MLA DOCUMENTATION GUIDELINE
FOR WORKS CITED ENTRIES
1. WORKS CITED ENTRY FOR A WORK IN A PRINTED ANTHOLOGY
To cite a work of literature from an anthology (such as your Norton Anthology of American
Literature) in MLA style, include the following information in your entries:
1. Author(s)
2. Title of work of literature
3. Title of the anthology in italics (plus edition and volume if any)
4. The abbreviation Ed.
5. Name of the editor first name first
6. City of publication followed with a colon
7. Publishing company (shortened) followed with a comma
8. Year of publication of the anthology followed with a period
9. Page range followed with a period
10. The word “Print” followed with a period
SAMPLE
Rowlandson, Mary. A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary
Rowlandson. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th ed. Vol A. Ed. Nina
Baym. New York: Norton. 2007. 235-52. Print.
2. WORKS CITED ENTRIES FOR MORE THAN ONE WORK IN AN ANTHOLOGY
Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7th ed. Vol A. New York:
Norton. 2007. Print.
Bradstreet, Anne. “The Prologue.” Baym 188-89.
Rowlandson, Mary. A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary
Rowlandson. Baym 236-67.
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3. WORKS CITED ENTRY FOR AN AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION IN A PRINTED
ANTHOLOGY
1. Author(s)/Editor(s) of the introduction to the author
2. Title of the introduction in quotation marks, period inside quotation marks
3. Title of the anthology italicized followed by a period
4. The abbreviation Ed.
5. Name of the editor, first name first followed by a period
6. Any edition number and/or volume number (7th ed. Vol. A.) (or Vol. II)
7. City of publication followed with a colon
8. Publishing company (shortened) followed with a comma
9. Year of publication of the anthology followed with a period
10. Page range followed with a period
11. The medium: The word “Print” followed with a period
SAMPLE
Baym, Nina. “Anne Bradstreet.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature.
Ed. Nina Baym. 7th ed. Vol. A. New York: Norton. 2007. 109-10. Print.
4. WORKS CITED ENTRY FOR A SHORT WORK FROM A WEB SITE
To cite a short work from a web site in MLA style, include the following information:
1. Author (if no author, begin with title of the short work)
2. Title of short work in quotation marks
3. Title of web site (in italics)
4. Sponsor of web site (person’s or persons’ names or institution)
5. Date (If no date listed, enter n.d.)
6. Medium: The word “Web” followed with a period
7. Date of access
SAMPLES
“Jonathan Edwards’ Biography.” The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University. Yale
University. n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2010.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Minister’s Black Veil.” Jeff Lindemann’s Learning Web.
Houston Community College. n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2010.
Woolbridge, Jonathan. “Preface to The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America.” Jeff
Lindemann’s Learning Web. Houston Community College. n.d. Web. 9 January
2010.
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5. WORKS CITED ENTRY FOR A CLASS HANDOUT
1. Author's last name, first name
2. Title of document in quotation marks
3. Description of document (e.g. flyer, leaflet, memo or handout)
4. Professor’s name in parenthesis
4. Sponsoring organization associated with document
5. Date of document. (If no date listed, enter: n.d.)
6. Medium: The word “Print” followed by a period
SAMPLE
Rich, Adrianne. “When We Dead Awaken—Writing as Revision.” Handout for English 2327
(Professor Jeff Lindemann.) Houston Community College. n.d. Print.
6. WORKS CITED ENTRY FOR AN ARTICLE FROM A DATABASE
1. Author's last lame, first name.
2. "Title of Document."
3. Source (journal or magazine)
4. Database
5. Medium: The word “Web” followed with a period
6. Date of access
SAMPLE
Wesley, Marilyn C. "Moving Targets: The Travel Text in A Narrative of the Captivity and
Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson." Essays In Literature 23.(1996): 42. Biography
Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson). Web. 16 July 2015.
ABBREVIATIONS
Publishing companies
Yale University Press would be Yale UP
Knopf and Sons (a publishing company) would be simply Knopf
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Numbers for page ranges
139 – 139 should be 138-39
2467 -2478 should be 2467-478
Months
January = Jan.
February = Feb.
March = Mar.
April = Apr.
May = May
June = June
July = July
August = Aug.
September = Sept.
October = Oct.
November = Nov.
December = Dec.
A Work with More than Three Authors or Editors
Smith, James, et al. (et al = Latin for and others)
Editor or Edition
Ed. = Editor
ed. = edition
Other/Miscellaneous
Volume = Vol.
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CITING INDIRECT SOURCES WITHIN THE BODY OF YOUR ESSAY
An indirect source is a source you have cited in another source. For these indirect quotations, use
"qtd. in" to indicate the first source you consulted. For example, in the body of your essay you
might write:
Lynn Dolberg writes, “Silence is a ‘femenine’ virtue; breaking silence is a feminist act” (qtd. In
Lindemann). According to Dolberg, Sarah has been a virtuous wife by not questioning her
husband for forty years as to why he has not yet built the home he promised. Therefore, she has
to break silence by committing a feminist act: she moves into the barn.
WORKS CITED ENTRY FOR AN INDIRECT SOURCE
Lindemann, Jeff. “Feminist Criticism.” Jeff Lindemann’s Learning Web. Houston Community
College. n.d. Web. Feb. 2015.
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