MLA Citation Style

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th edition

For Literature, Art and the Humanities

Color code

Author(s) <blue>	Date <red>	Title of book <pink>	Title of article <green>	Title of periodical <purple>
Volume <orange>	Pages <lt blue>	Place of publication <brown>	Publisher <yellow>	Other information <gray>

Journal Article

Found online: Online periodicals include both the name of the website in italics and the website publisher. Note that some sites will have different names than their print formats, such as ones that include a domain name like .com or .org. If no publisher is listed, use N.p. to denote no publisher name given. Follow with date of publication, Web as medium of publication, and date of access.

Geier, Bryan. "Organic agriculture worldwide--a fast growing reality for 100% pesticide risk reduction." Acta-horticulturae. International Society of Horticultural Science. 525.1 (2000): 31-37. Web. 13 April 2009.

Journal or Magazine Article

Found in print.

Donaldson, David. "When to buy organic." Better Homes and Gardens 85:6 (2007): 288. Print.

Magazine or Journal Article Retrieved from a Database

Cite online journal articles from an online database as you would a print one. Provide the database name in italics. Library information is no longer required. List the medium of publication as Web and end with the date of access.

Shelke, Karen. "How to say it organically: consumers are buying into organic foods; are you buying organic ingredients?" Food Processing 66.4 (2005): 49-54. Academic OneFile. Web. 13 Mar. 2008.

Newspaper Article

Dillon, Sam. "Education standards likely to see toughening." New York Times, 14 April 2009: A3. Print.

If the newspaper was accessed through the online version of the newspaper:

Dillon, Sam. "Education standards likely to see toughening." New York Times. New York Times 14 April 2009. Web. 18 April 2009.

Book

Berger, Sharon. Allotment gardening : an organic guide for beginners . Devon [England]: Green Books, Ltd., 2005. Print.

eBook

For an electronic book, include the name of the database, the place of access, and the date of access.

Berger, Sharon. Allotment gardening : an organic guide for beginners . Devon [England]: Green Books, Ltd., 2005. NetLibrary. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Web. 18 April 2009.

Book with an editor

Kruger, Anna, ed. Gardening When It Counts . Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2001. Print.

Book Article or Chapter

Begin with the name of the author of the selection, not with the name of the author of the book. Then give the title of the selection; the title of the book; the name of the author or editor (preceded by "Ed." for "Edited by"); publication information; and the pages on which the selection appears.

Coleman, Eliot. "The new organic grower." Gardening When It Counts . Ed. Anna Kruger. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1995. 219-223. Print.

Website

Begin with the name of the author or corporate author (if known) and the title of the site, underlined. Then give the names of any editors, the date of publication or last update, the name of any sponsoring organization, the date you accessed the source, and the URL in angle brackets. Provide as much of this information as is available.

Mayo Clinic Staff. Organic foods: Are they safer? More nutritious? 20 December 2006. 13 Mar. 2008. < http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organic-food/NU00255>.

Blog

Begin the entry with the author's name, followed by the title or subject of the posting; the words "Online posting"; the date of the posting; the name of the blog; and your date of access. Then give the URL for the blog.

Supak, Susan. "Pesticides linked to frog mutations." Online posting. 2 Mar. 2006. Organic Gardening News. 13 Mar. 2008. < http://organicgarden.blogspot.com/>.

Encyclopedia Article

When an encyclopedia or a dictionary is well known, simply list the author of the entry (if there is one), the title of the entry, the title of the reference work, the edition number (if any), and the date of the edition.

Smith, Jessica. "Organic Gardening." The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Macropaedia . 15th edition. 1987.

If a reference work is not well know, provide full publication information as for other books.

Online Encyclopedia Article

"botanical garden" World Encyclopedia . 2005. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign. 28 February 2008 < http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t142.e1518>.

Movie

Begin with the title, underlined. For a film, cite the director and the lead actors or narrator ("Perf." or "Narr."), followed by the name of the distributor and the year of the film's release. For a videotape or DVD, add "Videocassette" or "DVD" before the name of the distributor and the year the film was released on DVD or Videocassette.

High Fidelity . Dir. Stephen Frears. Perf. John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Jack Black, and Todd Louiso. 2000. DVD. Walt Disney Video, 2001.

YouTube video

For videos, provide the author only if you are sure that person created the video. Do not list the person posting the video online as the author. If you are unsure, treat the citation as having no author.

Has an author:

Takayma-Ogawa, J., & Willette, J. (2007). What is information literacy [Video] Retrieved December 12, 2007, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeopJX5jJV8.

Has no author:

Slingshot fun [Video]. (2007). Retrieved February 1, 2007, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCmZYce0J2E.

General Rules

The list of sources that you used should be titled "Works Cited."
Arrange the items on your reference list alphabetically by author.
Doublespace all lines
Indent the second and following lines 5 spaces or one half inch. (In Word, use "Hanging Indent.")
If no author is given, start with the title.
Abbreviate the names of all months except May, June, and July.
The 7th edition of MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers became available in spring 2009. This webpage reflects the update found in the 7th edition.

Library Links

Quick Links