Creating a Works Cited List - MLA Style

Here are a few examples of citations drawn from our worksheets and materials. Remember that documentation "enables your readers to judge the quality and originality of your work and to determine how authoritative and relevant each work you cite is" (Kirzner 288). It also helps the reader locate your sources.

In general:
Each item has three divisions — author, title, publication information. A fourth division is included for publication information of electronic resources. A period and one space mark the separation between major divisions. Indent lines following the first line of an entry five spaces.

Bibliographies are arranged alphabetically by the author or editor's last name. In the case of unsigned articles, begin with the title.

For additional information, see The Brief Holt Handbook, 3rd edition. There is a Reserve copy available at the circulation desk. Also refer to the MLA Handbook (R LB2369 .G53 1999) in the Reference Collection

CITATIONS FOR BOOKS
A book by one author
Author Last Name, First Name. Title: Subtitle if Any. Place

of Publication: Publisher, Publication date.

Kirszner, Laurie G. Brief Holt Handbook. Fort Worth, TX:

Harcourt Brace, 1998.

A book by two or three authors
Author Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name.

Title. Place of Publication: Publisher, Publication date.

Breivik, Patricia Senn, and E. Gordon Gee. Information

Literacy: Revolution in the Classroom. New York:

American Council on Education/Macmillan, 1989.

An essay in a collection
Author of essay. "Title of essay." Title of Work Essay Is

Found In. Ed. Editor Last Name, First Name. Place of

Publication: Publisher, Publication Date.

Kaeppler, Adrienne L. "Polynesian Music and Dance." Musics

of Many Cultures: an Introduction. Ed. May, Elizabeth.

Berkeley: University of California, 1980.

Article in a reference book (signed or unsigned)
Article Author Last Name, First. "Title of Article." Title of

Reference Book. Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher,

Publication date.

Lee, Mildred. "Chinese-American Books for Children."

Children's Books and Their Creators. Boston: Houghton

Mifflin, 1995.

CITATIONS FOR ARTICLES
Article in a scholarly journal
Author Last Name, First. "Title of Article." Title of Journal

Volume (Year): pages.

Jackson, Lawrence P. "The Birth of the Critic: The Literary

Friendship of Ralph Ellison and Richard Wright." American

Literature 72.2 (2000): 321-355.

Article in a magazine (signed or unsigned)
Author Last Name, First. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine

Day Month Year: pages.

Zisow, Marcie A. "Teaching Style and Technology."

TechTrends May 2000: 36-38.

"Interpreting Iceberg Deposits in the Deep Sea." Science 6

Oct. 2000: 51-52.

Article in a newspaper (signed/unsigned)
Author Last Name, First. "Title of Article." Title of

Newspaper Day Month Year, ed.: page(s).

Martin, Richard. "Lessons of WTO Sought." Seattle Times 9

Dec. 2000, Weekend ed.: B3.

Videotape
Title of Video. Dir. First Name Last Name. Videocassette.

Producer of Video, Production date.

Anatomy of a Hostile Takeover. Dir. David Deutch.

Videocassette. Annenberg/CPB Project, 1989.

Article from a service to which a library subscribes
Author surname, Author First Name. "Article Title." Title of

Print Source date of original print: pages. Name of

database (if known). Name of the Service. Library

name and city. Date accessed. <URL of service's homepage>.

Rede, George. "The Next 500 Years." Oregonian 11 Oct.

1992: A1+. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source.

Peninsula College Lib., Port Angeles. 4 Jan. 2000.

<http://sks.sirs.com>.

World Wide Web site
(many possibilities exist for citing WWW sources; refer to MLA Handbook for more examples)
Author (if known). "Article Title." Website Name. Publication date.

Publisher. Date of access and <address>.

"Biography of Albert Camus." Nobel E-Museum. 16 June 2000.

Nobel Foundation. June 2000

<http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1957/camus-bio.html>.