Basic format (Author-Page Style)
In addition to having a works cited list at the end of your
paper, you must give credit to sources that you use within your paper. Usually
the author's last name and page number are enough for the reader to identify the
complete reference in the works cited. See the examples below for variations of
this general rule.
MLA Handbook Chapter 6.4
Author's name in text
If you cite the author's name in your paper, cite only the
page numbers in parentheses at the end of the sentence.
Example
Smith has compared these authors (203-05).
Works Cited
Smith, Patrick A. Tim O'Brien: A Critical Companion.
Westport, CT: Greenwood P, 2005. Print.
MLA Handbook Chapter 6.4
Author's name in reference
If you do not cite the author's name in your paper, then
include both the author's name and page numbers in parentheses at the end of the
sentence.
Example
These authors have been compared elsewhere (Smith 203-05).
Works Cited
Smith, Patrick A. Tim O'Brien: A Critical Companion.
Westport, CT: Greenwood P, 2005. Print.
MLA Handbook Chapter 6.4
No author listed (cite by title)
When there is no author listed for a work, include the first
few words of the title followed by page or paragraph numbers in parentheses at
the end of the sentence. Italicize book titles and put article and Web site
titles in quotation marks.
Example
Many in the liquor industry argue that the ban on television
liquor advertising gives those in the beer and wine industry an unfair advantage
("Liquor Advertising").
Works Cited
"Liquor Advertising on TV." Issues & Controversies. 18
Jan. 2002: n. pag. FACTS.com. Web. 28 May 2009.
When citing an online source with no author or page numbers,
refer to it by title within a sentence.
Example
Amazon was a pioneer in electronic commerce.
Works Cited
Amazon. 1996. Web. 28 May 2009.
MLA Handbook Chapter 6.4
Two or more works by the same author(s)
To cite two or more works by the same author, include the
author's last name, the title of the work and the page numbers in parentheses at
the end of the sentence.
Example
Not all early Irish monks were meek and mild (Herm, The Celts
257-58).
Works Cited
Herm, Gerhard. The Celts: The People Who Came Out of the
Darkness. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1976. Print.
The Phoenicians: The Purple Empire of the Ancient World.
New York: Morrow, 1975. Print.
MLA Handbook Chapter 6.4
Citing part of a work (page and paragraph numbers)
Page numbers
When you quote or paraphrase a specific part of a print or
online source with page numbers, give the relevant page numbers in parentheses
at the end of the sentence.
Examples
"Time management," Brown wrote, "is an important survival
skill" (6).
Warren French notes that Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat was
considered shocking when it was first published (125-37).
Works Cited
Brown, Daniel C. "No Time for Time Management? Behavioral
Agencies Have Several Options for Improving Staff Efficiency." Behavioral
Healthcare Tomorrow 12.6 (2003): 27-30. General OneFile. Web. 28 May
2009.
French, Warren. John Steinbeck's Fiction Revisited. New
York: Twayne Publishers, 1994. Print.
Paragraph numbers
When you quote or paraphrase a specific passage in an online
source without page numbers, no page numbers are needed, even if page numbers
are listed in the online citation.
Examples
Different universities use different criteria for deciding
tenure ("How the Tenure").
According to Jones, binge drinking is a serious problem
("Binge Drinking").
Works Cited
"How the Tenure Process Works (Sidebar)." Issues &
Controversies. 23 May 2008: n. pag. FACTS.com. Web. 6 Oct. 2009.
Jones, Sherry Everett. "Binge Drinking Among Undergraduate
College Students in the United States: Implications for Other Substance Use."
Journal of American College Health 50.1 (2001): 33-8. Wilson Select Plus.
Web. 28 May 2009.
MLA Handbook Chapter 6.4
Citing an entire work
When citing an entire work rather than part of a work, include
the author's name in the text, not in a parenthetical reference.
Examples
Freeman Patterson provides a good example of a professional
photographer's website.
Fuller's Julius Caesar examines the famous Roman's roles as
soldier, scholar, and tyrant.
Works Cited
Freeman Patterson: Photographer and Writer. Ed. Freeman
Patterson. 2006. Web. 28 May 2009.
Fuller, J. F. C. Julius Caesar: Man, Soldier, and Tyrant.
New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1965. Print.
MLA Handbook Chapter 6.4
Citing a multi-volume work
When you cite a page and volume from a multi-volume work,
separate the two by a colon and space and place both in parentheses at the end
of the sentence.
Example
The Handbook of Psychology describes one common method
of identifying learning disabilities as the use of intelligence tests (7: 457).
Works Cited
Gallagher, Michela, and Randy J. Nelson, eds. Handbook of
Psychology: Biological Psychology. Vol. 3. New York: Wiley, 2003. Digital
file.
Reynolds, William M. and Gloria E. Miller, eds. Handbook of
Psychology: Educational Psychology. Vol. 7. New York : Wiley, 2003. Digital
file.
It is only necessary to include the volume number if you cite
more than one volume of a multi-volume work. If you are citing one volume of a
multi-volume work, you only need to include the page number.
MLA Handbook Chapter 6.4
Personal communications (interview, letter, email)
Personal communication references in text should provide the
last name of the person interviewed.
Example
She confirmed that she will not participate in the teachers'
strike (Thompson).
Works Cited
Thompson, Emily. Personal interview. 5 Feb. 2005.
MLA Handbook Chapter 6.4.2
Citing Indirect Sources
Whenever possible, use original source material, not
secondary. If you must use an indirect source, see the following.
Example
Smith spoke often of Eloise the Cat, calling her a "fabulous
feline" (qtd. in Doe 23).
Works Cited
Doe, John. Smith on Cats. Lansing: LCC Press, 2009. Print.
MLA Handbook Chapter 6.4
Examples are based on the MLA Handbook, seventh
edition, and assistance provided by MLA editorial staff. When available, MLA
rule numbers are referenced from:
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers Ref LB 2369 .G53 2009 (TLC
second floor)
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