MLA Style Guide
This style guide, adapted from The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (Ref LB2369 .G53 2003), provides examples of how to document source material when preparing scholarly papers.
Part I shows how to cite the source of a quotation or a paraphrased summary of an author's words in the body of the paper. Part II shows how to prepare the bibliography that lists all of the works that you cited in the paper.
Part I - Citing Sources in Text
You must cite the source of either a quotation or paraphrased material. Include the author's name and the page number(s) from which the material was taken in parentheses following the statement you make. If you mention the author in the text, you do not have to repeat his or her name in the citation. If you cite more than one work by the same author in your paper, you must include a short title to inform the reader of which work you are citing.
Citing Books
- Citing author in text:
- In A Critical History of American Literature David Lynch provides a useful discussion of the Romantics (538-89), as well as authors from other periods.
- Citing author in reference:
- The author has described this era to be "the most turbulent in modern history" (Brown 21).
Citing Periodicals
- Citing author in text:
- In "The Threshold of the Mountain in Dante's Divine Comedy," Helen Luke notes that "almost daily this great image of Dante's passage from the blind murk to the shining dark may come to our aid"(55).
- Citing author in reference:
- In the 1990s, media coverage of police brutality reached an all time high (Marshall 6).
Part II -Preparing the List of Works Cites (Bibliography)
- A book by a single author:
- Pollak, Vivian R. Dickinson: The Anxiety of Gender. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1984.
- A book by multiple authors:
- Holman, C. Hugh and William Harman. A Handbook to Literature. New York: Macmillan, 1992.
- An article in a reference book:
- "Mandarin." Encyclopedia Americana. 1980 ed.
- An article in a journal with continuous pagination:
- Spear, Karen. "Building Cognitive Skills in Basic Writers." Teaching English in the Two-Year College 9 (1983): 91-98.
- An article in a journal that pages each issue separately or that uses only issue numbers:
- Lyon, George Ella. "Contemporary Appalachian Poetry: Sources and Directions." Kentucky Review 2.2 (1981): 3-22.
- An article from a weekly or biweekly periodical:
- Begley, Sharon. "A Healthy Dose of Laughter." Newsweek 4 Oct. 1982: 60-88.
- An article from a monthly or bimonthly periodical:
- Snyder, Mark. "Self-Fulfilling Stereotypes." Psychology Today July 1982: 60-88.
- An article from a daily newspaper:
- Collin, Glenn. "Single-Father Survey Finds Adjustment a Problem." New York Times 21 Nov. 1983, late ed.: B17.
- Basic citation components and punctuation for individual works
-
Author/editor. Title. Edition statement (if given). Place of publication: publisher, date. Medium. Source of electronic information (if available). Available: URL. Access date.
Examples:
-
Unlandherm, Frank. Middle East studies resources . New York: Columbia University, 1997. Online. Columbia University: Available: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/area/MiddleEast/index.html. 19 August 1997.
Arab republic of Egypt. Austin, TX: Center for Middle East Studies, 1 June 1997. Online. Middle East Network Information Center. Available: http://menic.utexas.edu/menic/countries/egypt.html. 18 August 1997.
- For other examples of citing Internet resources see:
- The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (Ref. LB 2369 .G53 2003)
sections 5.9 (page 207), sections 6.4 (page 242) and the index for further specific electronic citation questions.Miscellaneous
- The MLA has a helpful link for questions on their website called Frequently Asked Questions about MLA style.
Last updated: 3/08 by Ford Schmidt