: Toward a

Dialectical Partnership. Diss. Ohio University, 2005. Ann Arbor: UMI,
2006. AAT 3191701. Print.

If the work is not published, put the title in quotation marks and end with the
date the degree was awarded:

Graban, Tarez Samra. "Towards a Feminine Ironic: Understanding Irony in

the Oppositional Discourse of Women from the Early Modern and Modern
Periods." Diss. Purdue University, 2006. Print.

Stolley, Karl. "Toward a Conception of Religion as a Discursive Formation:

Implications for Postmodern Composition Theory." MA thesis. Purdue
University, 2002. Print.

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Works Cited: Periodicals

Periodicals (e.g. magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals) that appear
in print require the same medium of publication designator—Print—as
books, but the MLA Style method for citing these materials and the items
required for these entries are quite different from MLA book citations.

For more information on citing periodicals, consult “Citing Periodical Print

Publications” in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th
edition (sec. 5.4, 136-48), or the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly
Publishing, 3rd edition (sec. 6.5, 174-85).
Article in a Magazine

Cite by listing the article's author, putting the title of the article in quotations
marks, and italicizing the periodical title. Follow with the date of publication.
Remember to abbreviate the month. The basic format is as follows:

Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages.

Medium of publication.

Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-
71. Print.

Buchman, Dana. "A Special Education." Good Housekeeping Mar. 2006:

143-48. Print.
Article in a Newspaper

Cite a newspaper article as you would a magazine article, but note the
different pagination in a newspaper. If there is more than one edition
available for that date (as in an early and late edition of a newspaper),
identify the edition following the date (e.g., 17 May 1987, late ed.).

Brubaker, Bill. "New Health Center Targets County's Uninsured

Patients."Washington Post 24 May 2007: LZ01. Print.

Krugman, Andrew. "Fear of Eating." New York Times 21 May 2007 late ed.:
A1. Print.

If the newspaper is a less well-known or local publication, include the city

name and state in brackets after the title of the newspaper.
Behre, Robert. "Presidential Hopefuls Get Final Crack at Core of S.C.
Democrats." Post and Courier [Charleston, SC] 29 Apr. 2007: A11. Print.

Trembacki, Paul. "Brees Hopes to Win Heisman for Team." Purdue

Exponent [West Lafayette, IN] 5 Dec. 2000: 20. Print.
A Review

To cite a review, include the title of the review (if available), then the
abbreviation "Rev. of" for Review of and provide the title of the work (in
italics for books, plays, and films; in quotation marks for articles, poems, and
short stories). Finally, provide performance and/or publication information.

Review Author. "Title of Review (if there is one)." Rev. of Performance

Title, by Author/Director/Artist. Title of Periodical day month year: page.
Medium of publication.

Seitz, Matt Zoller. "Life in the Sprawling Suburbs, If You Can Really Call It
Living." Rev. of Radiant City, dir. Gary Burns and Jim Brown. New York
Times 30 May 2007 late ed.: E1. Print.

Weiller, K. H. Rev. of Sport, Rhetoric, and Gender: Historical Perspectives

and Media Representations, ed. Linda K. Fuller. Choice Apr. 2007: 1377.
Print.
An Editorial & Letter to the Editor

Cite as you would any article in a periodical, but include the designators
"Editorial" or "Letter" to identify the type of work it is.

"Of Mines and Men." Editorial. Wall Street Journal east. ed. 24 Oct. 2003:
A14. Print.

Hamer, John. Letter. American Journalism Review Dec. 2006/Jan. 2007: 7.

Print.
Anonymous Articles

Cite the article title first, and finish the citation as you would any other for
that kind of periodical.
"Business: Global Warming's Boom Town; Tourism in Greenland." The
Economist 26 May 2007: 82. Print.

"Aging; Women Expect to Care for Aging Parents but Seldom

Prepare."Women's Health Weekly 10 May 2007: 18. Print.
An Article in a Scholarly Journal

In previous years, MLA required that researchers determine whether or not a

scholarly journal employed continuous pagination (page numbers began at
page one in the first issue of the years and page numbers took up where they
left off in subsequent ones) or non-continuous pagination (page numbers
begin at page one in every subsequent issue) in order to determine whether or
not to include issue numbers in bibliographic entries. The MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers 7th edition (2009) eliminates this step. Always
provide issue numbers, when available.

Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume.Issue (Year): pages.

Medium of publication.

Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in

Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature15.1
(1996): 41-50. Print.

Duvall, John N. "The (Super)Marketplace of Images: Television as

Unmediated Mediation in DeLillo's White Noise." Arizona Quarterly 50.3
(1994): 127-53. Print.
An Article in a Special Issue of a Scholarly Journal

When an article appears in a special issue of a journal, cite the name of the
special issue in the entry’s title space, in italics, and end with a period. Add
the descriptor “Spec. issue of” and include the name of the journal, also in
italics, followed by the rest of the information required for a standard
scholarly journal citation.

Web entries should follow a similar format.

Burgess, Anthony. “Politics in the Novels of Graham Greene.” Literature
and Society. Spec. issue of Journal of Contemporary History 2.2 (1967): 93-
99. Print.

Case, Sue-Ellen. “Eve's Apple, or Women's Narrative

Bytes.”Technocriticism and Hypernarrative. Spec. issue of Modern Fiction
Studies 43.3 (1997): 631-650. Web. 10 Feb. 2010.

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Works Cited: Electronic Sources (Web

Publications)
MLA lists electronic sources as Web Publications. Thus, when including the
medium of publication for electronic sources, list the medium as Web.

It is always a good idea to maintain personal copies of electronic information,

when possible. It is good practice to print or save Web pages or, better, using
a program like Adobe Acrobat, to keep your own copies for future reference.
Most Web browsers will include URL/electronic address information when
you print, which makes later reference easy. Also, you might use the
Bookmark function in your Web browser in order to return to documents
more easily.
Important Note on the Use of URLs in MLA

MLA no longer requires the use of URLs in MLA citations. Because Web
addresses are not static (i.e. they change often) and because documents
sometimes appear in multiple places on the Web (e.g. on multiple databases),
MLA explains that most readers can find electronic sources via title or author
searches in Internet Search Engines.

For instructors or editors that still wish to require the use of URLs, MLA
suggests that the URL appear in angle brackets after the date of access. Break
URLs only after slashes.

Aristotle. Poetics. Trans. S. H. Butcher. The Internet Classics Archive. Web

Atomic and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 13 Sept. 2007. Web. 4
Nov. 2008. ‹http://classics.mit.edu/›.
Abbreviations Commonly Used with Electronic Sources

If publishing information is unavailable for entries that require publication

information such as publisher (or sponsor) names and publishing dates, MLA
requires the use of special abbreviations to indicate that this information is
not available. Use n.p. to indicate that neither a publisher nor a sponsor name
has been provided. Use n.d. when the Web page does not provide a
publication date.

When an entry requires that you provide a page but no pages are provided in
the source (as in the case of an online-only scholarly journal or a work that
appears in an online-only anthology), use the abbreviation n. pag.
Basic Style for Citations of Electronic Sources (Including Online Databases)

Here are some common features you should try and find before citing
electronic sources in MLA style. Not every Web page will provide all of the
following information. However, collect as much of the following
information as possible both for your citations and for your research notes:

• Author and/or editor names (if available)

• Article name in quotation marks (if applicable)
• Title of the Website, project, or book in italics. (Remember that some
Print publications have Web publications with slightly different names.
They may, for example, include the additional information or otherwise
modified information, like domain names [e.g. .com or .net].)
 • Any version numbers available, including revisions, posting dates,
volumes, or issue numbers.
• Publisher information, including the publisher name and publishing
date.
• Take note of any page numbers (if available).
• Date you accessed the material.
• URL (if required, or for your own personal reference).
Citing an Entire Web Site

It is necessary to list your date of access because web postings are often
updated, and information available on one date may no longer be available
later. Be sure to include the complete address for the site.

Remember to use n.p. if no publisher name is available and n.d. if no

publishing date is given.

Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version

number. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or
publisher), date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication.
Date of access.

The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and
Purdue U, 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2008.

Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov.

2003. Web. 10 May 2006.

Course or Department Websites

Give the instructor name. Then list the title of the course (or the school
catalog designation for the course) in italics. Give appropriate department and
school names as well, following the course title. Remember to use n.d. if no
publishing date is given.

Felluga, Dino. Survey of the Literature of England. Purdue U, Aug. 2006.

Web. 31 May 2007.

English Department. Purdue U, 14 May 2009. Web. 20 Apr. 2009.

A Page on a Web Site

For an individual page on a Web site, list the author or alias if known,
followed by the information covered above for entire Web sites. Remember
to use n.p. if no publisher name is available and n.d. if no publishing date is
given.

"How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow.com. eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.
An Image (Including a Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph)

Provide the artist's name, the work of art italicized, the date of creation, the
institution and city where the work is housed. Follow this initial entry with
the name of the Website in italics, the medium of publication, and the date of
access.

Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo Nacional del Prado,
Madrid. Museo National del Prado. Web. 22 May 2006.

Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New

York.The Artchive. Web. 22 May 2006.

If the work is cited on the web only, then provide the name of the artist, the
title of the work, the medium of the work, and then follow the citation format
for a website. If the work is posted via a username, use that username for the
author.

brandychloe. "Great Horned Owl Family." Photograph. Webshots. American

Greetings, 22 May 2006. Web. 5 Nov. 2009.
An Article in a Web Magazine

Provide the author name, article name in quotation marks, title of the Web
magazine in italics, publisher name, publication date, medium of publication,
and the date of access. Remember to use n.p. if no publisher name is
available and n.d. if not publishing date is given.

Bernstein, Mark. "10 Tips on Writing the Living Web." A List Apart: For
People Who Make Websites. A List Apart Mag., 16 Aug. 2002. Web. 4 May
2009.
An Article in an Online Scholarly Journal

For all online scholarly journals, provide the author(s) name(s), the name of
the article in quotation marks, the title of the publication in italics, all volume
and issue numbers, and the year of publication.

Article in an Online-only Scholarly Journal

MLA requires a page range for articles that appear in Scholarly Journals. If
the journal you are citing appears exclusively in an online format (i.e. there is
no corresponding print publication) that does not make use of page numbers,
use the abbreviation n. pag. to denote that there is no pagination for the
publication.

Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions

and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-
Only Journal 6.2 (2008): n. pag. Web. 20 May 2009.

Article in an Online Scholarly Journal That Also Appears in Print

Cite articles in online scholarly journals that also appear in print as you
would a scholarly journal in print, including the page range of the article.
Provide the medium of publication that you used (in this case, Web) and the
date of access.

Wheelis, Mark. "Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the

Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention." Emerging Infectious
Diseases6.6 (2000): 595-600. Web. 8 Feb. 2009.
An Article from an Online Database (or Other Electronic Subscription Service)

Cite articles from online databases (e.g. LexisNexis, ProQuest, JSTOR,

ScienceDirect) and other subscription services just as you would print
sources. Since these articles usually come from periodicals, be sure to consult
the appropriate sections of the Works Cited: Periodicals page, which you can
access via its link at the bottom of this page. In addition to this information,
provide the title of the database italicized, the medium of publication, and the
date of access.
Note: Previous editions of the MLA Style Manual required information about
the subscribing institution (name and location). This information is no longer
required by MLA.

Junge, Wolfgang, and Nathan Nelson. “Nature's Rotary

Electromotors.”Science 29 Apr. 2005: 642-44. Science Online. Web. 5 Mar.
2009.

Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century

England.”Historical Journal 50.1 (2007): 173-96. ProQuest. Web. 27 May
2009.
E-mail (including E-mail Interviews)

Give the author of the message, followed by the subject line in quotation
marks. State to whom to message was sent, the date the message was sent,
and the medium of publication.

Kunka, Andrew. "Re: Modernist Literature." Message to the author. 15 Nov.

2000. E-mail.

Neyhart, David. "Re: Online Tutoring." Message to Joe Barbato. 1 Dec.

2000. E-mail.
A Listserv, Discussion Group, or Blog Posting

Cite Web postings as you would a standard Web entry. Provide the author of
the work, the title of the posting in quotation marks, the Web site name in
italics, the publisher, and the posting date. Follow with the medium of
publication and the date of access. Include screen names as author names
when author name is not known. If both names are known, place the author’s
name in brackets. Remember if the publisher of the site is unknown, use the
abbreviation n.p.

Editor, screen name, author, or compiler name (if available). “Posting

Title.”Name of Site. Version number (if available). Name of
institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher).
Medium of publication. Date of access.
Salmar1515 [Sal Hernandez]. “Re: Best Strategy: Fenced Pastures vs. Max
Number of Rooms?” BoardGameGeek. BoardGameGeek, 29 Sept. 2008.
Web. 5 Apr. 2009.

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Works Cited: Other Common Sources

Several sources have multiple means for citation, especially those that appear
in varied formats: films, DVDs, videocassettes; published and unpublished
interviews, interviews over email; published and unpublished conference
proceedings. The following section groups these sorts of citations as well as
others not covered in the print, periodical, and electronic sources sections.
An Interview

Interviews typically fall into two categories: print or broadcast published and
unpublished (personal) interviews, although interviews may also appear in
other, similar formats such as in email format or as a Web document.

Personal Interviews

Personal interviews refer to those interviews that you conduct yourself. List
the interview by the name of the interviewee. Include the descriptor Personal
interview and the date of the interview.

Purdue, Pete. Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2000.

Published Interviews (Print or Broadcast)

List the interview by the name of the interviewee. If the name of the
interview is part of a larger work like a book, a television program, or a film
series, place the title of the interview in quotation marks. Place the title of the
larger work in italics. If the interview appears as an independent title, italicize
it. Determine the medium of publication (e.g., print, Web, DVD) and fill in
the rest of the entry with the information required by that medium. For books,
include the author or editor name after the book title.

Note: If the interview from which you quote does not feature a title, add the
descriptor Interview (unformatted) after the interviewee’s name. You may
also use the descriptor Interview by to add the name of the interview to the
entry if it is relevant to your paper.

Gaitskill, Mary. Interview with Charles Bock. Mississippi Review 27.3

(1999): 129-50. Print.

Amis, Kingsley. “Mimic and Moralist.” Interviews with Britain’s Angry

Young Men. By Dale Salwak. San Bernardino, CA: Borgo, 1984. Print.

Online-only Published Interviews

List the interview by the name of the interviewee. If the interview has a title,
place it in quotation marks. Cite the remainder of the entry as you would
other exclusive Web content. Place the name of the Website in italics, give
the publisher name (or sponsor), the publication date, the medium of
publication (Web), and the date of access. Remember that if no publisher
name is give, insert the abbreviation n.p.

Note: If the interview from which you quote does not feature a title, add the
descriptor Interview (unformatted) after the interviewee’s name. You may
also use the descriptor Interview by to add the name of the interview to the
entry if it is relevant to your paper.

Zinkievich, Craig. Interview by Gareth Von Kallenbach. Skewed &

Reviewed. Skewed & Reviewed, 2009. Web. 15 Mar. 2009.
Speeches, Lectures, or Other Oral Presentations (including Conference Presentations)
Provide the speaker’s name. Then, give the title of the speech (if any) in
quotation marks. Follow with the name of the meeting and organization, the
location of the occasion, and the date. Use the descriptor that appropriately
expresses the type of presentation (e.g., Address, Lecture, Reading, Keynote
Speech, Guest Lecture, Conference Presentation). Remember to use the
abbreviation n.p. if the publisher is not known; use n.d. if the date is not
known.

Stein, Bob. Computers and Writing Conference. Purdue University. Union

Club Hotel, West Lafayette, IN. 23 May 2003. Keynote Address.
Published Conference Proceedings

Cite published conference proceedings like a book. If the date and location of
the conference are not part of the published title, add this information after
the published proceedings title. The medium of publication is Print.
Remember to use the abbreviation n.p. if the publisher is not known;
use n.d. if the date is not known.

LastName, FirstName, ed. Conference Title that Includes Conference Date

and Location. Place of publication: Publisher, Date of Publication. Print.

LastName, FirstName, ed. Conference Title that Does Not Include

Conference Date and Location. Conference Date, Conference Location. Place
of publication: Publisher, Date of Publication. Print.

To cite a presentation from a published conference proceedings, begin with

the presenter’s name. Place the name of the presentation in quotation marks.
Follow with publication information for the conference proceedings.

LastName, FirstName. “Conference Paper Title.” Conference Title that

Includes Conference Date and Location. Ed. Conference Editor(s). Place of
publication: Publisher, Date of Publication. Print.
A Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph

Include the artist's name. Give the title of the artwork in italics. Provide the
date of composition. If the date of composition is unknown, place the
abbreviation n.d. in place of the date. Finally, provide the name of the
institution that houses the artwork followed by the location of the institution.

Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

For photographic reproductions of artwork (e.g. images of artwork in a

book), cite the bibliographic information as above followed by the
information for the source in which the photograph appears, including page
or reference numbers (plate, figure, etc.).

Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo del Prado,
Madrid. Gardener's Art Through the Ages. 10th ed. By Richard G. Tansey
and Fred S. Kleiner. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace. 939. Print.

For artwork in an online format, consult “An Image (Including a Painting,

Sculpture, or Photograph)” by following the link Works Cited: Electronic
Sources at the bottom of this page.
Films or Movies

List films (in theaters or not yet on DVD or video) by their title. Include the
name of the director, the film studio or distributor, and the release year. If
relevant, list performer names after the director’s name. Use the abbreviation
perf. to head the list. List film as the medium of publication. To cite a DVD
or other video recording, see “Recorded Films and Movies” below.

The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer. Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne,
Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro. Polygram, 1995.
Film.

To emphasize specific performers (perf.) or directors (dir.), begin the citation

with the name of the desired performer or director, followed by the
appropriate abbreviation.

Lucas, George, dir. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Twentieth Century
Fox, 1977. Film.
Recorded Films or Movies
List films by their title. Include the name of the director, the distributor, and
the release year. If relevant, list performer names after the director’s name.
Use the abbreviation perf. to head the list. End the entry with the appropriate
medium of publication (e.g. DVD, VHS, Laser disc).

Ed Wood. Dir. Tim Burton. Perf. Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica
Parker, Patricia Arquette. Touchstone, 1994. DVD.
Broadcast Television or Radio Program

Begin with the title of the episode in quotation marks. Provide the name of
the series or program in italics. Also include the network name, call letters of
the station followed by the city, and the date of broadcast. End with the
publication medium (e.g. Television, Radio). For television episodes on
Videocassette or DVD refer to the “Recorded Television Episodes” section
below.

"The Blessing Way." The X-Files. Fox. WXIA, Atlanta. 19 Jul. 1998.
Television.
Recorded Television Episodes (e.g. DVD, Videocassette)

Cite recorded television episodes like films (see above). Begin with the
episode name in quotation marks. Follow with the series name in italics.
When the title of the collection of recordings is different than the original
series (e.g., the show Friends is in DVD release under the title Friends: The
Complete Sixth Season), list the title that would be help researchers locate the
recording. Give the distributor name followed by the date of distribution. End
with the medium of publication (e.g. DVD, Videocassette, Laser disc).

Note: The writer may choose to include information about directors, writers,
performers, producers between the title and the distributor name. Use
appropriate abbreviations for these contributors (e.g. dir., writ., perf., prod.).

"The One Where Chandler Can't Cry." Friends: The Complete Sixth Season.
Writ. Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen. Dir. Kevin Bright. Warner Brothers,
2004. DVD.
Sound Recordings
List sound recordings in such a way that they can easily be found by readers.
Generally, citations begin with the artist name. They might also be listed by
composers (comp.) or performers (perf.). Otherwise, list composer and
performer information after the album title.

Use the appropriate abbreviation after the person’s name and a comma, when
needed. Put individual song titles in quotation marks. Album names are
italicized. Provide the name of the recording manufacturer followed by the
publication date (or n.d., if date is unknown). List the appropriate medium at
the end of the entry (e.g. CD, LP, Audiocassette). For MP3 recordings, see
the “Digital Files” section below.

Note: If you know and desire to list the recording date, include this
information before the manufacturer name. Use the abbreviation for
“recorded” (Rec.) and list the recording date (dd mm year format) before the
manufacturer name.

Foo Fighters. In Your Honor. RCA, 2005. CD.

Nirvana. "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Nevermind. Geffen, 1991. Audiocassette.

Beethoven, Ludwig van. The 9 Symphonies. Perf. NBC Symphony Orchestra.

Cond. Arturo Toscanini. RCA, 2003. CD.
Spoken-Word Albums

Treat spoken-word albums the same as musical albums.

Hedberg, Mitch. Strategic Grill Locations. Comedy Central, 2003. CD.

Digital Files (PDFs, MP3s, JPEGs)

Determine the type of work to cite (e.g. article, image, sound recording) and
cite appropriately. End the entry with the name of the digital format (e.g.
PDF, JPEG file, Microsoft Word file, MP3). If the work does not follow
traditional parameters for citation, give the author’s name, the name of the
work, the date of creation, and the medium of publication. Use Digital
file when the medium cannot be determined.

Beethoven, Ludwig van. Moonlight Sonata. Crownstar, 2006. MP3.

Smith, George. “Pax Americana: Strife in a Time of Peace.” 2005. Microsoft
Word file.

Bentley, Phyllis. “Yorkshire and the Novelist.” The Kenyon Review 30.4
(1968): 509-22. JSTOR. PDF file.

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Additional Resources

It's always best to consult the current MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers for any MLA question. If you are using MLA style for a
class assignment, it's also a good idea to consult your professor, advisor, TA,
or other campus resources for help. They're the ones who can tell you how
the style should apply in your particular case.

For extraordinary questions that aren't covered clearly in the style manual or
haven't been answered by your teacher or advisor, contact the Writing Lab for
help at (765) 494-3723 or email us at this form.
Print Resources from the Modern Language Association

MLA Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd Edition (ISBN-13: 978-
0-87352-297-7)

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th Edition (ISBN-13: 978-
1-60329-024-1)

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write
papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Abbreviations
There are a few common trends in abbreviating that you should follow when
using MLA, though there are always exceptions to these rules. For a
complete list of common abbreviations used in academic writing, see Chapter
7 of theMLA Handbooks for Writers of Research Papers, 7th edition, and
Chapter 8 of the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd
edition.

This guide provides only a very small portion of the abbreviations suggested
by MLA. Each section cross-references the appropriate sections and page
numbers of the MLA Handbooks for Writers of Research Papers and theMLA
Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing.
Uppercase Letter Abbreviations

Do not use periods or spaces in abbreviations composed solely of capital

letters, except in the case of proper names:

US, MA, CD, HTML

P. D. James, J. R. R. Tolkien, E. B. White
Lowercase Letter Abbreviations

Use a period if the abbreviation ends in a lower case letter, unless referring to
an internet suffix, where the period should come before the abbreviation:

assn., conf., Eng., esp.

.com, .edu, .gov (URL suffixes)

Note: Degree names are a notable exception to the lowercase abbreviation

rule.
PhD, EdD, PsyD

Use periods between letters without spacing if each letter represents a word
in common lower case abbreviations:

a.m., e.g., i.e.

Other notable exceptions:

mph, os, rpm, ns

For more on upper- and lowercase letter abbreviation designations, see

Section 7.1. Introduction (234) of the MLA Handbooks for Writers of
Research Papers, 7th edition, or Section 8.1. Introduction (261-62) of
theMLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd edition.
Abbreviations in Citations

Condense citations as much as possible using abbreviations.

Time Designations

Remember to follow common trends in abbreviating time and location within

citations. Month names longer than four letters used in journal and magazine
citations:

Jan., Sept., Nov.

For more information on time designations, see Section 7.2. Time

Designations (235) of the MLA Handbooks for Writers of Research Papers,
7th edition, or Section 8.2. Time Designations (262-63) of the MLA Style
Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd edition.

Geographic Names

Geographic names of states and countries in book citations when the

publisher's city is not well known or could be confused with another city.
Abbreviate country, province, and state names.

Logan, UT; Manchester, Eng.; Sherbrooke, QC

For more information on time designations, see Section 7.3. Geographic
Names (236-40) of the MLA Handbooks for Writers of Research Papers, 7th
edition, or Section 8.3. Geographic Names (264-69) of the MLA Style
Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd edition.

Scholarly Abbreviations

List common scholarly abbreviations as they appear below:

• Anon. for anonymous

• C. or ca. for circa
• Comp. for compiler
• Fwd. for foreword
• Jour. for journal
• Lib. for library
• Sec. or sect. for section
• Ser. for series
• Var. for variant
• Writ. for written by or writer

For more information on scholarly abbreviations, see Section 7.4. Common

Scholarly Abbreviations and Reference Words (240-47) of the MLA
Handbooks for Writers of Research Papers, 7th edition, or Section 8.3.
Common Scholarly Abbreviations and Reference Words (269-82) of theMLA
Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd edition.

Publisher Names

Shorten publisher's names as much as possible in book citations. You only

need to provide your readers with enough information for them to identify the
publisher. Many publishers can be identified by only acronyms or a shortened
version of their names.

MLA suggests a few rules for you to follow when abbreviating publishers:

• Omit articles, business abbreviations (like Corp. or Inc.), and

descriptive words (e.g. Press, Publishers, House)
 • Cite only the last name of a publisher with the name of one person (e.g.
Norton for W. W. Norton) and only the last name of the first listed for a
publisher with multiple names (e.g. McGraw for McGraw-Hill)
• Use standard abbreviations when possible (e.g. Assn. or Soc.)
• Use the acronym of the publisher if the company is commonly know by
that abbreviation (e.g. MLA, ERIC, GPO)
• Use only U and P when referring to university presses (e.g. Cambridge
UP or U of Chicago P)

Here is a short list of publisher abbreviations that you might use. Consult
Chapter 7 of the MLA Handbook for a more complete list.

• Acad. for Educ. Dev. (Academy for Educational Development, Inc.)

• Gale (Gale Research, Inc.)
• Harper (Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc. & HarperCollins Publishers,
Inc.)
• Little (Little, Brown and Company, Inc.)
• MIT P (The MIT Press)
• NCTE (The National Council of Teachers of English)
• SIRS (Social Issues Resources Series)
• UMI (University Microfilms International)

For more information on publisher names, see Section 7.4. Publishers’

Names (247-49) of the MLA Handbooks for Writers of Research Papers, 7th
edition, or Section 8.3. Publishers’ Names (282-85) of the MLA Style Manual
and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd edition.

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Sample Works Cited Page

This handout provides an example of a Works Cited page in MLA 2009
format.

Works Cited

"Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action." Environmental Defense
Fund. Environmental Defense Fund, 8 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.

Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate

Change.”New York Times. New York Times, May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.

Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." New York

Times. New York Times, 22 May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.

Ebert, Roger. "An Inconvenient Truth." Rev. of An Inconvenient Truth, dir.

Davis Guggenheim. Rogerebert.com. Sun-Times News Group, 2 June 2006.
Web. 24 May 2009.

GlobalWarming.org. Cooler Heads Coalition, 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.

Gowdy, John. "Avoiding Self-organized Extinction: Toward a Co-

evolutionary Economics of Sustainability." International Journal of
Sustainable Development and World Ecology 14.1 (2007): 27-36. Print.

An Inconvenient Truth. Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Perf. Al Gore, Billy West.

Paramount, 2006. DVD.

Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth Or Reality?: The Erring Ways of

Climatology. New York: Springer, 2005. Print.

Milken, Michael, Gary Becker, Myron Scholes, and Daniel Kahneman. "On
Global Warming and Financial Imbalances." New Perspectives Quarterly23.4
(2006): 63. Print

Nordhaus, William D. "After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control

Global Warming." American Economic Review 96.2 (2006): 31-34. Print.

---. "Global Warming Economics." Science 9 Nov. 2001: 1283-84. Science

Online. Web. 24 May 2009.
Shulte, Bret. "Putting a Price on Pollution." Usnews.com. US News & World
Rept., 6 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.

Uzawa, Hirofumi. Economic Theory and Global Warming. Cambridge:

Cambridge UP, 2003. Print.

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Sample Paper

This resource contains two sample MLA papers that adhere to the 2009
updates. To download the MLA sample paper, select the MLA 2009 Sample
Paper PDF file in the Media box above.

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Tables, Figures, and Examples

The purpose of visual materials or other illustrations is to enhance the
audience's understanding of information in the document and/or awareness of
a topic. Writers can embed several types of visuals using the most basic word
processing software: diagrams, musical scores, photographs, or, for
documents that will be read electronically, audio/video applications.
General Guidelines

• Collect sources. Gather the source information required for MLA

Documentation for the source medium of the illustration (e.g. print,
web, podcast).
• Determine what types of illustrations best suit your
purpose.Consider the purpose of each illustration, how it contributes to
the purpose of the document and the reader's understanding, and
whether or not the audience will be able to view and/or understand the
illustration easily.
• Use illustrations of the best quality. Avoid blurry, pixilated, or
distorted images for both print and electronic documents. Often
pixilation and distortion occurs when writers manipulate image sizes.
Keep images in their original sizes or use photo editing software to
modify them. Reproduce distorted graphs, tables, or diagrams with
spreadsheet or publishing software, but be sure to include all source
information. Always represent the original source information
faithfully and avoid unethical practices of false representation or
manipulation.
• Use illustrations sparingly. Decide what items can best improve the
document's ability to augment readers' understanding of the
information, appreciation for the subject, and/or illustration of the main
points. Do not provide illustrations for illustrations' sake. Scrutinize
illustrations for how potentially informative or persuasive they can be.
• Do not use illustrations to boost page length. In the case of student
papers, instructors often do not count the space taken up by visual aids
toward the required page length of the document. Remember that texts
explain, while illustrations enhance. Illustrations cannot carry the entire
weight of the document.
Labels, Captions, and Source Information

Illustrations appear directly embedded in the document, except in the case of

manuscripts that being prepared for publication. (For preparing manuscripts
with visual materials for publication, see Note on Manuscripts below.) Each
illustration must include, a label, a number, a caption and/or source
information.

• The illustration label and number should always appear in two

places: the document main text (e.g. see fig. 1) and near the illustration
itself (Fig. 1).
• Captions provide titles or explanatory notes.
• Source information documentation will always depend upon the
medium of the source illustration. If you provide source information
with all of your illustrations, you do not need to provide this
information on the Works Cited page.
Source Information and Note Form

For source information, MLA lists sources in note form. These entries appear
much like standard MLA bibliographic entries with a few exceptions:

• Author names are in First_Name Last_Name format.

• Commas are substituted for periods (except in the case of the period
that ends the entry).
• Publication information for books (location: publisher, year) appears in
parentheses.
• Relevant page numbers follow the publication information.

Note: Use semicolons to denote entry sections when long series of commas
make these sections difficult to ascertain as being like or separate. (See
examples below.) The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 7th
edition states that if the table or illustration caption provides complete
citation information about the source and the source is not cited in the text,
authors do not need to list the source in the Works Cited list.
Examples - Documenting Source Information in "Note Form"

Book

Tom Shachtman, Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold (Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1999) 35. Print.

Website (using semicolons to group like information together)

United States; Dept. of Commerce; Census Bureau; Manufacturing, Mining,
and Construction Statistics; Housing Units Authorized by Building Permits;
US Dept. of Commerce, 5 Feb. 2008; Web; 23 Dec. 2008; table 1a.

In this example, the commas in Manufacturing, Mining, and Construction

Statistics prompt the need for semicolons in order for the series information
to be read easily. Even if Manufacturing, Mining, and Construction
Statistics had not appeared in the entry, the multiple "author names" ofUnited
States, Dept. of Commerce, and Census Bureau would have necessitated the
use of a semicolon before and after the title and between ensuing sections to
the end of the entry.

Furthermore, the publisher and date in a standard entry are separated by a

comma and belong together; thus, their inclusion here (US Dept. of
Commerce, 5 Feb. 2008) also necessitates the semicolons.
MLA Documentation for Tables, Figures, and Examples

MLA provides three designations for document illustrations: tables, figures,

and examples (see specific sections below).

Tables

• Refer to the table and its corresponding numeral in-text. Do not

capitalize the word table. This is typically done in parentheses (e.g.
"(see table 2)").
• Situate the table near the text to which it relates.
• Align the table flush-left to the margin.
• Label the table Table and provide its corresponding Arabic numeral.
No punctuation is necessary after the label and number (see example
below).
• On the next line, provide a caption for the table, most often the table
title. Use standard capitalization rules.
• Place the table below the caption, flush-left, making sure to maintain
basic MLA style formatting (e.g. one-inch margins).
• Below the title, signal the source information with the
descriptorSource, followed by a colon, then provide the correct MLA
bibliographic information for the source in note form (see instructions
 and examples above). Use a hanging indent for lines after the first. If
you provide source information with your illustrations, you do not need
to provide this information on the Works Cited page.
• If additional caption information or explanatory notes is necessary, use
lowercase letters formatted in superscript in the caption information or
table. Below the source information, indent, provide a corresponding
lowercase letter (not in superscript), a space, and the note.
• Labels, captions, and notes are double-spaced.

Table Example

In-text reference:

In 1985, women aged 65 and older were 59% more likely than men of the
same of age to reside in a nursing home, and though 11,700 less women of
that age group were enrolled in 1999, men over the same time period ranged
from 30,000 to 39,000 persons while women accounted for 49,00 to 61,500
(see table 1).

Table reference:

Table 1 Rate of Nursing Home Residence Among People Age 65 or Older,

By Sex and Age Group, 1985, 1995, 1997, 1999a
Image Caption: Example Table

Source: Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, Older

Americans 2008: Key Indicators of Well-Being, Federal Interagency Forum
on Aging-Related Statistics, Mar. 2008, Web, table 35A.

a. Note: Rates for 65 and over category are age-adjusted using the 2000
standard population. Beginning in 1997, population figures are adjusted for
net underenumeration using the 1990 National Population Adjustment Matrix
from the U.S. Census Bureau. People residing in personal care or domiciliary
care homes are excluded from the numerator.

Figures
 • All visuals/illustrations that are not tables or musical score examples
(e.g. maps, diagrams, charts, videos, podcasts, etc.) are
labeledFigure or Fig.
• Refer to the figure in-text and provide an Arabic numeral that
corresponds to the figure. Do not capitalize figure or fig.
• MLA does not specify alignment requirements for figures; thus, these
images may be embedded as the reader sees fit. However, continue to
follow basic MLA Style formatting (e.g. one-inch margins).
• Below the figure, provide a label name and its corresponding arabic
numeral (no bold or italics), followed by a period (e.g. Fig. 1.).
Here,Figure and Fig. are capitalized.
• Beginning with the same line as the label and number, provide a title
and/or caption as well as relevant source information in note form (see
instructions and examples above). If you provide source information
with your illustrations, you do not need to provide this information on
the Works Cited page.

Figures Example

In-text reference:

Some readers found Harry’s final battle with Voldemort a disappointment,

and recently, the podcast, MuggleCast debated the subject (see fig. 2).

Figure caption (below an embedded podcast file for a document to be viewed

electronically):

Fig. 2. Harry Potter and Voldemort final battle debate from Andrew Sims et
al.; “Show 166”; MuggleCast; MuggleNet.com, 19 Dec. 2008; Web; 27 Dec.
2008.

Examples

• The descriptor Example only refers to musical illustrations (e.g.

portions of a musical score). Example is often abbreviated Ex.
• Refer to the example in-text and provide an Arabic numeral that
corresponds to the example. Do not capitalize example or ex.
 • Supply the illustration, making sure to maintain basic MLA Style
formatting (e.g. one-inch margins).
• Below the example, provide the label (capitalized Example or Ex.) and
number and a caption or title. The caption or title will often take the
form of source information along with an explanation, for example, of
what part of the score is being illustrated. If you provide source
information with your illustrations, you do not need to provide this
information on the Works Cited page.
Note on Manuscripts

Do not embed illustrations (tables, figures, or examples) in manuscripts for

publication. Put placeholders in the text to show where the illustrations will
go. Type these placeholders on their own line, flush left, and bracketed (e.g.
[table 1]. At the end of the document, provide label, number, caption, and
source information in an organized list. Send files for illustrations in the
appropriate format to your editor separately. If you provide source
information with your illustrations, you do not need to provide this
information on the Works Cited page.

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA PowerPoint Presentation

Select the MLA PowerPoint Presentation link in the Media box above to
download slides that provide a detailed review of the MLA citation style.

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write
papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Undergraduate Sample Paper

This resource contains an undergraduate sample MLA paper that adheres to
the 2009 updates. Select the Undergraduate MLA 2009 Sample Paper PDF
file in the Media box above.

Contributors:Tony Russell, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli.

Summary:

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write

papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource,
updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th
ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.),
offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text
citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.

MLA Classroom Poster

The MLA poster at the link below is a printable jpg file you may download
and print out at different sizes for use in classrooms, writing centers, or as a
pocket reference. Please keep in mind that the file size, as a print-quality
resource (120 dpi), is large, so it may take a while to download. You may
adjust the print size of the poster from your print menu. As is, the poster is 27
x 36 inches.

Because the poster is quite large, standard printers cannot print the poster. If
you do not have access to a printer that can print large documents, contact a
local print shop to print the poster. The Purdue OWL cannot grant requests to
print and mail posters.
If you do not have access to a print shop to print the poster, please use the
resources we have available here for printing on standard 8.5 x 11 inch
paper. Go to resource you would like to print, scroll down to the bottom of
the page, and click "Full Resource for Printing."

Also please note that the poster only contains basic MLA guidelines. For
detailed instructions, please see the complete OWL MLA resources here.

The Purdue OWL MLA Classroom Poster was developed by Kate Bouwens
for the Purdue Professional Writing - Purdue OWL Internship class, English
490, in spring 2009.

Purdue OWL MLA Classroom Poster (Please note: The poster is best
viewed in Firefox.)
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