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ROSLYN HIGH SCHOOL
LIBRARY MEDIA
CENTER 2007-2008
Using MLA Format to Cite Sources for
Research Papers
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MLA format is one standard way of citing parenthetical references in your text and in the list of works at the end of your paper to allow the reader to see full publication information of your sources. Proper formatting of your sources is required for all research. |
A. Important to Note:
- Always copy the publication information and page numbers from
your sources while you are using them.
- You must formulate complete citations for the Works Cited list in
order to know how to format your parenthetical references.
- Every parenthetical reference MUST have a corresponding citation
in your works cited list at the end of the paper.
- Works Cited” or “Bibliography” refers to a list of your sources that are quoted, mentioned, or paraphrased while writing a paper.
- If there is no author, the Title becomes the first piece of information.
- The formats presented in this style guide are for sources you are most likely to use while doing research for high school papers.
- If you use other materials that require additional style formatting guidance, ask your teacher or librarian for assistance, refer to a published manual of style, or view the web sites listed within.
- The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed., 2003
was used to compile this summary guide
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B. Formatting Works Cited Page
- Number Pages: Works Cited or Bibliography page(s) are the last
numbered pages of your paper.
- Capitalize Heading: Capitalize and center the heading on the top of the
page.
- Arrange Alphabetically: Arrange the citations in alphabetical order
by the first word in each entry. This will be author or title, NEVER a
web address or URL.
- Indent the Second Line: The second and each subsequent line in
each citation are indented five spaces from the left margin.
- Double-Space: Double-space the entire list, both between and within
entries.
- Punctuation: Notice and use all punctuation as indicated.
C. MLA - Style Works Cited List
- BOOK BY ONE AUTHOR
Last Name, First Name. Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.
Protzman, Fred. Work: The World in Photographs. Washington, DC: National Geographic, 2006.
- BOOK BY MULTIPLE AUTHORS
Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name. Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.
Bradley, James, and Ron Powers. Flags of Our Fathers. New York: Bantam Books, 2006.
- BOOK WITH NO AUTHOR
Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.
American Environmentalism. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 2004.
- EDITED BOOK
Last Name Editor, First Name, ed. Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.
Aberbach, Joel, ed. The Executive Branch. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
- WORK IN AN ANTHOLOGY (Includes Essays, Poems, Articles, or Stories from a Collection)
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Essay.” Title of Anthology. Ed. Editor’s Name. Place of Publication: Publisher, year. Page(s).
Lippman, Matthew. "Hallelujah Terrible." The Best American Poetry 1997. Ed. James Tate. NY: Scribner, 1997. 132.
- ENCYCLOPEDIA
Last Name, First name. “Title of article.” Encyclopedia. Year ed.
Brown, Norman. “India.” Encyclopedia Americana. 2002 ed.
- MULTIVOLUME REFERENCE
Last Name, First Name. Title. Vol. #. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.
Brannen, Daniel E. Supreme Court Drama Cases That Changed
America. Vol. 2. Detroit: UXL, 2001.
ARTICLES - WEB BASED ARE UNDERLINED
- MAGAZINE ARTICLE (weekly magazine)
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Magazine Day Month Year: Page number(s).
Levy, Steven. “Power to the People.” Newsweek 24 Sept. 2007: 46-50.
- MAGAZINE ARTICLE (monthly magazine)
Same format as above, leave out Day.
- MAGAZINE ARTICLE FROM AN INTENET DATABASE
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Magazine Day Month Year: Page number(s). Database Name. Subscribing Library. Day Month Year accessed <Web address of Database>.
Weir, Ken. “Who Needs Sleep?” Current Health. Oct. 2005: 16-19.
OmniFile Full Text Select. Roslyn High School Library. 23 Sept.
2007 <http://vnweb.hwwilson.com>.
- JOURNAL ARTICLE
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Journal Name
Volume.issue number (date): Page number(s).
Applebee, Arthur. “Engaging Students in the Disciplines of English.” English Journal 91.6 (2002): 23-29.
- JOURNAL ARTICLE FROM AN INTERNET DATABASE
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Journal Name
Volume.issue number (date): page number(s). Database Name. Subscribing Library. Day Month Year accessed <Web address of Database>.
Lwin, May. “How Consumers Respond to Warrantees in Internet
Retailing.” The Journal of Consumer Affairs 40.2 (2006): 236-260. ProQuest. Bryant Library. 26 June 2007 <http://proquest.umi.com>.
- NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Newspaper Day Month Year: (Section letter, if any)page(s).
Barnard, Anne. “New York Investigating Facebook’s Safety Rules.”
New York Times. 25 Sept. 2007:B3.
- NEWSPAPER ARTICLE FROM AN INTERNET DATABASE
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Newspaper Day Month Year: (Section letter, if any)page(s). Database Name. Subscribing Library. Day Month Year accessed <Web address of Database>.
Shea, Kathleen. “The Remarkably Inexact Science of College Selection.” The Star-Ledger 8 July 2007:6. Gale InfoTrac. Roslyn High School Library. 19 August 2007 <http://find.galegroup.com>.
WEB PAGES
Important to Note
It may be difficult to identity citation information from a web page or web site. You might not find an author, date or sponsoring agency. Gather as much information as you can by navigating through web pages and follow the order of the format with as much information as you have.
- WEB SITE
Title of Web Site. Date of Web Site. Sponsoring Agency. Date accessed. <Web address URL>.
Great Web Sites for Kids. 2004. American Library Association. 26 Sept. 2007. <http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/greatwebsites/
greatwebsitesscience.htm>.
- WEB PAGE WITHIN A WEB SITE
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Web Page.” Title of Web Site.
Day Month Year of Web Site. Sponsoring Agency. Day Month Year accessed. <Web address URL>.
Grondine, Tracy. “Retail Food Prices Up 4 Percent in Second Quarter.” The Voice of Agriculture. 12 July 2007. American Farm Bureau.
1 October 2007. <http://www.fb.org/>.
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ARTICLE FROM WEB (ONLY) NEWSPAPER or MAGAZINE
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Web Site.
Day Month Year of Article. Day Month Year accessed. <Web address URL>.
Mummolo, Jonathan. “Arriving on Carousel 1, Far Fewer of Your
Bags.” MSNBC. 1 October 2007. 6 October 2007.
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com>.
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E-MAIL MESSAGE
Last Name of Writer, First Name. “Subject Line.” E-mail to the Author. Day Month Year of message.
Smith, John. “Regarding Your Research Request.” E-mail to the author.
16 September 2007.
D. MLA IN-TEXT CITATIONS (PARENTHETICAL REFERENCE)
“In text” or “parenthetical” citation directs readers to view full citations for sources in a Works Cited or Bibliography page.
You must indicate a source when using thoughts or words as a direct quote, paraphrase, or discussed in your writing that originated from someone else. Unless you are stating your own personal opinion, drawing conclusions, or writing creative material, all facts, background data and ideas come from some place and must be acknowledged in your text.
REMEMBER TO FORMULATE COMPLETE CITATIONS TO BE ABLE TO CITE IN-TEXT REFERENCES.
Note correct punctuation in the examples below.
- Refer to the author’s name in the text, and put the page
number in parentheses.
Hays states that the growth of cities was an integral part of the
nation’s economic development (47).
- Include the author’s name with the page number if you have
not mentioned it in your text.
The growth of cities was in integral part of the nation’s economic
development (Hays 47).
- If there is no author, use the first word of the title in
quotation marks followed by the page(s). (“Chronicle” 8-9).
- If there are several works by one author, include the first word from the title (or more if needed to further identify the source. (Nardo “Ancient” 94).
- If there are no page numbers, as in web sites, leave this out.
- A web address or URL is never correct for in-text citation.
E. FOOTNOTES AND ENDNOTES
Sometimes teachers ask for footnotes or an endnote page. For footnotes, each reference you are documenting is consecutively numbered (use Microsoft Word tab Insert/ Reference/Footnote to automatically insert this list on the bottom of the page). Search Word Help for additional information on Endnotes, for a separate page of references. Use the in-text format for each numbered item. A bibliography or works cited page must be included in addition to footnotes or an endnotes page.
F. CITATION HELP ON THE INTERNET
Use one of the sites below to help you format your citations. Input the correct information and select MLA format.
http://citationmachine.net/
http://www.easybib.com/
G. SAMPLE WORKS CITED LIST
Works Cited
American Environmentalism. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 2004.
Applebee, Arthur. “Engaging Students in the Disciplines of English.”
English Journal 91.6 (2002): 23-29.
Barnard, Anne. “New York Investigating Facebook’s Safety Rules.”
New York Times. 25 Sept. 2007:B3.
Bradley, James, and Ron Powers. Flags of Our Fathers. New York:
Bantam Books, 2006.
Brannen, Daniel E. Supreme Court Drama Cases That Changed
America. Vol. 2. Detroit: UXL, 2001.
Grondine, Tracy. “Retail Food Prices Up 4 Percent in Second
Quarter.” The Voice of Agriculture. 12 July 2007. American
Farm Bureau. 1 October 2007. <http://www.fb.org/>.
Levy, Steven. “Power to the People.” Newsweek 24 Sept. 2007: 46-50.
Shea, Kathleen. “The Remarkably Inexact Science of College
Selection .” The Star-Ledger 8 July 2007:6. Gale InfoTrac. Roslyn
High School Library . 19 August 2007 <http://ind.galegroup.com>.
Smith, John. “Regarding Your Research Request.” E-mail
to the author. 16 September 2007.
Weir, Ken. “Who Needs Sleep?” Current Health. Oct. 2005: 16-19.
OmniFile Full Text Select. Roslyn High School Library. 23 Sept.
2007 <http://vnweb.hwwilson.com>
RHS Library - Citation Formats - Quick Sheet
Revised 6/07 by K. Leon
RHS Librarian
Web access provided by the Bryant Library
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