MLA Citation Samples:
Fig. 20. MLA Handbook front cover.
Succasunna, NJ
MLA Citation Samples
Works Cited in Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Copyright © 2005 by Jeffrey S. Mittag, Revised edition, August 2007
No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Jeffrey S. Mittag unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law.
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Works Cited Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: MLA, 2003. Rodrigues, Dawn and Raymond J. Rodrigues. The Research Paper and the World Wide Web. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000.
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*(The Joseph Gibaldi publication is illustrated above.)
The MLA selections linked in this site are the various types of sources you are more likely to use in your research paper. The code numbers listed after these sources correspond directly to where additional information can be located in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, sixth edition, by Joseph Gibaldi. Underneath each source type is an actual example (many can be found in our library/media center.) Located beneath each example is the "Descriptive Mechanics" of the citation listed to help you when writing your own citations. The forward slash ( / ) has been used in place of the words "followed by" to help improve the clarity of the statement.
Copyright © 2005 by Jeffrey S. Mittag, Revised edition, August 2007
As a student here at Eisenhower Middle School, you will be expected to learn how to write a research paper correctly. Your instructors will guide you throughout the entire process. Part of this assignment requires you to learn how to document the researched information according to the governing rules of the Modern Language Association of America (MLA). This organization of teachers and scholars was founded in 1883 and boasts a membership today of approximately thirty thousand. They take great pride in the careful documentation of research and have published two books on this documentation style. Some of the basic and more commonly used citation formats have been included in this site but it is suggested that you take time to obtain a copy of MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, sixth edition, by Joseph Gibaldi, available through most bookstores. The book gives greater detail on a wider range of information that should help to answer any questions you may have when your instructors are not available and you have trouble locating an authoritative website on the internet.
When using the Internet for locating information, it is important that you verify the validity of the website. There are several ways to accomplish this task.
1. You should look closely at the Uniform Resource Locator (URL). If a tilde (~) is present, it often means that the information is part of a personal Web site. This person's views may be biased and without validity.
2. Check to see how the URL ends. Knowing the type of site you are at can help you decide how important the information listed is to your research.
a. Company sites end with .com
b. Educational sites end with .edu
c. Government sites end with .gov
d. Military sites end with .mil
e. Network services end with .net
f. Organization sites end with .org
3. If the style of writing contains grammar or punctuation errors, consider not using the source.
4. Verify what date the site was created and last updated. The site and the information might be out of date.
5. Identify the author of the site and check what the author's credentials include which pertain to the information presented. Do not use a source just because it is convenient (Rodrigues 61-65).
Also, do not copy and paste the site information into your research paper without giving credit to the actual author. This would be called "Plagiarism."
Copyright © 2005 by Jeffrey S. Mittag, Revised edition, August 2007
Plagiarism is the act of using the thoughts, words, or ideas of someone else and presenting them as your own. Your instructor has no way of knowing if the act of plagiarism was done intentionally or unintentionally. In either situation it is still considered an "act of plagiarism" which will usually result in penalties being placed upon the student that plagiarizes. At the collegiate level some Universities have been known to permanently expel from school any student involved in plagiarism. There is a very simple way of avoiding this situation from happening to you. Ask yourself, "Have most of the students in this school already read this information?" If the answer is no, and in most cases that is the correct answer, you should cite your source within the body of your research paper using a technique called parenthetical documentation (Gibaldi 238). You must also list your publication source in the "Works Cited" section of your research paper. Your instructors will explain these techniques to you in greater detail.
Copyright © 2005 by Jeffrey S. Mittag, Revised edition, August 2007
Abbreviation of Month, Examples
| 8 Jan. 2004 23 Feb. 2003 17 Mar. 1999 14 Apr. 1995 5 May 2002 21 June 2006 30 July 1998 16 Aug. 2007 22 Sept. 1994 19 Oct. 2005 2 Nov. 1996 31 Dec. 1989 |
When abbreviating the month within your citation, do not abbreviate months of May, June, and July. Also, omit the period after these three months.
An Anonymous Article in a Magazine (5.7.9)
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"Early Mammals were Livin' Large." Current Science 8 Apr. 2005: 14.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Open Quotation mark / Title of Article Not Underlined / period / close quotation mark / space / Title of
Magazine, Underlined / space / Date of Publication / space / Abbreviated Month of Publication / period /
space / Year Published / colon / space / Page Number of Article / period
An Article in a Magazine, Signed (5.7.6)
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Wahl, Grant. "Yes, Hard Feelings." Sports Illustrated 28 Mar. 2005: 54-57.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Last Name of Author / comma / space / First Name of Author / period / space / open quotation mark /
Title of Article (Not Underlined) / period / close quotation mark / space / Title of Magazine, Underlined
/ space / Date of Publication / space / Abbreviated Month of Publication / period / space / Year
Published / colon / space / Starting Page Number / hyphen / Ending Page Number / period
An Anonymous Article in a Newspaper (5.7.9)
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"Police Academy for Boys, Girls Scheduled." Daily Record [Parsippany] 5 Apr. 2005: A3.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Open quotation mark / Title of Article / period / close quotation mark / space / Title of Newspaper as it
Appears on the Master-head (FrontPage), Underlined / space / open bracket / City of Publication if it
is a Local Paper / close bracket / space / Date of Publication / space / Abbreviated Month of
Publication / period (if needed) / space / Year Published / colon / space / Section and Page Number of
Article / period
An Article in a Newspaper, Signed 5.7.5
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Stump, Scott. "Pavano Ready for Debut as a Yankee." Daily Record [Parsippany] 5 Apr. 2005 : C1.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Last Name of Author / comma / space / First Name of Author / period / space / open quotation mark
/ Title of Article (Not Underlined) / period / close quotation mark / space / Title of Newspaper as it
Appears on the Master-head Front Page, Underlined / space / open bracket / City of Publication if it
is a Local Paper / close bracket / space / Date of Publication / space / Abbreviated Month of
Publication / period / space / Year Published / colon / space / Section, if there is one, and Page
Number / period
An Article in a Scholarly Journal That Pages Each Issue Separately (5.7.2)
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Ishizuka, Kathy. "Internet Users Overly Confident, But Naive." School Library Journal 51.3 (2005): 19.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Last Name of Author / comma / space / First Name of Author / period / space / open quotation mark /
Title of Article (Not Underlined) / period / close quotation mark / space / Title of Journal, Underlined /
space / Volume Number / period / Issue Number / space / (Year Published Enclosed in Parentheses) /
colon / space / Page Number of Article / period
An Article in an Online Periodical (5.9.4)
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Fleming, Dan. "Let Me Count the Ways: Teaching Math in the Library May Seem Like a Stretch. But it's Easier Than You Think." School Library Journal 50.8 (2004): 44. 8 June 2005 <http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/archive>.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Last Name of Author / comma / space / First Name of Author / period / space / open quotation mark
/ Title of Article (Not Underlined) / period / close quotation mark / space / Title or Periodical,
Underlined / space / Volume Number / period / Issue Number / space / (Year of Publication enclosed
in parentheses) / colon / space / Page Number / period / space / Date of Access / space / Abbreviated
Month of Access / space / Year of Access / space / open angle bracket / Uniform Resource Locator
(URL), not underlined / close angle bracket / period
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Africa. New York: Dodd, 1966. Arms and Armor: a Pictorial Archive from Nineteenth-Century Sources. New York: Dover, 1995. Children of the Dragon: the Story of Tiananmen Square. New York: Collier, 1990.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Title of Book, Underlined / period / space / City of Publication / colon / space / Publisher / comma /
space / Year Published / period
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Dixon, Franklin W. The Clue of the Hissing Serpent. Hardy Boys Mystery Stories. 53. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1974.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Last Name of Author / comma / space / First Name of Author / space / Middle Initial of Author / period
/ space / Title of Book, Underlined / period / space / Title of Series (Not Underlined) / period / space /
Series Number / period / space / City of Publication / colon / space / Publisher / comma / space / Year
Published / period
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Bergreen, Gary. Coping with Study Strategies. New York: Rosen, 1986.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Last Name of Author / comma / space / First Name of Author / period / space / Title of Book,
Underlined / period / space / City of Publication / colon / space / Publisher / comma / space /
Year Published / period
A Book by Two or More Authors (5.6.4)
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Antonacci, Robert J. and Gene Schoor. Track and Field for Young Champions. New York: McGraw, 1974.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Last Name of First Author Listed on Title Page / comma / space / First Name of Author / space / Middle
Initial of Author (if any) / period (omit if no middle initial) / space (omit if no middle initial) / (insert the
word) and / space / First Name of Next Author Listed / space / Last Name of Author / period / space /
Title of Book, Underlined / period / space / City of Publication / colon / space / Publisher / comma /
space / Year Published / period
Special Note:
Author's names are not listed alphabetically. For complete details refer to: MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers.
A Book without Stated Publication Information (5.6.25)
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Brand, Erick D. Band Instrument Repairing Manual. [Elkhart?]: n.p., 1946.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Last Name of Author / comma / space / First Name of Author / space / Middle Initial of Author (if any) /
period / space / Title of Book, Underlined / period / space / open Bracket / City of Publication / question
punctuation mark / close bracket / colon / space / the letter "n" in lower case type / period / the letter "p"
in lower case type / period / comma / space / Year Published / period
Special Note:
Refer to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, by Joseph Gibaldi, for details on the
reasons and usage of the abbreviations and punctuation marks listed in the example above.
Two or More Books by the Same Author (5.6.3)
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Glubok, Shirley. The Art of Ancient Egypt. New York: Atheneum, 1962. ---. The Art of Egypt Under the Pharaohs. New York: Macmillan, 1980. ---. The Art of the Eskimo. New York: Harper, 1964. ---. Digging in Assyria. New York: Macmillan, 1970. ---. Olympic Games in Ancient Greece. New York: Harper, 1976.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Hyphen hyphen hyphen / period / space / Title of Book, Underlined and Alphabetized / period / space /
City of Publication / colon / space / Publisher / comma / space / Year Published / period
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Laird, Charles. Greek Mythology. 2nd ed. London: Oxford UP, 2004.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Last Name of Author / comma / space / First Name of Author / period / space / Title of Book,
Underlined / period / space / Identify the Edition by Number / space / Abbreviated Form of
the word "Edition" / period / space / City of Publication / colon / space / Publisher / comma /
space / Year Published / period
Special Note:
In the example above, UP is the acceptable abbreviation for University Press. For complete listing of
acceptable abbreviations refer to MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
Government Publications, Unsigned (5.6.21)
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United States. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Washington: GPO, 2003.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Name of the Government / period / space / Name of Agency (abbreviate when possible) / period /
space / City of Publication / colon / space / Publisher / comma / space / Year Published / period
Special Note:
A complete listing of acceptable abbreviations can be found in the MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers by Joseph Gibaldi.
An Interview, Personal (5.8.7)
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Bach, Jessica. Personal interview. 29 Apr. 2005.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Last Name of Person Interviewed / comma / space / First Name of Person Interviewed / period / space /
list the type of interview / period / space / Date of Interview / space / Abbreviated Month of Interview /
period / space / Year of Interview / period
Special Note:
Other types of interviews might be a telephone interview or an e-mail interview. Refer to the MLA
Handbook for Writers of Research Papers for additional information.
An Interview, Published (5.8.7)
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Mitchell, Stephen. "Return of Gilgamesh." Archaeology May/June 2005. 16.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Last Name of Person Interviewed / comma / space / First Name of Person Interviewed / period / space /
open quotation mark / Title of Article (not underlined) / period / close quotation mark / space / Title of
Magazine or Newspaper, Underlined / space / Date of Publication / space / Year Published / period /
space / Page Number(s) / period
A Lecture, a Speech, an Address, or a Reading (5.8.11)
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Steiner, Ronnie. "Battle of the Books." Forging Forward. Educational Media Association of New Jersey Annual Conference. Hilton Hotel, Cherry Hill. 21 Oct. 2000.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Last Name of Speaker / comma / space / First Name of Speaker / period / space / open quotation mark /
Title of the Presentation (not underlined) / period / close quotation mark / space / Title of Meeting (not
underlined) / period / space / Name of Sponsoring Organization / period / space / Location of
Presentation / comma / space / City of Presentation / period / space / Date of Presentation / space /
Abbreviated Month of Presentation / period (if needed) / space / Year of Presentation / period
A Letter to the Editor (5.7.11)
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Kilcrease, Linda. Letter. Daily Record 5 Apr. 2005, Morris County ed., sec. A: 7.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Last Name of Author / comma / space / First Name of Author / period / space / the word "Letter" /
period / space / Title of Newspaper or Magazine it Appeared in, Underlined / space / Date of
Publication / space / Abbreviated Month of Publication / period / space / Year Published / comma
/ space / Name of Edition if it Appears on the Master-head / space / Abbreviated Form of the word
"Edition" / period / comma / space / Abbreviated Form of the word "Section" / period / space /
Section / colon / space / Page Number / period
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Brussat, Mary. George Washington Viewers Guide. New York: Cultural Information Service, 1984.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Last Name of Author / comma / space / First Name of Author / period / space / Title of Pamphlet,
Underlined / period / space / City of Publication / colon / space / Publisher / comma / space / Year
Published / period
A Reference Book on CD-ROM, no Author Given (5.9.5)
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Cartopia:: The Ultimate World Reference Atlas. CD-ROM. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Title of Reference Book, Underlined / period / space / Publication Medium / period / space / City of
Publication / colon / space / Publisher / comma / space / Year Published / period
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Taniguchi, Marilyn. Rev. of Technically, It's Not My Fault: Concrete Poems, by John Grandits. School Library Journal Dec. 2004: 161.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Reviewer's Last Name / comma / space / Reviewer's First Name / period / space / Abbreviation for the
word "Review" / period / space / the word "of" / space / Title of Work Reviewed, Underlined / comma /
space / the word "by" / space / First Name of the Author / space / Last Name of the Author / period /
space / Title of the Periodical the Review Appeared in, Underlined / space / Date of Publication (if any) /
space / Abbreviated Month of Publication / period / space / Year Published / colon / space / Page
Number of Review / period
A Television or Radio Program (5.8.1)
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"Social Security." Narr. Jake Tapper. Eyewitness News This Week with George Stephanopoulas. ABC. WABC, New York. 1 May 2005.
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Descriptive Mechanics:
Open quotation mark (if appropriate) / Title of Episode or Segment (not underlined) / period / close
quotation mark / space / Abbreviation for "Narrated by" / period / space / First Name of Narrator /
space / Last Name of Narrator / period / space / Title of the Program, Underlined / period / space /
Name of the Network / period / space / Call Letters / comma / space / City of the Local Station /
period / space / Date of Broadcast / space / Abbreviated Month of Broadcast / space / Year of
Broadcast / period
Works Cited Sample, Alphabetized
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Works Cited Africa. New York: Dodd, 1966. Antonacci, Robert J. and Gene Schoor. Track and Field for Young Champions. New York: Arms and Armor: a Pictorial Archive from Nineteenth-Century Sources. New York: Dover, 1995. Bach, Jessica. Personal interview. 29 Apr. 2005. Bergreen, Gary. Coping with Study Strategies. New York: Rosen, 1986. Brand, Erick D. Band Instrument Repairing Manual. [Elkhart?]: n.p., 1946. Brussat, Mary. George Washington Viewers Guide. New York: Cultural Information Service, 1984. Cartopia:: The Ultimate World Reference Atlas. CD-ROM. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1995. Children of the Dragon: the Story of Tiananmen Square. New York: Collier, 1990. Dixon, Franklin W. The Clue of the Hissing Serpent. Hardy Boys Mystery Stories. 53. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1974. "Early Mammals were Livin' Large." Current Science 8 Apr. 2005: 14. Fleming, Dan. "let Me Count the Ways: Teaching Math in the Library May Seem Like a Stretch. But it's Easier Than You Think." School Library Journal 50.8 (2004): 44. 8 June 2005 <http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/archive>. Glubok, Shirley. The Art of Ancient Egypt. New York: Atheneum, 1962. ---. The Art of Egypt Under the Pharaohs. New York: Macmillan, 1980. ---. The Art of the Eskimo. New York: Harper, 1964. ---. Digging in Assyria. New York: Macmillan, 1970. ---. Olympic Games in Ancient Greece. New York: Harper, 1976. Ishizuka, Kathy. "Internet Users Overly Confident, But Naive." School Library Journal 51.3 (2005): 19. Kilcrease, Linda. Letter. Daily Record 5 Apr. 2005, Morris County ed., sec. A: 7. Laird, Charles. Greek Mythology. 2nd ed. London: Oxford UP, 2004. Mitchell, Stephen. "Return of Gilgamesh." Archaeology May/June 2005. 16. "Police Academy for Boys, Girls Scheduled." Daily Record [Parsippany] 5 Apr. 2005: A3. "Social Security." Narr. Jake Tapper. Eyewitness News This Week with George Stephanopoulas. ABC. WABC, New York. 1 May 2005. Steiner, Ronnie. "Battle of the Books." Forging Forward. Educational Media Association of New Jersey Annual Conference. Hilton Hotel, Cherry Hill. 21 Oct. 2000. Stump, Scott. "Pavano Ready for Debut as a Yankee." Daily Record [Parsippany] 5 Apr. 2005 : C1. Taniguchi, Marilyn. Rev. of Technically, It's Not My Fault: Concrete Poems, by John Grandits. School Library Journal Dec. 2004: 161. United States. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Washington: GPO, 2003. Wahl, Grant. "Yes, Hard Feelings." Sports Illustrated 28 March. 2005: 54-57.
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Copyright © 2005 by Jeffrey S. Mittag, Revised edition, August 2007