MLA Referencing / Documentation in Research Papers (2015-2016)
The Purpose of Referencing / Documentation
1) to identify (cite) other people’s ideas and information used within your essay or research paper, and
2) to indicate the sources of these citations in a Works Cited list at the end of your paper.
MLA Format
The MLA format is only one of many methods of documentation. Details about this format are found in

the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed.) available in the MRU Bookstore and in the MRU Library

the MLA Style Manual (3rd ed.) available in the MRU Bookstore and in the MRU Library

the MLA website at www.mla.org/style
NOTE: The MLA Style Manual is not designed specifically for students. These guidelines have been adapted to fit the needs of MRU students. Please consult with your professors if you have any questions about referencing guidelines for specific courses. Avoiding Plagiarism – Citation Principles for Essays and Research Papers
Within essays, term papers, and any other written assignments (as in all academic work), you must identify (i.e., reference, document,
cite) all quotations, paraphrases, ideas, and images from someone else’s work. You must name the original author or source and
surround quoted material with quotation marks or set it in a block format as described in this handout (page 2). Copying any material
and submitting it as your own (plagiarism) is an academic offence. Plagiarism may result in failure on the assignment and, in some
cases, expulsion from a course. For more information, see the Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism and the section on “Plagiarism &
Cheating” on page 14 of the MRU Student Conduct Guide at www.mtroyal.ca/codeofstudentconduct.
NOTE: Page numbers in square brackets refer to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed.).
Referencing / Citing Sources within Your Paper
Whenever you use a quotation from an author or summarize or paraphrase someone else’s ideas or research, you must identify
(reference/cite) the sources. This in-text citation is formatted with parentheses and includes the following:

the last name of the author(s) of the work, unless already stated
or the first few words of the entry in the Works Cited list (usually the title) if the author is not known
[MLA 214–24]

page number(s), if available
[MLA 214–15]

NOTE: Your in‐text citation should refer the reader to a specific reference in your Works Cited list. If this list includes more than one work by the same author, provide a title or abbreviated title following the author’s name in your in‐text citation. [MLA 225]
Citing Short Quotations (four typed lines or fewer)
[MLA 92–94]
When you incorporate a direct quotation into a sentence, you must surround it with quotation marks and cite its source.
Author’s name in your text
OR
Author’s name in parentheses ( )
Kathryn Lee states, “The ability to think critically is needed in this revolutionary age of
technological change” (82).
One researcher emphasizes that “[t]he ability to think critically is needed in this revolutionary
age of technological change” (Lee 82).
NOTE: When mentioning or citing an author’s name in the text of your essay for the first time, use the first and last names as they appear on your source (first example). Use only the last name for subsequent mentions or citations. Use only the last name when putting author’s names in parenthetical citations (second example). [MLA 79] This handout has been compiled by Mount Royal University’s Student Learning Services and Library and was revised Fall 2015.
Please consult them for more information on documentation or go to www.mla.org/style or http://library.mtroyal.ca/citesources.php
2
Citing Long Quotations (more than four typed lines)
[MLA 94]
If the quotation extends beyond four lines of type in your paper, it should be formatted as follows:

Use a block format in which all lines of the quotation are indented one inch from the left margin.

Do not use quotation marks around the long quotation.

Generally, the quotation should be introduced with a complete sentence followed by a colon.

Include a parenthetical reference following the closing punctuation for the quotation.
In A Likely Story, Robert Kroetsch considers the impact of a trip to the Yukon on his desire to become a writer:
Fool’s gold is to be found even in the mind. And yet my particular combination of folly and resolve did lead me to
encounter the stories that map for us both the North itself and our ignorance of that real and phantasmal place. I did
not intend to pursue any of the stories of that place I knew before going there, and yet, even now, by those strategies
of recital we call invention, I still imagine I might one day write a novel about the bush pilots who hunted the mad
trapper onto the tundra or the men and women who, in the poems of Robert Service, “moiled” for gold—there
beneath the northern lights or the midnight sun. (13–14)
Citing Summaries or Paraphrases
[MLA 93, 214–17, 220–21]
Even if you put information into your own words by summarizing or paraphrasing, you must cite the original author or researcher.
For example, a paraphrase of Lee’s earlier quotation could be cited as follows:
One researcher believes that flexibly applied thinking is vital to cope with rapidly changing technology (Lee 82).
OR
Kathryn Lee believes that flexibly applied thinking is vital to cope with rapidly changing technology (82).
Citing a Source Found / Cited in Another Source
[MLA 226]
Sometimes an author writes about research that someone else has done, but you are unable to track down the original sources. For
example, in your paper you might include research described in your course textbook. In the sample paraphrase below, Pither and
Soden’s research review is discussed in a journal article written by Lee. Use the abbreviation “qtd. in” (quoted in) to indicate that
Pither and Soden’s research is mentioned in Lee’s article.
NOTE: Because you did not read Pither and Soden’s review, you will include only Lee’s article in your Works Cited list. Pither and Soden’s 2000 review found little empirical research on university students’ critical thinking (qtd. in Lee 83).
Citing Information If No Page Numbers Are Available
[MLA 179, 184–87, 221]
Many electronic sources such as websites contain no page numbers, so you cannot include a page number for the in-text citation.
PDFs are an exception as they will normally show original page numbers. However, when your source explicitly numbers the
paragraphs, you can include paragraph number(s), preceded by the abbreviation “par.” or “pars.” in the citation parentheses.
Members of the Web 2.0 public are no longer “limited to the interpretation of texts” (Beer and Penfold-Mounce, par. 2.5).
3
Citing Poetry
[MLA 95–96, 99–100]
Short quotations of up to three lines of poetry that do not require special emphasis can be incorporated within your text. Within these
short quotations, individual lines should be separated with a slash with a space on each side ( / ). Poetry should be cited by line
number, rather than by page number.
In “The Death of the Loch Ness Monster,” Gwendolyn MacEwan writes, “Consider him tired of pondering the possible existence of
man / whom he thinks he has sighted sometimes on the shore” (14–15).
Poetry quotations of more than three lines should begin on a new line. Each line should be indented one inch from the left margin
unless lines are indented inconsistently in the original poem, in which case, the quotation should reflect the original layout.
Individual lines should be double-spaced.
[MLA 95–96]
Al Purdy’s “The Country North of Belleville” portrays this region as a place bereft of youth:
And this is a country where the young
leave quickly
unwilling to know what their fathers know
or think the words their mothers do not say. (58-61)
Citing from a Play
[MLA 96–97]
A quotation of fewer than four lines from a play, spoken by a single character, can be incorporated into your text. The parenthetical
citation following this quotation should indicate the act, scene, and line numbers if they are available. If not, the citation should
indicate the page number on which the quotation appears.
Tomson Highway’s Aria begins with the lyrical reminiscences of the Kokum, who recalls that she “[t]aught these seven daughters to
tell the many moods of wind, rain of tomorrow, my five sons to hold conversation with fire and the northern lights” (81).
A quotation of four or more lines OR dialogue between two or more speakers should be set off from your text, as in the following
example:
Shakespeare’s use of rhyming couplets emphasizes the irony in the following exchange from A Midsummer Night’s Dream:
HERMIA
I frown upon him, yet he loves me still.
HELENA
O that your frowns would teach my smiles such skill!
HERMIA
I give him curses, yet he gives me love.
HELENA
O that my prayers could such affection move! (I.i.194–97)
NOTE: This citation indicates the act, scene, and line numbers for the quotation.
NOTE: When quoting stage directions, treat them as any other quoted prose. Reproduce them as they appear in the original, using ellipses to indicate any deleted text. 4
Tips for MLA In-Text Citation (Parenthetical Referencing)


Parenthetical references should be as short as possible while still directing readers to source material clearly and accurately.
[MLA 216–219]
Place parenthetical references where there is a natural pause in your writing (generally at the end of a sentence) so as not to
interrupt the flow of your writing.
[MLA 217]

If the author’s name is unavailable, use the shortened title of the article or book or web page, including the appropriate
capitalization and quotation marks/italics format.
(“Ancient Tool”) (Wind It Up)
[MLA 132, 145, 162, 184–87]

Use ‘and’ between multiple authors, but for more than three authors, name only the first followed by ‘et al.’
(Smith and Jones 77)
(Simpson, Stahl, and Francis 3)
(Hacker et al. 14)
[MLA 215–16]
Fit partial quotations grammatically within your sentences rather than inserting full-sentence quotations.
[MLA 92–105]

In Shadow Maker, Rosemary Sullivan describes Gwendolyn MacEwan’s childhood house as so high above Keele Street
that “the local children used to make up stories about seeing bats circling it at night and claimed that it was haunted” (2).

To leave out part of a quotation, insert ellipses (three periods with a space before and after each one) where the deletion
occurs. This may be necessary to make a quotation fit grammatically or because it contains irrelevant or unnecessary
information. For example, a shorter version of the quotation above might read as follows:
[MLA 97–101]
In Shadow Maker, Rosemary Sullivan explains that Gwendolyn MacEwan’s childhood house sat so high above Keele
Street that “the local children . . . claimed that it was haunted” (2).

To add or slightly change words within a quotation for grammar or clarity, put square brackets around the change. [MLA 101]
Lee states, “All participants [in the study] completed pretests to assess their critical thinking level” (86).

If you are quoting material already enclosed in quotation marks, such as dialogue, replace the double quotation marks in the
original with single quotation marks, and then surround your entire quotation with double quotation marks. [MLA 102–04]
In Alistair McLeod’s No Great Mischief, the narrator recalls that “sometimes the moon would gleam whitely above us
and my brothers would say, ‘Chointhe, lochran aigh nam bochd,’ ‘Look, the lamp of the poor’” (139).
Sample Paragraph with Citations
The character Edward Rochester first makes his appearance in Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre. In the novel,
Rochester is the husband of Bertha Mason, the mad Creole woman whom he has locked away in the attic at Thornfield Hall.
Rochester makes another appearance in Jean Rhys’s novel Wide Sargasso Sea. As Francis Wyndham explains in her introduction to
the latter novel, Rhys “was haunted by the figure of the first Mrs. Rochester—the mad wife in Jane Eyre” whose voice was silenced in
Bronte’s novel; therefore, Wide Sargasso Sea frees Bertha from silence, and, according to Wyndham, “the novel becomes her story,” a
story that precedes her imprisonment in Thornfield Hall (9, 10). In Wide Sargasso Sea, Bertha is known as Antoinette. Thomas Staley
writes that Rhys attempts to create Antoinette’s history:
The first section [of the novel] provides a psycho-historical background for Antoinette’s life. The setting is
the West Indies after emancipation of the slaves, a time bristling with resentment, hatred, and vindictiveness.
Rhys concentrates on the psychological, . . . the personal traumas which larger historical events produced upon the
individual. (198)
5
Creating the Works Cited List
(See the sample Works Cited list on page 6 of this handout.)

Start the Works Cited list on a separate page at the end of your paper.

Include only those sources you have cited within your paper.

Double-space the entire Works Cited list, including the title line. Do not add an extra blank line after the title.
[MLA 131]

Position the first line of each entry flush-left, with subsequent lines wrapping with a ½-inch (hanging) indent.
[MLA 131]

Organize the list alphabetically according to the first letter of each entry, ignoring “a,” “an,” and “the.”
Normally, the author’s last name, unless unknown, is the first piece of information in each entry.
[MLA 130]
[MLA 129–33]
[MLA 131-33]
Explanation of Works Cited Entries: Pieces of the Puzzle

Accuracy is important. It helps someone reading your paper to find a particular source of information you have used.

For each reference, determine the combination of formatting from one or more of the examples on pages 7-10 that is
the best fit. Work left to right through the sample reference(s) to reproduce formatting details.

For each reference, include information on the format of the source (e.g., books or print articles use Print; ebooks and online
journal articles, online magazines, newspapers, videos and websites use Web; other formats specify medium, such as
[MLA 5.4-5.7]
Television, DVD, Radio, Film, etc.).
If you have more than one entry by the same author, use the author’s name in the first entry and three em-dashes (———) in place of the author’s name in subsequent entries.


For web sources with no electronic publication date given, write n.d. (for ‘no date’), but always include the date on which
you accessed the information. Write n.p. if no information is given on place of publication or publisher (N.p. after a period).
Explanation of Works Cited Entries
Book with one
author, edition
stated
book edition
book title
book author
year published
Buzan, Tony. Make the Most of Your Mind. Rev. ed. London: Pan, 1988. Print.
place published
Scholarly article
with three
authors, from a
library database
publisher
article authors
article title
Simpson, Michele L., Norman A. Stahl, and Michelle Anderson Francis. “Reading and Learning Strategies:
Recommendations for the 21st Century.” Journal of Developmental Education 28.2 (2004): 2–15.
ProQuest Education Journals. Web. 20 July 2007.
Format
(article on web)
database
Chapter with
known author(s)
in an edited book
format
(print book used)
date
retrieved
name of journal
chapter title
chapter authors
volume number
Page span
issue number
book title
year published
book editor
Smith, Fiona M., and Wendy Jones. “The College Student.” Cross-Cultural Education. Ed. Charles Wood.
London, ON: MacMillan, 2004. 75–105. Print.
place published
Web page on an
organization’s
website, author
unknown, no
publication date
Format (original print article used)
publisher
year published
web page title
(author unknown)
page span
no publication date
date retrieved
“A Tree Care Guide.” Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests. LEAF, n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2010.
website
website sponsor
Format (on the web)
6
Start your list
of references on
a new page
(no extra space
after title)
Alberta. Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Applications Open: Alberta Arts Flood Rebuild Fund, 2013.
[MLA 130–31]
“Ancient Tool Makers Discovered Fire Treatment.” Globe and Mail. CTVglobemedia, 13 Aug. 2009. Web.
Works Cited
Web. 22 Aug. 2013.
14 Aug. 2013.
Double-space
between lines
[MLA 131]
Start each new
reference at the
left margin
[MLA 131]
Beer, David, and Ruth Penfold-Mounce. “Celebrity Gossip and the New Melodramatic Imagination.”
Sociological Research Online 14.2–3 (2009): n. pag. Web. 12 June 2009.
Being Caribou. Writ. and Dir. Leanne Allison and Diana Wilson. Natl. Film Board of Can., 2004. DVD.
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Chicago: Signet Classics, 2002. Print.
Family Counselling Centre. Dealing with a Delinquent Student. Calgary: Family Counselling Centre, 2003.
Print.
Use a half-inch
hanging-indent
for 2nd , 3rd , and
4th lines of a
reference [MLA
131]
Put in
alphabetical
order,
according to the
first letter
beginning the
reference (if it
starts with “a,”
“an,” or “the,”
alphabetize using
the second word)
[MLA 131–33]
Foley, Peter. Personal interview. 24 July 2007.
Fung, Margaret. “Asthma Rates Increasing.” Winnipeg Free Press 12 Dec. 2006: C4+. Print.
Highway, Tomson. Aria: A One-Woman Play in One Act. Staging Coyote’s Dream: Anthology of First Nations
Drama in English. Ed. Monique Mojica and Ric Knowles. Toronto: Playwrights Canada, 2003. 80–96.
Print.
The Holy Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978. Print. New International Vers.
Kroetsch, Robert. A Likely Story: The Writing Life. Red Deer: Red Deer College P, 1995. Print.
Lee, Kathryn. “Online Collaborative Case Study Learning.” Journal of College Reading and Learning 37.2
(2007): 82–100. Print.
MacEwen, Gwendolyn. “The Death of the Loch Ness Monster.” 1987. A New Anthology of Canadian Literature
in English. Ed. Donna Bennett and Russell Brown. Don Mills: Oxford UP, 2002. 858–59. Print.
MacLeod, Alistair. No Great Mischief. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1999. Print.
Purdy, Al. “The Country North of Belleville.” 1972. A New Anthology of Canadian Literature in English. Ed.
Include only the
sources cited in
your paper
[MLA 129–33]
Add format of
source (e.g.,
Print or Web)
for each
reference
[MLA 136, 185]
Shorten
publisher name:
University Press
 UP
Omit: A/An
/The, Co., Corp.,
Inc., Ltd., Books,
House,
Publishers
[MLA 247–49]
Donna Bennett and Russell Brown. Don Mills: Oxford UP, 2002. 548–49. Print.
“Raphael.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009. Web. 15 May 2009.
Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea. London: Penguin Classics, 2000. Print.
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition.
2nd ed. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, et al. New York: Norton, 2008. 849–96. Print.
Simpson, Michele L., Norman A. Stahl, and Michelle Anderson Francis. “Reading and Learning Strategies:
Recommendations for the 21st Century.” Journal of Developmental Education 28.2 (2004): 2–15.
ProQuest Education Journals. Web. 20 July 2007.
Staley, Thomas F. “Jean Rhys.” British Novelists, 1890–1929: Modernists. Ed. Staley. Farmington Hills: Gale,
1985. N. pag. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Sept. 2009.
Sullivan, Rosemary. Shadow Maker: The Life of Gwendolyn MacEwen. Toronto: HarperCollins, 2005. Print.
———. Theodore Roethke: The Garden Master. Seattle: U of Washington P, 1975. Print.
“A Tree Care Guide.” Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests. LEAF, n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2010.
Wind It Up. Perf. Gwen Stefani. Dir. Joseph Kahn. 2006. Music video. YouTube. Web. 29 Oct. 2008.
Wyndham, Francis. Introduction to the First Edition. Wide Sargasso Sea. By Jean Rhys. London: Penguin
Classics, 2000. 125–30. Print.
7
A. Books
A1 Book with one author
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Chicago: Signet Classics, 2002. Print.
[MLA 148–52]
A2 Book / manual with two
authors, edition stated
[MLA 148–52]
A3 Book with three authors
(named in order shown on
book’s title page)
Robitaille, Julie, and Robert Connelly. Writer’s Resources: From Paragraph to Essay. 2nd ed.
Toronto: Doubleday, 2004. Print.
Downing, Lyn, James C. Carter, and Thomas McManus. Students in Our Midst. Toronto: Doubleday,
2007. Print.
[MLA 148–52, 154–56]
A4 Book with more than
three authors
[MLA 148–52, 155]
Hacker, Maria E., et al. The Two-Year College: A Social Synthesis. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice, 2005.
Print.
NOTE: If there are more than three authors, you may use the first author followed by et al. or all the authors. Your in‐text citation must be consistent with your Works Cited list entry [MLA 215].
A5 Bible and other sacred
writings, editor not known
[MLA 162–64, 227–28]
A6 E-book, accessed from
library subscription with
print publication date
[MLA 187–89]
A7 E-book, found through a
web search
[MLA 187–89]
A8 Graphic novel (discussion
of the artwork rather than
the text)
The Holy Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978. Print. New International Vers.
NOTE: When using a reference that starts with “a,” “an,” or “the,” use the next word of the entry to alphabetize the entry on the reference list. [MLA 132]
Bayers, Peter L. Imperial Ascent: Mountaineering, Masculinity, and Empire. Boulder: UP of
Colorado, 2003. Ebrary. Web. 11 Aug. 2009.
NOTE: Abbreviate University Press to UP [MLA 246–49].
Williams, Paul. Mahayana Buddhism. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2008. Freebookspot. Web. 10 Sept.
2009.
Templesmith, Ben, artist. HatterM: The Looking Glass Wars. By Frank Beddor and Liz Cavalier. Los
Angeles: Automatic, 2008. Print.
[MLA 165–66]
B. Entries or Chapters in Edited Books or Encyclopedia
NOTE: Book editor(s) need to be credited in addition to the author(s) of the chapter/story/play/poem. B1 Chapter with author(s) in
an edited book
[MLA 148–52, 157–59]
B2 Chapter as introduction to
an edited anthology,
authors same as editors
Smith, Fiona M., and Wendy Jones. “The College Student.” Cross-Cultural Education. Ed. Charles
Wood. London, ON: MacMillan, 2004. 75–105. Print.
Sullivan, Rosemary, and Mark Levene. “The House of Fiction.” Introduction. Short Fiction: An
Anthology. Ed. Sullivan and Levene. Don Mills: Oxford, 2003. 4–12. Print.
[MLA 157–58, 161–62]
B3 Previously published
article, reprinted in a
book
[MLA 159]
B4 Journal article reprinted
in a course pack
[MLA 158–59]
Aizenberg, Edna. “Borges, Postcolonial Precursor.” World Literature Today 66.1 (1992): 21–26. Rpt.
in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. James P. Draper. Vol. 83. Detroit: Gale, 1994.
191–94. Print.
Mayhew, Matthew J., and Sonia Deluca Fernandez. “Pedagogical Practices That Contribute to Social
Justice Outcomes.” Review of Higher Education 31.1 (2007): 55–80. Rpt. in SLGY 2155:
Supplementary Readings. Calgary: Mount Royal U, 2009. 10–35. Print.
B5 Short story in an edited
book, with original
publication date provided
[MLA 157–60]
O’Connor, Flannery. “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.” 1953. The Realm of Fiction: SeventyFour Stories. Ed. James B. Hall and Elizabeth C. Hall. New York: McGraw, 2007. 488–99.
Print.
8
B6 Poem in an anthology,
with original publication
date provided
[MLA 157–60]
B7 Play in an anthology, not
previously published
[MLA 157–60]
MacEwen, Gwendolyn. “The Death of the Loch Ness Monster.” 1987. A New Anthology of Canadian
Literature in English. Ed. Donna Bennett and Russell Brown. Don Mills: Oxford UP, 2002.
858–59. Print.
Highway, Tomson. Aria: A One-Woman Play in One Act. Staging Coyote’s Dream: Anthology of
First Nations Drama in English. Ed. Monique Mojica and Ric Knowles. Toronto:
Playwrights Canada, 2003. 80–96. Print.
B8 Editors’ commentary in a
scholarly edition of a play
[MLA 164]
B9 Article or definition in
online encyclopedia,
author unknown
Thompson, Ann, and Neil Taylor, eds. Hamlet. By William Shakespeare. London: Arden, 2006.
Print.
“Raphael.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009. Web. 15 May 2009.
[MLA 162, 184–87]
B10 Biography in an
anthology with editors
(biography authors same
as editors), edition stated
Booth, Alison, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays, eds. “Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961).” The
Norton Introduction to Literature. Portable ed. Ed. Booth, Hunger, and Mays. New York:
Norton, 2006. 391. Print.
[MLA 153–54, 157–58, 161–62]
B11 Article in a reference
work, with print
publication information,
from a library database
[MLA 187–89]
Staley, Thomas F. “Jean Rhys.” British Novelists, 1890–1929: Modernists. Ed. Staley. Farmington
Hills: Gale, 1985. N. pag. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Sept. 2009.
NOTE: Use n. pag. if there are no page numbers (N. pag. after a period). [MLA 179–80].
C. Articles: Journals and Periodicals (newspapers, magazines)
C1 Scholarly journal article,
one author, paper-bound
[MLA 137–41]
Lee, Kathryn. “Online Collaborative Case Study Learning.” Journal of College Reading and
Learning 37.2 (2007): 82–100. Print.
C2 Scholarly journal article,
one author, from a library
database [MLA 192–93]
Godfrey, Esther. “Jane Eyre, from Governess to Girl Bride.” Studies in English Literature 1500–
C3 Scholarly journal article,
three authors, from a
library database
Simpson, Michele L., Norman A. Stahl, and Michelle Anderson Francis. “Reading and Learning
[MLA 192–93]
C4 Scholarly article, two
authors, from a journal
published only on the web
1900 45.4 (2005): 853–71. Project Muse. Web. 30 Sept. 2009.
Strategies: Recommendations for the 21st Century.” Journal of Developmental Education
28.2 (2004): 2–15. ProQuest Education Journals. Web. 20 July 2007.
Beer, David, and Ruth Penfold-Mounce. “Celebrity Gossip and the New Melodramatic Imagination.”
Sociological Research Online 14.2–3 (2009): n. pag. Web. 12 June 2009.
[MLA 190–91]
C5 Review of a book, in a
journal, from a library
database [MLA 190–93]
Kloppolo, Grace. Rev. of Hamlet in Purgatory, by Stephen Greenblatt. The Modern Language
C6 Newspaper article, with
author, on discontinuous
pages, print publication
Nielsen, Todd. “Calgary Poetry Capital of Canada.” Calgary Herald 21 Sept. 2005: C5+. Print.
Review 98.2 (2003): 432–33. JSTOR. Web. 20 July 2007.
[MLA 141–42]
C7 Newspaper article, online
nonperiodical version,
author unknown, not from
a library database
[MLA 184–86]
“Ancient Tool Makers Discovered Fire Treatment.” Globe and Mail. CTVglobemedia, 13 Aug. 2009.
Web. 14 Aug. 2009.
9
C8 Magazine article, with
author, nonperiodical
online version
Wells, Paul. “Our Universities Can Be Smarter.” Maclean’s.ca. Rogers Digital Media, 28 July 2009.
Web. 14 Aug. 2009.
[MLA 136]
C9 Magazine article, with
author, periodical version
from a library database
Wells, Paul. “Our Universities Can Be Smarter.” Maclean’s 28 July 2009: 32–34. CBCA Business.
Web. 14 Aug. 2009.
[MLA 136–37, 142–43]
C10 Advertisement in a print
magazine
Splenda. Advertisement. Canadian Living Sept. 2009: 13. Print.
[MLA 203]
D. Websites and Web Pages
D1 Web page with an author,
on a website
[MLA 181–87, 247–48]
Tucker, Aaron. “Identity and Autobiography.” Youngpoets.ca. League of Canadian Poets, 2008.
Web. 22 Aug. 2013.
NOTE: The MLA guidelines suggest including a URL “only when the reader cannot locate the source without it or when your instructor requires it” [MLA 182].
D2 Website, no author,
website publisher/sponsor
unknown
“How to Study Effectively—8 Concentration Strategies.” Studenthacks.org. N.p.,12 Oct. 2007. Web.
20 July 2009.
[MLA 181–87]
D3 Website, no author, no
date (URL provided to aid
in locating the source)
[MLA 182, 184–87]
D4 Web page on an
organization’s website, no
author, no publication
date
[MLA 181–87]
D5 Course notes on a website
/ Blackboard site
[MLA 181–87]
D6 Blog post, website
publisher/sponsor
unknown
The Poetry of Sylvia Plath. Stanford U, n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2009. <http://www.stanford.edu/class/
engl187/docs/plathpoem.html>
NOTE: If you must break a URL between two lines, do so only after double slashes or a single slash [MLA 182].
“A Tree Care Guide.” Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests. LEAF, n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2010.
NOTE: When using a reference that starts with “a,” “an,” or “the,” use the next word of the entry to alphabetize the entry on the reference list. [MLA 132]
Reynolds, Walter. “Key Points.” EDUC 1212 Pedagogy. Course Blackboard page. Mount Royal U,
Humanitis Dept., Sept.–Dec. 2008. Web. 14 Sept. 2008.
Webber, Sheila. “Survey of Plagiarism Penalties.” Online posting. Information Literacy Weblog.
N.p., 11 July 2007. Web. 19 July 2007.
[MLA 181–87]
E. Government and Conference Publications
E1 Government report,
paper-bound, publisher
same as the author
Alberta. Alberta Health. Proposals for Day Care. Edmonton: Alberta Health, 2006. Print.
[MLA 174–76]
E2 Government report with
author, on a website
[MLA 174–77, 184–86]
Sosiak, Albert. Evaluation of Recent Trends in Water Quality in the Elbow River Upstream from
Glenmore Reservoir. Alberta Environment, Water Sciences Branch, 1999. Web. 23 Aug.
2007.
E3 Statistics Canada data
report, on a website
[MLA 174–76, 184–86]
E4 Canadian legislation (refer
to Can. Guide to Uniform
Legal Citation. 6th ed.)
[MLA 205–06]
Canada. Statistics Canada. Frequency of Language by Work, by Census Metropolitan Area (2001
Census) (Calgary). Canada. 27 Jan. 2005. Web. 15 Sept. 2008.
Canada Elections Act. R.S.C. 1985, c. 9, s.2. Print.
10
E5 Conference presentation
in a published proceedings
[MLA 177]
Chou, Zhi. “Eastern Influences on Western Literature.” Proceedings of the Third International
Conference on Globalization of Text, Paris, 7-10 August 2002. Ed. Jan Koblenz. Berlin:
Global Literature Soc., 2002. 77–81. Print.
F. Various Media
F1 Film on a DVD
Being Caribou. Writ. and Dir. Leanne Allison and Diana Wilson. Natl. Film Board of Can., 2004.
[MLA 197–98]
DVD.
F2 Film on YouTube,
information on director
found elsewhere
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. By Tennessee Williams. [Dir. Richard Brooks]. MGM, 1958. YouTube. Web.
5 Apr. 2009.
[MLA 179, 189, 197–98]
F3 Music video performance
on the web (discussion of
the performance not the
song) [MLA 189, 197–99]
Wind It Up. Perf. Gwen Stefani. Dir. Joseph Kahn. 2006. Music video. YouTube. Web. 29 Oct. 2008.
F4 Published musical score
Bach, J. S. Suite in B Minor for Flute and Keyboard. London: Boosey and Hawkes, 1945. Print.
[MLA 189, 197–99]
F5 Song recording on a CD
Simon, Paul. “The Obvious Child.” The Rhythm of the Saints. Warner Bros., 1990. CD.
[MLA 195–96]
F6 Radio interview on the
web
[MLA 185–86, 201–2]
F7 Graphic novel (discussion
of the artwork not the
text)
Suzuki, David. “TreeHugger Radio: An Interview with David Suzuki.” By Simran Sethi. Treehugger,
16 Mar. 2007. Web. 10 Sept. 2009.
Templesmith, Ben, artist. HatterM: The Looking Glass Wars. By Frank Beddor and Liz Cavalier. Los
Angeles: Automatic, 2008. Print.
[MLA 165–66]
F8 Brochure, corporate
author
[MLA 174]
F9 Personal interview /
communication
Family Counselling Centre. Dealing with a Delinquent Student. Calgary: Family Counselling Centre,
2003. Print.
Foley, Peter. Personal interview. 24 July 2007.
[MLA 201–02]
F10 Personal communication
/ e-mail sent to you
O’Neal, Eamon. “Re: Jane Austen’s Style.” Message to the author. 17 Sept. 2009. E-mail.
[MLA 204–05]
F11 Twitter update or tweet
Angelou, Maya (DrMayaAngelou). “You can only become truly accomplished at something you
[MLA website]
love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love.” 9 June 2013, 2:37
p.m. Tweet.
F12 Work of visual art, found
in a book
[MLA 200–01]
F13 Work of visual art, found
on a website
[MLA 200–01]
Peterson, Mark. Image of Homelessness. 1994. Seeing and Writing 4. Ed. Donald McQuade and
Christine McQuade. Boston: Bedford-St. Martin’s, 2010. 169. Print.
Harris, Lawren. North Shore, Lake Superior. 1926. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. National
Gallery of Canada. Web. 12 Aug. 2014.
This handout has been compiled and revised by Mount Royal University’s Student Learning Services and Library for 2015-2016.
Please consult them for more information on documentation or go to http://www.mla.org/style.