MLA Citation Style Guide
This guide is intended to be a quick reference. For specific information you should refer to the MLA
Handbook. The examples below are consistent with the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers,
7th edition, 2009. Gen Ref LB/2369/.G53/2009
There are two things to consider when creating a citation.
It is very important to give credit where credit is due. To use someone else’s words or ideas without
a citation is plagiarism.
The reader should be able to locate the source using only your citation.
The latest edition of the MLA Handbook contains some important changes regarding citations. It is now
required that each citation in the Works Cited list contain the medium of publication. Also, MLA no longer
recommends that URLs be included in the citations for web publications, due to the ever changing World
Wide Web.
In-Text Citations
In addition to listing all the sources consulted during the writing of your paper on the Works Cited page, it
is also necessary to identify what content was used, and where in the source it was found. MLA style uses
an in-text citation or a parenthetical reference immediately following the borrowed content. If the author’s
name is included in the text, do not repeat it in the citation. You must also include the page number where
the information was found in the source. Below are two examples of parenthetical references.
Author’s name included in the text
Author’s name included in the citation
According to Heartney, Paine’s art is a result of observed
contradictions between the interaction of nature and industrial
development (18).
Paine’s art is a result of observed contradictions between the
interaction of nature and industrial development (Heartney 18).
Works Cited Page
The Works Cited page should list all materials that have been cited in the text of your paper. This list
should be in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, or by title if there is no author. Main titles should
be italicized. The first line of each entry should be flush with the left margin, and each additional line should
be indented by one-half inch. The page should be single spaced and placed at the end of the paper.
The following are examples of citations from commonly used types of PRINT sources:
Type of resource
Book or exhibition catalog – single
author
Book or exhibition catalog – two authors
Anthology or compilation
Example from works cited page
Heartney, Eleanor. Roxy Paine. Munich: Prestel, 2009. Print.
Block, Jonathan, and Jerry Leisure. Understanding Three
Dimensions. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall,
1987. Print.
Snyder, Jeffrey B., ed. Printmakers Today. Altglen, PA: Schiffer
Publishing Ltd., 2010. Print.
Article or essay from a book
Periodical or journal article
Review of a titled exhibition
Exhibition catalog – two publishers
Graphic narrative – one creator
Graphic narrative – text and illustrations
by different creators
Work of art reproduced in a book
Holmes, Wendy. “Decoding Collage: Signs and Surfaces.”
Collage: Critical Views. Ed. Katherine Hoffman. Ann
Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1989. 193-212. Print.
Kelly, Peter. “Profile: Heatherwick Studio.” Blueprint May 2010:
36-41. Print.
Mac Adam, Alfred. “Henri Matisse: Museum of Modern Art.”
Rev. of Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917, by
Henri Matisse. Museum of Modern Art, New York.
ARTnews 109.8 (2010): 104. Print.
Rauschenberg, Robert. Rauschenberg Overseas Cultural
Interchange. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art;
Munich: Prestel, 1991. Print.
Spiegelman, Art. Maus I: a Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds
History. New York: Pantheon Books, 1986. Print.
Juster, Norton. The Hello, Goodbye Window. Illus. Chris
Raschka. New York: Hyperion Books for Children,
2005. Print.
Bonheur, Rosa. The Horse Fair.1853. Oil on canvas.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Art History.
Marilyn Stokstad and Michael W. Cothren. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2011. 976. Print.
The following are examples of citations from commonly used types of NON-PRINT sources:
Article from online database
Article from online reference work
Article or page from website
Entire website
Videotapes, films, and DVDs
Original work of art
Museum label or plaque
Personal interview conducted by the
researcher
Email message to the researcher
Kemske, Bonnie. “The Beauty of Imperfection.” Ceramic
Review 225 (May/June 2007): 30-33. ArtFullText. Web.
8 Aug. 2011.
Compton, Susan. “Marc Chagall.” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art
Online. Web. 10 Aug. 2011.
Rosenberg, Bonnie. “Alhambra to Open Hidden Secrets.” The
Art Newspaper. 10 Aug. 2009. Web. 19 Aug. 2011.
Delahunt, Michael. ArtLex Art Dictionary. N.p. 2006. Web. 10
Aug. 2011.
Helvetica. Dir. Gary Hustwit. Plexifilm, 2007. DVD.
Krasner, Lee. Celebration. 1960. Oil on canvas. Cleveland
Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH.
Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum label for Edgar Degas,
Before the Race. Cleveland, OH, 10 Aug. 2011.
Goldsworthy, Simon. Personal interview. 11 Aug. 2011.
Hirst, Damien. Message to the author. 10 Aug. 2011. E-mail.
If you still have questions about citations using MLA style, please ask your instructor or
consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
© Gund Library staff, Cleveland Institute of Art.
May be reproduced only for non-profit, educational purposes. Last updated 8/2011