MLA Style Guide, 6th Edition

Introduction

When writing a research paper you must cite all sources of information. Using the work of others without giving credit to your source is considered plagiarism.

Verify with your instructors their preferred citation style and edition before beginning your assignment.

This MLA tip sheet is meant as an introductory guide only. For more detailed information please refer to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed., which can be found in the Library's Reference or Circulating collections at 808.027 G437M or consult one of these resources:


Citations and Quotations
Parenthetical References
Short Quotations
Longer Quotations

Works Cited
General Information
Print and Video Examples
Electronic Publications Examples

Parenthetical References

Use brief references in parentheses within the research paper to indicate where certain ideas or words were derived. This citation should include the author's last name and the page number of the reference. The complete citation is then found on the Works Cited page at the end of the paper.

Examples:

Documentation of every information source is a matter of ethics, efficiency and authority (Lannon, 191).

Note: If the citation is at the end of the sentence, it comes before the closing punctuation.

Or

As Lannon (191) states, documentation of every information source is a matter of ethics, efficiency and authority.

Note: If the author's name is used in the sentence, the page number is all that is needed in the citation.

Short Quotations

If a quotation is less than four lines you may include it in the text, enclosed in quotation marks. A citation giving the author and page number is then given within the sentence, or in parentheses at the end of the sentence before the closing punctuation.

Examples:

As Lunsford and Connors suggest, source material should be used sparingly so that your writing does not become “a patchwork of quotations, paraphrases and summaries from other people” (593).

Or

Source material should be used sparingly so that your writing does not become a “patchwork of quotations, paraphrases and summaries from other people” (Lunsford and Connors, 593).

Longer Quotations

If the quotation you wish to use is over four lines, present it as a block of text, without quotation marks, double spaced, with each line indented approximately 1 inch from the left margin. Do not further indent the first line of the quotation. Place the citation after the closing punctuation.

Example:

As Lunsford and Connors state:

Exactly how much you should use sources in an essay has to depend on your purpose, your audience, and the section of the essay. In general, however, your essay should not give the impression of being a patchwork of quotations, paraphrases, and summaries from other people. If it does you will have merely accumulated data; you won’t have actually presented information in your own way. (593)

Works Cited

General Information

  • The Works Cited list is the last page of the research paper and should include citations to every source of information used in the paper.
  • The title Works Cited should be centered one inch from the top of the page.
  • Use double spacing with the first line of each entry at the left margin and subsequent lines with a hanging indent of ½ inch.
  • Arrange the list alphabetically by author's last name or title (ignoring A, An and The) if there is no known author.
  • The author's name is reversed for alphabetization (last name, comma, first name).
  • For multiple authors, only the first name is in reverse order. Each subsequent name is in natural order, placing “and” before the last author.
  • List each of up to three authors. For more than three, give the first author's name, followed by the abbreviation et al.
  • For a book with an editor, use the editor's name in place of the author's name with the abbreviation ed. after the editor's name.
  • Capitalize the first and last words of the title and subtitle and all principal words.
  • Underline titles of books and journals.
  • Use quotation marks around article titles.
  • For publishing information, give the city of publication first followed by a colon, the publisher's name and year of publication. Give a brief version of the publisher's name (e.g. Erlbaum rather than Lawrence Erlbaum Associates).
  • Each element (author, title and publication information) is separated by a period.

Print and Video Sources

Examples:

Book with one author:

Ryan, Michael. Writing for Print and Digital Media. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2005.

Book with two or three authors:

Neville, Tina M., Deborah B. Henry and Bruce C. Neville. Science and Technology Research: Writing Strategies for Students. Lanham: Scarecrow Press, 2002.

Note: Only the first author's name is inverted.

Book with more than three authors:

Boyne, Martin, et al. Thinking It Through: A Practical Guide to Academic Essay Writing. Peterborough, ON: Academic Skills Centre, Trent University, 2005.

Note: If more than three authors are given, use the abbreviation et al. after the first author.

Book with an editor:

Whitaker, Jerry C., ed. The Electronics Handbook. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2005.

Book with a group author:

Culinary Institute of America. At Your Service: A Hands-On Guide to the Professional Dining Room. Hoboken: Wiley, 2005.

Book with an edition statement:

Buckley, Joanne. Fit to Print: The Canadian Student's Guide to Essay Writing. 4th ed. Toronto, ON: Harcourt, 1998.

Ellis, Elmo Israel. Opportunities in Broadcasting Careers. Rev. ed. Chicago: VGM Books, 2005.

Note: If the edition is specified on the title page by number (2nd ed., 3rd ed., 4th ed.) or other words such as Revised, Abridged or Canadian ed., this information must be included in the citation. Use the abbreviations Rev. ed. for Revised edition or Abr. ed. for Abridged edition.

Two or more books by the same author:

Lannon, John, M. Technical Writing. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1997.

---. Writing Process: A Concise Rhetoric. 6th ed. New York: Longman, 1998.

Note: The entries are arranged alphabetically by title. In the second citation the placement of three hyphens and a period (---.) indicates this source is by the same author as the one above.

Article in a journal with continuous paging:

Hirst, Russel. “Herbert Spencer's Philosophy of Style: Conserving Mental Energy.” Journal of Professional Writing and Communication. 34 (2004): 265-90.

Note: If the journals are paged continuously throughout each volume year do not include an issue number, month or season. End the citation with the volume number, year in parentheses, a colon and the inclusive page numbers.

Article in a journal with each issue paged separately:

Langley, Diane. “Educating the Next Generation of Engineers.” Journal of Petroleum Technology. 57.2 (2005): 44-49.

Note: If each issue begins with page 1, include the issue number following the volume number, separated by a period with no intervening spaces.

Article in a newspaper:

Tetley, Deborah. “Thousands Still Homeless in Alberta.” Calgary Herald. 21 June 2002: A2.

Note: When giving dates, abbreviate all months except May, June and July.

Videotape:

Back from Madness: The Struggle for Sanity. Dir. Kenneth P. Rosenberg. Videocassette. Home Box Office, 1996.

Note: Other pertinent information such as writers or performers may be included between the title and distributor.

Electronic Publications

Because of the changeable nature of information on the Internet, you must give very detailed citations to online sources, keeping in mind the goal is for your reader to be able to find your source if necessary. If you do not have all the required information, cite what is available. Please see Chapter 5 of the MLA Handbook (6th ed) for the full instructions on the various elements of a citation to an electronic publication.

Examples:

Web Site:

WestJet Company Info – History. 2006. 12 Apr 2006 <http://www.westjet.com>.

Note: If the URL of the exact page you want to cite is very long and complex it is preferable to give the URL of the site's search page. Do not allow your word processing program to break a URL at any point other than after a slash. April 12, 2006 is the date the material was viewed online.

Online book from a subscription service:

Cleland, Jane. Business Writing for Best Results: How to Create a Sense of Urgency and Increase Response to all your Business Communications. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. ebrary. Sait Lib. Calgary, AB. 23 June 2005 <http://www.ebrary.com>.

Note: For an online book or article accessed through one of the library's subscription databases, give the information about the print publication first, followed by the details of the electronic publication: name of the database (underlined), name of the service (if known), name of the library (with city and province), date of access, and URL. Because of the length of the URL in this case, it is permissible to simply give the address of the database's home page.

Article in a journal from a subscription service:

LaRocque, Paula. “Writing-wise it's Best to Avoid Clumsy Suffixes and Prefixes.” The Quill. 93.4 (2005):38. ABI/INFORM Global. ProQuest. SAIT Lib. Calgary, AB. 23 June 2005 <http://proquest.umi.com>.

Note: For an online book or article accessed through one of the library's subscription databases, give the information about the print publication first, followed by the details of the electronic publication: name of the database (underlined), name of the service (if known), name of the library (with city and province), date of access, and URL. Because of the length of the URL in this case, it is permissible to simply give the address of the database's home page.

Article in an online journal:

Beall, Jeffrey. “Metadata and Data Quality Problems in the Digital Library.” Journal of Digital Information 6.3 (2005). 2 May 2006 <http://jodi.tamu.edu/Articles/v06/i03/Beall/Beall.pdf>.


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