Modern Language Association (MLA) Parenthetical Citations
Updated for 2009
When you quote or paraphrase a specific portion of a source, give enough information—usually the author’s last
name and the page number—to identify the exact location of the borrowed material. The guidelines below show
the correct format for short quotations and paraphrases.
TYPE OF CITATION
Author’s named in sentence
Author’s named in citation
Author unknown (i.e., use abbreviated title of
source)
Page number unknown (usually web sources)
Quotation found in secondhand source (i.e., a
source within a source)
Summarized or paraphrased material found in
indirect source
Two authors’ names in citation
Three authors’ names in citation
Four or more authors’ names in citation
Volume and page in multivolume work
Reference to whole volume
Two works by same author on list of works cited
(i.e., name title of work in parentheses)
Two locations in same source
Two or more sources cited (use semi-colons to
separate)
Personal interview; name given in text
Corporate author
Electronic source that uses paragraph numbers
Sacred texts (cite version in first in-text citation, and
cite each time if using various versions; abbreviating
books is optional; use a period rather than a colon to
separate chapter and verse)
EXAMPLE
Magny develops this argument (67-69).
This argument has been developed elsewhere (Magny 67-69).
A popular keystroke logging program operates invisibly on
worker’s computers (“Automatically”).
One blogger describes her disappointment in the episode
(Stafford).
The philosopher Alain states that “admiration is not pleasure
but a kind of attention . . .” (qtd. in Magny 66).
Alain’s words seem to dissociate admiration from pleasure
(in Magny 66).
The most notorious foreign lobby in Washington is the
“Sugar Mafia” (Howe and Trott 134).
High concentrations of pesticides are found in the fuzzy skin
of peaches (Brown, Alden, and Rice 39).
According to some researchers, the blue whale will be extinct
before the middle of this millennium (Smith et al. 165).
As a painter Andrea was “faultless” (Freedberg 1: 98).
In his second volume, Freedberg gives an account of
Andrea’s whole painting career.
Frye connects Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange to the romance
tradition (Secular Scripture 110).
Dabundo deals with this problem (22, 31).
This controversy has been addressed more than once
(Dabundo 27; Magny 69).
Parsons talked about the need for physical education
teachers to understand the relationship between physical
activity and fitness.
Many different types of organizations are involved in
mediation and dispute resolution (Natl. Inst. for Dispute
Resolution).
The semiconductor workplace is highly toxic (Ross, par. 35).
Consider the words of Solomon: “If your enemies are
hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them
water to drink” (New Living Bible, Prov. 25.21).
For quotations more than four lines long, it is necessary to introduce the quotation with a colon, indent the
quotation one inch from left margin (usually two tabs), omit quotation marks, and place the parenthetical citation
after the period. Remember to double-space the quotation.
Example:
A fight might have broken out if Jesus had not taken the opportunity to explain the role of leaders in his view
of community:
You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great
men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become
great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of
all. For even [I] did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give [my] life a ransom for many. (New
American Standard Bible, Mark 10.42-45)
MLA Works Cited
Updated for 2009
On a separate page at the end of your paper, list alphabetically by author every work cited in your paper, using
the basic form illustrated below. Double-space entries and use hanging indentation. List only those sources you
actually cite in your paper. See important updates to MLA documentation below the table.
TYPE OF CITATION
Book (one author)
Book (two authors)
Book (three or more
authors)
Book (with editor)
Book by corporate
author
Introduction, preface,
foreword, or afterword
One volume of
multivolume work
Work in an anthology
or edited collection
Email to the author
Email to other
Encyclopedia entry
Film (use DVD if
viewed in that medium)
Government
publication
Interview (personal)
Lecture
Journal article
Magazine article
Newspaper article
Television or radio
(live)
Entire website
Page on a website
(unknown author)
An image on the web
(painting, photo, etc.)
Article in a web
magazine
Article in a web-only,
scholarly journal (n.
pag. = no pagination)
Article in print but
accessed on the web
Article from a library
database (or other
subscription service)
Sacred texts
EXAMPLE
Tan, Amy. The Bonesetter’s Daughter. New York: Putnam, 2001. Print.
Howe, Russell Warren, and Sarah Hays Trott. The Power Peddlers. Garden City:
Doubleday, 1977. Print.
Edens, Walter, et al. Teaching Shakespeare. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1977. Print.
Craig, Pamela, ed. The Oxford Book of Travel Stories. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1996. Print.
National Institute for Dispute Resolution. Dispute Resolution Resource Directory.
Washington: Natl. Inst. for Dispute Resolution, 1984. Print.
Morris, Jan. Introduction. Letters from the Field, 1925-1975. By Margaret Mead. New York:
Perennial-Harper, 2001. xix-xxiii. Print.
Conway, Jill Ker, ed. Written by Herself. Vol. 2. New York: Random, 1996. 2 vols. Print.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Minister’s Black Veil.” Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Tales. Ed. James
McIntosh. New York: Norton, 1987. 97-107. Print.
O’Donnell, Patricia. “Re: Interview Questions.” Message to the author. 15 Mar. 2001.
Neyhart, David. “RE: Online Tutoring.” Message to Joe Barbato. 1 Dec. 2000.
Foster, John S., Jr. “Nuclear War.” The Encyclopedia Americana. Intl. ed. 1998. Print.
Inherit the Wind. Dir. Stanley Kramer. Perf. Spencer Tracy and Frederic March. United
Artists, 1960. Film [or DVD].
United States. Federal Maritime Commission. Hawaiian Trade Study: An Economic Analysis.
Washington: GPO, 1978. Print.
Parsons, Gwynneth. Personal interview. 7 Sept. 2003.
Cohran, Kelan. “Slavery and Astronomy.” Adler Planetarium, Chicago. 21 Feb. 2001.
Lecture.
Dabundo, Laura. “‘The Voice of the Mute’: Wordsworth and the Ideology of Romantic
Silences.” Christianity and Literature 43.1 (1995): 21-35. Print.
Alpern, David M. “Has Moscow Violated SALT?” Newsweek 22 Oct. 1984: 32. Print.
Crossette, Barbara. “India Lodges First Charges in Arms Scandal.” New York Times 23 Jan.
1990, natl. ed.: A4. Print.
“American Limbo.” This American Life. Host Ira Glass. Public Radio Intl. WBEZ, Chicago. 9
Feb. 2001. Radio.
Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003. Web. 10 May
2006.
“How to Make Vegetarian Chili.” eHow.com. eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.
(NOTE: The abbreviation “n.d.” refers to “no date.”)
Klee, Paul. Twittering Machine. 1922. Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Artchive.
Web. 22 May 2006.
Bernstein, Mark. “10 Tips on Writing the Living Web.” A List Apart: For People Who Make
Websites. A List Apart Mag., 16 Aug. 2002. Web. 4 May 2009.
Harris, Howard. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the Business Ethics Classroom.” The Journal of
the Whedon Studies Association 7.3 (2009): n. pag. Web. 24 Aug. 2009.
(NOTE: The abbreviation “n. pag.” refers to “no pagination.”)
Wheelis, Mark. “Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and
Toxin Weapons Convention.” Emerging Infectious Diseases 6.6 (2000): 595-600. Web.
8 Feb. 2009.
Fung, Anthony Y. H. “Fandom, Youth and Consumption in China.” European Journal of
Cultural Studies 12.3 (Aug. 2009): 285-303. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Aug.
2009.
The New Living Bible. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2004. Print.
Important Changes to MLA Works Cited Pages (2009):1
 Every entry must indicate the Medium of Publication—Print, Web, Radio, DVD, Lecture, etc.
 Writers are no longer required to provide URLs for Web entries unless professors request them.
 For texts retrieved from online databases, the writer should put the name of the database in italics.
 When citing texts from a library database, MLA previously required information about the
subscribing institution (name and location). That information is no longer required.
 Italicizing titles of long works—books, films, etc.—is now the standard; only underline long works if
the professor requires such.
1
The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2008. Web. 25 Aug. 2009.