A Guide to Works Cited/Bibliographies
The Modern Language Association (MLA) Style is commonly used for academic writing in a wide range of subjects and disciplines, particularly in the arts and humanities. Most citations include three key elements: (1) author's name, (2) title or source, and (3) publication information. The proper style associated with each of these includes:
Underlining or italicizing titles. (Italics are preferred, but not required, for bibliographies published on the Internet.) Following elements (e.g., names, titles, publication cities, etc.) with a period and one space. Additional elements (e.g., number of volumes, edition numbers, or Web addresses and date of access) may be required. On your References page, make sure you list each of your sources separately. Arrange them alphabetically by author's last name or the title if there is no author. To download an MLA 7th Edition Quick Guide, click here. NOTE: This guide is not meant to be "all-encompassing". There may be additional sources that you find that are not listed here. If this is the case, please ask Dr. Hartnell, an English teacher, or see a librarian for the proper MLA way to cite it. NOTE: A HUGE thank you goes out to Mrs. Baumann, Ms. Birtcher, and Ms. Hines for providing Dr. Hartnell with the updated MLA citation "rules"! |
When and Why Do I Cite Stuff?
One of the most important things you MUST do is cite the sources you are using. You need to cite any information that "isn't common knowledge". This means that unless this information is so basic that everyone knows it, you MUST cite from where it came.
For example, you would NOT have to cite the following sentence: There were many Native American tribes living in North America before the arrival of European settlers. Most people already know that; as such, it would NOT need to be cited. However, you WOULD have to cite this next sentence: There were 1,286 different Native American languages. Because this sentence contains a specific statistic that most people would NOT know, the sentence must be cited. Because this sentence contains a specific statistic that no ordinary person would know, it must be cited. Proper citation within the text of your paper and at the end with your Reference Page (be it a Works Cited page, a Bibliography page, or an Annotated Bibliography) is critical to your grade. Teachers of all subjects and from around the globe will always harp on you about plagiarism. A research paper lacking citations (both throughout and at the end) can be accused of plagiarism. There are three ways to properly cite your sources. Mrs. Birtcher provides details below: In-text citationsWith these, you directly state the author's name and the title of the source in the sentence you are citing.
Example: In The Llamas of Peru, Robert Jones tells us that the gestation period for llamas is 11 months. Parenthetical citationsWith these, you identify the source by using ( ) at the end of a sentence. If this is a printed source (book, encyclopedia, etc.), you need to provide the page number. There is NO comma between the author's name and the page number. If there are multiple authors, list out all of their last names, separating them by commas. There is still NO comma between the last author's name and the page number.
Three Examples: The gestation period of llamas is 11 months (Jones 118). The gestation period of llamas is 11 months (Jones and Smith 118). The gestation period of llamas is 11 months (Jones, Smith, and Taylor 118). Direct quotesIf you wish to quote the text directly, just add quotation marks around the exact wording from your source. Again, if available, include the page number.
Cite
your source right after it by listing the author's name and the page number
from which it came. NO comma is used between the author's name and the page
number. Be sure to place the info AFTER the last quote mark but BEFORE the
period to end the sentence.
Two Examples: Jones stated, "At birth, a baby llama can weigh between 9.1 kilograms and 14 kilograms" (118). "At birth, a baby llama can weigh between 9.1 kilograms and 14 kilograms" (Jones 118). NOTE: All citations MUST match up with an item shown in your Annotated Bibliography. NOTE: Remember what Ms. Birtcher said... NEVER use a website's URL as an in-text citation! If you are citing a Web source in your text, do NOT list out the URL. Instead, use the last name of the author of the website (understand there may not be a page number to accompany it). If there is NO author, use a shortened title of the website (full title "The Impact of Global Warming in North America"; shortened title "Impact of Global Warming"). If you are using more than one source from the same author, you will need to include the author's name and cite which of their sources you are citing at that particular point in the paper. NO comma is between the author's name and the Web source. It looks like this: The fur, meat, and milk from llamas are considered novelties among some native circles (Jones "The Many Uses of Llamas"). NOTE: Make sure to place citations where a pause would naturally occur to avoid disrupting the flow of your writing (usually at the end of a sentence or paragraph). You need to list the source's complete information in your Annotated Bibliography section. NOTE: When you use a quote that is longer than four lines, it needs to be pulled out and set apart from the regular text. (This is called a "block quote".) Do this by hitting the "Tab" key an extra time. If this quote is in the middle of a paragraph, just continue the next line of text after the quote and without indenting. Notice that you do NOT use quote marks with these big quotes! Despite its size, make sure to DOUBLE space this quote. |
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How Do I Cite Stuff?
Now that you know
WHEN to cite, it is time for you to know HOW to cite. And despite efforts to
drill this information into your head every time you do a paper, we all know
you have to relearn it every year. So, to make it easier, the rest of this
guide contains the update MLA citation "rules". (A HUGE thank you goes out to Mrs.
Baumann and Ms. Hines for
providing Dr. Hartnell with these "rules"!)
NOTE: The newest edition of MLA, the 7th Edition, has added "Publication Medium" to your citation entries. This means you now have to indicate what kind of source you used. Do this by selecting one of the following: Print (book, encyclopedia, and so forth), Television, CD, or Web. |
Book with One Author:
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Place of Publication:
Publisher, Year of Publication.
Publication Medium.
Example:
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.
NOTE: If there is no author, start with the book title.
NOTE: If the entry runs onto a second line, make sure to indent by hitting the "Tab" key.
NOTE: Your entries are double-spaced.
Publication Medium.
Example:
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.
NOTE: If there is no author, start with the book title.
NOTE: If the entry runs onto a second line, make sure to indent by hitting the "Tab" key.
NOTE: Your entries are double-spaced.
Book with Two or More Authors:
Last Name, First Name, and Fist Name
Last Name. Title of Book. Place of
Publication:
Publisher, Year of Publication. Publication Medium.
Example:
Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Learner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston:
Allyn, 2000. Print.
NOTE: Only the first author's name is last name first. All other authors' names are first name first.
Publisher, Year of Publication. Publication Medium.
Example:
Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Learner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Boston:
Allyn, 2000. Print.
NOTE: Only the first author's name is last name first. All other authors' names are first name first.
A Single Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection:
Author Last Name, First Name. "Title
of Essay." Title of Book. Ed.
Editor's Name(s). Place of
Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Page Range of Entry. Publication
Medium.
Example:
Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers
One to One. Ed. Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000. 24-34. Print.
Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Page Range of Entry. Publication
Medium.
Example:
Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers
One to One. Ed. Ben Rafoth. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2000. 24-34. Print.
Article in a Reference Book (e.g., Encyclopedias):
"Title
of Article." Title of Reference Book.
Edition. Year of Publication. Publication Medium.
Example:
"Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed. 1997. Print.
Example:
"Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed. 1997. Print.
Article in a Magazine:
Last Name, First
Name. “Title of Article.” Title of
Periodical Day Month Year: Pages.
Publication Medium.
Example:
Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-71. Print.
Publication Medium.
Example:
Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-71. Print.
Article in a Scholarly Journal:
Last
Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title
of Journal Volume. Issue (Year): Pages.
Publication Medium.
Example:
Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta
Devil's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 15.1 (1996): 41-50.
Print
Publication Medium.
Example:
Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta
Devil's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 15.1 (1996): 41-50.
Article in a Newspaper:
Last
Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title
of Newspaper Day Month Year: Pages,
Publication Medium.
Example:
Brubaker, Bill. "New Health Center Targets Country's Uninsured Patients." Washington Post
24 May 2007: B01. Print.
Publication Medium.
Example:
Brubaker, Bill. "New Health Center Targets Country's Uninsured Patients." Washington Post
24 May 2007: B01. Print.
Personal Interview:
Last Name of Person
interviewed, First Name. Personal interview. Date of interview.
Example:
Purdue, Pete. Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2013.
Example:
Purdue, Pete. Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2013.
A Page on a Website:
Last
Name, First Name. "Title of Page." Name
of Website. Publisher or Sponsor, Date of
Publication. Publication Medium. Day Month Year accessed. <URL optional>.
Example:
"Hawaii Drunk Driving Statistics." Alcohol Alert. KeRo, 2009. Web. 17 Mar. 2009.
Example:
"How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow.com. eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.
Example:
Landau, Elizabeth. "CDC: Swine Flu Viruses in U.S. and Mexico Match." CNN Health.com.
Cable News Network, 25 Apr. 2009. Web. 17 June 2009.
Example:
Lehrman, Lewis E. Lincoln at Peoria. Lincoln Institute, n.d. Web. 17 June 2009.
Example:
"Norwegian Pirate Whaling Fleet." Sea Shepherd. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society,
2009. Web. 17 June 2009. <http:www.seashepherd.org/whales/Norway.html>.
NOTE: Use n.p. if no publisher name is available and n.d. if no publishing date is given. If no author is given, start with the title of the web page. URL is optional. Use URL if it is helpful in locating your source. Do NOT use if it is extremely long. For online publications, refer to the print format for the source and add the necessary web and date of access information.
Publication. Publication Medium. Day Month Year accessed. <URL optional>.
Example:
"Hawaii Drunk Driving Statistics." Alcohol Alert. KeRo, 2009. Web. 17 Mar. 2009.
Example:
"How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow.com. eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.
Example:
Landau, Elizabeth. "CDC: Swine Flu Viruses in U.S. and Mexico Match." CNN Health.com.
Cable News Network, 25 Apr. 2009. Web. 17 June 2009.
Example:
Lehrman, Lewis E. Lincoln at Peoria. Lincoln Institute, n.d. Web. 17 June 2009.
Example:
"Norwegian Pirate Whaling Fleet." Sea Shepherd. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society,
2009. Web. 17 June 2009. <http:www.seashepherd.org/whales/Norway.html>.
NOTE: Use n.p. if no publisher name is available and n.d. if no publishing date is given. If no author is given, start with the title of the web page. URL is optional. Use URL if it is helpful in locating your source. Do NOT use if it is extremely long. For online publications, refer to the print format for the source and add the necessary web and date of access information.
An Article from an Online Database (or other Service):
NOTE: Cite articles
from online databases (e.g., Gale, LexisNexis, ProQuest, JSTOR, ScienceDirect,
etc.) and other subscription services just as you would print sources. In
addition to this information, provide the title of the database (italicize it),
the publication medium, and the date of access.
Magazine
Junge, Wolfgang, and Nathan Nelson. "Nature's Rotary Electromotors." Science 29 April.
2005: 642-44. Science Online. Web. 5 Mar. 2009.
Scholarly Journal
Langhamer, Claire. "Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England." Historical
Journal 50.1 (2007): 173-96. ProQuest. Web. 27 May 2009.
Book: Single Work from an Anthology
Fotuhi, Majid. "Exercise May Help Prevent Alzheimer's." Alzheimer’s Disease. Ed. Adela Soliz.
San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Contemporary Issues Companion. Gale
Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 9 July 2011.
Magazine
Junge, Wolfgang, and Nathan Nelson. "Nature's Rotary Electromotors." Science 29 April.
2005: 642-44. Science Online. Web. 5 Mar. 2009.
Scholarly Journal
Langhamer, Claire. "Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England." Historical
Journal 50.1 (2007): 173-96. ProQuest. Web. 27 May 2009.
Book: Single Work from an Anthology
Fotuhi, Majid. "Exercise May Help Prevent Alzheimer's." Alzheimer’s Disease. Ed. Adela Soliz.
San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Contemporary Issues Companion. Gale
Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 9 July 2011.
NOTE: This guide is not meant to be "all-encompassing". There may be additional sources that you find that are not listed here. If this is the case, please ask Dr. Hartnell, an English teacher, or see a librarian for the proper MLA way to cite it.
NOTE: A HUGE thank you goes out to Mrs. Baumann, Ms. Birtcher, and Ms. Hines for providing Dr. Hartnell with the updated MLA "rules"! To download an MLA 7th Edition Quick Guide, click here. |