MLA Style Citations, 7th ed.
(Modern Languages Association)
This guide provides basic guidelines and examples for citing sources using the MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers, 7th ed. (2009).
MLA citation style requires that credit be given to sources in the text of an essay with parenthetical references.
General guidelines for parenthetical references appear on the last page of this guide. While the following examples are single-spaced, the Works Cited page should be double-spaced throughout.
Format:
Author Last, First. Title. Location of Publisher: Publisher, Year of Publication. Print.

Book:
One Author

Sample Citation:
Welch, Kathleen E. Electric Rhetoric: Classical Rhetoric, Oralism, and a New Literacy.
Cambridge: MIT, 1999. Print.
Format:
Author Last, First, and First Last. Title. Location of Publisher: Publisher, Year of Pub. Print.

Book:
Two Authors

Sample Citation:
Lunsford, Andrea, and Lisa Ede. Singular Texts/Plural Authors: Perspectives on
Collaborative Writing. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1990. Print.
Format:
Author Last, First, Author First Last, and Author First Last. Title. Location of Publisher: Publisher, Year of Pub. Print.
[Note: If a source has more than three authors, only the first author should be listed, with the
Latin phrase “et al.” (meaning “and others”) following their name.]

Book:
Multiple Authors Sample Citation:

Patten, Michael A., Guy McCaskie, and Philip Unitt. Birds of the Salton
Sea: Status, Biogeography, and Ecology. Berkeley: U of
California P, 2003. Print.
Gray, Joseph R., et al. How Brown Johnson and Kirk Got It Wrong. Chicago:
Ellsworth, 2005. Print.
Format:
Author Last, First. Title. Location of Publisher: Publisher, Year of Pub.
Electronic Publisher. Web. Date of Access.

Electronic Book Sample Citation:
Welch, Kathleen E. Electric Rhetoric: Classical Rhetoric, Oralism, and a New Literacy.
Cambridge: MIT, 1999. netLibrary. Web. 21 Oct. 2004.

Format:
Author Last, First. "Title of Chapter/Article." Title of Book. Ed. First Last.
Location of Publisher: Publisher, Year of Publication. Inclusive page numbers. Print.

Chapter in a Book

Sample Citation:
Wells, Ida B. "Lynch Law in All Its Phases." With Pen and Voice: A Critical Anthology of
Nineteenth-Century African-American Women. Ed. Shirley Wilson Logan. Carbondale:
Southern Illinois UP, 1995. 80-99. Print.
Format:
Author of Specific Entry Last Name, First. "Title of Entry." Title of Book. edition # ed.
Year of Publication. Print.

Encyclopedias,
[Note on editions: For texts published without an edition number, include the year only. See
Dictionaries, and sample. Note on reference works online: Include the word “Web” followed by the date of
Common
access to indicate the use of an electronic version of a common reference book.]
Reference Books
Sample Citation:
Smith, Hobart. "Horned Lizard." Encyclopedia Americana. 2004 ed. Print.
Sample Citations for Common Reference Books Online:
Smith, Hobart. “Horned Lizard.” Encyclopedia Americana. 2004 ed. Web. 4 Mar. 2008.
“Kingdom.” Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Web. 25 Aug. 2007.

Specialized
Reference
Books

Specialized
Reference
Books from a Full-Text
Database

Graphic
Novel

Format:
Author of Specific Entry Last Name, First. “Title of Entry.” Title of Book. Ed. First Name
Last of editor if necessary. Edition information if available. Location of Publisher:
Publisher, Year of Publication. Print.
Sample Citation:
Murphy, Bruce F. “Hard-boiled.” Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery. New York:
St. Martins, 1999. Print.
Format:
Author of Specific Entry Last Name, First. “Title of Entry.” Title of Book. Ed. First Name
Last of editor if necessary. Edition information if available. Location of Publisher:
Publisher, Year of Publication. Database Name. Web. Day Month Year of Access.
Sample Citation:
Andrew, William. “Slave Narratives.” Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History. Ed. Colin A. Palmer. 2nd ed. Vol. 5. Detroit: Macmillan Reference,
2006. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 18 Feb. 2009.
Format:
Author Last, First. Title. Illus. First Last. Location of Publisher: Publisher, Year of
Publication. Print.
Sample Citation:
Ames, Jonathan. The Alcoholic. Illus. Dean Haspiel. New York: Vertigo, 2008. Print.

Journals
Format:
Author Last, First. "Title." Journal Name Volume Number.Issue Number
(Year of Pub): inclusive page numbers. Print.

Journal Article:
Print

[Note: If the issue number is not available, add the month or season of publication in parentheses with the year. See samples under “Journal Article: Multiple Authors.”]
Sample Citation:
Haraway, Donna J. "A Game of Cat's Cradle: Science Studies, Feminist Theory,
Cultural Studies." Configurations 2.1 (1994): 59-71. Print.
Format:|
Author Last, First, and Author First Last. "Title." Journal Name Volume
Number.Issue Number (Year of Pub): inclusive page numbers. Print.

Journal Article:

[Note: If a source has more than three authors, only the first author should be listed, with the
Latin phrase “et al.” (meaning “and others”) following their name.]

Multiple Authors Sample Citation:

Gautreau, Ronald, and Jeffrey M. Cohen. "Birth and Death of a Black
Hole." American Journal of Physics 65 (May 1997): 444-6. Print.

Pridmore, William, Mitchell Chamlin, and Adam Trahan. “A Test of Competing Hypotheses
About Homicide Following Terrorist Attacks: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis of September 11 and Oklahoma City.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology 24
(Dec. 2008): 381-96. Print.

Journal Article:
Published Only
Online

Journal Article: from a
Full-Text
Database

Format:
Author Last, First. "Title." Journal Name Volume Number.Issue Number
(Year of Pub): inclusive page numbers. Web. Day Month Year of Access.
[Note: If an article online is not paginated, include the abbreviation “n. pag.” instead.]
Sample Citation:
Jobe, Karen D. "Women and the Language of Hackerdom: The Gendered
Nature of Hacker Jargon." Kairos 5.2 (2000): n. pag. Web. 23 Mar. 2005
Format:
Author Last, First. "Title." Journal Name Volume Number.Issue Number
(Year of Pub): inclusive page numbers. Database Name. Web. Day Month
Year of Access.
Sample Citation:
Ferrell, Robert H. "Truman's Place in History." Reviews in American
History 18.1 (1990): 1-9. JSTOR. Web. 3 Feb. 2005.

Magazines

Magazine Article:
Print

Magazine Article:

Format:
Author Last, First. "Title." Magazine Name Day Month Year of Pub: inclusive page numbers. Print.
Sample Citation:
Swartz, Mimi. "An Enron Yard Sale." New Yorker 6 May 2002: 50-2. Print.
Format:
Author Last, First, and Author First Last. "Title." Magazine Name
Day Month Year of Pub: inclusive page numbers. Print.
Sample Citation:

Multiple Authors Silver, Marc, and James M. Pethokoukis. "Attack of the Cloned Light
Sabers." U.S. News & World Report 13 May 2002: 63. Print.

Magazine Article:
Online

Magazine Article from a
Full-Text

Format:
Author Last, First. "Title." Magazine Name Day Month Year of Pub. Web.
Day Month Year of Access.
Sample Citation:
Leonard, Andrew. "Embracing the Dark Side of the Brand." Salon.com 18 May
2005. Web. 3 Aug. 2005.
Format:
Author Last, First. "Title." Magazine Name Day Month Year of Pub: inclusive page numbers if available. Database Name. Web.
Day Month Year of Access.
Sample Citation:
Swartz, Mimi. "An Enron Yard Sale." New Yorker 6 May 2002: 50-2.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Apr. 2005.

Database

Newspapers
Format:
Author Last, First. "Article Title." Newspaper Name Day Month Year of Publication, edition if necessary: page number. Print.

Newspaper
Article:
Print

[Note: If a newspaper article begins on a page and ends on another page, it is sufficient to write the first page on which the article appears followed by the plus (+) sign.]
Sample Citation:
Lewin, Tamar. "SAT Essay Scores Are In, But Will They Be Used?"
New York Times 15 May 2005, late ed.: A22. Print.
Format:

Newspaper
Article:
Online

Newspaper
Article:
in a Full-Text
Database

Author Last, First. "Article Title." Newspaper Name Day Month Year of Publication.
Web. Day Month Year of Access.
Sample Citation:
Mapes, Lynda V. "Unearthing Tse-whit-zen." Seattle Times 25 May 2005.
Web. 1 Aug. 2005.
Format:
Author Last, First. "Title." Newspaper Name Day Month Year of Publication: page number. Database Name. Web. Date of Access.
Sample Citation:
Flores, Matt. "San Antonio, Texas-Area Business Students Manage
Real Portfolio." San Antonio Express-News 18 Dec. 2001: B1+.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Feb. 2004.
Format:
Author Last, First. Letter. Newspaper Name Day Month Year of Publication: page number. Print.

Letters to the
Editor

Sample Citation:
Davies, Deborah D. Letter. San Francisco Chronicle 16 May 2005: B4. Print.
Sample Citation of an Editorial in a Full-Text Database:
Davis, Deborah D. Letter. San Francisco Chronicle 16 May 2005: B4. Lexis-Nexis
Academic. Web. 12 Apr. 2008.

Electronic Sources

Multi-Page
Internet Site:
Site as a Whole

Multi-Page
Internet Site:
Single Page

Format:
Author Last, First. Title of Site. Sponsoring organization if available, Day Month Year of
Publication/Latest Update. Web. Day Month Year of Access.
Sample Citation:
Lepage, Denis. Avibase: The World Bird Database. Bird Studies Canada, 2005.
Web. 15 July 2005.
Format:
Author Last, First. "Title of Page." Title of Site. Sponsoring organization if available,
Day Month Year of Publication. Web. Day Month Year of Access.
Sample Citation:
Sun, Yee-Fan. "Shacking Up." Digs Magazine.com. 2005. Web. 5 Sept. 2005.

Format:

Multi-Page
Internet Site:

Corporate Author Name. Title of Site. Sponsoring organization if applicable, Day Month
Year of Publication. Web. Day Month Year of Access.
Sample Citation:

Corporate Author Miller Center of Public Affairs. American President. U of Virginia, 15 Jan. 2005.
Web. 10 Mar. 2005.
Format:
Author Last, First. "Title of Email." Message to First Name Last of Receiver.
Day Month Year of Message. E-mail.

E-mail

Sample Citation:
Miller, Barbara. "Re: Education Statistics." Message to Meredith Elsik.
25 Jan. 2005. E-mail.

Other
Format:
Government name. Name of agency. Title of Publication. Location of Publisher: Publisher,
Year of Publication. Print.

Government
Publication

[Note: Government documents vary and result in special problems for bibliographers. Consult pages 174-177 in the handbook or your librarian for assistance.]
Sample Citation:
United States. Dept. of the Treasury. National Security Information. Washington D.C.:
GPO, 1990. Print.
Format:
Interviewee Last, First. Type of Interview. Day Month Year of Interview.

Personal
Interviews

Sample Citation:
Welch, Kathleen E. Personal interview. 14 Aug. 2007.
Welch, Kathleen E. Telephone interview. 14 Aug. 2007.
Welch, Kathleen E. E-mail interview. 14 Aug. 2007.

Images from a
Database

Format:
Author Last Name, First. Title of the Image. Year of Creation. Database or Source Name.
Web. Day Month Year of Access.
[Note: To cite images found on the internet, it is often best to cite the page where the image was located. Use the citation guidelines for “Multi-page Internet Site: Single Page.”]
Sample Citation:
Caro, Anthony. Early One Morning. 1962. ARTstor. Web. 4 July 2008.

In-Text Parenthetical References in MLA Style
MLA citation style requires that writers cite a source within the text of their essay at the end of the sentence in which the source is used. The parenthetical reference should be inserted after the last quotation mark but before the period at the end of the sentence.
General Form:

(Author Last Name Page #)

Example:

(Smith 42)

If two quotations from different sources are used in the same sentence, the parenthetical reference associated with a particular quote should be placed as close to the quotation as possible without interrupting the flow of the sentence. If a paragraph includes several quotations from a single source, a single parenthetical reference may be placed at the end of the paragraph. Page numbers should be included for each quotation organized by placement in the paragraph. In the following example, the first quotation from Smith appeared on page 43 of the text. The second quotation used in the paragraph came from page 12.
Example:

(Smith 43, 12)

If the author is included more than once on the Works Cited page, the following form should be used. Note that the format of the title on the Works Cited sheet should be mirrored in the parenthetical reference (i.e., if the title is italicized on the Works Cited page, then the title fragment should be italicized in the parenthetical reference).
General Form:

(Author Last, "Title Fragment" Page #) or (Author Last, Title Fragment Page #)

Examples:

(Smith, "Who Moved" 42) or (Smith, Big Changes 172)

The following examples illustrate format for texts that have more than one named author:
Two Authors:

(Johnson and Smith 244)

Three Authors:

(Johnson, Smith, and White 244)

More than Three:

(Johnson et al. 244)

If there is no author, a title fragment should be used to make a connection between the use of the source and the citation for the source on the Works Cited page.
General Form:

("Title Fragment" Page #) or (Title Fragment Page #)

Examples:

("Library Links" 13) or (Building a Bookshelf 42)

If page numbers are not available for a source (particularly electronic sources) this space should be blank.
For other considerations, see the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed. (pp. 213-230).