MLA Format

Proper technique depends on the type of source you are citing. Below are instructions for the most common:

Books | Internet Sites | Magazine or Journal Articles | Encyclopedia Articles

Books

The basic entry for a book by a single author is ordered and punctuated as follows:

1. Author’s Name. [last name comma first name period]
   (Note: If there is more than one author, see the special case below.)
2. Title of the Book. [italicized and followed by a period]
   (Note: Do not underline the period.)
3. The city of publication: [followed by a colon : ]
   (Note: If multiple cities are listed, then cite only the first city.)
4. The publisher’s name, [followed by a comma]
5. Year of publication. [followed by a period]

Special case: A book by two or more authors
To cite a book by two or three authors, give their names in the same order as on the title page—not necessarily in alphabetical order. Reverse only the name of the first author, add a comma, and give the other names in normal form.

Special case: A book that has been translated from another language
After the title and before the publication data, insert the abbreviation Trans. followed by the translator’s name (first then last) and ending with a period.

Internet Sites

The basic entry for an Internet site is ordered and punctuated as follows:

1. Author’s Name. [last name comma first name period]
2. “Title of the Document.” [ending with a period and enclosed in quotation marks (Note that the period always goes inside the quotation marks.)]
3. Title of the Site. [italicized and followed by a period]
4. The date of electronic publication or the latest update. [followed by period (look for copyright date)]
5. The name of any institution or organization that publishes the site. [followed by period]
   (Note: Look for contact information, or check the About Us page.)
6. Date that you viewed the site [date month year with no comma between date and month; no period between date viewed and URL address]
7. URL address. [Enclosed in <angle brackets> and ending with a period]

If one of the above items can’t be found, such as the author, then leave that item out and include the rest in the proper order.

Note: Word processing programs will often underline and change the font color of URL addresses automatically. Figure out how to turn this feature off.

Magazine or Journal Articles

The basic entry for a magazine or journal article is ordered and punctuated as follows:

1. Author’s Name. [last name comma first name period]
   (Note: If there is more than one author, follow the format as detailed above for books.)
2. “Title of the Article.” [ending with a period and enclosed in quotation marks (Note that the period always goes inside the quotation marks.)]
3. Title of the Journal or Magazine [underlined]
4. The date published: [month year (or date month year if the magazine is published more often than once per month), followed by a colon : ]
5. The page numbers of the article. [followed by period]

Encyclopedia or Reference Book Articles

In general, encyclopedias and reference books do not credit authors for individual articles, so the entry begins with the article title. Of course, if an author is cited, then you should cite it too. The basic entry for an encyclopedia article is ordered and punctuated as follows:

1. Author’s Name. [last name comma first name period]
   Most encyclopedias don’t cite authors, so you would skip this.)
2. “Title of the Encyclopedia or Reference Article.” [ending with a period and enclosed in quotation marks (Note that the period always goes inside the quotation marks.)]
3. Title of the Encyclopedia or Reference Book. [italicized and followed by a period]
4. The number of the edition. [abbreviate edition with ed.]
5. The year of publication. [followed by period]

Posted by Justin Wells : 10/02/2007