Guide to MLA Citation

The purpose of this guide is to provide a quick overview of the MLA citation process. The Modern Language Association (MLA) produces style guides to assist the writer in the preparation of written materials in the subject areas of language and literature. The two components to the citation process are parenthetical documentation and the list of works cited.

Taylor Memorial Library has on reserve two manuals which will assist the writer in implementing the correct use of the MLA style when preparing a manuscript.

Gibaldi, Joseph. The MLA Handbook for Writers of

Research Papers. 4th ed. New York: The

Modern Language Assoc. of America, 1995.

A comprehensive undergraduate level guide

to the style recommended for writers of

student research and scholarly manuscripts.

 

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Style Manual and Guide to

Scholarly Publishing. 2nd ed. New York: The

Modern Language Assoc. of America, 1998.

A style guide for scholarly documentation

recommended for graduate students, scholars,

and professional writers.

Parenthetical Notation

The phrase parenthetical notation simply means in parenthesis. These parenthetical notes refer the reader to the correct item in the list of works cited. In the past, notes would be numbered and typed at the bottom of the page or end of the paper. Parentetical notation is now the accepted form for noting material cited.

Author's name in the text

"Others, authors like Loughlin & Martins (1987) suggest that there are several other characteristics..."

Author's name in the reference

"In recent years, the Sundance Film Festival itself has become a similar mix of naivete and sophistication…" (Denby 85)

No author

If the title page does not include an author or editor's name, the book is considered a "no author."

The science of statistics traces its history to a gambler (Calculator Decision-Making 7).

Two or more works by the same author

Citizens of technology advanced societies may find themselves unprepared for the rapid changes occuring during their lifetime (Toffler, Future Shock 11).

 

According to Toffler, "Citizens of the world's richest and most technologically advanced nations. . .will find it increasingly painful to keep up with the incessant demand for change that characterizes our time" (Future Shock 11).

 

In Future Shock, Toffler portrays a society stressed by the rapid technological changes occuring during the individual's lifetime (11-12).

Works Cited List

Books

One author, book

Oates, Joyce Carol. You Must Remember This. 

New York:  EP Dutton, 1987.

Two authors, books

Markov, Vladimir and Merril Sparks. Modern Russian

Poetry. New York:  Bobs Merrill, 1967.

Multi-authored, books

A Literary History of England. New York: 

Appleton-Century- Crofts, 1948.

Works in an Anthology

Cather, Willa. "The Sculptor's Funeral." Prose and

Poetry of the American West. Ed. James C.

Work. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1990. 

290-312.

Edited Book

Bowman, John S. ed. The Cambridge Dictionary

of American Biography. New York: Cambridge

UP, 1995.

Item in a Reference Book

(Familiar Reference Book)

Goldammer, Kurt M.A. "Religious Symbolism and

Iconography." Encyclopedia Britannica:

Macropaedia. 15^th ed. 1993.

Multi-volume Books

Moses, Montrose J., ed. Representative Plays by

American Dramatists. 3 vols. New York:

Random, 1988.

Periodicals

Article with one author (Magazine)

Stoffle, Carla J. "Literacy 101 for the Digital Age."

American Libraries. Dec. 1998: 46-48.

Article with one author (Scholarly)

Pape, Greg. "Image on a Sandstone Disc." Poetry

169.2 (1996):138-139.

Review

Simon, John. "No Exit." Rev. of  High Life, by Lee

MacDougall. 8 Feb. 1999: 62-63.

Daily newspaper

Riding, Alan. "A New Yorker Untangles Covent

Gardern's Soap Opera." New York Times

15 Feb. 1999, late ed.: sec. E: 1, 3.

Citing Electronic Publications Using MLA Style

The MLA has updated its manual to accommodate scholarly materials that are found on the Internet. Electronic resources differ from traditional sources in a number of ways. They are transitory in nature. Sites are often mounted, altered and abandoned. Unlike paper resources that have some degree of permanence, electronic resources, in their public manifestations, are only there as long as the creator chooses to support them. Electronic resources are not subject to the review process that occurs in print sources. Traditional sources, especially scholarly ones, are generally subject to peer review. Anyone may mount any material they wish on the Internet. The fact of its existence does not necessarily make it a credible source.

The citation process as put forth by the MLA, provides for standardized formats that will provide the reader of the material with sufficient information to identify and retrieve a source. Due to the differences between print and electronic sources, more information is necessary when citing an electronic resource. There are two major areas of an electronic citation that differ from a normal citation: publication date, and URL.

Citations of publication dates from electronic sources may need to have two or more dates cited. Generally, the date the site was mounted should be shown as well as the date the site was accessed. If the document existed as a print version, the date of publication of the print version should be included.

The Uniform Resource Locator (URL or address) is the key to locating material on the Internet. URL’s may often be long and complex so it is important to transcribe them accurately. Addresses are as transitory as Internet sites; hence it is advisable to print a copy of what you are citing. If your source is questioned, you will have proper documentation for the source. Citations of URL’s should be enclosed in angle brackets.

<http://www.princeton.edu/~lancelot/>

Parenthetical notation is used in documenting an electronic resource as it is with print resources. Notations should be kept brief but need to provide enough information to identify the work in your works cited section. " Remember that there is a direct relation between what you integrate into your text and what you place in parentheses. If, for example, you include an author’s name in a sentence, you need not repeat the name in the parenthetical page citation that follows, provided that the reference is clearly to the work of the author you mention."

Please note:  If you are word processing your document in Word you must turn off the Internet network paths with hyperlinks, which is found under the tools menu, than under auto correct menu, than under the two folder tabs, auto format as you type and auto format. Uncheck Internet network paths with hyperlinks.

Electronic citations for complete electronic databases should include the following:

• Title of the project of database (underlined)
• Name of the author or the editor of the page
• Electronic publication information, including the date the site was created, the date the site was updated. The name of any sponsoring institution or organization
• Date of publication and date of access
• URL (the electronic address) enclosed in angle brackets

Examples:

Britannica Online.  29 Mar. 1997 <http://www.eb.com/>.

 

Project Bartleby. Ed. Steven van Leeuwen. Dec. 1995.

Columbia U. 5 Jan. 1997

<http://www.columbia.edu/>.

 

Victorian Women Writers Project. Ed. Perry Willett.

Apr.1997. Indiana U. 26 Apr. 1997

<http://www.indiana.edu/~letrs/vwwp/>.

Citing works that are part of a database (or part of an online web site)

• Author's name
• Title of the work or material (in quotations)
• Publication information- Include the name of the work or periodical (underlined) and its volume number, issue number or other identifying information and the date of publication
• Extent of the material, for example the number of pages
• Date of publication of the web and date of access
• Electronic address, which is the complete URL, enclosed in angle brackets

Examples:

Citing a Poem or Story

Giacomo da Lentiti. "Amor e uno desio che ven da core."

Duecento: Repertorio elettrojnico della poesi

italiana dalle origini a Dante. Ed. Francesco

Bonomi. 1996. Si.Lab, Firenze. 9 Apr1997

<http//www.siliab.it/frox/200/tree128.htm>.

Citing an Anonymous Article, Story or Other Anonymous Material

"Selected Seventeenth-Century Events." Romantic

Chronology. Ed. Laura Mandell and Alan Liu.

Oct. 1996. U. of California, Santa Barbara.

22 Nov. 1996

<http://humanitas.uscb.edu/projecdts/pack/rom-chrono/chronola.htm>.

Online Book

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Henry Churchyard.

1996. 10 Sept. 1997

<http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/pridprej.html>.

 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Twice-Told Tales. Ed. George

Parsons Lathrop. Boston: Houghton, 1883.

1 Mar. 1997

<http://tiac.net/users/eldred/nh/ttt.html>.

Citing a Book that is Part of a Scholarly Project

Keats, John. Poetical Works. 1884. Project Bartleby.

Ed. Steven van Leeuwen. Dec. 1995. Columbia

U. 5 Jan.1997

<http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/keats/>.

Citing Part of an Online Book

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "Self Reliance." Essays: First

Series. 1841. 12 Feb. 1997

<ftp.books.com/ebooks/NonFiction/Philosophy/Emerson/history.txt>.

 

Keats, John. "Ode on a Grecian Urn." Poetical Works.

1884. Project Bartleby. Ed. Steven van Leeuwen.

Dec.1995. Columbia U. 5 Jan. 1997

<http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/keats/keats.54.html>.

Article in an Online Periodical

Calabrese, Michael. "Between Despair and Ecstasy:

Marco Polo's Life of the Buddha." Exemplaria 9.1

(1997). 4 Apr.1997

<http://www.clas.ufl.edu/english/exemplaria/Calax.htm>.

 

Landsburg, Steven E. "Who Shall Inherit the Earth?" Slate.

1 May 1997. 2 May 1997

<http://slate.com/Economics/97-05-01/Economics.asp>.

 

An Article in a Newspaper

Coates, Steven E. "A Dead Language Comes to Life

on the Internet." New York Times on the Web

28 Oct. 1996. 20 Apr.1997

<http://www.nytimes.com/web/docsroot/library/cyberweek/week>

A Review

Angelo, Gretchen V. Rev. of Book of the Body Politic,

by Christine de Pizan. Byrn Mawr Medieval

Review 96.1.7 (1996). 26 Jan.1997

<gopher://gopher.lib.virginia.edu:70/00/alpha/bmmr/v96/96-1-7>

Publications on CD-ROM, Diskette, or Magnetic Tape

Citations for this type of material are similar to print source citations. There are several differences. Many works are now published in several formats. The content of the material may differ from format to format. It is important to state the publication medium to identify the sources document precisely. The name of the vendor for the material should be included in the citation. The publication date of the electronic media should also be included.

Nonperiodical Publications on CD-ROM, Diskette, or Magnetic Tape

Citations for these sources are similar to print sources but there are important differences. The nature of the publication medium needs to be cited because electronic sources differ from print sources. The vendor's name of the source needs to be stated because the same items may be provided by a variety of vendors and these vendors may change the format. The publication date of the document as it appears on the electronic resource should be cited as it may appear within the electronic resource.

Items that should be included in siting these resources:

• Author - if only an editor, compiler or translator is identified, cite that person's name followed by the appropriate abbreviation ( ed., comp., trans.)
• Title - Underline
• Name of the editor, translator or compiler (if relevant)
• Publication Medium - (CD-ROM, Diskette, or Magnetic Tape)
• Edition
• Place of Publication
• Name of the Publisher

Examples:

English Poetry Full-Text Database. Magnetic tape. Rel. 2.

Cambridge, Eng.: Chadwyck-Healey, 1993.

 

Braumuller, A.R., ed. Macbeth. By William Shakespeare.

CD-ROM. New York: Voyager, 1994.

Citing Part of a Work

"Albatross." The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. CD-ROM.

Oxford: Oxford UP, 1992

Materials from a Periodically Published Database on CD-ROM

Include the Following in the Citation:

• Author's name
• Title of the article in quotes
• Publication information title underlined, show volume, number date and pages
• Title of the database (underlined)
• Publication medium (CD-ROM)
• Name of vendor (if relevant)
• Electronic publication date

Example:

Brady, Philip. "Teaching Tu Fu on the Night Shift."

College English 57 (1995):562-69. Abstract.

ERIC. CD-ROM. SilverPlatter. Sept. 1996.

This document was prepared in accordance with:

MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (2^nd Ed.)

Gibaldi, Joseph

Modern Language Association: 1998