Citing your sources is an important habit to develop as a scholar. It allows you to properly join a scholarly conversation and the scholarship of a field at large. On this page, you can find examples of in-text citations as well as reference entries for electronic, non-print, and print materials in MLA.
The following are examples from Purdue Owl that show different ways you can format your in-text citations:
Author’s name in text (page number):
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).
Author’s name in reference (page number):
Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
No known author:
We see so many global warming hotspots in North America likely because this region has "more readily accessible climatic data and more comprehensive programs to monitor and study environmental change . . ." ("Impact of Global Warming").
Note: Use an abbreviated version of the title of the page in quotation marks to substitute for the name of the author
Citing authors with same last names, provide the first initial:
Although some medical ethicists claim that cloning will lead to designer children (R. Miller 12), others note that the advantages for medical research outweigh this consideration (A. Miller 46).
Work by Two Authors:
The authors claim that surface reading looks at what is “evident, perceptible, apprehensible in texts” (Best and Marcus 9).
Work by Three or More Authors:
According to Franck et al., “Current agricultural policies in the U.S. are contributing to the poor health of Americans” (327).
Two Works by the Same Author:
Lightenor has argued that computers are not useful tools for small children ("Too Soon" 38), though he has acknowledged elsewhere that early exposure to computer games does lead to better small motor skill development in a child's second and third year ("Hand-Eye Development" 17).
Electronic Source:
One online film critic stated that Fitzcarraldo "has become notorious for its near-failure and many obstacles" (Taylor, “Fitzcarraldo”).
Indirect Quotation:
Ravitch argues that high schools are pressured to act as "social service centers, and they don't do that well" (qtd. in Weisman 259).
| Electronic Source Type | Example | MLA edition |
|---|---|---|
|
Online book |
Ambler, Tim, and Morgen Witzel. Doing Business in China: Getting Ready for the Asian Century. Routledge, 2000. ProQuest ebrary. Accessed 24 Aug. 2016. |
8th |
|
Magazine article from an Online Database |
Kluger, Jeffrey. “Light Elements: Dr. Sigmund Doolittle.” Discover, vol. 17, no. 2, Feb. 1996, pp. 84-87. ProQuest Central. Accessed 10 Aug. 2016. |
8th |
|
Journal article from an Online Database |
Thompson, Michael D., and Robert O. Riggs. “Institutional Expenditure Patterns and the Facilitation of Mission.” Community College Review, vol. 27, no. 4, Spring 2000, pp. 1-15. Academic Search Complete. Accessed 12 Feb. 2009. |
8th |
|
Newspaper article from an Online Database |
Hook, Janet. "Election 2016: Candidate Takes New Tack on Immigrants." Wall Street Journal, Eastern Edition, 24 August 2016, p. A4. ProQuest Newstream. Accessed 26 August 2016. |
8th |
| Encyclopedia article or work in anthology from a subscription service |
Howard, Lillie. “Zora Neale Hurston.” Dictionary of Literary Biography: Afro-American Writers from the Harlem Renaissance to 1940, edited by Trudier Harris, Gale, 1987. Literature Resource Center. 26 January 2009. |
8th |
| Website |
Bio. A&E Television Networks, http://www.biography.com/. Accessed 10 Apr. 2009. |
8th |
| Article on website |
Musinsky, Gerald. “Animal Spirits.” Encyclopedia Mythica, http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/animal_spirits.html. Accessed 18 Mar. 2009. |
8th |
| Book Type | Example | MLA edition |
|---|---|---|
|
One author |
Fairbanks, Carol. Prairie Women: Images in American and Canadian Fiction. Yale UP, 1986. |
8th |
|
Two authors |
Davidson, William R. and Daniel J. Sweeney. Retailing Management. 6th ed., Wiley, 1988. |
8th |
|
Three or more authors |
Gilman, Sander, et al. Hysteria Beyond Freud. U of California P, 1993. |
8th |
|
Anonymous book |
New York Public Library American History Desk Reference. Macmillan, 1997. |
8th |
| Anthology or compilation |
Feldman, Paula R., editor. British Women Poets of the Romantic Era. Johns Hopkins UP, 1997. |
8th |
| Work in an anthology |
Shutte, Nancy, and Laura Tangley. "Problem Drinkers Can Learn Moderation." Addiction: Opposing Viewpoints. Edited by Jennifer A. Hurley. Greenhaven, 2000, pp. 93-100. |
8th |
| Article Type | Examples | Notes | MLA edition |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Magazine articles |
Mathews, Jay. "How to Build a Better High School." Newsweek, 16 May 2005, pp. 52-57. Wright, Karen. "The First Earthlings." Discover, Mar. 2003, pp. 24-25. |
Abbreviate all months except May, June and July. The first article example is from a weekly magazine; the second is from a monthly magazine. |
8th |
|
Journal article |
Cnattingius, Sven, et al. "Pregnancy Characteristics and Maternal Risk of Breast Cancer." JAMA, vol. 294, no.19, 2005, pp. 2474-2480. Albada, Kelly Fudge. "The Public and Private Dialogue about the American Family on Television." Journal of Communication, vol. 50, no. 4, 2000, pp. 79-110. |
There is no distinction made between journals with continuous paging and those with issues paged separately. | 8th |
|
Encyclopedia article |
"Civil Disobedience." The Encyclopedia Americana. 2004 ed. Print. Mohanty, Jitendra N. "Indian Philosophy." The New Encyclopedia Britannica: Macropaedia. 15th ed., 1998. |
Do not cite the editor of the encyclopedia. | 8th |
|
Newspaper article |
Harris, Nicole. “Airports in the Throes of Change.” Wall Street Journal, 27 Mar. 2002, p. B1+. “Elections Could Change the Game for Contractors.” Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2008, p. D2. |
8th |
| Nonprint Source Type | Example | MLA edition |
|---|---|---|
|
Personal Interview |
Prince, Linda. Personal interview. 24 Dec. 2005. |
8th |
|
Tweet |
@Belk Library. "Welcome (and welcome back) students! The library is ready to make your fall semester studious and productive!" Twitter, 16 Aug. 2016, 9:47 a.m., |
8th |
|
YouTube Video |
McGonigal, Jane. "Gaming and Productivity." YouTube, uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdzy9bWW3E. |
8th |