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Sample Works Cited Entries (MLA Style, 7th edition)
This information is a general guide only. If you have any questions, please consult
your English teacher.
Books and pamphlets
The following list shows the possible components of a book entry and the order in which they are arranged.
It is rare that your source will have all these components:
 Author’s last name, first name. OR Editor’s last name, First name, ed.
 “Title of a Part of the Book.” (note: Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword is not
enclosed in quotation marks)
 Title of Book: Subtitle if there is one (note: all titles are italicized; if there is a subtitle, the
main title comes first, followed by a colon and then the subtitle)
For a book with a title within the title: if the book title contains a title normally italicized, neither
italicize the internal title nor place it in quotation marks (Example: A Study of Joseph Heller’s Catch22). If the title within the title is normally put in quotation marks, retain the quotation marks and
italicize the entire title (Example: Approaches to Teaching Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness.”
 Ed. Editor’s first name Editor’s last name. (this is the format used when you have both an
author and an editor; start with the author)
 Edition used. (exs: 2nd ed. for second edition; Rev. ed. for Revised edition).
 Number of the volume used. (ex: Vol. 2.)
 Name of a series {do NOT italicize}. (ex: Approaches to Teaching World Literature.)
 Place of publication: publisher, date of publication. (ex: New York: Doubleday, 2001.)
You may omit the following items in a publisher’s name: Co., Corp., Inc., and Ltd.
 Page numbers—use only if you are using a specific part of a book. (ex: 23-26. ex: 123-26.)
 Print. (This is to indicate that you are using a print source instead of an electronic or nonprint
source.)
REPRINTED ARTICLES (Rpt. in):
If the article or chapter is reprinted from another source,
complete the bibliographic information from the original source and then complete the bibliography listing
for the book in which you found your source (see number 10 for example).
(Rpt. of):
If the article was originally published under a different title, first state the new title
and publication information and then complete the information from the original source (see number 10 for
example).
MISSING CITY, PUBLISHER, DATE, OR PAGE NUMBERS
NO PLACE
N.p.: Harper, 1999. Print.
NO DATE
Lexington: Heath, n.d. Print.
NO PUBLISHER
New York: n.p., 1999. Print.
NO PAGE NUMBERS
New York: Harper, 2002. N. pag. Print.
Book published before 1900: you may omit the name of the publisher
Dewey, John. The School and Society. Chicago, 1889. Print.
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How to Shorten a Publisher’s Name
Omit a, an, the, Co., Corp., Inc., and Ltd.
Omit descriptive words such as Books, House, and Publisher
When citing a university press, use “ U” to indicate the university and “P” to indicate press. For
states, use the two letter abbreviation (ex: U of TN P stands for University of Tennessee Press—
notice that no periods are used after the abbreviations).
If the publisher’s name includes the name of a person, cite the surname alone. For example, W. W.
Norton would be cited as Norton.
1. One author
Last name of author, First name. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication. Print.
Grisham, John. A Painted House. New York: Doubleday, 2001. Print.
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2. Two or three authors
Last name of author, First name, and First name Last name. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher,
date of publication. Print.
Hornsby, Tom, and Larry Warkoczeski. New Roles for Leaders. Franklin, TN: Hillsboro Press, 2000. Print.
3. More than three authors (This example shows how to cite an edition and a
volume)
Last name of first author, First name of first author, et al. Title of Book. Edition if there is one. Volume
number if there is one. Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication. Print. {Note:
abbreviations are used for edition and volume; look at the example below}
Oberg, Erik, et al. Machinery’s Handbook. 26th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Industrial Press, 2000. Print.
4. An editor but not an author
Follow the above examples except add a comma and “ed.” Or “eds.” After the editor(s) name(s).
McQuillan, Martin, ed. Deconstruction: A Reader. New York: Routledge, 2001. Print.
5. Example of a book with a translator (this example also has an author)
Esquivel, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate. Trans. Carol Christensen. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Print.
6. An Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword
Last name, First name. Part of the book. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication.
Print.
Carr, Samuel, ed. Introduction. The Poetry of Birds. New York: Taplinger, 1976. Print.
7. An author and an editor
An anthology or a compilation (an essay, a short story, a poem, a literary summary
such as Masterplots, an individual chapter written by an author)
Last name of author, First name. “Title of Essay.” Title of Book. Ed. First name of editor Last name.
Edition number if there is one. Volume number if there is one. Place of publication: Publisher,
date of publication. Page numbers of article. Print.
Note: If there is a translator, write Trans. after the title followed by the translator’s name. Comp. is
used for compiled by; it follows the title and the compiler’s name follows the abbreviation.
Woodard, Philip. “The Library of Babel.” Masterplots II: Short Story Series. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Vol. 3.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem P, 1986. 1342-44. Print. Note: Woodard is the author of the
individual essay in this book that is a collection of essays. Magill is the editor of the series.
8. Encyclopedia article
An article in a well-known encyclopedia should be cited as follows. For a specialized,
less well-known encyclopedia, cite it like a book.
Encyclopedia with a signed article (author’s name generally at end of article)
Burks, Ardath Walter. “Samurai.” Collier’s Encyclopedia. 1997 ed. Print.
No author: Many encyclopedia articles have no author; list the title of the article first.
Title: The information in quotation marks is the title of the article, exactly the way it appears in the
encyclopedia. If the article is about a person, the last name will come first. Ex: “Poe, Edgar A.”
THE NEW ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA: (see next page)
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THE NEW ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA:
The author of an article in this encyclopedia may come at the end of the article and may be identified by
initials. You must retrieve the Propædia Outline of Knowledge/Guide to the Britannica, located at the end
of the set. The initials of the authors are alphabetized and begin on page 531.
9. Dictionary entry
“Patriot.” Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary. 1981 ed. Print.
10. Reprinted (rpt.) articles or chapters that have been previously published elsewhere
(articles from a Gale Literary Criticism series such as Contemporary Literary Criticism,
Chelsea House and Greenhaven publications about literature, Opposing Viewpoints
series, Issues in Focus series, Current Controversies series, and At Issues series)
Rpt. in:
Step 1: Figure out where the material was originally published. This information will be either at the
beginning or the end of the chapter or the article.
Step 2: Write the information from the original source.
Step 3: Write the information from the book that you are using to get this material—use the procedure that
follows on the next line:
Rpt. in Name of work in which article is reprinted. Ed. First name of editor last name of editor. Volume
number. Place of publication: Publisher, date of publication. Page numbers of article. Print.
The example that follows shows part of a book that was reprinted in Contemporary Literary Criticism:
Weinberg, Helen. “J. D. Salinger’s Holden and Seymour and the Spiritual Activist Hero.” J. D. Salinger.
Ed. Harold Bloom. N.p.: Chelsea House, 1987. 63-79. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism.
Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 138. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 202-09. Print.
{N.p.: is used because no
place of publication was given; n.p. stands for no publisher; n.d. stands for no date.}
Rpt. of: (Use when the title has been changed from the original title in the original
source)
The example that follows shows a magazine article reprinted in a book called Cloning from the At Issue
series. The title has been changed from the original title. Start with the new publication information.
Kilner, John F. “Human Cloning Would Violate Christian Ethics.” Cloning. Ed. Paul A. Winters. At Issue.
San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1998. 13-16. Rpt. of “Stop Cloning Around.” Christianity
Today 28 Apr. 1997: n. pag. Print.
Your source may not exactly follow the pattern of either of the above examples.
Periodicals (magazine, journal, newspaper)
MISSING PUBLICATION DATE AND PAGE NUMBERS:
NO PAGE NUMBERS (journal article)
23.4 (Winter 1977-78): n. pag. Print.
NO PAGE NUMBERS (magazine article)
30 Sep. 2002: n. pag. Print.
NO DATE (magazine article)
People n.d.: 23-24. Print.
NO DATE (journal article)
23.4 (n.d.) 23-24. Print.
11. Magazine articles
magazine articles)
(Do NOT use volume and/or issue numbers for
Last name of author, First name (if available). “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical date of publication:
page numbers. Print.
Note: Write out May, June, and July; for other months, use the first three letters followed by a
period. If there is a specific day of the month, it comes before the month (For example, a magazine
published on November 1, 2003 would appear this way: 1 Nov. 2003).
Piore, Adam. “A Nuke Train Gets Ready to Roll.” Newsweek 30 July 2001: 26-28. Print.
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12. Scholarly journals (usually are published annually or seasonally; use volume
and issue numbers if available; if it is not available go to the next item)
Last name of author, first name if available. “Title of article.” Name of Journal volume number.issue
number {if issue number is available} (date of publication): page numbers. Print.
Watson, Elwood and Darcy Martin. “The Miss America Pageant: Pluralism, Femininity, and Cinderella All
in One.” Journal of Popular Culture 34.2 (Summer 2000): 105-06. Print.
Note of explanation: 34 is the volume number; 2 is the issue number; 105-06 are page numbers.
13. Newspaper articles
Last name of author, first name {if available}. “Title of article.” Name of newspaper day Mon. year of
publication: section letter if there is one followed by the page number with no space between the
two items. Print.
Note: if a specific edition is named, add a coma after the date and specify the edition; for example,
“late ed.” stands for late edition. The period after “ed.” would be followed by a colon and then the
page number or numbers.
Davidson, Paul. “More Businesses Turn to Instant Messaging.” USA Today 23 Oct. 2000: B1. Print.
Internet Resources
(this includes internet webpages—see number 14; and scholarly internet databases
available from the Tennessee Electronic Library and Points of View—see numbers
15 and 16)
14. Internet web sites
Author's name (if given). "Title of Article Within the Website—skip if entire site is used." Title of the Site
(if no title is given, substitute “Home page” for the title but do not use italics or quotation marks).
Sponsoring organization (if given). Date of publication or last update (if given). Web. Date the
researcher accessed the page. <web address if required by teacher>.
(Note: if the source was originally a print source and the publication information is not listed, you must use
the appropriate abbreviation—n. pag. for example)
14a. Entire site with author: (If author is unknown, go to the next item)
Blume, Judy. Judy Blume on the Web. Judy Blume, 2007. Web. 9 Mar. 2006.
14b. With corporate (group) author:
United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Drinking Water Standards. EPA, 28 Nov. 2006. Web. 24
Jan. 2007.
14c. With no title:
Yoon, Moni. Home page. Oak Ridge Natl. Laboratory, 28 Dec. 2006. Web. 12 Jan. 2007.
14d. A specific part of a website:
“Living Old.” Frontline. PBS, 21 Nov. 2006. Web. 19 Jan. 2008. (if an author is given for a specific part,
list that first)
14e. A part of an online book: (notice part of publication information is not available)
Adams, Henry. “Diplomacy.” The Education of Henry Adams. Boston: Houghton, 1918. N. pag.
Bartleby.com: Great Books Online. Web. 8 Jan. 2007.
14e. Online newspaper article:
Robinson, Bob. “Internet Takes Title Searches from Dark Age to Computer Age.” Kingsport Times News 1
Jan. 2006. Web. 10 Mar. 2006.
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14f. Online Magazine Article:
Bamford, James. “Big Brother Is Listening.” Atlantic Online Apr. 2006: n. pag. Web. 10 Mar. 2006.
Note: Magazine articles may be posted on the internet ahead of print publication. Notice that the
April 2006 issue is accessed in March 2006 in this example.
15. Tennessee Electronic Library (a Cengage internet database)
Step 1: cite the original source, using the abbreviations for missing publication information as you do when
you are citing print information)
Step 2: cite the online database name (in each example below, the online service information begins with
the 2nd underlined item)
Note: I have placed the address you should use in example 15a if
the teacher requires it.
Last name of author, first name if available. “Title of Article.” Title of Periodical or Book from which
article originally came. Original publication information. Name of Database. Web. date the
researcher accessed the page.
{same format used in periodical articles}
Note: the original publication information is generally located at either the top or the bottom of the
printout or screen; sometimes, you have to look at more than one spot.
Special note on magazine and/or journal page numbers for electronic sources:
Sometimes, you have only the starting page number of an article’s original print publication followed by a
note about how many pages the original article consisted of. You have no way of knowing if those were
consecutive pages so give the number followed by plus sign and a period. (ex: 192+.)
If your source does not match the following examples, you may have to get help from your teacher.
15a. Tennessee Electronic Library encyclopedia article
"Crane, Stephen." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 1993 ed. Student Edition. Web. 24 Apr. 2001.
<http://find.galegroup.com>.
Note: Crane is listed first because that is the way it appears on the screen at the top of the article.
15b. Tennessee Electronic Library newspaper article
Weise, Elizabeth. "Web Changes Direction to People Skills." USA Today 24 Jan. 2000: D1. Student
Edition. Web. 24 Apr. 2001.
Note: D1 is the section letter followed by the page number.
15c. Tennessee Electronic Library reference book article
“Reconstruction (1850-1877).” American Eras. 1st ed. N.p.: n.p., 1977. N. pag. General Reference Center
Gold. Web. 16 Jan. 2007.
15d. Tennessee Electronic Library journal article
DiLallo, Robert, Leland S. Rickman, and Choong R. Kim. "Poe: Defined as Schoolboy, But Definition as a
Novelist Is Too Novel." The Journal of the American Medical Association 264.5 (1990): 571.
Student Edition. Web. 24 Apr. 2001.
Note: 264 is the volume number; 5 is the issue number; 571 is the page number of the article.
Journals do not always have issue numbers. Also, the publication date sometimes includes a season.
If a season is listed, it goes in the parentheses before the year.
15e. Tennessee Electronic Library magazine article
Farrell, Tom. “A Ticket to Ride: The Rapid Rise of Snowboarding.” USA Today Magazine 1 Mar. 2002:
48+. General Reference Center Gold. Web. 24 Apr. 2001.
Note that the article starts on page 48 but is longer as indicated by the plus sign
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15f. Tennessee Electronic Library news service article (Knight Ridder for example)
Sylvester, Curt. "Lions Eye Miami Safety with Sixth Overall Pick." Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
22 Feb. 2004. Student Edition. Web. 16 Mar. 2004.
15g. Tennessee Electronic Library article that comes from another internet Gale
Database (this type of source often found in Discovering Collection, Student
Resource Center Bronze, and Literature Resource Center)
"Study Questions: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." EXPLORING Novels. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003.
N. pag. Discovering Collection. Web. 25 Jan. 2007.
16. Points of View (an EBSCO internet database)
The following pattern and example is for an article that originally appeared in a book. If the original
source comes from another type of source such as a magazine or journal article, refer to the appropriate
example from this handout to complete the first part of the citation. Once you get to Points of View
Reference Center, you may follow the pattern and example below, changing only the date of access.
Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Document.” Document’s original source. Edition if available.
Publisher, date of publication. Database Name. Web. Date you accessed the document. Address if
required by teacher
The items will need for your citation are listed below, but you have to hunt for them on the accessed page.
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Author is listed after Authors (do not confuse it with the title).
“Title of Document” is listed after Title.
Document’s original source is listed by Source. (Click on the blue link for publishing
information; if publication information is missing, refer to p. 1 of this handout)
Database Name is listed by Database
Wilson, Brian. “Counterpoint: School Dress Codes Improve the Learning Environment.” School Uniforms.
Points of View. N.p.: Great Neck, 2007. 3. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 2 Dec. 2005.
<http://search.ebscohost.com>.
Other sources
17. Film on Videocassette or DVD
Title. Dir. List the director. List the producer. List a few of the performers. Year the film released.
Distributor, Year of video release. Medium (Film, DVD, or Videocassette).
Examples of director, producer and actor: Dir. John Ford. Prod. William Wells. Perf. James Stewart, Donna
Reed, and Lionel Barrymore.
Schindler’s List. Dir. Steven Speilberg. Perf. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. 1993. Universal Studios,
2004. DVD.
18. Educational video
Title. Series title if available. Distributor, Year of release. Medium (DVD, Videocassette).
Walt Whitman. Voices and Visions. Intellimation, 1988. Videocassette.
19. Interview (personal and published)
Moralez, Sheila. Personal interview. 11 June 2002.
(Sheila is the person being interviewed.)
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Prince. Interview by Bilge Ebiri (skip if interviewer’s name is not available). Yahoo! Internet Life 7.6
(2001): 82-85. Print.
(if accessed on Web follow procedure.)
20. Lecture, speech, address, or reading
Speakers last name, first name. “Title of the Presentation.” {if there is no title, go on to the next item} The
Meeting {if known}. The sponsoring organization {if applicable}. The location {if known}. Date.
A label such as Lecture, Speech, Reading, etc. If accessed online, after the information about the
lecture, etc. give the title of the web site, Web, and your date of access.
Terkel, Studs. Conference on College Composition and Communication Convention. Palmer House,
Chicago. 22 Mar. 1990. Address.
Wellbery, David E. “On a Sentence of Franz Kafka.” Franke Inst. For the Humanities. Gleacher Center,
Chicago. 1 Feb. 2006. Lecture. DISCovering Collection. Web. 8 Feb. 2008.
21. A letter or memo
Treat a letter like an anthology (see number 6), adding the date of the letter and the number if the editor
assigned one. Add Print or Web. Add date of access if obtained from the web.
Woolf, Virginia. “T.S. Eliot.” 28 July 1920. Letter 1138 of The Letters of Virginia Woolf. Ed. Nigel
Nicolson and Joanne Trautman. Vol. 2. New York: Harcourt, 1976. 437-38. Print.
22. A review
Use the examples below to guide you. The first example shows a review with no author; the second
example shows a review with an author. Add print or web at end of citation. If obtained from the web, the
name of the database or title of Web site is placed before Web. Date of access goes at the end of the
citation.
Rev. of Anthology of Danish Literature, ed. F.J. Billeskov Jansen and P.M. Mitchell. Times Literary
Supplement 7 July 1972: 785. Print. {When alphabetizing your Works Cited page, skip Rev. of; in
this example you would alphabetize using the word Anthology}
Updike, John. “No Brakes.” Rev. of Sinclair Lewis: Rebel from Main Street, by Richard Lingeman. New
Yorker 4 Feb. 2002: 77-80. Literary Reference Center. Web. 2 Feb. 2009.
23. Radio or television program
“New Orleans.” American Experience. Narr. Jeffrey Wright. PBS. WGBH, Boston, 12 Feb. 2007.
Television.
“Elif Shafak: Writing under a Watchful Eye.” Fresh Air. Host Terry Gross. Natl. Public Radio. NPR.org.
Web. 22 Feb. 2007.
(this was accessed on the web)
24. Sacred text
Give the title taken from the title page, the editor or translator’s name if any, publication information, and
the medium of publication. (Print or Web)
Holy Bible. Wheaton: Tyndale, 2005. Print.
Roman Numerals
1: I
2: II
3: III
4: IV
5: V
6: VI
7: VII
8: VIII
20. XX
30. XXX
40. XL
50. L
60. LX
70. LXX
80. LXXX
90. XC
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9: IX
10. X
100: C