Citing Sources: Sample Citations

Many more samples of citations presented in the MLA style can be found in the Seventh Edition of The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers on Reserve in the library. Please consult this book or a librarian for help with unusual resources.

 

Book with One Author:

Note: italicize the title of the book. (Note indents, order of authors' names and use of periods.)

Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.

 

Book with Two Authors:

Gilbert, Sandra M., and Susan Gubar. The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the

Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979. Print.

 

Chapter or Essay in a Book/ Anthology

Bordo, Susan.  "The Moral Content of Nabokov's Lolita."  Aesthetic Subjects.  Ed. Pamela R. Matthews and  David McWhirter.

          Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2003. 125-52. Print.

 

A Translated Book

Note: Add "Trans," and follow with the name(s) of the translator(s).

Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Trans. Richard Howard. New York: Vintage-

Random House, 1988. Print.

 

Scholarly Article

Note: put the title of the article in quotes and italicize the title of the journal. This sample includes the volume (50) and issue (4) numbers after the title. (In a bibliography. Note indents, page numbers, and use of periods and colons.)

Blackburn, Robin. "Economic Democracy: Meaningful, Desirable, Feasile?" Daedalus 136.2 (2007): 36-45. Print.

 

Scholarly Article accessed in a database:

Albada, Kelly F. "The Public and Private Dialogue about the American Family on Television." Journal of

Communication 50.4 (2000): 79-110. Wiley-Blackwell Journals. Web. 10 July 2013.

 

Popular Article (with two authors):

Note: put the title of the article in quotes and italicize the title of the journal. (In a bibliography. Note the order of author's names, indents, page numbers, and use of periods and colons.)

Weintraub, Arlene, and Laura Cohen. "A Thousand-Year Plan for Nuclear Waste." Business Week 6

May 2002: 94-96. Print.

 

If accessed through a database:

Weintraub, Arlene, and Laura Cohen. "A Thousand-Year Plan for Nuclear Waste." Business Week  6 May 2002: 94-96.  Business

Source Complete. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.

 

Newspaper Article:

If there is more than one edition available for that date,

Brubaker, Bill. "New Health Center Targets County's Uninsured Patients." Washington Post 24 May 2007: LZ01. Print.

 

Newspaper Article accessed in a database:

Note: If the newspaper is less well-known or local publication, names of cities not part of titles of foreign newspapers are added in brackets after the title and are not italicized in a bibliography.

Alaton, Salem. "So, Did They Live Happily Ever After?" Globe and Mail [Toronto] 27 Dec. 1997: D1+. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 9

Sept. 2013.

 

Encyclopedia article:

Note: If the entries are arranged alphabetically, it is not necessary to include page numbers.

If citing an online reference source,

Dickens, Peter. "Darwin, Charles (1809-1882)." Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Credo Reference. Web. 20 August 2012.

 

If citing the print version,

Dickens, Peter. "Darwin, Charles (1809-1882)." Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 210-133. Print.

 

Website:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 5.6

Use this format for citing information on the web, including images, streamed audio or video. Include as much information as you can find about the website.  URL is optional - check if your professor requires it!

Author. “Title of Page.” Title of Website. Version or Edition. Publisher, if none listed N.p., Date of Publication,

if not available use N.d. Medium of Publication. Date of Access. <URL>.

 

MLA states that you do not need to provide the URL unless you are asked to do so. URLs for the citations below are provided so you will understand how they would look with it. When including a URL try to include one that is shortened and will not change over time.  URL is optional - check if your professor requires it!

“College Receives Grant from Pa. DEP for Watershed Protection.” Dickinson College News Releases. Dickinson

College, 8 Apr. 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. <http://www.dickinson.edu/story.aspx?id=10737429666>.

Peralta, Eyder. “Crowd Gathers In New York, Ahead Of Wall Street Protest.” National Public Radio. Natl. Public

Radio, 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/11/17/142439078/

crowd-gathers-in-new-york-ahead-of-wall-street-protest>.

“Warhol: Headlines.” National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art, 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

<http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/warholinfo.shtm>.

 

In the above examples National Public Radio and National Gallery of Art are duplicated twice because they are the title of the website and the publisher.

 

Published Letters:

Woolf, Virginia. "To T.S. Eliot." 28 July 1920. Letter 1138 of The Letters of Virginia Woolf. Ed. Nigel Nicolson and Joanne Trautmann.

Vol. 2. New York: Harcourt, 1976. 437-38. Print.

 

Unpublished Letters in Archives:

Benton, Thomas Hart. Letter to Charles Fremont. 22 June 1847. MS. John CHarles Fremont Papers. Southwest Museum Lib., Los

Angeles.

 

Letters received by the Researcher:

Hatch, James C. Letter to the author. 5 Apr. 2008. TS.

 

Memos:

Cahill, Daniel J. Memo to English dept. fac., Brooklyn Technical High School, New York. 1 June 2000. TS.

 

Emails:

Boyle, Anthony T. "Re: Utopia." Message to Daniel J. Cahill. 21 June 1997. E-mail.

Harner, James L. Message to the author. 20 Aug. 2002. E-mail.

 

Advertisement:

Air Canada. Advertisement. CNN. 15 May 1998. Television.

The Fitness Fragrance by Ralph Lauren. Advertisement. GQ Apr. 1997: 111-12. Print.

Head and Shoulders. Advertisement. Newsweek 17 March 2008: 2. Print.

 

Lecture, Speech, and Address, or Reading:

Alter, Robert, and Marilynne Robinson. "The Psalms: A Reading and Conversation." 92nd Street Y, New York. 17 Dec. 2007.

Reading.

Matuzzi, Robert. "Archive Trauma." Archive Trouble. MLA Annual Convention. Hyatt Regency, Chicago. 29 Dec. 2007. Address.

 

A Manuscript or Typescript:

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. 1400-1410. MS Harley 7334. British Lib., London.

Dickinson Emily. "Distance is Not the Realm of Fox." 1870. MS. Pierpont Morgan Lib., New York.

Henderson, George Wylie. Baby Lou and the Angel Bud. N.d. TS. Collection of Roslyn Kirkland Allen, New York.

Jones, Celia. "Shakespeare's Dark Lady Illuminated." 1988. TS.

 

Blog Entries:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 5.6.2b

Blog entries should follow the same citation style as web pages. List author and date published if possible.  URL is optional - check if your professor requires it!

Nizza, Mike. “Go Ahead, Annoy Away, an Australian Court Says.” The Lede. New York Times, 15 July 2008. Web.

9 Dec. 2011. <http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/>.

Doctorow, Cory. “How the Tax Code Works for Billionaires.” Boing Boing. N.p. 28 Nov. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.

<http://boingboing.net/2011/11/28/how-the-tax-code-works-for-bil.html>.

 

Images:

Cite these as you would for the resource in which the visual media is found. For specific works of art, see the section. Cite following the guidelines for the type of resource, but make a note of where the visual is included in the resource, ie page or figure number. Cite the creator of the image as the author and the title of the image instead of an article title.

 

Image in an Article:

Talbot, David. "Saving Holland." Technology Review 110.4 (2007): 52, figure 3. Print.

Vermeer, Dura. "High and Dry Concept." Technology Review 110.4 (2007): 56. Print.

Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. “An Arrowhead, Made from a Copper Nugget, Found at a Melting Alaskan

Glacier.” Miller-McCune 3.6 (2010): 23, figure 4. Print.

 

Online Image:

If citing an image found using Google images, cite the original source – not Google.  URL is optional - check if your professor requires it!

Estrin, James. “A Worshiper at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.” New York Times. New

York Times. 27 Nov. 2011. Web. 8 Dec. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/28/nyregion/for-catholics-

the-word-was-a-bit-different-amen.html?ref=us>.

 

When citing a work of art, include the location of the piece and the owner or collection where it is housed along with the medium and size. See also captions and citing works of art below.  URL is optional - check if your professor requires it!

Dior, Christian. May. 1953. Silk. Length at CB ((a) to waist): 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm) Length at CB (b): 45 1/2 in.

(115.6 cm). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. N.d. Web. 4 Jan. 2012.

<http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/80002249>.

 

 Image or Photograph from a Book: 

Gruen, Bob. “Madison Square Garden, July 1972.” Life. By Keith Richard with James Fox. New York: Little,

Brown and Company, 2010. Color plate 12. Print.

“Equality and Affection: Matched Costumes in ‘My One and Only Highland Fling.’” Astaire & Rogers. By Edward

Gallafent. New York: Columbia University Press. 225. Print

 

Work of Visual Art including Photographs in a Museum Collection:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 5.7.6 – see also citing a website if you are citing an image from the web.

MLA does not require you to include the dimensions, but it is safer to include it when citing for art and art history. Also see guidelines from the Art Bulletin and College Art Association.

Artist. Title of Work. Date of Composition or N.d. Medium. Dimensions. Collection. City where located.

Calder, Alexander. Untitled. 1976. Aluminum and steel. 910.3 x 2315.5 cm (358 3/8 x 911 5/8 in.). National

Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Heckman, Albert. Windblown Trees. N.d. Lithograph on paper. 11 3/8 x 16 1/8 in. (28.9 x 40.8 cm). Private

collection.

 

If you use a reproduction include the publication information of where the reproduction is found and page, figure, or plate number.

Munch, Edvard. The Scream. 1893. Oil, pastel and casein on cardboard. 91 x 73.5 cm. National Gallery, Oslo.

Edvard Munch: The Scream. Ed. Reinhold Heller. New York: Viking Press, 1973. 57. Print.

Pollock, Jackson. Number 27. 1950. Oil on canvas. 49 x 106 in. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Imagining America: Icons of 20th-Century American Art. By John Carlin and Jonathan Fineberg. New Haven:

Yale University Press, 2005. 106. Print.

 

Cartoon:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 5.7.9

Citation should conform to the medium in which you find the cartoon or comic strip, e.g., newspaper, magazine article, book, or website. Add the descriptive label Cartoon or Comic strip between the title and name of publication.  URL is optional - check if your professor requires it!

Chast, Roz. “Scenes from a Vacation.” Cartoon. New Yorker 31 Oct. 2011: 66-67. Print.

Weiner, Zach. “Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.” Comic strip. Smbc-comics.com. N.p., 17 Nov. 2011. Web.

18 Nov. 2011. <http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2434>.

 

Map or Chart:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 5.7.8

Cite this as you would an article, book, or website and add the descriptive label of Map or Chart.  URL is optional - check if your professor requires it!

"Carlisle, PA." Map. Google Maps. Google, 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

<http://maps.google.com/maps?q=google+maps+carlisle+pa&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear

=Carlisle,+Cumberland,+Pennsylvania&gl=us&t=m&z=13&vpsrc=0>.

"Migratory Patterns of The Black Tern (Chlidonias Niger) at the Ojo de Liebre Wetland Complex, Baja

California Sur, Mexico." Map. Southwestern Naturalist 56.2 (2011): 256. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

“Western Boundaries of Brazil, 1600, 1780, and the Present.” Map. Brazilian Narrative Traditions in

a Comparative Context. By Earl E. Fitz. New York: MLA, 2005. 43. Print.

 

If it is a standalone map or chart (ie not included in a book or article) treat as below:

Author. Title. Map or Chart. Publisher Location: Publisher, Date. Print.

Michigan. Map. Chicago: Rand, 2000. Print.

Japanese Fundamentals. Chart. Hauppauge: Barron, 1992. Print.

 

Captions:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 4.5

Visual material should be labeled as Figure and assigned a number in increasing order starting with 1. The caption should be placed below the illustration and include a citation to the source material. It also may be appropriate to add copyright information at the end of the citation. No additional citation is needed when the source is not cited within the text of the paper. If you are creating captions for works of art also see guidelines from the Art Bulletin and College Art Association.

Fig. 1. Manticore, woodcut from Edward Topsell, The History of the Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents…(London, 1658; 344); rpt. In Konrad Gesner, Curious Woodcuts of Fanciful and Real Beasts (New York: Dover, 1971; print; 8).

Fig. 2. John Singleton Copley, Mrs. Joseph Mann (Bethea Torrey), 1753, Oil on canvas, 91.44 X 71.75 cm. (36 X 28 ¼ in.). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing about Art (Boston: Pearson, 2011; print; 143).

If work is being published include copyright information, ie who owns the right to publish the image or work of art.

 

Musical Recording:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 5.7.2

When citing a commercial recording list the performer, composer, conductor, or group first depending upon the desired emphasis and what aspect of the recording you will be referencing. List the title or titles (usually italicized), performer or group, if not noted first, manufacturer, year of publication, and medium. You may also want to indicate the year of recording or performance if relevant.

Holiday, Billie. The Essence of Billie Holiday. Columbia, 1991. CD.

Beethoven, Ludwig van. Symphony No. 9 in D Minor “Choral.” Perf. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf,

Elisabeth Hongen, Hans Hopf, and Otto Edelmann. Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele. Cond.

Wilhelm Furtwangler. Rec. 29 July 1951. EMI, 1998. LP. Great Recordings of the Century.

 

Interview:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 5.7.7, see also citing a website if the interview is on the web.

Begin with the name of the person being interviewed and then include the appropriate citation information depending upon where the interview has been published. If the interview is untitled, call it Interview with no quotation marks. Include the name of the interviewer when appropriate. Make sure that the citation conforms to the medium in which the interview is published, e.g., book, article, web, mp3 file, newspaper, etc.

URL is optional - check if your professor requires it!

Baselitz, George. “An Interview with George Baselitz.” Making It New: Essays, Interviews, and Talks. By Henry

Geldzahler. New York: Turtle Point Press, 1994. 184-196. Print.

Gordimer, Nadine. Interview. New York Times. 10 Oct. 1991, late ed.:C25. Print.

Patchett, Ann. “Author Ann Patchett Opens Own Indie Bookstore.” National Public Radio. Natl. Public Radio, 16

Nov. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. <http://www.npr.org/2011/11/16/142413792/ann-patchett-opens-

parnassus-books-in-nashville>.

 

DVD/VHS:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 5.7.3, 5.7.7

If citing the film performance as seen in a theater or screening, use film as medium. In many cases you will be citing the DVD or VHS. When citing DVD or VHS release, note the original release date and the release date of the DVD/VHS copy.

Title. Dir. Name. Perf. Names of actors, screenwriter and producer, etc. Studio, Year. Medium.

A Star is Born. Dir. George Cukor. Prod. Sidney Lumet. Perf. Judy Garland and James Mason. 1954. Warner Bros.,

1999. DVD.

 

If citing a specific performance or contribution of an individual, list that individual first.

Chaplin, Charlie, dir. Modern Times. Perf. Chaplin and Paulette Goddard. 1936. Criterion Collection, 2010. DVD.

 

If you are citing an interview that was on a DVD or VHS tape, cite as an interview and list the format accordingly.

 

Digital Files (Audio Files/mp3/Podcast/YouTube):

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 5.6.2b, 5.7.18

You should cite these as digital files, if they are downloaded and played on an iPhone, iPod, or a similar device. If streamed online, cite as a web site. Cite as you would for a book or article, but list the file type in the medium for publication.  URL is optional - check if your professor requires it!

“Patient Zero.” Radiolab. New York: WNYC, 15 Nov. 2011. MP3 file.

Glass, Ira. “419: Petty Tyrant.” This American Life. Chicago: Chicago Public Media. , 12 Nov. 2010. MP3 file.

Glass, Ira. “419: Petty Tyrant.” This American Life. Chicago Public Media. , 12 Nov. 2010. Web. 18 Nov.

2011. <http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/419/petty-tyrant>.

 

You can include relevant information about performers, writers, or producers as appropriate.

 

Electronic Books and Books Consulted Online:

Citing ebooks – 5.7.18, 5.6

When citing a text downloaded and read on an e-reader, cite this as a book, but instead of citing Print as the medium, cite the type of digital file or medium on which you read it, e.g. Kindle ebook file, Kindle digital file, Nook ebook file, etc. If you are citing an ebook read online through a program like ebrary or NetLibrary, cite the medium of publication as Web.  URL is optional - check if your professor requires it!

Fischer, David Hackett. Washington's Crossing. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Kindle ebook file.

Goscilo, Helena and Vlad Strukov. Celebrity and Glamour in Contemporary Russia: Shocking Chic. Hoboken:

Routledge, 2010. Ebook Library. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. <https://dickinson.eblib.com/patron/

FullRecord.aspx?p=592953>

 

When citing the location of a quote or part of the work you have paraphrased in parentheses identify the page number if possible or the location within the ebook. It may look like this:

(Fischer Ch. 3, location 50, par. 2).

 

Twitter:

When citing a tweet, begin with the author’s real name (if provided or known), place their username in parentheses. If only the username is known, use it on its own without parentheses. This should be followed by the entire tweet in quotation marks. Do not change the punctuation or capitalization in the tweet. Cite the date and time next followed by the medium (Tweet).

Kaplan, Thomas ‏(thomaskaplan). “The interest in Kolb's plan has brought the Brooklyn court's Web

site to a standstill. This does not bode well for later.” 29 Feb. 2012, 6:01 p.m. Tweet.

 

To cite this information in the text of your paper use the author’s name in the text to introduce the quotation or summary of the tweet. If you do not use the author’s name in the text, place their name in parentheses at the end of the quotation or summary.

 

Tv Program:

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers 5.7.1, 5.7.7, 5.6.2b. If you are citing an original television broadcast follow the following format.

“Episode Title.” Program. Network. Local Station, City, Date. Medium.

“Woody Allen: A Documentary.” American Masters. PBS. WITF, Harrisburg, 20 Nov. 2011. Television.

 

If you are primarily citing the work of one individual place their name at the beginning of the citation, last name first.

Fellowes, Julian. “Downton Abbey, Series II (Episode I).” Masterpiece Theatre. PBS. WITF, Harrisburg,

8 Jan. 2011. Television.

 

If TV program is streamed online, cite as a website. If citing an interview from a TV program, cite as an interview, but cite the medium as Television.