MLA Citation Examples

The Modern Language Association (MLA) Style is widely used for identifying research sources. In MLA style you briefly credit sources with parenthetical citations in the text of your paper, and give the complete description of each source in your Works Cited list. The Works Cited list, or Bibliography, is a list of all the sources used in your paper, arranged alphabetically by author's last name, or when there is no author, by the first word of the title (except A, An or The).

For example:

In the text of your paper:

Results of studies done by Hawaii's Ocean Mammal Institute indicated that humpback whales were affected by the noise of marine engines (Calvez 41).

or,

According to Leigh Calvez, studies by the Ocean Mammal Institute indicated that Hawaiian humpback whales were affected by the noise of marine engines (41).

In your Works Cited list:

Calvez, Leigh. "By the Time We Have Proof." Ocean Realm Spring 2000: 41-47.

BOOKS

Format:

Author.  Title of Book.  City of Publication:  Publisher, Year.

Take the title from the title page, not the cover.
The author's name should be written Last Name, First Name.

One Author

Borg, Jim. Tigers of the Sea: Hawaii's Deadly Sharks. Honolulu: Mutual, 1993.

Reagan, Michael D. Curing the Crisis:  Options for America's Health Care.

     Boulder:  Westview Press, 1992.

Editor or Compiler

If the person named on the title page is the editor, rather than the author, add a comma then the abbreviation "ed." For a compiler, use "comp."

Fitzgerald, Terence J., ed. Police in Society.  New York:  H.W. Wilson, 2000.

Two or More Authors

List the names in the order in they appear on the title page.
Only the first author's name should be reversed: Last Name, First Name.
Use a comma between the authors' names. Place a period after the last author's name.

Landre, Rick, Mike Miller, and Dee Porter.  Gangs:  A Handbook for Community

     Awareness. New York: Facts on File, 1997.

If the persons named on the title page are editors, add a comma after the final name, then the abbreviation "eds." For compilers, use "comps."
If there are more than three authors, name only the first and add et al., or give all the names.

Cott, Nancy R., and Elizabeth H. Pleck, eds.  A Heritage of Her Own:

     Toward a New Social History of American Women. New York: Simon

     and Schuster, 1979.

Daconta, Michael C., et al. Java 1.2 and JavaScript for C and C++ Programmers.

     New York: Wiley, 1998.

Two or More Works by the Same Authors

When citing two or more sources by the same author, give the name in the first entry only. For the subsequent entries, type three hyphens, add a period, and skip a space (---. ) then give the title. The three hyphens stand for the name(s) in the preceding entry.

Mead, Margaret.  Coming of Age in Samoa:  A Psychological Study of

     Primitive Youth for Western Civilization. New York:  Morrow, 1961.

---. People and Places.  Cleveland:  World, 1959.

ENCYCLOPEDIAS and REFERENCE BOOKS

Format:

Author of Article.(if given) "Article Title." Title of Book. City

     of Publication:  Publisher, Year.

When citing familiar reference books, especially those that often appear in new editions, it is not necessary to include full publication information. Give the edition (if available) and the year of publication.
If articles are arranged alphabetically, you do not need to give volume and page numbers.

Faron, Louis C. "Inca." Encyclopedia Americana. International Edition. 1999.

When citing less familiar reference books, give full publication information.

"Refrigeration." The New Illustrated Science and Invention Encyclopedia.

     Ed. Donald Clarke. 28 vols. Westport: H.S. Stuttman, 1989.

Hosick, Howard L. "Cloning." Magill's Medical Guide. Ed. Tracy Irons-Georges.

     Rev. ed. 3 vols. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1998.

MULTIVOLUME SETS

Format:

Author or Editor. Title of Set.  Total number of vols.  City

     of Publication:  Publisher, Year.

Use this format when citing two or more volumes of a multivolume set.
Reference to specific volumes and page numbers belong in the text of your paper (e.g. 4: 149-53 means volume 4, pages 149-153), not in the Works Cited.

Jaffe, Jerome H., ed. Encyclopedia of Drugs and Alcohol. 4 vols. New York:

     Macmillan, 1995.

POEM or SHORT STORY in an ANTHOLOGY

Format:

Author of Story. "Title of Story."  Title of Book. Name of Editor.

     City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page numbers of the story.

Pukui, Mary Kawena. "The Marchers of the Night." A Hawaii Anthology.

     Ed. Joseph Stanton. Honolulu: State Foundation on Culture and the Arts,

     1997. 82-84.

PERIODICALS

MAGAZINE ARTICLES

Format:

Author. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine  Date:  Page(s).

Abbreviate the months (except May, June, July). Give complete dates for magazines issued every week or every two weeks, written in this order:
Day Month Year, e.g.19 January 1998
If the article is on consecutive pages, specify the page numbers of the entire article, e.g. 16-20. Give just the last two digits of the second number, when possible: 188-89, but 196-200
If the article is not on consecutive pages -- if, for example, it begins on page 27, then skips to page 30, and continues on page 32 -- write only the first page number, followed by a plus sign: 27+.
Do not give volume and issue numbers.

McCulley, Jeff. "On the Mark." Hawaii Business Feb. 1998: 20+.

Risen, James, and Judy L. Thomas. "Pro-life Turns Deadly." Newsweek

     26 Jan. 1998: 68-69.

Taubes, Gary. "The Cell-Phone Scare." Technology Review Nov./Dec. 2000: 117-19.

No Author Given

If no author's name is given, begin with the title of the article.

"Where the Business Is." Motor Age Sep. 2000: 58.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

Format:

Author. "Title of Article." Name of Newspaper Date, edition:  Page(s).

Take the name of the newspaper from the masthead, but omit any introductory article: Honolulu Advertiser, not The Honolulu Advertiser.
If the city of publication is not part of the newspaper's name, add it in square brackets: News and Observer [Raleigh, NC]
Specify the edition of the newspaper, if one is given on the masthead.
If the article is not on consecutive pages, write the first page number and a plus sign: B1+.

Kakesako, Gregg K. "Clinton Vows to Support Akaka Bill." Honolulu Star-Bulletin

     14 Nov. 1998, night final ed.: A1+.

SCHOLARLY JOURNAL ARTICLES

Format:

Author. "Title of Article." Title of Journal volume number (Year): Pages.

Cooksey, Elizabeth C. "Consequences of Young Mothers' Marital Histories for

     Children's Cognitive Development." Journal of Marriage and the Family

     59 (1997): 245-61.

If the journal begins each issue on page 1, include the issue number: <4.7.2>
e.g. 21.3 means vol. 21, no. 3.

Lenhoff, Rosalyn, and Lynn Huber. "Young Children Make Maps!" Young Children 55.5

     (2000): 6-12.

Other Sources

TELEVISION PROGRAMS

Format:

"Title of Episode or Segment." Credit (Performer or author). Title of Program.

     Name of Network. Call letters (if any), City of Local Station (if any).

     Broadcast Date.

"Designing Woman." Rept. by Maria Shriver. Dateline. NBC.  KHNL,

     Honolulu. 15 Mar. 1998.

"Hurricane." Raging Planet. Discovery Channel. 21 Mar. 1998.

"Secrets of Lost Empires." Nova. PBS.  KHET, Honolulu. 26 May 1998.

VIDEOTAPES, DVDs, LASERDISCS

Format:

Title. Director, Producer, and/or Writers.  Medium.  Distributor, Year.

Monet: Legacy of Light. Writ., dir., and prod. by Michael Miller.

     Videocassette. WBGH Boston, 1989.

INTERVIEWS

Format:

Person Interviewed. Type of interview (personal or telephone). Date.

Mink, Patsy T.  Telephone interview.  21 October 2000.

For a broadcast or published interview, add descriptive and bibliographic information.

Waihee, John. Interview with Leslie Wilcox. Channel 2 News. FOX. KHON, Honolulu.

     7 Nov. 2000.

INTERNET RESOURCES

WEB SITE -- Professional or Personal

Format:

Creator's name (if given). Web Page Title. Institution or organization.  Date

     of access <URL network address>.

Basic Hula Words. 8 Nov. 2000 <http://www.geocities.com/~olelo/o-h-general.html>.

Li, Rong-Chang. English as a Second Language. 6 Nov. 2000 <http://www.rong-chang.com/>.

Harden, Mark. Picasso the Legend. The Artchive. 6 Nov. 2000

     <http://www.artchive.com/artchive/P/picasso_postww2.html>.

Dinosaurs in Hawaii! Honolulu Community College. 6 Nov. 2000

     <http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/dinos/dinos.1.html>.

Online Service: INFOTRAC

Format:

Author's name (if given). "Title of Article." Name of Magazine  Date

     of Publication: Pages. Name of Database. InfoTrac. Library Name.

     Date of Access <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/hawaii_honolulu>.

Milius, Susan. "Science Pokes Loopholes in Cloning Bans." Science News 28 Feb. 1998: 137.

     General Reference Center. InfoTrac. Honolulu Community College Library. 6 Nov. 2000

     <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/hawaii_honolulu>.

Online Service: NEWSBANK

Format:

Author's name (if given). "Title of Article." Name of Newspaper [State]

     Date of Publication: Pages. NewsBank NewsFile. Library Name.

     Date of Access <http://infoweb.newsbank.com/>.

Le, Phuong. "Two Charged in Girl's Drive-by Slaying." Chicago Tribune [IL]

     28 Mar. 1998: 5. NewsBank NewsFile. Honolulu Community College Library.

     6 Nov. 2000 <http://infoweb.newsbank.com/>.

Online Newspaper Article

Format:

Author's name (if given). "Title of Article." Name of Newspaper

     Date of Publication. Date of Access <URL network address>.

Barayuga, Debra. "Verdict in Uyesugi Trial Prompts New Stage of Grief."

     Star Bulletin.com 15 June 2000. 6 Nov. 2000

     <http://starbulletin.com/2000/06/15/news/story3.html>

TenBruggencate, Jan. "Blue Shark May Be on Road to Recovery."

     HonoluluAdvertiser.com18 June 2000. 6 Nov. 2000

     <http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/2000/Jun/18/localnews18.html#top>.

Online Magazine Article

Format:

Author's name (if given). "Title of Article." Name of Magazine

     Date of Publication. Date of Access <URL network address>.

Bremner, Brian. "Japan Takes the First Step to Recovery." Business Week

     10 Oct. 2000. 6 Nov. 2000

     <http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/oct2000/nf20001010_917.htm>.

Youmans, Susanne. "Henry Lee Returns to Investigating." Popular Science

     10 Oct. 2000. 6 Nov. 2000 <http://www.popsci.com/news/10102000_sleuth.html>.

E-mail

Format:

Sender's Name. "Title." (from Subject line)  E-mail to the author. Date of message.

Crispen, Patrick D. "Online Tutorials." E-mail to the author. 31 Aug. 2000.

Online Discussion Lists

Format:

Writer's Name. "Title of Message." (from Subject line) Online posting.

     Date of  Message. Name of Discussion Group/List. Date of access

     <URL of Group's Internet Site, or E-mail Address of List Moderator>.

Dargen, Michael. "Netscape Woes." Online posting. 7 Nov. 2000. Web4Lib.

     8 Nov. 2000 <http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/>.

The following examples are based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers,