MLA Works Cited Format

Format Rules –
1. Center the words Works Cited at the top of the page.
2. Double space throughout.
3. Begin each entry at the left margin (1 inch); indent each subsequent line five spaces.
4. Arrange all entries in alphabetical order by author’s last name; if no author is given, alphabetize by title. Do not use articles (a, an, the) to alphabetize.
5. End all entries with a period.
6. Correct punctuation adds clarity and meaning to a citation.

Print Sources
Book with One Author
Last Name, First Name Middle Initial. Title of Book. City of publication: Publisher's name, YYYY. Medium of Publication.

Example:
Clue, Cynthia L. Emotional Intelligence: A New Guide. New York: Bantam, 1999. Print.

Book with Two or More Authors

Last Name, First Name Middle Initial, and First Name Last Name. Title of book. City of publication: Publisher’s name, YYYY.
Medium of Publication.

Example:
London, Patricia L., and Fredrick King. Taking a Stand. New York: Franklin Watts, 2003. Print.

**For works with four or more authors, either name them all or name the first author and then add “et al.”

Editor (No Author)

Last name of Editor, First, ed. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, YYYY. Medium of Publication.

Example:
Warton, Henry, ed. Over the Hill. Boston: Chelsea House, 2008. Print.

Book in a Series
Last name, first name. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, YYYY. Medium of Publication. Name of the Series and series
number (if applicable).

Example:
Murck, Alfreda. Poetry and Painting in Song China: The Subtle Art of Dissent. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2000. Print. Harvard-

Yenching Inst. Mongograph Ser. 50.

Anthology (a collection of works)

Last name, Fist name of the author of the section (not the name of the editor). “Title of Section.” Title of the Anthology. Name of the
Editor proceeded by Ed. City of Publication: Publisher, YYYY. Pages for that specific section only. Medium of Publication.

Example:
Blue, Sally. “Skies.” The Complete Book of Sky Riddles. Ed. Albert Johnson. Philadelphia: Tree Tops, 2008. 125-152. Print.

Multivolume Work: Using more than 1 volume from the set.

(Specific references to volume and page numbers (3:212-13) belong in the text.)

Last name, first Name, ed. Title of Volume. Total number of volumes in the work. City of Publication: Publisher, YYYY. Medium of
Publication.
*If the volumes were published over a period of years, give the inclusive dates at the end of the citation (1982-99). If the work
is still in progress, write "to date" after the number of volumes, and leave a space after the hyphen that follows the beginning
date (1982- ).*

Example:
Conaway, Jill ed. Novels for Students. 16 vols. to date. Detroit: Thomson/Gale, 1997- . Print.
Multivolume Work: Using only 1 volume with only an editor.
(ONLY give publication information for the volume you are using, not all volumes.)

Last name, First name, ed. "Tile of Section if applicable." Title of Volume. The edition if applicable. The volume you used. City of
Publication: Publisher, YYYY. Pages for that specific section only. Medium of Publication.

Example:
Brown, David, ed. "To Kill a Mockingbird." Novels for Students. 5th ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Thompson, 2008. 125-132. Print.

Multivolume Work: Using only 1 volume with an author and an editor.

(ONLY give publication information for the volume you are using, not all volumes.)

Last name, First name of author for the section. "Tile of Section." Title of Volume. Editor proceeded by Ed . The edition if
applicable. The volume you used. City of Publication: Publisher, YYYY. Pages for that specific section only. Medium of
Publication.

Example:
Smith, Joseph. "To Kill a Mockingbird." Novels for Students. Ed. Jill Conaway. 5th ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Thompson, 2008. 125-132.

Print.

Reference Book: (Encyclopedia/Dictionary)

Treat an encyclopedia article or dictionary entry as you would an anthology. If the article is signed give the author's name first. If the
article is unsigned, give the title first.

**When citing widely used reference books, especially those that frequently appear in new editions, DO NOT give full publication
information. For such works, list only the edition (if stated), the year of publication, and the medium of publication consulted.

Example:
"Azimuthal Equidistant Projection." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed. 2003. Print.

**When citing specialized reference works, give full publication information, omitting inclusive page numbers for the article if the
dictionary or encyclopedia is arranged alphabetically.

Example:
Allen, Anita L. "Privacy in Health Care." Encyclopedia of Bioethics. Ed. Stephen G. Post. 3rd ed. Vol. 4. New York: Macmillan-

Thompson, 2004. Print.

Scholarly Journal:
Last name, first name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal Volume number. Issue number (Date of Publication): Pages for that specific
section only (see note on rules page). Medium of Publication.

Example:
Williams, Linda. "Of Kisses and Ellipses: The Long Adolescence of American Movies." Critical Inquiry 32.2 (2006): 288-240. Print.

**Omit any article in the title of the journal. For example, The New York Times would be cited as New York Times.**

Newspaper Article:
Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Name of Newspaper DD Mo. YYYY, ed.: page(s). Medium of Publication

or (if there is no edition on the masthead)

Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Name of Newspaper DD Mo. YYYY: page(s). Medium of Publication.

Example:
Late, John Q. "Education in the World Today." New York Times 12 Dec.1997, natl. ed.: A1+. Print.

**If the article is not on consecutive pages, please list the first page followed by a + sign.**
**If the city of publication is not included in the name of a locally published newspaper, add the city in square brackets, not
italicized, after the name (e.g. Star-Ledger [Newark]). For nationally published newspapers do not add the city.**

Magazine Article:
Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Name of magazine DD Mo. YYYY: Pages. Medium of Publication.

Example:
Egnot, Debbie. "E-Mail Messages of Hope." Technology Connection Sept. 2000: 23-25. Print.

Web Sources
Nonperiodical Publications on the Web:
A work cited only on the web, usually contains most of the following components, in sequence:
1. Name of the author, compiler, director, editor, narrator, performer, or translator for the work.
2. Title of the work (italicized if the work is independent; in quotation marks if the work is part of a larger work).
3.Title of the overall Web site (italicized), if distinct from item 2.
4. Version or edition used
5. Publisher or sponsor of the site; if not available use N. p.
6. Date of publication (day month year, as available); if nothing is available use n.d.
7. Medium of Publication (Web).
8. Date of access (day month year)

Example:
Green, Joshua. "The Rove Presidency." The Atlantic.com. Atlantic Monthly Group, Sept. 2007. Web. 15 May 2008.

A Work on the Web Cited with Print Publication Data (Online Databases): AKA GALE
If the work you are citing also appeared in print, include the bibliographic data for the print publication with the exception of the
medium of publication. After the bibliographic data, minus medium of publication, include the following:
1. Title of the database or Web site (italicized)
2. Medium of publication consulted (Web)
3. Date of access (day month year)

Example from web( not online database):

Bierce, Ambrose. "Academy." The Devil's Dictionary: The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce. Vol.7. New York: Neale, 1911. N.

pag. The Ambrose Bierce Project. Web. 15 May 2008.

Example from online database:

Abeling, Ryan. "ReQuest Reveals Its IQ." Residential System 7.11 (1 Nov. 2006): 38. General OneFile. Web. 29 June 2009.

Other Sources
Interview Conducted by You
Name of the person you interviewed. Type of Interview (Personal or phone). Date conducted.

Example for interview:

Smith, Rebecca. Personal interview. 4 Sept. 2004.

E-Mail Message:
Name of the writer. "Title of the message, taken from the subject line." Description of the message that includes the recipient. Date of
the message. Medium of delivery.

Example for email:

Fields, Cynthia. "Senior Project." Message to Kelly Smith. 4 Sept. 1997. Email.
 What if...
1. I have two works by the same author?
a. In your works cited page give the author's name in the first entry only. Thereafter, in place of the name, type three
hyphens, followed by a period and the title.

Example:
Tannen, Deborah. Talking Voices: Repetition, Dialogue, and Imagery in Conversational Discourse.2nd ed. New York:

Cambridge UP, 2007. Print

---. You’re Wearing That? Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation. New York: Ballatine-Random, 2006.

Print.

b. In your paper in the parenthetical citation, put a comma after the author's last and a brief version of the title for the
work (Smith, Seeing Green 85).

2. I found the same information in more than one of my sources?

If you wish to include two or more works in a single parenthetical citation, cite each work and use a semicolon to separate
the citations (Green 86; Hill 75).

3. My source does not have a page number?

a. On your works cited page use the appropriate abbreviation to indicate no page number given (n. pag).
b. In the paper you may omit the use of a page number if your source does not have one.

4. My source does not have an author or editor?

In the parenthetical citation, simply provide a shorten version of the title, beginning with the first word of the title.
Remember to include the quotation marks or italics ("Snowy River").

5. I have a direct quotation that is more than four typed lines?

a. Use a complete sentence, including relevant bibliographical information, to introduce the long direct quotation followed by
a colon.
b. Starting on a new line indent 1 inch (two tabs) and start typing the long quotation. All lines should be indented 1 inch
from the left margin.
c. DO NOT USE QUOTATION MARKS.
d. At the end of the long quotation, place the appropriate punctuation, usually a period.
e. After the period, insert any needed parenthetical information, like the page number.
f. After the long quotation, return to the left margin to begin your analysis of the importance of the quotation.

Example:
At the conclusion of Lord of the Flies, Ralph and the other boys realize the horror of their actions:

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great,

shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wretch his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the

burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (186)