Citing MLA Sources at BHS
When citing electronic publications the goal is to provide enough information so that the reader can locate the
article. The examples follow the recommendations set forth by the seventh edition of the MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers; however, it is wise to check with your teacher for specific preferences. It is also
recommended that you make a hard copy of all computer sources. Remember, all works cited entries are
double-spaced.
Online Sources
If an element is unavailable in the source material, then move remaining elements to the left. The citation
elements to be included for work from a subscription service are in the following order:
Author1
“Article Title”2
Publication Name3 *
Volume.Issue Number4 **
Publication Date5 ***
Page Number/Range6 ****
*
**
Database Name7
Name of the library where accessed i.e. BHS LMC8
Name of the city where accessed i.e. Bismarck, ND.9
Medium (type of resource ex: Web.) 10
Date you found site11
Anything underlined on source cards must be italicized when typed.
***
****
If both volume number and issue number are provided, separate with a period. For example, volume 290
issue 23, should be cited 290.23 (as shown in example number one below).
If date is not available, type n.d. If this is preceeded by a period, capitalize the n. (N.pag.)
If page numbers of an article run consecutively, separate beginning and ending page numbers with a
hyphen. End the citation with a period. If no page is available, type: n.pag.
Anything underlined on source cards must be italicized when typed.
1. Journal Article
Note: Journal articles contain original research and have a volume/issue number.
(This example has superscript numbers to show the elements. Don’t do this in your actual entry.)
Singer, Craig D.1 “Passing Through.” 2 Journal of the American Medical Association3 290.234 (17 Feb. 2003): 5
3043-3044.6 EBSCO Megafile. 7 BHS LMC, 8 Bismarck, ND. 9 Web. 10 9 Sept. 2009.11
2. Magazine Article
Knight, Abbie E., et al. “The Mail.”AARP the Magazine 51.1 (Jan/Feb 2008): 8. EBSCO Megafile.
BHS LMC, Bismarck, ND. Web. 9 Sept. 2009.
3. Map
“Ethiopia.” Map. Blackbirch Maps. 1 Jan. 2001. Infotrac Student Edition-K12. BHS
LMC, Bismarck, ND. Web. 9 Sept. 2009.
4. Film, Video, or Film Clip Online
“Blacktip Reef Shark Pups.” Shedd Aquarium. Write.Dir. Lise Christopher.02 Dec. 2008. Shedd Aquarium. Web.
10 Sept. 2009.
Murnau, F.W., dir. “Nosferatu.” YouTube. YouTube, 1922. Web. 9 Sept. 2009.
5. Image
Evans, Walker. General Store, Moundville, Alabama. 1936. Lib. Of Congress, Washington, JPEG File.
6. Sound Clip
Talking Heads. “Burning Down the House.” Speaking in Tongues. Sire, 1983. Digital file.
7. News Service
Condotta, Bob. “Freshmen Embrace Program.” Seattle Times. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, 26 Oct.
2007. eLibrary Curriculum Edition. BHS LMC, Bismarck, ND. Web. 9 Sept. 2009.
8. Newspaper
Legere, Christine. “Schools Prepare for Flu; Inoculation Plans Focus on Youths.” Boston Globe. 10 Sept. 2009: 5.
ProQuest Newspapers. BHS LMC, Bismarck, ND. Web. 10 Sept. 2009.
Nowak, David. “Jailed Russian Tycoon Says State Hiding Evidence.” Bismarck Tribune Bismarck Tribune.
28 September, 2009. N.pag. Web. 30 Oct.. 2009.
9. Newswire
“Senate Democratic Leaders Invite President to Capitol Hill to Work With.” U.S. Newswire. 11 Apr. 2007.
eLibrary Curriculum Edition. BHS LMC, Bismarck, ND. 9 Sept. 2009.
10. Reference Book
“Affirmative Action (Issue).” Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. Discovering Collection. 1999.
BHS LMC, Bismarck, ND. Web. 9 Sept. 2009 .
11. Specific Gale Cengage Learning Databases
“Acetone.” Gale Encyclopedia of Science. Discovering Collection. 2008. BHS LMC,
Bismarck, ND. Web. 9 Sept. 2009.
Pennisi, Elizabeth. “Neither Cold Nor Snow Stops Tundra Fungi.” Science 301.5638 (Sept. 5, 2003): 1307.
General Science Collection. BHS LMC, Bismarck, ND. Web. 9 Sept. 2009.
“Saul Bellow.” Contemporary Authors Online. 2008. BHS LMC, Bismarck, ND. Web. 9 Sept. 2009.
Sullivan, Bob. “Religious Views of Cloning Do Not Agree.” Cloning. 2006. Contemporary Issues Companion
Series. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. BHS LMC, Bismarck, ND. Web. 9 Sept. 2009.
12. Specific Literary Reference Center Database
Sale, Roger and Harold Bloom. “Morrison’s Beloved.” Blooms Modern Critical Interpretations:
Beloved. 1999. Literary Reference Center. BHS LMC, Bismarck, ND. Web. 9 Sept. 2009.
13. Article from an Online Encyclopedia with an author
Cupps, Perry Thomas. “Cattle.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. EBSCOhost, 2009. Web. 30 Sept.
2009.
14. Article from an Online Encyclopedia without an author
“Earhart, Amelia.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition EBSCOhost, 2009. Web. 5 Oct. 2009.
15. Sources from netTrekker
Rice, Jon. “SNCC Fought for Change from the Bottom Up.” 20 Feb. 1995. netTrekker. BHS LMC, Bismarck,
ND. Web. 9 Sept. 2009.
Print Resources
1. Articles from Specialized Encyclopedias and Reference Books
A Signed Article in a Reference Book
Antrobus, John. “Characteristics of Dreams.” Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreaming. Ed. Mary A. Carskadon. New
York: Macmillan, 1993. Print.
An Unsigned Article in a Reference Book with Publisher
“Keller, Helen.” Notable American Women: the Modern Period. Sicherman, Barbara and Carol Hurd Green eds.
Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1980. Print.
2. An excerpt from Opposing Viewpoints, Current Controversy, Contemporary Issues
Companion, or At Issue
(*Use the correct book title where the asterisk appears in the following entry. First date is when the article was
first published)
Barko, Naomi. “Equal Pay For Equal Work.” Excerpted from “The Other Gender Gap.” American Prospect.
(19 June 2000). Reprinted in Contemporary Issues Companion: Women’s Rights.* Ed. Shasta Gaughen.
San Diego: Greenhaven, 2003. Print.
Documenting Literary Sources
1. Citing Novels for Students, Drama for Students, and Poetry for Students
When writing papers, students who quote directly from any volume of Novels for Students may use the following
general forms. These examples are based on MLA style; teachers may request that students adhere to a different
style, so the following examples may be adapted as needed.
When citing text from Novels for Students that is not attributed to a particular author (i.e., the Themes, Style,
Historical Context sections, etc.), the following format should be used in the bibliography section:
“Night.” Novels for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 234-35. Print.
When quoting the specially commissioned essay from Novels for Students (usually the first piece under the
“Criticism” subhead), the following format should be used:
Miller, Tyrus. “Critical Essay on Winesburg, Ohio.” Novels for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski.
Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 335-39. Print.
When quoting a journal or newspaper essay that is reprinted in a volume of Novels for Students, the following
form may be used:
Malak, Amin. “Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and the Dystopian Tradition,” Canadian
Literature (Spring, 1987), 9-16; excerpted and reprinted in Novels for Students, Vol. 4, ed. Marie
Rose Napierkowski (Detroit: Gale, 1998), 133-36. Print.
When quoting material reprinted from a book that appears in a volume of Novels for Students, the following form
may be used:
Adams, Timothy Dow. “Richard Wright: Wearing the Mask,” in Telling Lies in Modern American
Autobiography (U. of North Carolina, 1990). 69-83; excerpted and reprinted in Novels for
Students, Vol. 1, ed. Diane Telgen (Detroit: Gale, 1997), 59-61. Print.
2. Contemporary Literary Criticism
Wellwarth, George. “Brendan Behan: The Irish Primitive.” American Literary Review 6 June 2000: 15.
Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski and P.C. Mendelson. Vol. 8. Detroit:
Gale Research, 1978. 16. Print.
If you are using more than one volume, cite the total number of volumes (i.e. “6 vols.”) after the title of the series
or after editor’s name and before the publication information. Specific references to volume and page numbers
(i.e. 4:10-15) belong in the text of the student paper.
3. Cross References in the Works Cited
To avoid unnecessary repetition in citing two or more articles from the same work, first do one complete citation
of the book. Then use this cross reference form for all additional references to this work. Alphabetize as usual.
The main text and the cross references are not necessarily together on the Works Cited page.
Full text citation:
Smith, John, and Mary Rogers, eds. Writing Research. Boston: Macmillan, 1980. Print.
Cross Reference examples in the same Works Cited as above:
Jones, Sam. “Footnotes.” Smith and Rogers 78-79. Print.
Towne, Andrew. “Bibliography.” Smith and Rogers 550-556. Print.
Databases: Italicize these (superscript #7)
Advanced Placement Source
Alt HealthWatch
Auto Repair Center
Consumer Health Complete
Contemporary Authors
CultureGrams
Discovering Collection
EBSCO Academic Search Premier
EBSCO Business Source Premier
EBSCO MasterFILE Premier
EBSCO Mega FILE
EBSCO Regional Business News
eLibrary Curriculum Edition
Encyclopedia Britannica School Edition
Expanded Academic ASAP
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia
General Science Collection
GreenFile
Health and Wellness Resource Center and
Alternative Health Module
Health Source: Consumer Edition
Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition
Infotrac StudentEdition K12
Literary Reference Center
MAS Ultra-School Edition
MEDLINE
netTrekker
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
Points of View Reference Center
Professional Collection
ProQuest Newspapers
Science Reference Center
Student Resource Center-Gold
Additional online resource information:
On putting the actual paper together – http://www.aresearchguide.com
Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format. The Purdue University Writing Lab.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/
The Owl at Purdue – http://owl.english.purdue.edu
The Norton Field Guide to MLA http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/write/fieldguide/index.asp
Revised 09/09
Original Source: Bismarck High School, Bismarck, North Dakota. http://www.bismarckschools.org/bhs/library
Adapted with permission by Rebecca Larson, Charlotte Hill, Lyn Biederstedt, Jody Foy, Valerie Smallbeck, Sara Rinas,
and Brenda Werner