Library Guide to
MLA STYLE: WORKS CITED
http://www.lonestar.edu/citation-help-nh.htm
from the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed.
General Rules
 Double space the entire document, set 1” margins all around.
 Set header margins to ½” from the top, and include your last name followed by page # aligned to the right.
In-Text Documentation
 To document quotes or ideas, put author’s last name (if any) and page number (if any) in parentheses. If author’s name is mentioned in
the sentence, give only the page number in parentheses. If no author, use shortened version of the title. If citing 2 or more works by the
same author, list the author’s last name, add a comma, list the shortened title of the work, and finally list the page number.
 In-text documentation enables reader to find complete citation in works-cited list.
Works Cited
 Center the title for the reference page: Works Cited.
 Alphabetize entries by author. If no author is listed, begin the citation with the next element.
 If there are more than three authors, you may name the first one and add a comma followed by et al.
 Use one space after punctuation.
 Italicize titles of publications instead of underlining them.
 Enclose title of articles, essays, poems, and short stories in quotation marks.
 Indent ½ inch on all but the first line of each entry. Double space throughout the works-cited list.
 Date order:  day  abbreviated month  year. Abbreviate all months except May, June, and July.
 Use an abbreviated publisher's name.
 Include the medium of publication before supplemental citation information. Examples: Web, Print, DVD.
 Use a plus sign after the first page number of the article for multi-paged articles that are not consecutive: "192+."
 If page numbers are required but they are not present use N. pag if preceded by a period or n. pag if preceded by a colon.
 Include a URL enclosed in < brackets > if the reader can’t locate the source without it, or if a professor requires it. (p. 182)
Print Sources
BOOK BY A SINGLE AUTHOR – MLA 5.5.2 (page 148)
 Johnson, Roberta.  Gender and Nation in the Spanish Modernist Novel.  Nashville:  Vanderbilt UP, 2003. Print.
KEY:  author  title  city of publication  publisher  year of publication  medium of publication
BOOK BY TWO AUTHORS – MLA 5.5.4 (page 154)
Brown, Nathan, and Sheryle A. Proper. The Everything Paying for College Book. Avon, MA: Adams, 2005. Print.
ARTICLE IN A REFERENCE BOOK – MLA 5.5.7 (page 160)
Allen, Anita L. “Privacy in Health Care.” Encyclopedia of Bioethics. Ed. Stephen G. Post. 3rd ed. Vol. 4. New York: Macmillan-Thompson, 2004. Print.
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED SCHOLARLY ARTICLE REPRINTED IN A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS (Anthology) – MLA 5.5.6 (page 157)
Frye, Northrop. “Literary and Linguistic Scholarship in a Postliterate Age.” PMLA 99.5 (1984): 990-95. Rpt. In Myth and Metaphor:
Selected Essays, 1974-88. Ed. Robert D. Denham. Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1990. 18-27. Print.
REPRINTED SOURCES FROM MULTIVOLUME CRITICAL ANTHOLOGIES – MLA 5.5.6 (page 157)
Daiches, David. “W. H. Auden: The Search for a Public.” Poetry 54.3 (1939): 148-56. Rpt. In Poetry Criticism. Ed. Robyn V. Young. Vol. 1. Detroit:
Gale, 1991. 7-9. Print.
BOOK IN A SERIES – MLA 5.5.15 (page 170)
Evans, Kim Masters. The American Economy. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Print. Information Plus Reference Ser.
SHORT STORY OR POEM IN AN ANTHOLOGY – MLA 5.5.6 (page 157) PUBLISHED IN SUBSEQUENT EDITIONS – MLA 5.5.13 (page 167)
Cather, Willa. “Paul’s Case.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X .J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 8th ed. New York: Longman,
2002. 535-50. Print.
MAGAZINE ARTICLE from a magazine published every month or bimonthly – MLA 5.4.6 (page 142)
*Note: For magazine articles printed in magazines published weekly or biweekly, give the complete date. Example: 2 Feb. 2008.
Hitchens, Christopher. “A Breath of Dust.” Atlantic Monthly July-Aug. 2005: 142-46. Print.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE – MLA 5.4.5 (page 141)
Feder, Barnaby J. "For Job Seekers, a Toll-Free Gift of Expert Advice." New York Times 22 Mar. 1994, late ed.: A1+. Print.
JOURNAL ARTICLE – MLA 5.4.2 (page 137)
Garrett, Laurie. "The Next Pandemic?" Foreign Affairs 84.4 (2005): 3-23. Print.
ONLINE SOURCES
INTERNET PAGES – MLA 5.6.2 (page 184)
 “Climate Policy Update.” Global Warming.  Union of Concerned Scientists,  5 May 2006. Web.  2 June 2006.
KEY:  title of work, page, or article in quotations marks (if the work is part of a larger site)  title of overall website  publisher or
sponsor of site, if none available use N.p.  date published (if no date use n.d.)  medium of publication  date of access
ONLINE PERIODICAL ON THE WEB – MLA 5.6.3-4 (page 190)
*Note: begin each entry just as you would with a print periodical. Use “n. pag.” if page numbers are not listed. Add Web. & date of access.
Sarnoff, Nancy. "Web's Role in House Hunt Grows." Houston Chronicle 1 Dec. 2007: n. pag. Web. 18 Feb. 2008.
JOURNAL ARTICLE FROM A SUBSCRIPTION DATABASE – MLA 5.6.4 (page 192)
 Massaro, John.  "Press Box Propaganda? The Cold War and Sports Illustrated 1956."  Journal of American Culture 26.3 (2003):
361-70.  Academic Search Complete. Web.  23 Jan. 2008.
KEY:  author  article title  journal title  volume number, issue & year published  page numbers  database name  medium of
publication  date of access
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE FROM A SUBSCRIPTION DATABASE – MLA 5.6.4 (page 192)
Lichtblau, Eric. "Administration Plans Defense of Terror Law." New York Times 19 Aug. 2003, late ed. (East Coast): A1. ProQuest Newspapers. Web.
15 Sept. 2003.
MAGAZINE ARTICLE FROM A SUBSCRIPTION DATABASE – MLA 5.6.4 (page 192)
Hess, Lisa W. “Tightrope Walker.” Forbes 27 Apr. 2009: 156. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Apr. 2009.
E-BOOK – MLA 5.6.2 C (page 187)
Bloom, Harold. Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Bloom's Notes. Broomall, PA: Chelsea, 1996. NetLibrary. Web. 14 Sept. 2007.
ONLINE PERIODICAL FROM A SUBSCRIPTION DATABASE – MLA 5.6.4 (page 192)
 Clemmitt, Marcia.  "Student Aid."  CQ Researcher  25 Jan. 2008:  73-96.  CQ Researcher Online  Web. 2 Feb. 2008.
KEY:  author  article title  name of periodical  publication date  page numbers  database name  medium of publication  date
of access
ONLINE PERIODICAL FROM A SUBSCRIPTION DATABASE WITH NO AUTHOR AND NO PAGE NUMBERS – MLA 5.6.4 (page 192)
"Capping Executive Pay." Issues & Controversies On File 24 Apr. 2009: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Web. 6 May 2009.
nd 6/09