MLA Format for Sources in a Bibliography
Non-Electronic Sources
Books
I. Basic Entry (Single Author)
Author’s Name (last name first). Title of the Book. City of Publication:
Publishing House, Year of Publication.
Cressy, David. Birth, Marriage, and Death: Ritual, Religion, and the Life Cycle
in Tudor and Stuart England. New York: Oxford UP, 1997.
Remember to abbreviate “University” (U) and “Press” (P) where appropriate. Also, leave ancillary information about publishing houses out of the citation (e.g., Inc., Corp., House, etc.). Note that the entry is always double-spaced.
If an author has more than one work in a Works Cited section, list the works alphabetically by title and start each entry after the first with three hyphens (---) to indicate that the author is the same though the publication information is different.
II. A Book by Two to Three Authors
Jakobson, Roman, and Linda R. Waugh. The Sound Shape of Language.
Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1979.
Rabkin, Eric S., Martin H. Greenberg, and Joseph D. Olander. No Place Else:
Explorations in Utopian and Dystopian Fiction. Carbondale: Illinois UP,
1983.
III. A Book by More Than Three Authors
Gilman, Sander, et al. Hysteria Beyond Freud. Berkeley: U of California P,
1993.
Choose the visible author alphabetically if the authors contributed equally. Otherwise, list the main author first.
IV. A Book by a Corporate Author
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Campus Life: In Search
of Community. Princeton: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching, 1990.
V. A Book by an Anonymous Author
Encyclopedia of Virginia. New York: Somerset, 1993.
Articles
I. Basic Entry (Article from a Literary Journal)
Author’s Name (last name first). “Title of the Article.” Name of the Journal
Journal Number.Journal Unit (Year of Publication): Page Numbers.
Henderson, Andrea. “Passion and Fashion in Joanna Baillie’s ‘Introductory
Discourse.’” PMLA 112 (1997): 198-213.
Vickeroy, Laurie. “The Politics of Abuse: The Traumatized Child in Toni
Morrison and Marguerite Duras.” Mosaic 29.2 (1996): 91-109.
II. An Article in a Newspaper
Trachetenberg, Jeffrey A. “What’s in a Movie Soundtrack? Catchy Tunes and
Big Business.” Wall Street Journal 1 Apr. 1994, eastern ed.: B1+.
Use standard pagination if the newspaper follows that format.
In MLA style, all months are abbreviated except for May, June, and July.
III. An Article in a Commercial Magazine
Peterson, Thane, and Julia Flynn. “A Beautiful Market for Art.” Business Week
30 Dec. 1996-6 Jan. 1997: 148-49.
IV. An Article in a Book or Anthology
Dergo, Venipe. “Seeking the Unsung Savior.” Southern Texts with Northern
Flavor. Ed. George Aldey. New York: Hyrper, 1993. 439-55.
Note that the editor is mentioned as well as the author.
V. An Article by an Anonymous Author
“The Decade of the Spy.” Newsweek 7 Mar. 1994: 26-27.
Lecture, Speech, Address, or Reading
Name of Speaker (last name first). “Title of the Presentation.” Name of the
Gathering. Name of the Sponsor of the Gathering. Location of the
Gathering. Date of the Presentation.
Atwood, Margaret. “Silencing the Scream.” Boundaries of the Imagination
Forum. MLA Convention. Royal York Hotel, Toronto. 29 Dec. 1983.
Interview
Name of Interviewee (last name first). Type of Interview (personal, telephone,
e-mail, on-line, etc.). Date of the Interview.
Pei, I. M. Personal interview. 22 July 1993.-
Electronic Sources
Online Book
Standard Entry for a Book. Title of the Site from Which the Piece Was Taken.
Editor of the Site. Version Number. Date the Piece Was Posted. Sponsoring
Institution or Organization. Date the Piece Was Accessed <URL>.
Beldins, Luke. Transformations in Contemporary Fairy Tales. New York:
Northrop, 1998. Folklore for a New Age. Ed. Norman Frilip. Vers. 1.2. 12
Jan. 1999. Wallace Children’s Literature Collection, Grenda U. 20 Mar. 2000
<http://www.grenda.com/fairytales/transformations3.html>.
Online Article from a Database
Standard Entry for an Article. Database. Date the Piece Was Accessed <URL>.
Merrin, Carol, and Regina Plotkin. “Singing in the Classroom.” Innovative
Education 10.3 (2001): 56-67. TeacherFront. 8 Mar. 2002 <http://www.
teacherfront.edu/ir/library/pdf/tfm0103.pdf>.
Online Article from a Library Subscription Service
Standard Entry for an Article. Database. Subscription Service. Library System
with City and State. Date the Piece Was Accessed <URL>.
Horing, Kyla. “Look Out for Icebergs.” Global Awareness 13 May 2004: 45-46.
Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. U of Wyrtona, Groener Memorial Lib.,
Wyrtona, RI. 10 Dec. 2006 <http://www.epnet.com>.
If the URL is too lengthy, provide only the address for the subscription service’s home page.
If page numbers beyond the article’s first page are not provided, list the given page number followed by a hyphen, a space, and a period.
Online Article from a Web Site
Author’s Name (last name first). “Title of the Posted Piece.” Title of the Site
from Which the Piece Was Taken. Date the Piece Was Posted. Date the
Piece Was Accessed <URL>.
Landsburg, Steven W. “Who Shall Inherit the Earth?” Conservation Now. 1
May 1997. 2 May 1997 <http://www.slate.com/Economics/97-05-01/
Economics.asp>.
E-Mail Message
Author’s Name (last name first). “Title of the Message.” Identification of the
Recipient. Date the Message Was Sent.
Sylphid, Rasheed. “A New Utopia.” E-mail to Hattie Downs. 17 Oct. 2006.
Online Posting
Author’s Name (last name first). “Title of the Message.” Identification of the
Message. Date the Message Was Posted. Name of the Forum. Date the
Message Was Accessed <URL>.
Laguardia, Simeon. “Use the Caslon Font.” Online posting. 20 Apr. 1997.
Fonts for All Discussion Group. 13 Aug. 2001 <http://lists.fadg.net/archives/
1997/0568.html>.
MLA Format for Parenthetical Citations
I. Author Unmentioned in Text
Hendrickson is very well known and is famous in the scientific world for “what you
might call a sixth sense, an uncanny ability to find amazing things” (Passero 72).
II. Author Mentioned in Text
Passero notes that Hendrickson is something of an “eager and ambitious revolutionary”
when it comes to research methods (70).
III. Author Quoted Directly in Text
Passero is not hesitant to explain why he admires Hendrickson: “He simply develops
concepts of research that nobody else ever considers, and with remarkable speed” (75).
IV. Block Quotation from the Author
Joseph Hidell is quick to point out that the Plowman of The Canterbury Tales is a figure
at odds with the corrupt characters with whom he goes on pilgrimage:
The character of the Plowman can hardly be allowed to associate freely with the
malcontents that surround him; he is an ideal Christian who shines like a beacon
of virtue amidst his debased company. He is a laborer far down, economically
speaking, on the scale of social ranking and, as such, he has had little time to
entertain thoughts of sin or vice. (26-27)