Skip to Main Content

Citation Management for Business Students & Faculty

MLA Style: 7th Edition

The information presented on this page is relevant to the MLA 7th edition. For information on MLA 8th edition, please see the corresponding tab in the left-hand column.

MLA Style


Image of MLA Handbook seventh edition

MLA is commonly used to cite sources in Humanities fields
such as literature and cultural studies. This guide will
provide you with basic information on how to make
in-text citations and entries in your Works Cited page.
For more in-depth information, please consult a copy
of the official MLA Handbook.

MLA Handbook (7th Edition) Locations:
@DIRAC 
Reference 2nd Floor -- LB2369.G53 2009   
    
@STROZIER
Reserves Reserves -- LB2369.G53 2009  
General Collection 4th Floor -- LB2369.G53 2009   
Reference -- LB2369.G53 2009   

@Law Library 
Reserves 2nd Floor -- LB2369.G53 2009  

Helpful Resources

In-Text Citation

The information and examples presented below follow the 7th edition of the MLA Handbook.

What You Are Citing

In-Text Citation

 The entire work

 OR

 The entire work with no page numbers

 To cite an entire work within the text of the paper include information that will allow the reader to locate the source in your works cited list.

 Example:

 In his book "Sedaris," author Kevin Kopelson discusses the importance humility and humor have had in David  Sedaris’s writing.

 OR

 A recent newspaper article demonstrated just how active  local community has been in the support of public health options (Smith). 

 A specific page 

 (Cruz 8)  

 If the author is included in the text of the sentence 

 Marks made his point clearly (150-62). 

 Multi-volume set 

 (George 2: 109-111)

 “2” is the volume number  

 Author and page number

 Reference List:

 Wiegand, Wayne. 

 (Wiegand 70) 

 Two or three authors

 Reference List:

 Marty, Paul and Charles McClure. 

 Johns, Mike, Lisa Tripp, and Amy C. Jones. 

 (Marty and McClure 12)

 (Johns, Tripp, and Jones 345) 

 Four or more authors

 Reference List:

 Font, Patrick, Antonio Suarez, Jacob Mielgo, and Juan de  Caz.

 OR

 Font, Patrick, et al. 

 (Font, Suazrez, Mielgo, and Caz 153-54)

 OR

 (Font et al. 153-54) 

 Group author

 Reference List:

 Modern Language Association 

 (Modern Language Association 16) 

 No Author Listed

 Reference List:

 "Riding the Wave: New Google Toy." New York  Times 12  Dec. 2009: Technology 2-3. NewsBank.  Web. 10 June  2006. 

 (“Riding the Wave” 2)

 ** In cases where the title contains a colon, use only the text before the colon in the in-text citation.

 Citing a Source within a Source

 Reference List:

 Bears, M.D. "Information Literacy in Academic  Libraries." Chronicle for Higher  Education 31(2008):  20-28.  Web. 2009. 

 Larsen writes, "Today's librarian is part teacher, part entrepreneur" (qtd. in Bears 22).  

Bibliography, Works Cited

The information and examples presented below follow the 7th edition of the MLA Handbook.

Books

Type of Source 

Reference List Citation

 Book

 Format:

 Last name, First name. Title of Book. Place of Publication:  Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

 Example:

 Rifkin, Jeremy. The Age of Access: The New Culture of  Hypercapiltalism Where all of Life is a Paid-For Experience.  New York: Putnam, 2000. Print

 Edition of a book

 Format:

 Last name, First name. Title of the Book. Number of edition ed. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.  Medium of Publication. 

 Example:


 Crowley, Sharon, and Debra Hawhee. Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students. 3rd ed. New York:  Pearson/Longman, 2004. Print.

 Chapter or article in an anthology/edited book

 Format:

 Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection.  Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.  Page range of entry. Medium of Publication.

 Example:

 Marshall, Walt. “On the Way to the Coliseum.” The Falling of Rome. Ed. Thomas Bond. London: Bloomsbury, 1999.  126-139. Print.

 Multi-volume set

 Format:

 Last name, First name. Title of Work. Number of volumes.  Location of Publication: Publisher, Year. Medium of  Publication.

 Example:

 Gray, Cristina. Jefferson. 3 vols. Wake Forest, NC: Wake  Forest University Press, 2000. Print.

 E-Book

 Database Format:

 Last name, First Name. Title of Work. Location of  Publication: Publisher, Year.  Name of  Database. Medium of Publication. Date Accessed (Day Month Year). 

 Database Example:

 Kornblum, William. At Sea in the City: New York from the  Water’s Edge. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 2002. Net  Library. Web.  3 Dec. 2009

 Online Format:

 Last name, First Name. Title of Work. Location of  Publication: Publisher, Year. Medium of  Publication. Name of Website. Date Accessed (Day Month  Year). 

 Online Example:

 Seton, Ernest Thompson. The Arctic Prairies: A Canoe-  Journey of 2,000 Miles in Search of the Caribou. New York:  C. Scribner’s Sons, 1911. Project Gutenberg. Web. 25  Nov. 2008.

Articles

Type of Source                                                                                                                                                                                  Reference List Citation
Journal article

Print Format:

 Author(s).  "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume. Issue  (Year): pages. Medium of publication.

 Print Example:

 Hughes, Jane C., Elizabeth V. Brenstan, and Linda Anne  Valle. “Problem Solving Interactions between Mothers and  Children.” Children and Family Behavior  Therapy. 26.1 (2004): 1-16. Print.

 Database Format:

 Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Journal Volume.Issue  (Year): Page Number(s). Database. Date Accessed (Day  Month Year). 

 Database Example:

 Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-  Century England.” Historical Journal 50.1 (2007): 173-  96. ProQuest. Web. 27 May 2009.

Magazine article

Print Format:

 Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day (if available) Month  Year: Page(s). Medium of Publication.

 Print Example:

 Borowitz, Adam. "Pavlov's Brother." New Yorker 11 Nov.  2004: 63-65. Print

 Database Format:

 Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day (if available) Month  Year: Page(s). Database. Medium of  Publication. Date  Accessed.

 Database Example:

 Ives, Frank, and Jonathon Lydon. "Freud's Vienna  Revisited." Discover Aug. 2005: 16-17. PsycINFO. Web.  15 Mar. 2006.

Newspaper article

 Print Format:

 Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Newspaper Day Month  Year:  Page/Section Number(s). Medium of Publication. 

 Print Example:

 Brubaker, Bill. "New Health Center Targets County's  Uninsured Patients." Washington Post 24 May 2007: LZ01.  Print.

 Online/Database Format:

 Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Newspaper Day  Month  Year: Page/Section Number(s). Database. Medium of Publication.  Date retrieved. 

 Online/Database Example:

 Brown, Patricia Leigh. “Tiffany Glass and Other Tales from  the Crypt.” New York Times 5 Sept. 1999: A1+. ProQuest.  Web. 20 Sept. 2008.

Other

Type of Source Reference List Citation

Entire web site

 **MLA no longer requires the use of URLs in MLA  citations. Because Web addresses are not static (i.e.  they  change often) and because documents sometimes appear  in multiple places on the Web.)

 If your instructor does require a URL, MLA suggests that the URL appear in angle brackets after the date of access.  

 Format:

 Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of  Site. Version number (if available). Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access.

 Example:

 Eck, Diana L. The Pluralism Project. Harvard University  Religion Department, 1997-2009. Web. 10 Oct. 2009.

Section/page on a website

Format:

 Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). “Title of Page  or Section.” Name of Site. Version number (if available).  Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site  (sponsor or publisher), date of publication (if available).  Medium of publication. Date of access.

 Example:

 Eck, Diana L. "From Diversity to Pluralism." The Pluralism  Project. Harvard University Religion Department, 2006.  Web. 23 Oct. 2008.

 A work of visual art

Database Format:

 Creator/Artist. Title of Work. Year. Medium of image.  Location of original work (institution), City of institution. Database retrieved from.Medium of publication.  Date retrieved. 

 Database Example:

 Rousseau, Henri. The Ship in the Storm. 1896. Painting.  Musee de l’Orangerie, Paris. Art Index Retrospective & Art  Full Text. Web. 8 Aug. 2006.

Reproduced in Print Source Format:

 Creator/Artist. Title of Work. Year. Medium of image.    Location of original work.  Title of work the image appears in. Editor(s)/Author(s). Place of Publication: Publisher.  Page Number. Medium of publication. 

 Reproduced in Print Source Example:

 Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo   del Prado, Madrid. Gardener's Art Through the Ages. 10th   ed. By Richard G. Tansey and Fred S. Kleiner. Fort Worth:  Harcourt Brace. 939. Print.

 Interview

Personal Interview Format:

 Name of Interviewee. Personal Interview.  Date of  Interview.

 Personal Interview Example:

 Johns, Evan. Personal Interview. 9 May 2009. 

 Published Interview Format:

 Name of Interviewee. Interview Name or Interview  (followed by interviewer if applicable). Name of Work,  Radio Program, etc. Name of Sponsor or Main Host. City of Interview. Date of Interview. Medium of Publication. 

 Published Interview Example:

 Breslin, Jimmy. Interview by Neal Conan. Talk of the  Nation. Natl. Public Radio. WBUR, Boston. 26 Mar. 2002.  Radio. 

Dates

For in-text citation and works citied list, MLA requires names of the month to be abbreviated (with the exception of May, June, and July).

January= Jan.

February= Feb.

March= Mar.

April= Apr.

August= Aug.

Septemper= Sept.

October= Oct.

November= Nov.

December= Dec.

Setting Your Paper in MLA Format in Word

The Florida State University Libraries
FIND & BORROW | RESEARCH & PUBLISH | VISIT & STUDY | COLLECTIONS | ABOUT | HELP & SUPPORT

© 2022 Florida State University Libraries | 116 Honors Way | Tallahassee, FL 32306 | (850) 644-2706