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Citing Your Sources
MLA Style
APA Style
Quiz 6

MLA Citation Style

The Modern Language Association (MLA) citation system was first developed in 1951 for use by researchers, and was published as the MLA Style Sheet. In 1977 the MLA Style Sheet was expanded for use by students and renamed the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. The MLA Handbook is updated periodically to take new formats into consideration. The advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web has provided a new challenge to citation systems.

The MLA citation style uses a combination of parenthetical citations in the text of the document and a list of works cited located at the end of the document. The parenthetical citations are placed at the end of a quotation and refer the reader to the list of works cited for a more complete citation.

Citing sources with MLA

The most authoritative source for MLA citation guidelines is the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers which can be purchased at most bookstores. The MLA Handbook is available in the reference area of most college libraries. At the MCTC Library it is located at 808.02 G35m5 1999. For complete citation information consult the MLA Handbook.

As we said before, the MLA citation style requires parenthetical citations in the text of the document, and a list of works cited. For the parenthetical citation it is usually enough to list the author's last name and the page from which the quote is taken. Here is an example:

Medieval Europe was a place both of "raids, pillages, slavery, and extortion" and of "traveling merchants, monetary exchange, towns if not cities, and active markets in grain" (Townsend 10).

Townsend is the author of the book from which the quote was taken. The quote came from page 10 of the book. If your reader turned to your list of works cited she/he would find the complete citation for the book:

Townsend, Robert M. The Medieval Village Economy. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1993.

Below are a few examples of how to use MLA citation style to cite resources. For a complete list consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers

Book with single author

Parenthetical Citation

(Author's last name [space] Page number)

List of Works Cited

Basic Format
Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. Title of Work. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date of Publication.

Sample Citation
Quaratiello, Arlene Rodda. The College Student's Research Companion. New York: Neal Schuman Publishers, 1997.

Print Encyclopedia Article
(Format for familiar encyclopedias that frequently publish new editions, i.e. World Book, Britannica, etc.)

Parenthetical Citation

(Author's or Editor's last name [space] Page number)

List of Works Cited

Basic Format
Author of Article [last name first, if a name is given]. "Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia. Edition. Date of Publication.

Sample Citation
"Bookbinding." World Book. 2000 ed. 2000. (There is no author because World Book articles are unsigned ).

Print Encyclopedia Article
(Format for less familiar encyclopedias that do not often publish new editions.)

List of Works Cited

Basic Format
Author of Article [last name first]. "Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia. Editor. Edition. Number of volumes. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date of Publication.

Sample Citation
Bedau, Hugo Adam. "Civil Disobedience." Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics. Ed. Ruth Chadwick. 4 vols. Sandiego: Academic Press, 1998. (No edition is listed in this example because the encyclopedia is a first edition).

Online Encyclopedia Article

List of Works Cited

Basic Format
Author of Article [last name first] (if available). "Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia. <Encyclopedia homepage address (URL)>.

Sample Citation
"Racism" Encyclopaedia Britannica. <http://www.eb.com:180/>.

Print Magazine Article

Parenthetical Citation

(Author's last name [space] Page number)

List of Works Cited

Basic Format
Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Magazine Article." Title of Magazine Date of Publication: Page Numbers of Article.

Sample Citation
Krimmerman, Len. "Worker Ownership's Uncertain Future: Lessons From Two Decades of Trials." Dollars and Sense: What's Left in Economics Sept./Oct. 1998: 28-32.

Online Magazine Article (from a full-text magazine database)

List of Works Cited

Basic Format
Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Magazine Article." Title of Magazine Date of Publication: Page Numbers of Article (if available). Name of the Periodical Database.

Sample Citation
Kaminer, Wendy. "The Last Taboo: Why America Needs Atheism." New Republic. 14 Oct. 1996: 24+. InfoTrac: Expanded Academic Index.

Print Scholarly Journal Article

Parenthetical Citation

(Author's last name [space] Page number)

List of Works Cited

Basic Format
Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Journal Article." Title of Journal Volume Number (Date of Publication) : Page Numbers of Article.

Sample Citation
Whitney, Elspeth. "The Witch 'She' / The Historian 'He': Gender and the Historiography of the European Witch-Hunts." Journal of Women's History 7 (1995) : 77-101.

Online Scholarly Journal Article (from a full-text online database)

List of Works Cited

Basic Format
Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Journal Article." Title of Journal Volume Number (Date of Publication) : Page Numbers of Article (if available). Name of the Periodical Database.

Sample Citation
Hole, Simon. "Teacher as rain Dancer." Journal of Communication 68.3 (1998) : 413+. InfoTrac: Expanded Academic Index.

Print Newspaper Article

Parenthetical Citation

(Author's last name [space] Page number)

List of Works Cited

Basic Format
Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Newspaper Article." Title of Newspaper Date of Publication, Edition: Section and Page Number(s) of Article.

Sample Citation
Feder, Barnaby J. "For Job Seekers, A Toll-Free Gift of Expert Advice." New York Times 30 Dec. 1993, late ed.: D1+.

Online Newspaper Article (from a full-text newspaper database)

List of Works Cited

Basic Format
Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Newspaper Article." Title of Newspaper Date of Publication, Edition: Section and Page Number(s) of Article. Name of the Newspaper Database

Sample Citation
Ivans, Molly. " An Expensive Bid to Marshal the Voters' Dislike." Star Tribune 15 Oct. 2000, 27A. ProQuest.

Web Page

Web pages are more difficult to cite because they do not contain pagination; authors may not be listed; and it may not be clear who is the publisher or upon what date the page was published. When citing a web page you should try and get as much traditional citation information as possible. In addition to the traditional citation information you will need to include the web page address (URL).

Parenthetical Citation

(Author's last name if given; if there is no author, use title of the web page; if there is no title use the name of the organization producing the web page)

List of Works Cited

Basic Format
Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Web Page." Title of the Complete Web Site if Applicable. Date of Publication, or Last Revision. <Web Page Address (URL)> (Date on which you visited the web site)

Sample Citation
Eland, Thomas W. "Information Literacy Tutorial." Minneapolis Community and Technical College Library. 1999. <http://www.minneapolis.edu/academicAffairs/library/
tutorials/infolit/index.html> (May. 31, 2000).