Western Nevada College
MLA Style
Research Guide
http://library.wnc.edu
Joe Dini Jr Library & Student Center – Carson City Campus
Ask a Librarian:
By phone:
Carson Campus 445-3227
Fallon Campus 423-5330
By email:
refdesk@wnc.edu
Students using the Modern Language Association (MLA) style are required to compile a list of the sources cited in their research
paper. This Works Cited page, as it is known, is located at the end of the research paper. A sample Works Cited page can be
found at the end of this handout.
This guide provides citation examples from both electronic and print materials and is based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers 7th edition (LB2369 .M53 2009).
Note: The citations listed in this guide are single-spaced to save space. The citations must be double-spaced in a
Works Cited page. Indentations for citations should be ½ inch. Page margins should be 1 inch.
CITING INTERNET SOURCES
Basic MLA Format for a Work Cited Only on the Web:
Author. “Title of the work.” (Use quotations if part of a larger work, use italics if the work is independent.) Title of Web site. Date
of posting or last update. Publisher or sponsor of the site (N.p. if unavailable). Date of publication (day, month, and
year, as available. (If not available, use n.d.) Web. Access date (day, month, year).
World Wide Web Sites:
“Hourly News Summary.” National Public Radio. National Public Radio, 20 July 2010. Web. 25 July 2010.
Liu, Alan, ed. Home page. Voice of the Shuttle. Dept. of English, University of California, Santa Barbara, n.d.
5 Mar. 2010. Web. 15 May 2010.
Women Pioneers in American Memory. 25 June 2009. Library of Congress, Washington. Web. 7 July 2009.
Individual Works:
Barsky, Robert F. Noam Chomsky: A Life of Dissent. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1997. Web. 29 June 2009.
Parts of Works:
"Nevada." Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2010. Web. 10 May 2010.
Journal Articles:
Inada, Kenneth. "A Buddhist Response to the Nature of Human Rights." Journal of Buddhist Ethics 2.3
(1995): n. pag. Web. 1 Nov. 2010.
Magazine Articles:
Viviano, Frank. "The New Mafia Order." Mother Jones Magazine May-June 1995: n. pag. Web. 29 June 2010.
Newspaper Articles:
Crowe, Jennifer. "Results of School Tests Weren't Accurate." Reno Gazette Journal 18 Sept. 1999. Web. 12 Oct. 2010.
Library & Media Services, Western Nevada College
Revised January 2014
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CITING ELECTRONIC DATABASE SOURCES IN THE WNC LIBRARY
Basic Information to Properly Cite a Journal Article from a Database (include only those items that apply):
Author’s Last name, First Name and Middle initial. “Title of the article.” Periodical title, volume.issue (year):
page numbers. Name of the Database. Web. Date article was retrieved from the database.
Note: The citations listed in this guide are single-spaced to save space. The citations must be double-spaced in a
Works Cited page. Indentations for citations should be ½ inch. Page margins should be 1 inch.
EBSCO Academic Search Premier Magazine Article:
Ellingwood, Susan. "The Dayton Game." New Republic 14 July 1997: 16-17. Academic Search Premier. Web.
9 Sept. 2010.
EBSCO Academic Search Premier Journal Article:
Linton, David. "Shakespeare as Media Critic: Communication Theory and Historiography." Mosaic 29.2 (1996): 21-36.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Sept. 2010.
Biography Reference Bank:
“Jim Harrison.” Current Biography. 1992. Biography Reference Bank. Web. 11 Sept. 2010.
Encyclopaedia Britannica:
"Hemingway, Ernest." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2008. Web. 29 Sept. 2010.
History Reference Center:
Fitzpatric, Tim. “Napoleon’s Final Triumph.” Military History 26.6 (2010): 40+. History Reference Center. Web.
21 July 2010.
Literary Reference Center:
Sunderstrand, David. “Edward Abbey.” Cyclopedia of World Authors. 1997. Literary Reference Center. Web. 21 Oct. 2010.
Literature Resource Center:
Covici, Pascal, Jr. “Mark Twain.” Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 11: American Humorists, 1800 –1950. 1982.
526-555. Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Oct. 2010.
LexisNexis Academic:
Kaiser, Robert G. "A Uranium Mine’s Mother Lode of Reality." Washington Post 8 Aug. 2001, final ed.: C1.
LexisNexis Academic. Web. 28 Aug. 2010.
CQ Researcher Online:
Clark, Charles S. “The FBI Under Fire.” CQ Researcher 11 Apr. 1997: 315-22. CQ Researcher Online. Web. 2 Oct. 2010.
Opposing Viewpoints:
Saletan, William. "The Cloning Debate Redraws Political Alliances." The Ethics of Human Cloning. Ed. William Dudley. 2001.
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 15 Oct. 2010.
eHRAF World Cultures:
Chagnon, Napoleon A. Yanomamo: The Fierce People. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1968. eHRAF World Cultures.
Web. 11 April 2011.
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CITING PRINT SOURCES
BOOKS
NO AUTHOR
A Handbook of Korea. 6th ed. Seoul, Korea: Seoul International Pub. House, 1987. Print.
ONE AUTHOR
Morrison, Toni. Sula. New York: Knopf, 1986. Print.
TWO AUTHORS
Sexton, John, and William Byers. The Human Brain. Washington: National
Academy Press, 2005. Print.
THREE AUTHORS
Hirsch, David, Oliver Meeks, and Elizabeth Rosier. Suicide: The Hidden Epidemic.
New York: Wiley, 1996. Print.
MORE THAN THREE AUTHORS
Quirk, Randolph, et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London:
Longman, 1985. Print.
EDITOR
Perkins, Kathy A., ed. Black Female Playwrights: An Anthology of Plays Before 1950.
Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1989. Print.
AUTHOR AND EDITOR
Shakespeare, William. The Comedy of Errors. Ed. T. S. Dorsch. Cambridge:
Cambridge UP, 1988. Print.
EDITION
Kabotis, Fred. Designs from the Ancient Mimbrenos. 2nd ed. Flagstaff: Northland, 1986.
Print.
SEVERAL VOLUMES
Laszlo, Irvin, ed. World Encyclopedia of Peace. 4 vols. New York: Pergamon, 1986.
Print.
ESSAY OR ARTICLE IN
A COLLECTION
Klawans, Stuart. "Colonization: Rose-Tinted Spectacle." Seeing Through Movies.
Ed. Mark C. Miller. New York: Pergamon, 1990. 150-185. Print.
STATISTICAL TABLE
IN A REFERENCE BOOK
“State Resident Population - Projections: 2010-2030.” Statistical Abstract of the United
States: 2009. Washington: Government Printing Office, 2009. Print.
ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLES
SIGNED
Sapir, Edward. "Communication." Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. New York:
Macmillan, 1930. Print.
UNSIGNED
"Ping Pong Diplomacy." Encyclopedia Americana. 1989 ed. Print.
(Note: Omit publisher and place for well known
reference sets that frequently appear in new editions.)
JOURNALS, MAGAZINES & NEWSPAPERS
MAGAZINE ARTICLE, SIGNED
Cooper, Mary. "The Economics of Recycling." CQ Researcher 27 Mar. 1998:
265-87. Print.
MAGAZINE ARTICLE, UNSIGNED
"Time for Doubt." Time 26 Nov. 1990: 30-34. Print.
SCHOLARLY JOURNAL
Baum, Rosalie Murphy. "Alcoholism and Family Abuse.” Mosaic 19.3 (1986): 91-105.
Print.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE, UNSIGNED
"The Elected Aristocracy: 12 is Enough.” Wall Street Journal 6 Nov. 1990: A22. Print.
INTERVIEWS
Basso, Lillian. Personal Interview. 4 March 1991.
SPEECH
Allen, Steve. Address. Opening General Session. CLA Convention. San Diego, 3
Nov. 1970. Address.
TELEVISON AND RADIO PROGRAMS
"If God Ever Listened: A Portrait of Alice Walker." Horizons. Prod. Jane Rosenthal.
National Public Radio. WBST, Muncie, IN. 3 March 1984. Radio.
Note: The citations listed in this guide are single-spaced to save space. The citations must be double-spaced in a
Works Cited page. Indentations for citations should be ½ inch. Page margins should be 1 inch.
Library & Media Services, Western Nevada College
Revised January 2014
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USING IN-TEXT CITATIONS IN THE RESEARCH PAPER
In-text citations, are used instead of footnotes or endnotes in the MLA research paper. The purpose of the in-text citation is to
acknowledge the use of material from another source in the text of the research paper. When using material from another
source, briefly identify the source so that the reader can locate the full citation in the Works Cited list at the end of the research
paper. For more detailed information on in-text citations see the following Web sites:
MLA Style and Sample Research Paper: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch08_s1-0001.html
MLA Formatting and Style Guide: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
MLA Citation Examples: http://www.umuc.edu/library/guides/mla.shtml
PLACEMENT AND PUNCTUATION GUIDELINES
1. Keep the in-text as brief as possible. Do this by inserting the author's last name and a page number in parentheses after the
statement you are documenting:
"A large percentage of the suicides in this category are centered in the New York City area" (Hyde 126).
2. If you include the author's name in a sentence, you need only put the page number of the reference in the parentheses:
Hyde notes that "a large percentage of the suicides in this category are centered in the New York City area." (126).
3. If you are citing an entire work rather than a specific passage or section, omit any parenthetical reference and give the
author's last name in your sentence:
Throughout her book, Hyde argues that suicide among the young constitutes a national epidemic.
1.
2.
EXAMPLES OF IN-TEXT CITATIONS
A work by an author of two or more works, use author’s
last name, comma, short title and relevant page numbers: (Grossman, Aesthetics 5)
A work by an author with the same last name as another
author in your list of Works Cited
Supply first name: (James Brown 317)
3.
A work by more than one author
Two authors: (Hyde and Forsyth 47)
Three or more authors: (Quirk et al. 96)
4.
A multivolume work
Indicate volume used: (Laszlo 2: 787)
5.
A work with no author
Use shortened version of the title or whole title if it is short. If
you shorten the title, be sure to begin with the word by which
the source is alphabetized in the list of Works Cited:
(Americana 8:63)
6.
Corporate author or government agency
You may include the author and title, but it is often best to use
information as part of a sentence since the citation may be
long: (IBM Annual Report 1990: 6)
7.
Literary works
Because of differences in editions, use more than page
numbers to locate the passage cited. After the page number,
add a semi-colon and other appropriate information, such as
"ch." for chapter or "pt." for part: (Conrad 15; ch. 3)
8.
More than one work in a single parenthetical
reference
Use the normal pattern, but separate each citation with a semicolon: (Kabotis 214; Perkins 58)
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USEFUL WEB SITES FOR MLA STYLE CITATIONS
MLA Citation Examples. This site, from the University of Maryland, provides clear and concise guidelines
for citing sources in the MLA style. (http://www.umuc.edu/library/guides/mla.shtml)
MLA Citation Style. An excellent overview of the MLA citation style from Cornell University.
(http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/mla)
MLA Formatting and Style Guide. MLA citation style guidelines from the Online Writing Lab at Purdue
University. (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/)
MLA Style Citation Guide. A very useful guide to MLA style from the Seattle Central Community College
Library. (http://libguides.seattlecentral.edu/MLA)
MLA Style and Sample Research Paper. You can find examples of MLA in-text citations, information on
how to format a paper, and instructions on compiling a works cited list on this site. This page, from Diana
Hacker, also has a sample research paper written in the MLA style.
(http://dianahacker.com/resdoc/p04_c08_s5.html)
KnightCite Citation Service. A free citation composer from Calvin College. This site will help you compile
a citation list in APA, Chicago, or MLA styles. (http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/index.php)
BOOKS ON WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS USING MLA STYLE CITATIONS IN THE WNC LIBRARY
Ballenger, Bruce. The Curious Researcher. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2009. Print.
(LB2369 .B246)
Coyle, William and Joe Law. Research Papers. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2009. Print.
(LB2369 .C65)
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7TH ed. New York: Modern Language
Association of America, 2009. Print. (LB2369 .M53)
Hacker, Diana. The Bedford Handbook. Boston: Bedford-St. Martins, 2010. Print. (PE1408 .H277)
Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. Boston: Bedford-St. Martins, 2010. Print. (PE1408 .H2778)
Lester, James D., Sr., and James D. Lester, Jr. Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide.
New York: Pearson-Longman, 2010. Print. (LB2369 .L4)
Lunsgord, Andrea A. The Everyday Writer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. Print. (PE1408 .L86)
Reid, Stephen. Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.
(PE1408 .R424)
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SAMPLE MLA WORKS CITED PAGE (based on the 2009 MLA Handbook)
Jones 12
Margins should be 1” from all sides
(except name & page # header).
Works Cited
Your last name and page
number. ½ inch from top
margin.
Berlage, Gregory. Maya Architecture. Westport: Greenwood, 1995. Print.
Evans, Susan Toby. Ancient Mexico and Central America. London: Thames & Hudson, 2004. Print.
Fields, Helen. "When They Were Kings." U.S. News & World Report 17 May 2004: 74-76. Print.
Gorman, J. "The Original Cocoa Treat." Science News 162.2 (2002): 38-39. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 31 August 2010.
List database name, the word “Web,” & the date accessed.
Lucero, Lisa J. "Maya Political Science: Time, Astronomy and the Cosmos." Antiquity 80.307 (2006): 226227. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 August 2010.
Databases don’t require URLs anymore.
McKillop, Heather. Salt: White Gold of the Ancient Maya. Gainesville: U of Florida P, 2002. Print.
Milbrath, Susan. "Last Great Capital of the Maya." Archaeology 58.2 (2005): 26-29. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 31 August 2010.
Redfield, Robert. Folk Culture Yucatan. 1941. eHRAF Collection of Ethnography. Web. 30 Aug. 2010.
Sosa, John R. and Ian Skoggard. “Cultural Summary: Maya (Yucatan Peninsula).” Feb. 2000.
eHRAF Collection of Ethnography. Web. 29 Aug. 2010.
Wilford, John Noble. "In Guatemalan Jungles, a Bumper Crop of Maya Treasure." New York Times
11 May 2004: F3. Lexis Nexis. Web. 30 August 2010.
World of the Maya. Ed. James Lynn. 12 July 2006. Dept. of Anthropology, Rutgers U. Web.
30 Aug. 2010. <http://anthro.rutgers.edu/~jlynn>.
Zackowitz, Margaret G. "Royal City of the Maya." National Geographic Aug. 2003: 96-99. Print.
Indents should be ½
inch or 5 spaces
Web site URLs are not required unless the item is
difficult to find without one or your instructor
requires you to include the URL of the web site.
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