Models for an MLA Style
Works Cited Page

Writers of research papers should always use personal insights, judgments, and experiences as elements of their work, but documented external data (facts or opinions attested to by an authority or other useful source) establish the researcher's credibility, demonstrate scholarly exploration of the topic, and increase the researcher's knowledge in the field. The following are some models of how sources of evidence must appear on the works cited page at the end of a paper in the Modern Language Association (MLA) format. For each entry, follow the punctuation style and spacing exactly. However, if some of your sources do not fall into the following categories exactly, you will need to refer to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or seek an instructor's assistance.

A Note about Format: The works cited page should be double spaced, and the first line of each entry should begin on the left margin, with all other lines of the entry indented one half inch. This is called a "hanging indent." If the following samples are not displayed correctly in your browser, refer to the Writing Center's Term Paper Handbook for MLA Format in PDF format.

Citing a Book:

Author's last name, first name. Title of Book. City of publication (If several cities are listed, give only the first. For cities outside the U.S., add an abbreviation of the country): Publisher (shorten the publisher's name), year of publication.

Examples:

Jung, Carl G. Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Sky. New York: Harcourt, 1969.

Note: When there is more than one author, use the normal name order for all authors except the first.

Frew, Robert, Richard Guches, and Robert Mehaffy. Survival: A Sequential Program for College Writing. 5th ed. Palo Alto: Peek, 1995.

Citing One Chapter, Story or Essay in a Book:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Title of Book. Editor's first and last name. Edition. City of publication: Publisher, year of publication. page numbers.

Example:

Faulkner, William. "A Rose for Emily." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 8th ed. New York: Longman, 2002. 28-35.

Citing an Article in a Familiar Reference Book:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Title of Reference Book. Edition or year of publication followed by the abbreviation ed.

Examples:

Hall, Calvin S. "Dreams." Encyclopedia Americana. 1985 ed.

Note: When no author is listed, begin the entry with the title of the article, and use the title in the parenthetical citation as well so that it will match the works cited entry.

"Freud, Sigmund." Encyclopedia Britannica. 1991 ed.

Citing an Article in a Magazine:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine date: page numbers.

Examples:

Harary, K. "Language of the Night." Omni Sept. 1993: 46-7+.

Note: A plus (+) sign after the page number(s) indicates that the article continues on non-consecutive pages. When citing a weekly magazine, include the day in the date.

Smith, John K. "Food for Thought." Time 24 Aug. 2001: 46.

Citing an Article in a Scholarly Journal:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal volume.issue number (year): pages.

Example:

Marshall, Brigitte. "Reexamining the Role of Adult Educators." The CATESOL Journal 9.2 (1996): 127-132.

Note: If page numbering continues from one issue to the next throughout the year, omit the issue number.

Citing an Article in a Daily Newspaper:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper date: section and page.

Example:

Doe, John C. "Hot Fiction Blazes." Davis Enterprise 9 Aug. 1949: A5.

Citing a Pamphlet:

Note: Treat a pamphlet as if it were a book. An organization or corporation may be listed as the author. Use these abbreviations for unknown information: n.p. for both "no place" and "no publisher," and n.d. for "no date."

Example:

Williams, Stephen K. The Jungian-Senoi Institute of Berkeley. Berkeley: n.p., 1979.

Citing an Interview:

Last name, first name (of the interviewee). Personal or telephone interview. Date of interview.

Example:

Ramirez, Kevin. Personal interview. 10 Sept. 1994.

Citing a Lecture:

Speaker's last name, first name. "Title" or Description. Sponsoring Organization. Location. Date.

Example:

DeFoe, Daniel. Class Lecture. Sierra College, Rocklin. 5 Nov. 2001.

Citing an Article from an Online Service (e.g. EBSCOhost):

Note: The Sierra College library subscribes to databases provided by online services such as EBSCOhost, ProQuest, SIRS, NewsBank, InfoTrac, and the Gale Group. If you use an article that you have found on one of these services, you must cite its original publication information, the online service, and the library where you accessed the service.

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical. Publication information for the printed source (including date of publication and pages or length,if given). Name of Database. Name of Service. Name of library, City. Date of access <Internet address of service>.

Example:

Kennedy, Randy. "A Plethora of Pollen." New York Times 5 June 1999: B1. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCOhost. Sierra Coll. Lib., Rocklin. 5 Jan. 2000 <http://www.ebnet.com/ehost>.

Citing an Article in a Periodical on the Internet:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of the Article." Title of the Periodical. Publication information for the printed source (including date of publication and pages or length, if given). Date of access <Internet address of the article>.

Example:

Perlman, David. "Warning on Impact of Global Warming." San Francisco Chronicle 29 Jan. 1999: A3. 30 Aug. 1999 <http://www.sfgate.com/ cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/01/29/ MN8847.DTL>.

Citing a Source from an Internet Site:

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Document." Title of Site. Copyright date or last update. Name of the organization. Date of access <internet address>.

Examples:

Note: When citing an entire Internet site, include as much of the above information as is available.

Cosumnes River Preserve. 13 Sept. 2000. The Nature Conservancy of California. 7 Nov. 2000 <http://www.cosumnes.org>.

Note: If you are citing a document that is part of an Internet site, include the author, if given, and the title of the document in quotation marks.

Duncan, Emma. "Conflict Resolution Can Help Save Tigers." WWF Global Network. 1 May 2002. World Wildlife Federation. 28 May 2002. <http://www.panda.org/news/features/story.cfm?id=2892>.

Citing an Article from a Periodical Database on CD-ROM:

Note: The New York Times on Disc database in the Sierra College Library is on CD-ROM.

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical. Publication information for the printed source (including date of publication and pages or length, if given). Title of Database. The word CD-ROM. Publishing Company's name, if relevant. Electronic publication date.

Example:

Goode, Erica. "Human Nature: Born or Made?" The New York Times 14 Mar. 2000: F1. New York Times Ondisc. CD-ROM. ProQuest UMI, 1998.

Citing a Non-Periodical CD-ROM:

Note: A number of encyclopedias and other reference books are published on CD-ROM, including The American Indian Multimedia Encyclopedia and The World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia, available in the Sierra College Library.

Author's last name, first name. "Title of Article." Title of CD-ROM. The word CD-ROM. Edition, release, or version, if relevant. Place of Publication: Publisher, date of publication.

Example:

Parker, George R. "Forestry." The World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Chicago: World Book, 1996.

Citing a Video:

Title of Video. Director. Performers, writers and producers (optional). Original release date, if relevant. The word Videocassette. Distributor, year.

Example:

The Trial. Dir. Orsen Wells. Perfs. Anthony Perkins and Romy Schneider. 1963. Videocassette. Madacy Music Group, 1994.

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