MLA
Introduction
•
MLA (Modern Language Association)
style is most commonly used to write
papers and cite sources within the
liberal arts and humanities.
• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers (6th ed.)
• MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly
Author’s names
•
Author names are written last name
first; middle names or middle initials
follow the first name:
•
Burke, Kenneth
Levy, David M.
Author’s names - cont.
•
With titles
• Do not list titles (Dr., Sir, Saint, etc.) or
degrees (PhD, MA, DDS, etc.) with names.
•
With suffixes
• Do include suffixes like “Jr.” or “II”.
• King, Martin Luther, Jr., ~ with the suffix
No author
•
Encyclopedias & dictionaries.
•
When there is no known author, it
is arranged in alphabetical order,
by title
Encyclopedia of Indiana. New York: Somerset, 1993.
Books
•
First or single author’s name is
written ‘last name, first name’:
•
Lastname, Firstname.
Title of Book
.
Place of Publication: Publisher, Year
of Publication.
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.
Books
•
Use the word ‘and’ to separate
between 2 or 3 authors:
Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer
Tutoring. Boston: Allyn, 2000.
Marquat, James W., Sheldon Ekland
Olson, and Jonathan R. Sorensen. The Rope, the Chair, and the Needle:
Books
•
More than 3 authors:
•
Name the first author, and add ‘et
al’ (and others)
Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of
Books with editor
•
The editor’s name is preceded by
the abbreviation
Ed
. (edited by)
after the title
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul
Werstine. New York: Washington Square-Pocket, 1992.
Twain, Mark. Roughing It. Ed. Harriet E. Smith and Edgar M. Branch.
Books – 2
nd& subsequent edition
•
The editor’s name is preceded by
the abbreviation
Ed
. (edited by)
after the title
Bondanella, Peter. Italian Cinema: From Neorealism to the Present. 3rd ed.
New York: Continuum, 2001.
Hyde, Margaret O., and Elizabeth Held Forsyth. Suicide: The Hidden
Part of a Book
•
Lastname, First name. “Title of
Essay.”
Title of Collection
. Ed.
Editor’s Name(s). Place of
Publication: Publisher, Year. Pages.
Part of a Book
Swanson, Gunnar. “Graphic Design
Education as a Liberal Art: Design and Knowledge in the University and The ‘Real World.’ ” The Education of a
Journal Articles
•
A publication that appears regularly
at fixed intervals, intended for
professionals and students.
•
Lastname, Firstname. “Title of
article.” Title of periodical Volume
(Year): Pages.
Newspaper Articles
•
Months are abbreviated, except
May, June and July.
•
Lastname, Firstname. “Title of
article.” Title of newspaper Date:
Pages.
Internet document
•
Lastname, Firstname. “Title of web
page.” Name of website. Year.
Publisher. Access date <url>.
TV & Radio Program
•
Title of the episode or segment
(in quotation marks)
•
Title of the program (underlined)
•
Title of the series (not underlined
or in quotation marks)
•
Name of the network
•
Call letters and city of the local
station
TV & Radio Program
“Yes … but Is It Art?” Narr. Morley Safer. Sixty Minutes. CBS. WCBS, New York. 19 Sept. 1993.
Welles, Orson, dir. The War of The
Worlds. By H. G. Wells. Adapt. Howard Koch. Mercury Theatre on the Air. CBS Radio. WCBS, New York. 30 Oct. 1938. It’s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra.
Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and Thomas
Mitchell. 1946. DVD. Republic, 2001.
Advertisement
•
Name of the product
•
Company / institution
•
Advertisement (not underlined or
in quotation marks)
•
Other publication information
Air Canada. Advertisement. CNN. 15 May 1998.
Take note
-•
On the reference list, arrange items
alphabetically by author
•
All lines should be double-spaced
•
The second and following lines are
indented 5 spaces (or one half
inch).
•
The names of all months except
The differences
-•
For book articles:
James, Nancy E. “Two Sides of Paradise: The Eden Myth According to Kirk and Spock.” Spectrum of the Fantastic. Ed. Donald Palumbo. Westport:
Greenwood, 1988. 219-223.
James, N. E. (1988). Two sides of
paradise: The Eden myth according to Kirk and Spock. In D. Palumbo (Ed.),
The differences
-•
For journal articles:
Wilcox, Rhonda V. “Shifting Roles and Synthetic Women in Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Studies in Popular Culture 13.2 (1991): 53-65.
Footnotes
•
Notes placed at the bottom of the
page of a document
•
Content notes
To include some discussion but in a way that does not divert the attention of the reader
To give attributes to a quote
Footnotes
•
Book – single author
Fukuyama, Francis. Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the
Biotechnology Revolution New York: Farrar, 2002.
1 Francis Fukuyama, Our Posthuman
Future: Consequences of the
Footnotes
•
Book – 2 or 3 authors
Marquat, James W., Sheldon Ekland Olson, and Jonathan R. Sorensen. The Rope, the Chair, and the Needle: Capital Punishment in Texas, 1923 – 1990. Austin: U of Texas P, 1994.
2 James W. Marquat, Sheldon Ekland
Olson, and Jonathan R. Sorensen, The Rope, the Chair, and the Needle: Capital Punishment in Texas, 1923 – 1990
Footnotes
•
Book with an editor
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed.
Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington
Square-Pocket, 1992.
3 William Shakespeare, Hamlet, ed.
Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine
Footnotes
•
Book – 2nd / subsequent editions
Bondanella, Peter. Italian Cinema: From Neorealism to the Present. 3rd ed.
New York: Continuum, 2001.
4 Peter Bondanella, Italian Cinema:
Footnotes
•
Journal articles
Wilcox, Rhonda V. “Shifting Roles and Synthetic Women in Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Studies in Popular Culture 13.2 (1991): 53-65.
5 Rhonda V. Wilcox, “Shifting Roles
Footnotes
•
Newspaper articles
Di Rado, Alicia. “Trekking through College: Classes Explore Modern Society Using the World of Star Trek.” Los Angeles Times 15 Mar. 1995: A3.
6 Alicia Di Rado, “Trekking through
College: Classes Explore Modern
Footnotes
•
Internet document
Lynch, Tim. “DSN Trials and Tribble-ations Review.” Psi Phi: Bradley’s Science
Fiction Club. 1996. Bradley University. 8 Oct. 1997 <http://www.bradley.edu/
campusorg/psiphi/DS9/ep/503r.html>.
7 Tim Lynch, “DSN Trials and
Footnotes
•
TV , radio or film
•
Appear as per ref. list / bibliography
but with a ‘,’ instead of a ‘.’
It’s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and Thomas
Mitchell. 1946. DVD. Republic, 2001.
8 It’s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank
Footnotes
•
Advertisement
Hypnôse sheer fragrance by Lancome. Advertisement. Harper’s Bazaar.
Apr. 2007: 2 - 3.
9 Hypnôse sheer fragrance by
Footnotes
•
No author – a reference book
“Noon.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.
10 “Noon,” The Oxford English
Footnotes
•
Supra
To refer to a source in the third footnote
11 Supra n 3.
•
Ibid
12 National Land Code 1965.
