Citing Sources M.L.A. Style

*Updated per the Pearson Guide to 2008
Modern Language Association (M.L.A.) Style Manual updates*

The principal changes in the 2008 update is that titles are in italics rather than underlined. There is a medium of publication (i.e. print or web) at the end of every citation. Volume and issue numbers are included for journal citations, and online sources do not include the URL.

This guide is divided into five sections: (journal/magazine article, newspaper article, encyclopedia article, and book or part of book, and website or part of a website) and gives examples from various sources.

First some general guidelines:

Alphabetize your entries based on author's last name or title of the work (if author is unknown).
Indent 5 spaces at the beginning of every line but the first.

Capitalize the major words in any title (article, book, encyclopedia, journal, magazine, etc.)

Include as many elements are as applicable to your entry. You may not be able to determine all elements but the goal in citing is to clearly identify your source so that others may locate it. You may need to find similar examples and modify them for your particular source. You MAY include a URL if you feel it will be hard for people to locate your source without it.

Journal/Magazine Article:

Include as many of these elements as applicable:

Author followed by a period.
Article title in quotations followed by a period.
Journal or Magazine name (in italics) and volume/number, date and pages followed by period. If no page numbers are included, use n.pag.
Name of the database if applicable (in italics) followed by a period. Medium of publication (Print or Web) followed by a period.
Date you accessed the information in this electronic form: day Month year.

Examples:

Malamud, Margaret. "Pyramids in Las Vegas and in Outer Space: Ancient Egypt in
Twentieth-Century American Architecture and Film." Journal of Popular Culture
34.1 (Summer 2000): 31-47. Print.

"Minerva." British Medical Journal (Intl. Ed.) 325.7360 (17 Aug. 2002) : 398+. Print.

Desjardins, Mary. "The Incredible Shrinking Star: Todd Haynes and the Case History of
Karen Carpenter." Camera Obscura 19.3 (2004): 22-25. Project Muse. Web. 5 Jan.
2009.

Ward, Jacob and Bjorn Carey. "The Hard Science of Making Videogames." Popular
Science Oct 2007: 68-76. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Dec. 2008.

Sandifer, John. "When Real Things Happen to Imaginary Tigers." ImageText 3.3 (2007):
n. pag. Web. 7 Jul. 2008.

Newspaper Article:

Include as many of these elements as available:

Author followed by a period.
Article title in quotations followed by a period.
Newspaper name (in italics) and section, pages and date followed by period. If pages are not consecutive, write only the first page number and a plus sign.
Name of the database if applicable (in italics) followed by a period. Medium of publication (Print or Web) followed by a period.
Date you accessed the information in this electronic form: day Month year.

Examples:

Carter, Bill. " 'Survivor' v. 'Boot Camp' in Latest TV Lawsuit." New York
Times 9 Jan. 2009: C2. Print.

Gilot, Louie. "FBI to Help Mexico Try to Solve the Killings of Juarez Women." El Paso
Times 22 Feb. 2003: Borderland section, 4B. Newsbank Newsfile. Web. 3 Feb.
2009.

Poulus, Ryan. "What's Next for ASARCO." El Paso Inc. El Paso Inc. 8 Feb 2009.
Web. 11 Feb. 2009.

Article from Encyclopedia or Reference Work:

Include as many of these elements as available:

Author followed by a period.
Article title in quotations followed by a period.
Encyclopedia name (in italics) and date followed by period. This is sufficient if it is a familiar, standard reference work such as general encyclopedias, almanacs, dictionaries, etc.
If it is lesser known or specialized encyclopedia or reference work, give the full publication information. See last entry below.
If the encyclopedia arranges entries alphabetically, you may omit the page numbers.
Publisher or provider of electronic information. Ex: Ebsco Industries or Gale Research Group
Medium of publication (Print or Web)
Date you accessed the web information.

Examples:

Cox, Rachel S. "Home Schooling Debate." CQ Researcher 26 July 2001: 623-642.
Print.

"Texas Rangers." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Ebsco Industries. 2002.
Web. 11 Feb. 2009.

"Kohlberg, Olga Bernstein." The Handbook of Texas Online 4 Dec. 2002. Texas State
Historical Association. 2 Mar. 2003 Web. 2 Feb. 2009.

Mann, Barry. "Joyce Carol Oates." Magill's Survey of American Literature. Frank N.
Magill. Vol. 4. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1991. 1513-1529. Print.

Pillard, Richard. "The Causes of Homosexuality are Probably Genetic."
        Homosexuality. Ed. Mary Williams. Opposing Viewpoints Series. Greenhaven
        Press, 1999. 35-47. Abridged from Richard Pillard. "The Genetic Theory of
        Sexual Orientation." The Harvard Gay and Lesbian Review Winter 1997. Print.

Presley, Delma Eugene. "The Search for Hope in the Plays of Tennessee Williams,
Mississippi Quarterly, 25(1971): 31-43. rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism,
vol. 111. Jeffrey W. Hunter ed. Detroit: Gale, 1999, 379-384. Print.

Book:

Include as many of these elements as applicable:

Author followed by a period. If multiple authors, put first author's last name first and then names of other authors, first names followed by last names.

Essay/chapter title in quotations followed by a period. If only section name is used (i.e. appendix, introduction) use that name, without quotations marks, followed by a period.

Book title (in italics) followed by a period. Edition statement if applicable.
Place of publication: Publisher, and date followed by a period.
Any additional print information (excerpted from, reprinted, etc.)
Name of website/database. For example: Google Books, NetLibrary, etc.
Medium of publication (Print. Web.)
Date you accessed the online information.

Examples:

Flanagan, David. Java in a Nutshell. 4th ed. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly, 2002. Print.

Kearney, Milo and Manual Medano. Medieval Culture and the Mexican American
Borderlands. College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 2001. Print.

Colbert, Steven et al. I am America (And So Can You!). New York: Grand Central,
2007. Print.

Hughes, Anne Eugenia. The Beginning of Spanish Settlement in the El Paso District.
University of California Press, 1914. Google Books. Web. 2 Feb 2009.

Okie, Susan. Fed Up! Winnning the War Against Childhood Obesity. Washington, DC:
National Academies Press, 2005. netLibrary. Web. 6 Feb. 2009.

Websites, Blogs, Podcasts, Online Videos, etc.:

Include as many of these elements as applicable:

Author followed by a period.

Article title in quotations followed by a period.

Website name (in italics) followed by a period. If you cannot determine a title, use the term Home page (see examples).
Electronic publication date followed by a period.
Medium of publication (Web.) and date you accessed the information followed by a period.

Examples:

"Immigrant Business." Latino USA. University of Texas at Austin, 6 Feb. 2009. Web.
11 Feb. 2009.

Whatley, Stuart. "Obama in the Age of Heroes and Fallen Angels." Huffington Post.
HuffingtonPost.com, 10 Feb. 2009. Web. 11 Feb. 2009.

McGann, Jerome J., ed. The Rossetti Archive. U of Virginia, n.d. Web. 2 May 2008.

AzaPutra. "El Cascabel - Mariachi Vargas." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Jan. 2006.
Web. 11 Feb. 2009.

Any other questions?

If you have further questions, please ask a librarian at any campus Reference Desk:

Valle Verde Campus (915) 831-2442
Transmountain Campus (915) 831-5098
Rio Grande Campus (915) 831-4019
Mission del Paso Campus (915) 831-7040
Northwest Campus (915) 831-8840

or consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers available at LB2369.G53 at any branch.

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Last Updated: September 16, 2009
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