Research Guides: Citation Guide: MLA 8th

MLA Style: 8th Edition (2016)

MLA is commonly used to cite sources in Humanities fields
such as literature and cultural studies. This page 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 (8th Edition) Locations:
@ STROZIER
General Collection 4th Floor -- LB2369.G53 2016

Ready Reference -- LB2369.G53 2016

Reference -- LB2369.G53 2016

@DIRAC
Reference 2nd Floor -- LB2369.G53 2016

Differences Bewteen the 7th & 8th Edition

Some takeaways of what's new and different in the 8th edition of the MLA Handbook:

"If you are already familiar with traditional MLA citation methods, continue to use them in a more simplified form. Since the eighth edition emphasizes the writer’s freedom to create references based on the expectations of the audience, consider what your readers need to know if they want to find your source.

Think of MLA style principles as flexible guides, rather than rules. Part of your responsibility as a writer is to evaluate your readers and decide what your particular audience needs to know about your sources.

Your goal is to inform, persuade, and otherwise connect with your audience; error-free writing, along with trustworthy documentation, allows readers to focus on your ideas.

In-text citations should look consistent throughout your paper. The principles behind in-text citations have changed very little from the seventh to the eighth editions.

List of works cited/works consulted needs to include basic core information, such as author’s name, title of source, publication date, and other information, depending on the type of source. Each entry should be uniform and simple, but should give enough information so that your readers can locate your sources.

These updated MLA guidelines are based on a simple theory: once you know the basic principles of style and citation, you can apply that knowledge widely, and generate useful documentation for any type of publication, in any field. "

Source: "MLA 8th Edition: What's New and Different" from Purdue Online Writing Lab(OWL)

Resources

In-Text Citation

The information and examples presented below follow the 8th edition of the MLA Handbook.

What You Are Citing

In-Text Citation

The entire work

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.

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.

Font, Patrick, et al.

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

(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 8th edition of the MLA Handbook.

Book

Type of Source

Reference List Citation

Book

Format:

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

Edition of a book

Format:

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

Example:

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

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. Bloomsbury, 1999. 126-139.

Multi-volume set

Format:

Last name, First name. Title of Work. Number of volumes. Publisher, Year.

Example:

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

E-Book

Database Format:

Last name, First Name. Title of Work. Publisher, Year. Name of Database. 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. 3 Dec. 2009

Online Format:

Last name, First Name. Title of Work. Publisher, Year. 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. C. Scribner’s Sons, 1911. Project Gutenberg. 25 Nov. 2008.

Article

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. vol. 26, no. 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 vol. 50 no. 1 (2007): pp. 173- 196. ProQuest. Web. 27 May 2009.

Magazine article

Print Format:

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

Print Example:

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

Database Format:

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

Database Example:

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

Newspaper article

Print Format:

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

Print Example:

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

Online/Database Format:

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

Online/Database Example:

Brown, Patricia Leigh. “Tiffany Glass and Other Tales from the Crypt.” New York Times 5 Sept. 1999: A1+. ProQuest. 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). Date of access.

Example:

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

Section/page on a web site

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). Date of access.

Example:

Eck, Diana L. "From Diversity to Pluralism." The Pluralism Project. Harvard University Religion Department, 2006. 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. Date retrieved.

Database Example:

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

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. pp. 939.

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.

Published Interview Example:

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