MLA : Modern Language Association (6th ed., 2003)
Note: These examples should not be used as an all-encompassing substitute for the actual citation style guide. Shorter margins affect the citation’s appearance online; your citations will be double-spaced and wider than the citations below.
Print Sources
The Basic Entry: A Book by a Single Author
Wilson, Frank R. The Hand: How Its Use Shapes the Brain,
Language, and Human Culture. New York: Pantheon, 1998.
An Anthology or a Compilation
Feldman, Paula R., ed. British Women Poets of the Romantic
Era. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997.
Spafford, Peter, comp. and ed. Interference: The Story of
Czechoslovakia in the Words of Its Writers. Cheltenham:
New Clarion, 1992.
A Book by Two or More Authors
Marquart, James W., Sheldon Ekland Olson, and Jonathan R.
Sorensen. The Rope, the Chair, and the Needle: Capital
Punishment in Texas, 1923-1990. Austin: U of Texas P,
1994.
A Book by a Corporate Author
American Medical Association. The American Medical
Association Encyclopedia of Medicine. New York: Random,
1989.
A Work in an Anthology
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Black Theater: A Guide
to Twentieth-Century Playwrights. Ed. Lindsay Patterson. New
York: Dodd, 1971. 221-76.
More, Hannah. “The Black Slave Trade: A Poem.” British
Women. Ed. Paula R. Feldman.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997. 472-82.
An Article in a Reference Book
“Azimuthal Equidistant Projection.” Merriam-Webster’s
Collegiate Dictionary. 10th ed. 1993.
“Mandarin.” The Encyclopedia Americana. 1994 ed.
When citing less familiar reference books, however, especially those that have appeared in only one edition, give full publication information.
Allen, Anita L. “Privacy in Health Care.” Encyclopedia of
Bioethics. Ed. Warren T. Reich. Rev. ed. 5 vols. New
York:
An Edition
If the work was obviously prepared by someone other than the author for publication, refer to the editor or compiler and the edition’s publication information. If known, and the text comprises one work, give the original publication date of the original edition following the title.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine.
New York: St. Martin’s, 1998.
Edgeworth, Maria. Castle Rackrent and Ennui. Ed. Marilyn Butler. London:
Penguin, 1992.
Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the
American Civil War. 1895. Ed. Fredson Bowers.
Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1975.
A Book Published in a Second or Subsequent Edition
Cheyfitz, Eric. The Poetics of Imperialism: Translation and
Colonization from The Tempest to Tarzan. Expanded ed.
Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 1997.
Murasaki Shikibu. The Tale of Genji. Trans. Edward G.
Seidensticker. Abr. ed. New York: Vintage-Random, 1985.
A Multivolume Work
Martin, Michael T., ed. New Latin American Cinema. 2 vols.
Detroit: Wayne State UP, 1997.
Crane, Stephen. The University of Virginia Edition of the Works
of. Ed. Fredson Bowers. 10 vols.
Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1969-76.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. “Sojourner Truth, the Libyan Sibyl.”
1863. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed.
Paul Lauter et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Lexington: Heath, 1994.
2425-33. 2 vols.
A Government Publication
United Nations. Consequences of Rapid Population Growth in
Developing Countries. New York: Taylor, 1991.
Poore, Benjamin Perley, comp. A Descriptive Catalogue of the
Government Publications of the United States, September 5,
1774-March 4, 1881. US 48th Cong., 2nd sess. Misc. Doc.
67. Washington: GPO, 1885.
The Published Proceedings of a Conference
Freed, Barbara F., ed. Foreign Language Acquisition Research
and the Classroom. Proc. of Consortium for Lang. Teaching
and Learning Conf., Oct. 1989, U of Pennsylvania. Lexington:
Heath, 1991.
Mann, Jill. “Chaucer and the ‘Woman Question.’” This Noble Craft:
Proceedings of the Tenth Research Symposium of the Dutch and Belgian
University Teachers ofOld and Middle English and Historical Linguistics,
Utrecht, 19-20 January 1989. Ed. Erik Kooper. Amsterdam:
Rodopi, 1991. 173-88.
A Book Published before 1900
When citing a book published before 1900, you may omit the name of the publisher and use a comma, instead of a colon, after the place of publication.
Brome, Richard. The Dramatic Works of Richard Brome. 3
vols. London, 1873.
Dewey, John. The School and Society. Chicago, 1899.
An Article In a Scholarly Journal with Continuous Pagination
Craner, Paul M. “New Tool for an Ancient Art: The Computer
and Music.” Computers and the Humanities 25 (1991):
303-13.
An Article in a Scholarly Journal That Pages Each Issue Separately
Hallin, Daniel C. “Sound Bite News: Television Coverage of
Elections, 1968-1988.” Journal of Communication 42.2
(1992): 5-24.
An Article in a Scholarly Journal That Uses Only Issue Numbers
Bowering, George. “Baseball and the Canadian Imagination.”
Canadian Literature 108 (1986): 115-24.
An Article in a Newspaper
Lohr, Steve. “Now Playing: Babes in Cyberspace.” New York
Times 3 Apr. 1998, New England final ed.: D1 +.
An Article in a Magazine
Armstrong, Larry, Dori Jones Yang, and Alice Cuneo. “The
Learning Revolution: Technology Is Reshaping Education—at
Home and at School.” Business Week 28 Feb. 1994:
80-88.
Murphy, Cullen. “Women and the Bible.” Atlantic Monthly Aug. 1993:
39-64.
An Abstract in an Abstracts Journal
McCabe, Donald L. “Faculty Responses to Academic
Dishonesty: The Influence of Student Honor Codes.”
Research in Higher Education 34 (1993): 647-58. Abstract.
Current Index to Journals in Education 26 (1994): item
EJ471017.
An Anonymous Article
“The Decade of the Spy.” Newsweek 7 Mar. 1994: 26-27.
Electronic Sources
An Article in a Scholarly Journal
Denning, Peter J. “Business Designs for the New University.” Educom
Review 31.6 (1966). 23 June 1998
Miles, Adrian. “Singin’ in the Rain: A Hypertextual Reading.” Postmodern
Culture 8.2 (1998). 25 June 1998
An Article in a Newspaper or on a Newswire
“Endangered Species Act Upheld.” AP Online 22 June 1998. 22 June
1998 Species.html>. An Article in a Magazine Kinsley, Michael. “Now Is the Summer of Too Much Content.” Slate 20 June 1998. 25 June 1998 20/Readme.asp>. An Online Scholarly Project, Information Database, or Professional or Personal Site Include version number (if relevant and if not part of the title), date of electronic publication or of the latest update, name of any sponsoring institution or organization, date of access, and network address. Britannica Online. Vers. 98.2. Apr. 1998. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 8 May 1998 The Electronic Text Center . Ed. David Seaman. 1998. Alderman Lib., U of Virginia. 14 Feb. 1998 An Online Book Available Independently Include author’s name, title of the work, name of the editor, compiler, etc. (if relevant), publication information, date of access, and network address. For publication information, if the version of the text online has not been published before, give the date of the electronic publication and the name of any sponsoring institution or organization. State the publication facts about the original print version if they are given in the source. Barsky, Robert F. Noam Chomsky: A Life of Dissent. Cambridge: MIT P, 1997. 8 May 1998 Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Essays: First Series. 1841. 12 Feb. 1997 A Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph Evans, Walker. Penny Picture Display. 1936. Museum of Mod. Art, New York. 30 June 1998 Multimedia The Buccaneers. By Edith Wharton. Adapt. Maggie Wadey. Perf. Mira Sorvino, Alison Elliott, and Carla Gugino. 3 episodes. Masterpiece Theatre. Introd. Russell Baker. PBS. WGBH, Boston. 27 Apr. – 11 May 1997. “Frankenstein: The Making of the Monster.” Great Books. Narr. Donald Sutherland. Writ. Eugenie Vink. Dir. Jonathan Ward. Learning Channel. 8 Sept. 1993. A Film or Video Recording Like Water for Chocolate [Como agua para chocolate]. Screenplay by Laura Esquivel. Dir. Alfonso Arau. Perf. Lumi Cavazos, Marco Lombardi, and Regina Torne. Miramax, 1993. Cite a videocassette, DVD (digital videodisc), laser disc, slide program, or filmstrip like a film, but include the original release date (if relevant) and the medium, neither underlined nor enclosed in quotation marks, before the name of the distributor. Alcohol Use and Its Medical Consequences: A Comprehensive Teaching Program for Biomedical Education. Prod. Project Cork, Dartmouth Medical School. Slide program. Milner-Fenwick, 1982. It’s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and Thomas Mitchell. 1946. DVD. Republic, 1998. A Film or Film Clip Kurosawa, Akira, dir. Throne of Blood. 1957. Macbeth. By William Shakespeare. Ed. A. R. Braunmuller. CD-ROM. New York: Voyager, 1994.
A Television or Radio Program