This is a guide for student use when writing a research paper or essay using the MLA format.
Information was gathered from, but not limited to, the following sources: (The use of this
material has been granted with publisher’s permission)
Hacker, Diana, et al. A Writer’s Reference. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.
The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. 26 Aug. 2005. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and
Purdue University. Web. 8 February 2011.
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is commonly used to write papers and cite sources
within the areas of liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA
Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7 th ed.) 2009, includes examples for the general
format of MLA papers, in- text/parenthetical citations, and the Works Cited page.
MLA style provides writers with a system for referencing and documenting their sources
through in-text/ parenthetical citations in their essays and Works Cited pages.
Print Resources
Note: MLA requires the medium of publication in all works cited entries: Print, Web, Television, Film, etc. (Hacker 380). As
you research, take note of the information necessary for your Works Cited, Works Consulted, or Bibliography including the
medium of each resource.
Book with one author or editor:
Last, First. Title of book. City of publication: Publisher, Date of publication. Print.
Examples:
Bloom, Harold. Herman Melville. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. Print.
Macaffery, Reverend James, ed. History of the Catholic Church: From the Renaissance to the French Revolution.
Dublin: St. Patrick's College, 1914. Print.
Book with two or three authors:
Last, First and First Last. Title of book. City of publication: Publisher, Date of publication. Print.
Examples:
Abrams, M. H. and Stephen Greenblatt. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W.W. Norton &
Co., 2000. Print.
Gates Jr., Henry Louis and Gene Andrew Jarrett. The New Negro: Readings on Race, Representation, and
African American Culture. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007. Print.
Book with more than three authors:
Last Name the first author, add et al. ("and others").Title of book. City of publication: Publisher, Date of
publication. Print.
Example:
Gillis, Sander, et al. Grammar of the English Language. New York: Random House, 1987. Print.
Encyclopedia and other familiar reference books:
Author of article (if available)."Title of article." Title of book. Date of edition. Volume and page number (not
necessary if articles are arranged alphabetically). Print.
Example:
Eiselen, Malcolm R. "Franklin, Benjamin." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1999. Print.
Poems or short works:
Last, First. “Short Work Title.” Title of book. City of publisher: Publisher, Date of publication. Print.
Note: When citing a poem in text, lines should be separated by a space, slash, space. In example: Robert Frost
explains, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I - / I took the one less traveled by / And that has made
all the difference” (lines 18-20).
Example:
Frost, Robert. “The Road Not Taken.” Selected Poems of Robert Frost. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
1963. Print.
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Online sources
Entire Web Site
Author, Editor, or Corporate Author (if known). Title of the site. Sponsor, Date of Publication or Last Update.
Medium. Date accessed.
Example:
Gray, Terry A. Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet. Terry A. Gray, 2007. Web. 10 Feb. 2011.
Periodical article from an online database (eLibrary, EBSCO, ProQuest)
Author. “Title of article.” Periodical Title. Volume number (year of publication): page numbers. Title of
Database. Medium. Date accessed.
Example:
Kriegel, Jill. “A Case Against Natural Magic: Shakespeare’s Friar Laurence as Romeo and Juliet’s Near-Tragic
Hero.” Logos 13.1 (2010); 132 – 145. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Feb. 2011.
Online MLA Guides:
Purdue Online Writing Lab – OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Blue Book of Grammar Link: http://www.grammarbook.com/default.asp
Additional Sources
A Television or Radio Broadcast
Title of the episode or segment, if appropriate (in quotation marks). Title of the program or series (italicized).
Name of the network (if any). Call letters and city of the local station (if any), Broadcast date. Medium of
reception (e.g., Radio, Television) Supplementary information.
Example:
“Death and Society." Narr. Joanne Silberner. Weekend Edition Sunday. Natl. Public Radio. WUWM,
Milwaukee, 25 January 1998. Radio.
Painting or Sculpture
Last name, First name of artist. Title of work. Institution that houses the work/name of individual who owns
the work if a private collection, City the work is located.
Example:
Bearden, Romare. The Train. 1974. Photogravure and aquatint. Museum of Mod. Art, New York.
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Additional Sources cont.
Translated Book
Author’s Last name, First name. Book title. Trans. Translator’s name. Publisher, Date of publication. Print.
Examples:
Beowulf. Trans. E Talbot Donaldson. Ed. Nicholas Howe. New York: Norton, 2001. Print.
Hildegard of Bingen. Selected Writings. Trans. Mark Atherton. New York: Penguin, 2001. Print.
A Film or a Video Recording
Title. Director. Distributor, Year of release. Medium. (You may include other data that seems pertinent – such
as the names of the screenwriter, performers, and producer – between the title and the distributor.)
Example:
It’s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and
Thomas Mitchell. RKO. 1946. Film.
A Sound Recording
Person cited first (e.g. the composer, conductor, ensemble, or performer). Title of the recording (or the title or
titles of the works included), the artists or artists (when different from the first-listed person or group). The
manufacturer (Capitol), and the year of issue (if the year is unknown, write n.d.). Indicate the medium, neither
italicized nor enclosed in quotation marks, after the date of publication.
Example:
Ellington, Duke, cond. First Carnegie Hall Concert. Duke Ellington Orch. Rec. 23 January 1943. Prestige,
1977. LP.
** A book title is italicized if typed or underlined if handwritten.**
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MLA In-text Citations/Database Access Guide
DOCUMENTATION: This means that you DOCUMENT borrowed information by giving your sources
credit through the use of IN-TEXT/PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS. You must then list all your
utilized sources fully on a “Works Cited” page at the end of your research paper.
AVOIDING PLAGIARISM: The student must treat all sources, including print sources, in the same
way he or she treats technology-based sources. Any material used from a source must be carefully
cited, whether that material is in the public domain or is accessible on free websites. When using
material from internet sites authored by federal, state, or municipal governments and by non-profit
groups, the student must acknowledge that material, too, as intellectual property owned by those
agencies.
DOCUMENT





the following information:
Direct quotes / partial quotes
Any display of facts (statistics, charts, diagrams)
Others’ ideas even if written in your own words
Others’ opinions even if written in your own words
Little known facts, even if easily proven
Do NOT document the following information:
 Personal opinions
 Well-known facts
It is the policy of GNB Voc-Tech that each student must not:
 Submit work of another person as one’s own
 Use someone else’s work, material, words or ideas on any assignment without proper
citation, including paraphrasing
 Use term paper writing services or consult such services for the purpose of obtaining
assistance in the preparation of assignments
 Use someone else’s work or material on any test or assignment
 Receive or give aid on assigned work that requires independent effort
SAMPLE IN-TEXT/PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS
A parenthetical reference FOLLOWS the information that needs to be documented. It follows a
quote, for example, and the period is placed OUTSIDE of the last parenthesis.
*book/magazine article with one author (Alloway 78).
*When the author’s name is used in the text to introduce the quote or information, you only need to
include the page number. (58).
*book/magazine article with 2 or 3 authors (Smith and Chen 87).
*book/magazine article with 3 or more authors (Culligan et al. 254).
*anonymous book (work) (“Information” 234). Use a shortened form of the title.
*unsigned article for a reference book (encyclopedia) (“Steinbeck, John”)
INTERNET SOURCES follow the same pattern. If a source has an author, just include the author’s
last name. If no author is available, include a shortened title. No page number is needed.
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MLA In-text Citations/Database Access Guide
Example of Basic MLA One Book Citation for Literary Essays
Format: Book with one author
Author Last, First. Title. Location of Publisher: Publisher, Year of Publication. Print.
Sample Citation:
Gibbons, Kaye. Ellen Foster. New York: Random House, Inc., 1987. Print.
Sample In-Text Reference:
(Gibbons 119)
Sample In-Text Reference using only one source:
(119)
GNB Voc-Tech library database access
Proquest provides access to eLibrary and Culturegrams
http://www.proquestk12.com
User ID: 10-80634
Password: bigchalk
EBSCO
http://search.ebscohost.com
User ID: gnb
Password: vocation
Infotrac
http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/mlin_s_gnewbr
Newsbank (Cape Cod Times)
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/
User ID: SCHOOL-GREAVTHS-LIBRARY
Password: SCHOOL-GREAVTHS-LIBRARY
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