MLA Format
This guide is intended as a quick reference to citing in a Works Cited list some of the most common types of materials
in the Modern Language Association format for research papers. For citations in the text, you should consult the MLA Handbook
for Writers of Research Papers (LB2369 .G53 2009, Watson and Anschutz Reference Desks) directly.
Check with your instructor to learn more about the citation style required for the course/discipline.
Book by a single author:
Bernstein, Theodore M. The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage. New York: Athenaeum, 1965. Print.
Book by two authors:
Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan, 1979. Print.
Edited book:
Gibbs, Jewelle Taylor, and Larke Namhe Huang, eds. Children of Color: Psychological Interventions with Minority Youth. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991. Print.
Anonymous book:
Encylopedia of Photography. New York: Crown, 1984. Print.
Multivolume edited work:
Koch, Sigmund, ed. Psychology: A Study of Science. 6 vols. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1959-63. Print.
Work in an anthology:
Allende, Isabel. "Toad's Mouth." Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. A Hammock Beneath the Mangoes: Stories from Latin America. Ed. Thomas Colchie. New York: Plume, 1992. 83-88. Print.
An edition (of a work previously prepared for publication by another author):
Twain, Mark. Roughing It. Ed. Harriet E. Smith and Edgar M. Branch. Berkeley: U. of California P, 1993. Print.
Journal article:
Craner, Paul M. "New Tool for an Ancient Art: The Computer and Music."Computers and the Humanities 25 (1991): 303-13. Print.
Magazine article:
Posner, Michael I. "Seeing the Mind." Science 29 Oct. 1993: 673-74. Print.
Newspaper article, no author:
"New Drug Appears to Sharply Cut Risk of Death from Heart Failure."Washington Post 15 July 1993: A12. Print.
Article in a reference book:
Brakeley, Theresa C. "Mourning Songs." Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend. Ed. Maria Leach and Jerome Fried. Vol. 2. New York: Crowell, 1950. Print.
NOTE: for familiar reference works give only edition and year of publication, not full publication informationWorld Wide Web site:
Fuchigami, Salina Khan. "Green Business Blog: The Devastating Cost of Diamonds." CNN.com. Cable News Network, 15. Jun. 2009. Web. 16 Jun. 2009.
NOTE: The first date is the date of last update or copyright (if available), and the second date is the date the site was accessed.Journal article from full-text database:
Jacobson, Marjorie. "Note: Pregnancy and Employment: Three Approaches to Equal Opportunity." Boston University Law Review 68 (1988): 1019+. Web. 16 March 2000.
Learn more about Citing and Documenting Your Sources
This guide was compiled by Mary Miller, Watson Library Reference Dept., University of Kansas Libraries, with assistance from Reference Department staff and Pat McQueeney, Writing Consulting, University of Kansas, November 1996. Revised by Nitzan Meltzer, KU Writing Center, September 2009.
This page was last updated Tuesday, 13-Jul-2010 10:47:36 CDT
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