Single Author

Thrower, Angela P. Black Skin Care for the Practicing Professional. Albany: Milady/Salon Ovations, 1999. Print.

Multiple Authors

Labensky, Sarah R., and Alan M. Hause. On Cooking:Techniques from Expert Chefs. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1995. Print.

Note:If there are more than 3 authors, you may name the first author only and then type "et al" - meaning "and others".

Corporate/Organization Author
U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Economics and Statistics Administration. U.S. Census Bureau. Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington, DC: GPO, 1999. Print.

Notes: If the author of a government publication is not indicated, cite the government agency as the author. State the name of the government first, followed by the name of the agency. Most federal publications, regardless of the branch of government issuing them, are published by the Government Printing Office (GPO} in Washington, DC.


Unknown or No Author

New York Public Library Desk Reference. New York: Prentice-Hall General Reference, 1993. Print. Note: If there is no author indicated, the citation starts with the title of the book.


Edited Book

Dudley, William, ed. Media Violence: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Print.

Chapter or Article in an Edited Book

Angelou, Maya. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." Norton Anthology of African American Literature. Ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., et al. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997. 2040-2050. Print.

Notes: Include the chapter or article information first. Maya Angelou is the author of
the chapter. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is the title of chapter. "2040-2050"
are the page numbers of the cited chapter.

If there are more than 3 authors, you may name the first author only and then
type "et al" - meaning "and others.


General Encyclopedia - Unsigned Article

"Dental Hygiene." The World Book Encyclopedia. 2000 ed. Print.

General Encyclopedia - Signed Article

Richter, David H. "Criminal Justice System." The World Book Encyclopedia. 2000 ed. Print.

Journal Article - Multiple Authors - Continuous Pagination

Example: If a journal has 4 issues for volume 33 (a journal that is published quarterly), then continuous paging may look something like this:
Volume 33, issue 1 - contains pages 1-150
Volume 33, issue 2 - contains pages 151-295
Volume 33, issue 3 - contains pages 296-473
Volume 33, issue 4 - contains pages 474-581

Kavale, Kenneth A. and Steven R. Forness "What Definitions of Learning Disabilities Say and Don't Say." Journal of Learning Disabilities 33.2 (2000): 239-56. Print.

Notes: In example above - "33" is the volume number and "59-64" are the page numbers of the article. Do not include the issue number or month of publication for journal articles with continous paging. Only the volume number is necessary.

 

Journal Article - Single Author - Each Issue Paged Separately

Example: If a journal has 4 issues for volume 38, each issue starts again with page 1 and may look something like this:
Volume 38, issue 5 - contains pages 1-150
Volume 38, issue 6 - contains pages 1-135
Volume 38, issue 7 - contains pages 1-226
Volume 38, issue 8 - contains pages 1-178

Barr, Wally. "Lunacy Revisited: The Influence of the Moon on Mental Health and Quality of Life." Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services 38.5 (2000): 28-35. Print.

Notes: "38" is the volume number, "5" is the issue number, and "64-70" are the page numbers of the article. Do not include the month of publication for journal articles from issues paged separately. Only the volume and issue number is necessary.

 

Magazine Article - More than 3 authors

Alter, Jonathan, et al. "The Death Penalty on Trial." Newsweek 12 June 2000: 24-35. Print.

Notes: If there are more than 3 authors, you may name the first author only and then type "et al" - meaning "and others." For a magazine, give the complete date of publication. If the day of the the month is given (daily, weekly publications), type the day before the month. Abbreviate all months except for May, June and July. Do not give volume number or issue number. Only the complete date of publication is necessary.

Magazine Article - Unsigned

"Parsing the Words of God." Time 12 June 2000: 42. Print.

Newspaper Article - Daily

Steadman, Tom. "Hispanic Trailblazers Leading Way Among an Influx of Latino Immigrants, Leadership is Growing from The Bottom Up in Religion, Education and the Workplace." Greensboro News & Record 11 June 2000, all ed.: A1+. Print.

Notes: Give the edition if it is specified. "all" is the edition in the example above. "A1+" means "A" is the section number, "1" is the page number and "+" (plus sign) means the article starts on page 1 but does not continue on the very next page (ex: article may continue on page 5).

Newspaper Article - Daily - No Author

"Teens Under Pressure." USA Today 8 Nov. 1999, all ed.: D1. Print.

Newspaper Article - Editorial

"The Law on Elian Gonzalez." Editorial. New York Times 13 Jan. 2000, late ed.: A32. Print.

Article from an Online Service

FORMAT:
Author. "Article title." Magazine title Volume.Issue number (Year of publication): starting page #
(# of pages if given). Title of database/service. Web. Date of access (day, month, and year).

EXAMPLE:
Burgett, Steve and Michael Joachim. "Taking the Mystery Out of Quality Brake Service."
Automotive Body Repair News 39.5 (2000): 52. Career and Technical Education. Web.
19 June 2000.

Notes: "Career and Technical Education" is the name of the database.

The first date given is the publication date of the article. The second date given
is the date you accessed or viewed the article on the computer.

The only page information available from ProQuest, is that the article starts on
page 52. The exact number of pages or range of pages for this article was not given.

Article from an Online Periodical

FORMAT:
Author. "Article title." Magazine or journal title. Date of publication. Web.
Date of access.

EXAMPLE:
McBride, Pamela. "Don't Panic If You Don't Have a Job by Graduation."
Black Collegian Online June 2000. Web. 15 June 2000.

Notes: This is a magazine, but the only publication information available from
the web site was the date of the issue. Therefore no page numbers are
given.


World Wide Web Site Document

FORMAT:
Author (if any). Title of page. Date of publication or most recent update.
Name of institution or organization associated with the page. Web.
Date of access.

EXAMPLE:
Cloning: Are Humans Next? 1999. World Book. Web. 15 June 2000.

Note: "1999" is the copyright date for the page. "15 June 2000" is the date the
web page was accessed or viewed.

For more examples of documenting sources from the Internet:

• Go to the MLA web site.
• When the home page for MLA appears, click on MLA Style from the main menu.
• When the MLA Style screen appears, click on Documenting Sources from the World Wide Web from the menu on the left.

http://www.mla.org

Both top/bottom margins and left/right margins should be set at 1". Indent the first word of each paragraph 1/2" from the left margin. Indent set-off quotations 1" from the left margin. A research paper should be double-spaced throughout, including quotations, notes, and the works cited list.

Number all pages consecutively throughout the research paper including the first page and works cited page(s). Each page number is placed in the upper right-hand corner, 1/2" from the top of the paper, flush with the right margin. Include your last name before the number on every page.

Brief parenthetical citations are inserted within the text wherever you incorporate another's words, facts, or ideas. Each parenthetical citation contains only enough information to enable the reader to find the full documentation in the list of works cited. Usually the author's last name and the appropriate page numbers are included. If the author has already been identified in the text, then only the page numbers are enclosed in parentheses. (See the two examples below.)

• This same point is made by others (Smith 152-64).
• Smith makes this same point (152-64).

For a more detailed discussion of parenthetical citations or examples of other types of citations within text, consult the MLA Handbook.

Since formatting of footnotes and endnotes is particular to the type of material, consult the MLA Handbook for information about creating notes.

Reverse the order of the author's name (only the first name if there is more than one author). If there are more than three authors, you may list the first author only and then type et al (e.g., Smith, John, et al.) which means and others. If there is no author listed, the title of the work will be the first item listed in the citation.

Capitalize the first, last, and all principle words. Titles of complete works are underlined (i.e., book titles, journal titles). Titles of works published within complete works are placed in quotation marks (i.e., article titles, chapter titles).

Publication Information for Books:
Provide the city of publication, the publisher's name, and the date of publication. When several cities are listed, only give the first listed. For unfamiliar U.S. cities, include the abbreviation for the state where the city is located (i.e., Englewood Cliffs, NJ). For unfamiliar or ambiguous cities outside of the United States, add the abbreviation for the country (i.e., Manchester, Eng.) or the province for Canadian cities. If the publication date is not listed on the title page, use the most recent copyright date. Do not precede a copyright date with a "c." Only use information that is provided within the book itself.

Publication Information for Periodicals:

Journals: For journals with continuous pagination, only the volume number is given. For journals with each issue paged separately, both the volume number and issue number is given. Do not give the publication month for journals.
Magazines: Give the complete date of publication for magazines. If the day of the the month is given (daily, weekly publications), type the day before the month. Abbreviate all months except for May, June and July. Do not give the volume number or issue number for magazines.