Citing Your Sources - GOVT - Government - Massasoit Libraries at Massasoit Library

MLA, 9th ed.

MLA is the citation style of the Modern Languages Association. It is most commonly used in English, the Arts, and Humanities.

MLA citations contain the following core elements that should be listed in the following order when you create a citation:

Author. Personal author(s). editor(s), corporate author, director
Title of source. Book title, article title, chapter title, title of TV episode, film title
Title of container, Book title, journal title, title of TV series
Contributors, Translators, performers
Version, Edition, abridged/unabridged, director's cut
Number, Volume and issue numbers, season and episode numbers
Publisher, Publishers, university presses, organizations, governments, production companies
Publication date, A source may sometimes have more than one date. Include the date for the source that you consulted and which is most relevant to your work.
Location. Page number(s), web address, DOI, stable URL, time on a recording, DVD disc number

Each element should be followed by the punctuation mark shown above.

MLA Interactive Template
Practice the pieces of styling your works cited page with this MLA template. PDF available also.
Check Your Knowledge of MLA In this activity, you'll be asked questions about how to correct some in-text citations and works cited entries. You'll also be asked to locate errors in some sample in-text citations and works cited entries.

In-Text Citations

MLA in-text citations include:

The author(s) last name or a shortened title of the work if there is no author
Page number for a direct quote or paraphrase

You must also have a corresponding citation in your works cited list.

Examples:

One Author

Author's last name and page number

(Jones 62)

No Author

Use a shortened title of the work

("Climate Change Today")

Two Authors

Connect both authors' last names with and, and include the page number

(Jones and Martinez 75)

Three or More Authors

Use the first author's last name and et al., and include the page number

(Jones et al. 23)

Sample MLA Citations & Paper Formatting Resources

Book

Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book: Subtitle of Book. Publisher, Publication date.

Book Chapter

Lastname, Firstname. “Chapter Title.” Book Title. Editor, Publisher, Year, Chapter Page Numbers.

Journal Article

Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical, vol. #, issue #, Day Month Year, pages.

Website

Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article or Page." Title of Website, Publisher, Publication date, URL.

Article in a Library Database

Lastname, Firstname. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal vol. #, no. #, date year, pp. ##-##. Title of Database, doi:10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed [Date Month Year].