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.

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.

MLA Handbook Chapter 6.3

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If you do not cite the author's name in your paper, then include both the author's name and page numbers in parentheses at the end of the sentence.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.

MLA Handbook Chapter 6.3

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. Underline 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" par. 6).

Works Cited

"Liquor Advertising on TV." Issues & Controversies. 18 Jan. 2002: 49 pars. FACTS.com. Facts on File. Lansing Community Coll. Lib. 22 Apr. 2004 <http://www.2facts.com>.

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. 23 Jan. 2007. <http://amazon.com/>.

MLA Handbook Chapter 6.4.4

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.

--. The Phoenicians: The Purple Empire of the Ancient World. New York: Morrow, 1975.

MLA Handbook Chapter 6.4.6

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. Gale. Lansing Community Coll. Lib. 27 July 2005 <http://find.galegroup.com>.

French, Warren. John Steinbeck's Fiction Revisited. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994.

Paragraph numbers

When you quote or paraphrase a specific passage in an online source without page numbers, give the relevant paragraph numbers in parentheses at the end of the sentence.

Examples

The water level in the Great Lakes has gone down in recent years (Assel, par. 5).

According to Jones, binge drinking is a serious problem (pars. 4-5).

Works Cited

Assel, Raymond A. "Hydroclimatic Factors of the Recent Record Drop in Laurentian Great Lakes Water Levels. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 85 (2004): 1143-51. Wilson Select Plus. First Search. Lansing Community Coll. Lib. 23 Jan. 2007 <http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org>.

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. First Search. Lansing Community Coll. Lib. 23 Jan. 2007 <http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org>.

MLA Handbook Chapter 6.4.2

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. 23 Jan. 2007. <http://www.freemanpatterson.com/>.

Fuller, J. F. C. Julius Caesar: Man, Soldier, and Tyrant. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1965.

MLA Handbook Chapter 6.4.1

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, c2003. netLibrary. OCLC. Lansing Community Coll. Lib. 22 Jan. 2007 <http://www.netlibrary.com>.

Reynolds, William M. and Gloria E. Miller, eds. Handbook of Psychology: Educational Psychology. Vol. 7. New York : Wiley, 2003. netLibrary. OCLC. Lansing Community Coll. Lib. 22 Jan. 2007 <http://www.netlibrary.com>.

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 6.4.3

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

Examples are based on the MLA Handbook, sixth 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 2003 (TLC second floor)