Modern Language Association Citation Guide
Adapted from the MLA Handbook, 5th edition

Books

The three main parts of a book citation are as follows:

  1. The name of the author - Last name, First name. (If there is more than one author, the additional author(s) will be listed by their First name followed by their Last name).
  2. Title of the book (underlined).
  3. Publication information (Place of publication: Name of publisher, year).

BOOK WITH A SINGLE AUTHOR:

Author's last name, first name. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, year of publication.

Example:
Gibaldi, Josesph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 5th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1999.

BOOK WITH TWO AUTHORS:

1st Author's last name, first name, and 2nd Author's first name, last name. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, year.

BOOK WITH THREE AUTHORS:

1st Author's last name, first name, 2nd Author's first name, last name, and 3rd Author's first name, last name. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, year.

BOOK WITH FOUR OR MORE AUTHORS:

1st Author's last name, first name, and others. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, date.

BOOK WITH A CORPORATE AUTHOR:

Name of Corporation or Organization. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, year.

BOOK WITH AN EDITOR INSTEAD OF AN AUTHOR:

Editor's Last name, first name, ed. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, year.

BOOK WITH NO KNOWN AUTHOR:

Title of Book . Place of publication: Publisher, year.

TWO OR MORE WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:

Author's last name, first name. Title of 1st Book. Place of publication. Publisher, date. Title of 2nd Book. Place of publication. Publisher, year.

BOOK WITH AN AUTHOR AND AN EDITOR:

Author's last name, first name. Title of Book. Ed. Editor's last name, first name. Place of publication. Publisher, year.

A TRANSLATION:

Author's last name, first name. Title of Book. Trans. Translator's first name followed by last name. Place of publication: Publisher, year.

A BIBLE:

Title of Bible . First and last name of general editor, gen. ed. Place of publication: Publisher, year.

A GOVERNMENT PUBLICATION:

Name of government agency. Title of Publication . Place of publication: Publisher, year.

A LEGAL SOURCE OR DOCUMENT:

Name of document. Art. number, sec. number.

INTRODUCTION WRITTEN BY SOMEONE OTHER THAN THE AUTHOR:

Writer's last name, first name. Introduction. Title of Book. By Author's first and last name. Place of publication: Publisher, year. Page numbers (indicated in Roman numerals).
Collections of Work

ONE VOLUME OF WORK IN SEVERAL VOLUMES:

Author's last name, first name. Title of Volume: Vol. # (indicated in Roman numerals) of Title of Collection. Place of publication: Publisher, year.

WORK IN AN ANTHOLOGY (COLLECTION) OF WORKS:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Work." Title of Anthology. Ed. Editor's first and last name. Place of publication: Publisher, year. Page number(s).

WORK IN COLLECTION BY DIFFERENT AUTHORS:

Author's last name, first name. Title of Work. Chap. in Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's first and last name. Place of publication: Publisher, year.

WORK IN COLLECTION WITH NO AUTHOR:

"Title of Work." In Title of Collection. Place of publication: Publication, year.

WORK IN COLLECTION WITH NO AUTHOR BUT EDITOR OR COMPILER:

"Title of Work." Title of Collection. Comp. Compiler's first and last name. Place of publication: Publisher, year. Page number(s).

WORK IN COLLECTION BY SAME AUTHOR:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Work." Title of Collection . Place of publication: Publisher, year.

MULTIVOLUME WORK - NO AUTHOR OR EDITOR NAMED:

Title of Work. Place of publication: Publisher, year. Number of ed. Vol. number of Title of Multivolume Work. Number of vols.

Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Etc.

ARTICLE IN ENCYCLOPEDIA - SIGNED:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Name of Encyclopedia . Number of ed. (if applicable). Year.

ARTICLE IN ENCYCLOPEDIA - UNSIGNED:

"Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia. Year ed.

DEFINITION IN DICTIONARY:

"Entry." Title of Dictionary. Number of ed. Year.

PERSON IN BIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCE:

"Person's last name, first name." Title of Book. Number of ed. Year.

Periodicals (Newspapers & Magazines)

The five main parts of a periodical citation are as follows:

  1. The name of the author - Last name, First name. (If there is more than one author, the additional author(s) will be listed by their First name followed by their Last name).
  2. Title of article (in quotes).
  3. Title of the periodical (underlined).
  4. Issue date (day, mo. year):
  5. Page number(s)

If a newspaper or magazine article is not printed on consecutive pages, indicate the page number that the article begins on followed by a plus sign.

ARTICLE IN PERIODICAL - WEEKLY:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Name of Periodical day Mo. year: page numbers(s).

Example:
Calabresi, Massimo. "As Kosovo Burns." Time 19 April 1999: 28+.

ARTICLE IN PERIODICAL - MONTHLY:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Name of Periodical Mo. year: page numbers(s).

ARTICLE IN NEWSPAPER - SIGNED:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Name of Newspaper day Mo. Year: page number(s).

ARTICLE IN NEWSPAPER - UNSIGNED:

"Title of Article." Name of Newspaper day Mo. year: page number(s).

EDITORIAL IN A PERIODICAL - SIGNED:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Editorial. Name of Periodical day Mo. year: page number(s).

EDITORIAL IN A PERIODICAL - UNSIGNED:

"Title of Article." Editorial. Name of Periodical day Mo. year: page number(s).

A LETTER TO THE EDITOR IN A PERIODICAL:

Author's last name, first name. Letter. Name of Publication day Mo. year: page number(s).

A REVIEW OF A BOOK:

"Title of Review." Rev. of Title of Book, ed. (Editor's name, if applicable). Title of Periodical day, Mo. year: page number(s).

A REVIEW OF A MOVIE:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Review." Rev. of Title of Movie, dir. Director's first and last name. Title of Periodical day Mo. year: page number(s).

Print & Nonprint Sources - Programs:

The six main parts of a citation for a program are as follows:

  1. The title of the episode or segment (in quotes).
  2. Title of the Program (underlined).
  3. Title of series (if applicable).
  4. Name of Network on which program was aired.
  5. Call Letters of City/Station (if applicable).
  6. Date program was aired (Day Mo. year).

RADIO:

Director of Segment (if known). "Title of Segment."Title of Program. Title of Series. Station Call Letters, City. Day Mo. year.

TELEVISION:

Title of Episode." Title of Program. Narr. (if applicable) Dir. (if known). Name of Network. Day Mo. year.

MUSIC VIDEO:

Artist's, or Group's Name. "Title of Song." Title of CD. Production Company's Name, year song was produced. Music video. Dir. Director's first and last name (if known). Call Letters of Station. Day Mo. year.

FILM:

Title of Film. Dir. Director's first and last name. Perf. Principal performers first and last names. Name of Production Company, year film was released.

VIDEO RECORDING:

Title of Film. Dir. Director's first and last name. Perf. Principal performers first and last names. Year film was released. Format (ex: VHS, DVD). Name of Video Production Company, year video was produced.

SOUND RECORDING:

Author's last name, first name. Title. Perf. Performer(s) first and last name(s). Format (ex: Cassette, LP). Production Company, year.

PERFORMANCE:

Title. by Author's first and last name. Dir. Director's first and last name. Perf. Performers first and last names. Place of Performance (ex: Theater, City). Day Mo. year.

PUBLISHED MUSICAL SCORE:

Composer's last name, first name. Title of Work. Place of Publication: Publisher, year.

Paintings, Sculptures, or Photographs:

The Three main parts of a citation for a work of art are as follows:

  1. Artist's last name, first name.
  2. The title of the work of art (underlined).
  3. Place where work resides (Name of museum, City).

ACTUAL WORK OF ART:

Artist's last name, first name. Title of the work. Museum, City.

PHOTOGRAPH of A WORK OF ART:

Artist's last name, first name. Title of Work. Museum, City. Title of Book in which the photograph appears. By Author's first and last name. Place of publication: Publisher, year. Page number.

          

Other:

LECTURE:

Lecturer's last name, first name. "Title of Lecture." Title of Convention (if applicable). Place where lecture was held, City, day Mo. year.

PUBLISHED OR BROADCAST INTERVIEW:

Interviewee's last name, first name. Interview with First and Last name of interviewer(s). Name of Program Network. Call Letters (if applicable), City. Day Mo. year.

PERSONAL INTERVIEW:

Interviewee's last name, first name. Personal Interview. Day Mo. year.

MAP OR CHART:

Name of Map (or Chart). Map (or Chart). Place of publication: Publisher, year.

CARTOON:

Artist's last name, first name. Cartoon. Name of publication in which cartoon appears day Mo. year: page number.

ADVERTISEMENT:

Name of product being advertised. Advertisement. Name of publication in which advertisement appears. Day Mo. year: page number(s).

PAMPHLET:

Name of pamphlet. Place of publication: Publisher, year.

Electronic Sources:

FULL-TEXT ARTICLE ON CD-ROM:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Name [City] day Mo. year: of publication. Place of publication of CD-ROM: Name of CD-ROM, year. Article number (if applicable). CD-ROM.

AN ARTICLE IN A NEWSPAPER:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Title of Web Site. Day Mo. year of article. Day Mo. year of access. < URL of web site >.

AN ARTICLE IN A MAGAZINE:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Name of Publication day Mo. year of publication. Day Mo. year of access. < URL of web site >.

AN ONLINE INFORMATION DATABASE:

Title of Web page. Day Mo. year of publication. Name of Corporation or Person who created the web site. Day Mo. year of access. < URL of web page>.

A PUBLICATION ON CD-ROM:

Author's or Editor's last name, first name (if applicable). Title of Publication. CD-ROM. Year ed. Place of publication: Publisher, year.

A WORK FROM AN ONLINE SERVICE:

Use the following format to cite an online service that does not provide a URL when queried with a keyword:

"Keyword(s)." Title of online source. Vers. number. year. Name of online service. Day Mo. year of access. Keyword: Keyword used to access online source.

Example:
"Croquet." Compton's Encyclopedia Online. Vers. 2.0. 1997. America Online. 12 Dec. 1999. Keyword: Compton's.

A WORK FROM A WEB PAGE:

Author's last name, first name (if no author is provided, the name of the associated organization ).  Title of web page. Day Mo. year of access
< URL of web page>.

Example:
Zandonella, Liza.  Ms. Z's Internet Directroy. 2 April 2001
< http://www.fairfield.k12.ct.us/tomlinson/ctomlinson02/Internet.htm >.

Other Electronic Sources:

A SOUND RECORDING OR SOUND CLIP READING:

Interviewee's last name, first name. Interview with interviewer's first and last name. Name of program. Day Mo. year of broadcast. Day Mo. year of access < URL of web page>.

MAP:

"Name of Map." Map. Title of web site. Creator of web page. Day Mo. year of access < URL of web page>.

CARTOON:

Artist's last name, first name. "Title of Cartoon." Name of publication day Mo. year of publication. Day Mo. year of access < URL of web page>.

E-MAIL COMMUNICATION:

Sender's last name, first name. "Re: (Subject)." E-mail to (Sendee's first and last name). Day Mo. year.

DOWNLOADED COMPUTER SOFTWARE:

Name of program. Version. # format. Day Mo. year < URL of web page >.