Ms. Reiter’s MLA Citation Guide
There are many formats or styles that can be used to cite sources. Until you select a more
specialized area of study, you will likely use MLA (Modern Language Association) format. At
times, the rules of MLA can be frustrating! However, using MLA style is like using a formula.
With experience and practice, it will become simple and easy! Treasure this guide – I promise
that it will be useful!
Part 1: Bibliographic Citations
As you should remember, bibliographic citations are found at the end of a paper or project. These
citations make up a list of sources. In MLA format, this source list is called a Works Cited page.
As you will see, different types of sources are cited in different ways.
Helpful hints:

On the Works Cited page, the sources are listed alphabetically

In each citation, the second and subsequent lines are indented

Generally, when there is no known author, begin the citation with the title of the work

Publisher: The company or group that published the work
o Examples: Random House, The Johns Hopkins University Press

Year of publication: This can also be referred to as the copyright date

Medium of publication: The format in which the work is published
o Examples: Print, Web
Books:
Book by One Author
Last Name, First Name. Title. City of publication: Publisher, Year of publication. Medium of
publication.
Jameson, George P. Ellis Island. New York: Icon Press, 2006. Print.
Book by Two Authors
Last Name, First Name and First Name Last Name. Title. City of publication: Publisher, Year
of publication. Medium of publication.
Smith, Henry G. and Betty Harmon. Freedom Rides. Chicago: Broad Shoulder Press, 2006.
Print.
Entry in a Reference Book (encyclopedia, dictionary)
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Entry.” Title. Edition. Year. Medium of publication.
*If the author’s name is not listed, begin the citation with the title of the entry
“Ideology.” The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed. 1997. Print.
Periodicals:
Newspaper Article
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Newspaper Day Month Year: pages.
Medium of publication.
Slotnik, Danielle E. “Aftershocks Follow an Earthquake Near Los Angeles.” The New York
Times 29 March 2014: A18. Print.
Magazine Article
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Magazine Day Month Year: pages.
Medium of publication.
Thomasson, Ronald. “Salt Mines of Lake Erie.” Cleveland Magazine 15 May 2004: 23-25.
Print.
Article in a Scholarly Journal
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal Volume.Issue (Year):
pages. Medium of publication.
Jacoby, William G. "Public Attitudes Toward Government Spending."American Journal of
Political Science 38.2 (1994): 336-61. Print.
Electronic Sources (Web Publications):
Full Website
Editor, author, or complier’s (if available) Last Name First Name. Name of Site. Name of
institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), Date of resource
creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access.
*Use n.p. if no publisher name is available and n.d. if no publishing date is given
Flannery O’Connor Collection. Georgia College and State University, n.d. Web. 30 March 2014.
Page on a Website
Editor, author, or complier’s (if available) Last Name First Name. “Title of Page.” Name of Site.
Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), Date of
resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access.
Walker, Gary. “The Effects of Radiation.” Hiroshima Atom Bomb. Los Alamos Research
Facility, 15 March 2000. Web. 30 March 2014.
More Information:
This is just a small selection of the types of sources that can be used in research! For each source,
there is a specific way (as you have seen) to cite it – too much for this guide! However, there are
other resources that you can use to help you cite other sources (like movies, blogs, tweets, and
images)! The BEST resource is Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab. To access this site, use
the following link: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ or search Purdue OWL
MLA in Google and click the first entry. Once you get to the site, you will find a menu on the
left that will guide you through the site!
Part 2: In-Text Citations
In-text citations are exactly what they sound like – they are citations within the text. In MLA
style, in-text citations are known as parenthetical citations. To complete this type of citation,
source information is placed in parentheses after a paraphrase or a quote. Like bibliographic
citations, in-text citations become easier with experience and practice!
Print Sources:

For print sources with known author, you will place the author’s last name and the page
number(s) on which the information is from in parentheses. You will place the
parentheses after the paraphrased information or direct quote. Additionally, you will
place the period after the second parenthesis.
Example: A large portion of what a customer spends on a movie ticket goes to the
Hollywood studio that made the movie (O’Neill 29).

For print sources with no known author, you will use a shortened version of the title
instead of the author’s name and the page number(s)
Example: (“Impact of Global Warming” 6).

For print sources with three or fewer authors, list the authors’ last names and the page
number(s)
Example: (Anderson, Jones, and Ryan 18).

For print sources with more than three authors, use the first author’s name (as noted in
the Works Cited) followed by et. al and the page number(s)
Example: (Michaels et. al 130).

If you have two or more authors with the same last name, use the authors’ first initial
Example: (K. Smith 25-26).
Electronic Sources:

For electronic sources, follow the same rules as print sources except do not include a
page number. As with print sources with no known author, use a shortened version of the
title in the parenthetical citation