Parenthetical Citation – MLA Style
Example:
For Gandhi, this death was a triumph. He always believed
that men should be prepared to die for their beliefs. He
died as kings die, taken at the height of their powers
(Payne 647).
(on a separate page at the end of the research paper)
Works Cited and Consulted
Payne, Robert. The Life and Death of Mahatma Gandhi.
York: Konecky & Konecky, 1969.
New
If more than one author of the same last name, use first initials.
(A. Toynbee 573-575)
(M. Toynbee 78)
Up to three authors, give last name of each.
(Johnson, Cheevers, Holt 293-299)
If more than three authors, use et al.
(Macdonald et al. 112-117)
If citing more than one work by the same author, put a comma after the author’s last name,
add the shortened version of the title of the work (italicized or underlined), then the page
number.
(Frye, Double Vision 85)
(Frye, Anatomy 237)
If no author is identified by the source, use the title of the work. Be sure to italicize or
underline title of books and use quotation marks for articles.
(“Blood Types”)
If the document is one page, or has no pagination, omit page number.
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Use of Quotations
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Use selectively and sparingly
Keep as brief as possible
Reproduce original sources accurately
Changes must not be made in spelling, capitalization, or interior punctuation
If quotation is fewer than 4 typed lines:
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Put in quotation marks
Incorporate into the text
Parenthetical reference is placed before end punctuation
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” wrote Charles
Dickens in his observation of the eighteenth century (Dickens 35).
If quotation runs to 4 typed lines or more
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Begin on the next line
Indent one inch (10 spaces) from left margin
Double-space
No quotation marks
Parenthetical reference is placed after the end of the punctuation
At the conclusion of the Lord of the Flies, Ralph and the other boys
realize the horror of their actions:
The tears began to flow and sobs shook him.
He gave himself
up to them now for the first time on the island; great,
shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole
body.
His voice rose under the black smoke before the
burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that
emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too.
(Golding 186)
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Documentation Format
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Collect information as you do your research
Every work cited must be listed on the Work Cited documentation page
The first line of each entry starts at left margin; all subsequent lines are indented 5 spaces; leave
one-inch margin around the page
If name of the author to a work is not given, omit
Italicizing and underlining titles are both acceptable
Each entry begins with a capital letter and ends with a period
Months can be abbreviated (e.g., Apr.)
Entries listed in alphabetical order
Books
One Author
Author’s last name, First name. Title. Place of Publication: Company, Date of Publication.
Morgan, Gwyneth. Life in a Medieval Village.
Publications Company, 1975.
Minneapolis:
Lerner
Two or Three Authors
First author’s last name, First name, second author’s First name and Last name and third author’s
First name and Last name. Title. Place of Publication: Company, Date of Publication.
Reid, J.H. Stewart, Kenneth McNaught and Harry S. Crowe. A Source-Book of
Canadian History. Toronto: Longman Canada, Ltd., 1959.
More than Three Authors
Name only the first author and add et al. (“and others”).
Quirk, Rudolph, et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language.
London: Longman, 2008.
An Anthology or Compilation
Begin entry with the name of the editor, followed by a comma and the abbreviation ed.
Claude, Richard Pierre, ed. Human Rights in the World Community.
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006.
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Periodicals
Newspapers
Author’s last name, First name. “Article Title.” Periodical Title Day Month Year: Pages. Print or
Online.
Kirby, Jason.
“Late to the Party.”
Maclean’s 3 Feb. 2014: 38-39.
Print.
Encyclopedia
Print
Author’s last name, First name. “Article Title.” Name of Encyclopedia. Year.
Mockaitis, Tom.
“Foreign Aid.”
World Book Encyclopedia.
2008.
Online
Author’s last name, First name. “Article Title.” Name of Encyclopedia. Volume (year): Page
numbers. Name of Publication. Web. Access date.
Mockaitis, Tom. "Foreign Aid." World Book Advanced. (2011).
Web. 9 Sept. 2011.
World Book.
Non-Print & Electronic Sources
Online Databases
Author’s last name, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Publication or Source. Vol.Issue (year):
pages. Name of Database. Web. Day Month Year of access.
Lamar, Alexander. “Fission baby, fission.” National Review 61.20(2009):48.
EBSCO Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Nov. 2009.
Internet—Document from Internet site
Entire Website
Last name, first name of author or editor. Name of Website. Name of Sponsoring Organization. Day
Month Year of Publication (or last update). Web. Day Month Year accessed.
Halsall, Paul. ed. Internet Modern History Sourcebook. Fordham University.
22 Sep. 2001. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.
Articles from a Website
Author’s last name, First name. “Article Title.” Name of WWW Site Date of Publication. Name of
Institution. Web. Access date.
Perrotto, Trent J. “Researchers Detail How A Distant Black Hole Devoured A
Star.” NASA 24 Aug. 2011. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. Web. 6 Sep. 2011.
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Film
Title. Dir. (Director’s First name, Last name). Perf. (Performers’ First names, Last names).
Distributor, year.
It’s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed,
Lionel Barrymore, and Thomas Mitchell. RKO, 1946.
Video or DVD
(Same format as film but includes original year, the medium and the new video distributor and year.)
It’s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed,
Lionel Barrymore, and Thomas Mitchell. 1946. DVD. Republic, 2008.
Radio and T.V.
“Title of episode or segment.” Title of Program. Title of series (if any). Narrator or Producer. Name
of the Network. Call letter of the Radio Station. Broadcast Date.
“Frankenstein.” Great Books.
8 Sep. 1993.
Narr. Donald Sutherland.
Learning Channel.
Email
Author. “Subject line of message.” Email to Recipient. Date of document.
Campbell, Kim. “Why the Conservatives Lost.”
16 May 1996.
Email to Charles Baker.
Weblogs (Blogs)
Lastname, Firstname. "Title of individual blog entry." Online posting. Day Month Year of post. Name
of Weblog. Day Month Year accessed.
Supak, Susan. "Pesticides linked to frog mutations." Online posting. 2 Mar.
2006. Organic Gardening News. 13 Mar. 2011.
Interviews
Person being interviewed. Kind of interview. Person or organization conducting the interview.
Location. Date conducted or displayed.
Clinton, Bill. Interview.
14 Nov. 1996.
Harper, Stephen.
Ted Koppel.
Personal Interview.
Nightline.
20 Apr. 2010.
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ABC.
WTNH, New Haven.
Works Cited and Consulted
“Blood Types.” Infoplease.com 2002. Learning Network. 28 Feb. 2002 <http://www.infoplease.com/
ipa/A0877658.html>.
Campbell, Kim. “Why the Conservatives Lost.” Email to Charles Baker. 16 May 1996.
Claude, Richard Pierre, ed. Human Rights in the World Community. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press, 2006.
Clinton, Bill. Interview. Ted Koppel. Nightline. ABC. WTNH, New Haven. 14 Nov. 1996.
“Frankenstein.” Great Books. Narr. Donald Sutherland. Learning Channel. 8 Sep. 1993.
Harper, Stephen. Personal Interview. 20 Apr. 2010.
It’s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and
Thomas Mitchell. 1946. Videocassette. Republic, 1988.
Lamar, Alexander. “Fission baby, fission.” National Review 61.20(2009):48. EBSCO Academic
Search Premier. Web. 6 Nov. 2009.
Morgan, Gwyneth. Life in a Medieval Village. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 1975.
Perrotto, Trent J. “Researchers Detail How A Distant Black Hole Devoured A Star.” NASA 24 Aug.
2011. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Web. 6 Sep. 2011.
Quirk, Rudolph, et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman,
1985.
Reid, J.H. Stewart, Kenneth McNaught and Harry S. Crowe. A Source-Book of Canadian History.
Toronto: Longman Canada, Ltd., 1959.
Supak, Susan. "Pesticides linked to frog mutations." Online posting. 2 Mar. 2006. Organic Gardening News.
13 Mar. 2008.
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Optional Listings
1.
Annotated List of Works Cited
 Contains descriptive or evaluative comments
2.
Works Consulted
 List is not confined to works cited in the paper; should be a separate list from Works
Cited
3.
Selected List of Works Consulted
 Suggests readings in the field
Other Systems and Styles of Documentation
Endnotes
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Used by some disciplines i.e., history, theatre, art, etc.
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Separate list of work cited or bibliography optional (instructor’s preference)
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Notes are numbered consecutively throughout the research paper
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Endnotes appear on a separate sheet of paper at the end research paper
It was during the social upheaval of the sixties that community
groups, “focusing on problems of the poor generally of single
mothers, or of renters,” were brought to life in Quebec.1
Endnotes
Finkel, Alvin, Our Lives: Canada After 1945 (Toronto:
James Lorimer & Company Ltd., 1997) 197.
1
APA Style (American Psychological Association)
Used in social sciences and some of the pure sciences
Parenthetical format similar to MLA but includes date and abbreviation “p.” for page
Documentation style differs from MLA, i.e., placement of publication year, punctuation,
abbreviation etc.
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Provides format guidelines for graphs, tables, charts and diagrams
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(Levinson, 1997, p. 67)
References
Levinson, P. (1997). The Soft Edge: A Natural History and
Future of the Information Revolution. London: Rutledge.
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Evaluating Internet Sources
Authority
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Author
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Who is the author?
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Is the author considered an expert on the subject?
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Is he/she associated with a particular company, organization or university?
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Point of View: Biases and Agenda
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Is there an obvious point of view favouring one side of the issue?
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Is the language used emotional or sensational?
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Is the author trying to convince or persuade?
Accuracy
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Currency of Information
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When was the site last updated?
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Is the information still current and valid?
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Verification
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Find other sources and compare the facts
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Find information about the author and organization
Reliability
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Is the source reliable and dependable?
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Use internet services to check the source of the website using Who Is inquiry of the
domain name
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www.who.is
(Other organizations also provide domain name queries; use google and search “who
is domain”)
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