MLA Citation Format

This writing style is popular for humanities papers in particular. References are listed alphabetically by author and all lines are double spaced. The reference page must be titled, “Works Cited.” Use a hanging indent; in other words, indent the second and following lines of each citation five spaces or one half inch. Where the author is unknown begin the citation with the title. Month names excepting May, June and July should be abbreviated. MLA requires 12 point font. Each new paragraph line should be indented. The medium, for example print or electronic, should be stated at the end of the citation.

In text citations are done using parentheses and must match the reference information on the bibliography page. MLA format follows the author-page method of in-text citation. Therefore the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken must appear in the text with a complete and corresponding reference appearing on the Works Cited page. The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses after the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) must always appear in parentheses and not in the sentence text.

Reference Chart

Author(s)	The individual(s) who wrote the text. Sometimes there are two, three, or even more authors, and they must all be cited correctly in your paper.	Date	The date the text was published.
Title of Book	The exact title of the book, complete with all words (even "small" words such as "and" and "the").	Title of Article	The exact title of the article, complete with all words (even "small" words such as "and" and "the").
Title of Periodical	The exact title of the magazine or journal, complete with all words (even "small" words such as "and" and "the").	Volume	For an article, the volume (and/or number) of the magazine or journal in which the article appears (e.g. Vol. XII, No. 3)
Pages	For an article, the entire span of page(s) upon which the particular article appears in the journal or magazine; for a chapter in a book, the entire span of page(s) upon which the chapter appears in the book.	Place of Publication	For a book, the city of publication (and the state and/or country if the city is not well-known).
Publisher	For a book, the name of the publishing house (e.g. "Random House").	Other Information	Any additional information, such as the URL of a reputable website, which is not included elsewhere.

MLA Format Examples

Hover over any areas of the examples to see more information!

Journal Article

Boyle, Philip J., and Daniel Callahan. “Minds and Hearts: Priorities in Mental Health Services.” The Hastings Center Report, 1993: 3+, Web.

Online Encyclopedia Article

Cascio, Jamais. “Jamais Cascio on Geoengineering: The Potential and Risks of Manipulating Mother Nature.” The Futurist, 14 May 2010, Web.

Book Article or Chapter

Coleridge, Samual Taylor. “Word magic.” in Word magic, by Bert Case Diltz, 123-143. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1957, Print.

Magazine or Journal Article Retrieved from a Database

CTV.ca Newstaff. “G8/G20 security bill to hit $833 million.” MacLeans Magazine, 25 May 2010: 15-30, Web.

Encyclopedia Article

Kumar, Rakesh. “Inflammation.” In Anatomica, by David Bateman, 79-63. Albany: David Bateman Ltd, 2000, Print.

YouTube video

For videos, provide the author only if you are sure that person created the video. Do not list the person posting the video online as the author. If you are unsure, treat the citation as having no author.

bigthink. Directed by Ray Kurzweil. Performed by Ray Kurzweil. 2009, Web.

Book with an Editor

LoBello, Anthony, ed. The commentary of Al-Nayrizi on book 1 of Euclid’s Elements of Geometry: With an Introduction on the transmission of Euclid’s Elements in the Middle Ages. Boston: Brill, 2003, Print.

Newspaper Article

Sang-Hun, Choe. “North Korea cuts all ties with South.” The New York Times National Herald Tribune. 25 May 2010. (accessed May 26, 2010), Web.

Blog

Blog entries like other internet sources should be cited as Web at the end of the reference. MLA no longer requires the inclusion of the URL.

Sonier, Helga. “Tablet meets Telephone! – iPads and Tablet PC’s.” Netbook Accessories. 18 May 2010 (accessed May 25, 2010) Web.

Website

Use n.p. if neither a publisher nor a sponsor name has been provided. Use n.d. when the Web page does not provide a publication date.

University of Alberta. Centre for Health Evidence. 15 August 2007 (accessed May 25, 2010) Web.

eBook

USA Gardnener. Guide to Growing Your Favorite Vegetables. USAGARDENER.COM, 2009, Web.

Movie

Hunger. Directed by Steve McQueen. Performed by Enda Walsh. 2006, Movie.

Book

Webster, Richard. Astral travel for beginners. St. Paul: Llewelyn, 1998, Print.

Endnotes/Footnotes

Endnotes and footnotes are provided in-text with superscript Arabic numbers after the punctuation of the phrase or clause cited. The extensive use of explanatory notes including the use of footnotes is discouraged in MLA. MLA style only allows the use of endnotes or footnotes for bibliographic notes which refer the reader to other publications. Endnotes should be listed on a separate page before the Works Cited page. Entitle the section Notes (centered, unformatted).