MLA Style Bibliographies for the Arts, English, History, and Languages
Source: Purdue University Online W riting Lab: http://ow l.english.purdue.edu/ow l/section/2/11/
LAYOUT
PAGE:
TITLE:
CONTENT:
TITLES:
FORM AT:
ORDER:
AUTHORS:
NO AUTHOR:
INDENT:
DATES:
NOTES:
Use a separate page at the end of your essay or report. Margins are 1" on all sides.
Centre your title (W orks Cited or W orks Consulted) at the top of the page.
A W orks Consulted list or bibliography includes everything you consulted; a W orks Cited
list includes only those works that you actually cite in the paper.
Capitalize all key words and proper nouns in titles, eg: Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Use a 12 font for both the title and the list. Double-space all entries and between entries.
Entries should be arranged alphabetically, by the author’s surnam e.
For 2 authors, reverse the first author nam e, followed by “and” and then the second author nam e in
the usual order. eg: Mouse, Mickey and Donald Duck.
For 3 or more authors, give the first listed nam e, surnam e first, followed by et al.
eg: Disney, W alter et al.
If no author nam e is given, the TITLE should be the first elem ent in the entry. Entries
beginning with the title are included alphabetically in the list.
Use a HANGING INDENT. Indent the second and all subsequent lines of each entry. DO NOT
INDENT the first line of each entry.
Dates are recorded as day, m onth, year as follows: 14 Feb. 2014.
Use n.d. when no publication date is provided. Use n.p. when no publisher or sponsor nam e is
provided. Use n.pag. when no page num ber is provided or available.
Print or Online Encyclopedia:
Author’s surname, Author’s first name.
“Article Title.”
Encyclopedia Title. Edition or Year
of publication. Medium.
Putzel, James. “Philippines.” The World Book Encyclopedia. 2005 ed. Print.
** The author’s name or initials usually appears either at the beginning or at the end of the encyclopedia article
Book:
Author’s surname, Author’s first name. Book Title. City of publication: Publisher, copyright
year. Medium of publication.
Mistry, Rohinton. A Fine Balance. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1995. Print.
Story, Essay, or Article in an Anthology or Collection:
Author’s surname, first name. “Story or Article Title.” Book Title. Ed. Editor’s first name,
Surname. City of publication: Publisher, copyright year. pages. Medium of Publication.
Kincaid, Jamaica. “Blackness.” The Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories. Ed. Stewart Brown and
John Wickham. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. 162-165. Print.
Personal Interview: Person Interviewed (surname first). Personal Interview. date of interview.
Kringle, Kris. Personal Interview. 25 Dec. 1999.
Magazine or Newspaper Article (print):
Author’s surname, Author’s first name. “Article Title.” Magazine or Newspaper Title Day Month
Year of issue: Pages. Medium of Publication.
Oh, Susan. “Flu Watch: Waiting for the Big One.” Maclean’s 29 Nov. 1999: 76-80. Print.
Film, DVD, or Video:
Title. Dir. Director’s Name. Perf. Performers’ Names. Distributor, year of release. Medium.
Journey Back to Nagasaki. Dir. Douglas Syrota. Perf. Michael Serapio. CBC Learning, 2010. DVD.
In this case, MEDIUM refers to the way in which the film was recorded, either on DVD or on Videocassette.
Online Video Clip:
Author’s or Poster’s surname, first name. “Title of the Clip.” Media Type. Title of the Site.
Publisher of the Site, Date of Publication. Medium. Day Month Year of retrieval.
Shimabukuro, Jake. "Ukulele Weeps by Jake Shimabukuro." Online video clip.
YouTube. YouTube, 22 Apr. 2006. Web. 9. Sept. 2010.
Online Subscription Database (like EBSCO):
Author’s surname, Author’s first name. “Title of Article.” Name of Magazine or Periodical Vol.#.
Issue #(year): page #s. Name of Subscription Service. Medium of Publication. Day Month
Year of Access.
(If the issue is noted simply as a date, format as in the entry below.)
Junge, Wolfgang, and Nathan Nelson. “Nature's Rotary Electromotors.” Science 29 Apr. 2005: 642-44.
Science Online. Web. 5 Mar. 2009.
Web Page on the Internet:
Author/Editor surname, first name. “Title of the Page, Section, or Link.” Title of Web Site. Name
of the Institution/Organization affiliated with this site, Date. Medium. Access Date.
Fussell, Paul. “The Trenches - What They Were Really Like.” PBS. Public Broadcasting System, 19962004. Web. 29 Oct. 2010.
** If you cannot find the author of the page or site by scrolling down, checking the “About Us” page, or the contact
information, you may have to begin your entry with the title of the page or site. If you use the whole website (not just one
section or page of it), leave out the section title (the part in quotation marks).
Works Cited or Works Consulted Layout, mla format:
PAGE:
TITLE:
Use a separate page at the end of your essay or report.
Centre your title (Bibliography ; Works Cited; Works Consulted).
FONT:
Use a 12 font for both the title and the list.
SPACING:
Double-space all entries and between entries.
INDENT:
Indent the second and all subsequent lines of each entry. DO NOT INDENT the
first line of each entry.
ORDER:
Sources should be listed ALPHABETICALLY by the first word of each entry (author
or title). DO NOT SEPARATE entries by TYPE.
Works Cited or Works Consulted Layout, mla format:
PAGE:
TITLE:
Use a separate page at the end of your essay or report.
Centre your title (Bibliography ; Works Cited; Works Consulted).
FONT:
Use a 12 font for both the title and the list.
SPACING:
Double-space all entries and between entries.
INDENT:
Indent the second and all subsequent lines of each entry. DO NOT INDENT the
first line of each entry.
ORDER:
Sources should be listed ALPHABETICALLY by the first word of each entry (author
or title). DO NOT SEPARATE entries by TYPE.