MLA Work Cited Style Guide
General Format for Citing Books:
Barnard, Robert. Death by Sheer Torture. New York: Penguin, 1995.
Books with Different Editions:
Books with different editions can refer to a book that has been published more than once with subsequent editions. Books with editions can also be considered books prepared by an editor.
Format for books with subsequent editions:
Cohen, Martin. 101 Philosophy Problems. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2007 Format for books prepared by an editor: Twain, Mark. The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain now Collected for the First Time. Ed. Charles Neider. Garden City: Hanover House, 1957.
Work in an Anthology, Encyclopedia, Dictionary, or Reference Collection:
If the book is arranged alphabetically, then the page numbers do not have to be included. If you are citing a specific definition among several for the same word add the abbreviation Def., and the appropriate number and/or letter.
Routledge, Michael. “Songs.” The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades. Ed. Jonathen Riley-Smith. New York: Oxford UP, 1995. 91-111. “Butterfly Effect.” Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Allusions. 1999.
Citing a Multivolume Work
When citing a single volume of a multivolume work, include the volume number. When citing multiple volumes of a multivolume work, cite the total number of volumes in the work. If the volumes were published over a period of years give the range of dates at the end of the year. If the volumes are still being published write to date after the volume.
Citing a Single Volume in a Multivolume Work:
Magill, Frank N., ed. Salem, 1987. Critical Survey of Literary Theory. Vol. 2 Pasadena:
Citing a More than One Volume in a Multivolume Work:
Magill, Frank N., ed. Salem, 1987. Critical Survey of Literary Theory. vols. 4 Pasadena:
Citing Magazines and Newspapers in Print Format:
Weinberger, Sharon. “No Place to Hide.” Discover. August 2008: 30-37. Kates, William. “Sunk in 1780, Found at Long Last.” The Virginian-Pilot. 14 June 2008: 3.
Last Updated: 7/16/2008
Citing Magazines and Newspapers in Electronic Format:
Robinson, David. “Networking in the Pews.” Time. July 2002. Academic Search Premier. Chowan U Lib., Murfreesboro, NC. 9 July 2008.
Citing Scholarly Journals in Print Format:
Mercer, Valerie J. “In the Care of the Colossus.” The International Review of African American Art 21.4 (2008): 15-21.
Citing Scholarly Journals in Electronic Format:
Myrsiades, Kostas. “Reading the Gunfighter as Homeric Epic.” College Literature 34.2 (2007): 279-300. MLA International Bibliography. Chowan U Lib., Murfreesboro, NC. 9 July 2008.
General Format for an Entire Web Site:
Poets.org. 2008. Academy of American Poets. 10 July 2008. .
Government Document:
United States. Government Accountability Office. Decision: Matter of the Boeing Company. Washington: GPO, 2008. 10 July 2008.
Need to learn more about citing in MLA?
Use these sources:
Gibaldi, Josesph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: MLA, 2003. ---. MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. 3rd ed. New York: MLA, 2008. For citing electronic sources use: Modern Language Association. How do I document sources from the Web in the
works-cited list for my research paper? 29 April 2008. 8 July 2008 .
For citing legal resources use:
Harvard Law Review Association. The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. 18th ed. Cambridge: Harvard Law Rev. Assn., 2005.
Last Updated: 7/16/2008