MLA Style
6th Edition
What Is MLA Style?What Is MLA Style?
• The style recommended by the Modern Language Association for preparing scholarly manuscripts and student research papers
• It is concerned with the mechanics of writing, such as punctuation, quotation, and documentation of sources.
Books: Single Author
Kasson, John F. Civilizing the Machine: Technology and Republican Values in America 1776-1900. New York: Penguin, 1976.
Multiple Authors
Two or three authors.
Adler, Ronald B., and Neil Towne. Looking Out, Looking In. 9th ed. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace, 1999.
More than three authors.
Santos, Ruth J., et al. Environmental Crises in Developing Countries. New York: Harper, 1994.
Corporate Authorship of Reports
Alan Guttmacher Institute. State Legislative Record: 1988 Fertility-Related Bills and Laws as of December 31. Washington, D.C.: Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1988.
Edited Books
Citing volume.
Fee, Elizabeth, and Daniel M. Fox, eds. AIDS: The Burdens of History. Berkeley: U of California P, 1988.
Edited Books
Citing chapter/essay in volume.
Zola, Irving Kenneth. "Medicine as an Institution of Social Control." The American Health Empire:Power, Profits, and Politics. Eds. Barbara Ehrenreich and John Ehrenreich. New York: Vintage,1971. 80-100.
Second Work by Same Author
Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer. East into Upper East : Plain Tales from New York and New Delhi. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint Press, 2000
---. Heat and Dust. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987.
The second work is introduce by three space hyphens, not the author’s name (alphabetical order on works).
Books: Republished or Later Editions
Gibbon, Lewis Grassic. Sunset Song. 1932. Intro. Tom Crawford. Edinburgh: Canongate Classics, 1988.
Newbold, Paul. Statistics for Business and Economics. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990.
Multi-Volume Works
Citing entire series.
Lucas, Robert E., Jr., and Thomas J. Sargent, eds. Rational Expectations and Econometric Practice. 2 vols. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1981.
Citing single volume.
Lucas, Robert E., Jr., and Thomas J. Sargent, eds. Rational Expectations and Econometric Practice. Vol. 1. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1981.
Encyclopedia ArticlesSupplemental Sources Only
No author given.
"Mealworm." Encyclopedia Britannica. 1987 ed.
Author given.
Garvey, Lawrence. "El Paso, Illinois." Encyclopedia Americana. 1982 ed.
Periodicals: Magazines
Monthly magazine/journal.
Hall, Stuart. "Cold, Comfort, Farm." New Socialist Nov. 1985: 10-12.
Weekly.
Whitaker, Mark. "Getting Tough at Last." Newsweek 10 May 1993: 22.
Scholarly Journals
Continuous Pagination:
Schuetz, A. “The Stranger.” Journal of American Sociology 49 (1944): 499-507.
Non-Continuous Pagination:
Magistrale, Tony. "Wild Child: Jim Morrison's Poetic Journeys." Journal of Popular Culture 26.3(Winter 1992): 133-44.
Subscription Services and Data Bases
• Cite just like original article would be cited.
• Name the subscription service following the entry.– Give any additional info the service offers, such
as– Article number, data base number, etc.
• Don’t put date or access or url.
Periodicals: No Author(From Periodical/Journal Database)
“Cooling Trend In Antarctica.” Futurist May-June 2002: 15. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. New York Institute of Technology Manhattan Lib. 22 May 2002 <http://www.epnet.com/>.
Maaike van Rijn. “Darfur: arrival.” Canadian Medical Association. Journal 179.2 (2008): 134. ProQuest Health Management. ProQuest. New York Institute Of Technology Manhattan Lib., New York, NY. 14 Jul. 2008
<http://www.proquest.com/>
Interview or Private Correspondence
Goodkind, Mary. Personal interview. 4 Sept. 1996.
Smith, Jaclyn. Telephone interview. 5 Oct. 1999.
Morris, Ralph. Letter to author. 26 June 1994.
Maran, Meredith. E-mail to the author. 20 Aug. 2002.
Maran, Meredith. “Re: Dirty-Fascinating!” E-mail to Ed Jessup. 3 Mar. 2008.
Electronic Resources• All web based sources (not from data bases or
paid subscription services) must have:– Title of Page
• In quotes for minor page• Underlined for major site
– Date of Access – Url in < >– Period at the end.
“Title.” Date of Access <url>.
• If more info exists, you need to use it.– Author– Web Site that the page is a part of– Original publication information– Date of site
Electronic Resources--Examples
Scholarly Project
Willett, Perry, ed. Victorian Women Writers Project. Apr. 1997. Indiana U. 30 Jan 2001 <http://www.indiana.edu/~ letrs/vwwp/>.
Professional Site
Portuguese Language Page. U of Chicago. 30 Jan. 2001 <http://humanities. uchicago.edu/romance/port/>.
Electronic Resources – More Examples
Article in a Reference Database “Fresco." Britannica Online. Vers. 97.1.1.
Mar. 1997. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 29 Mar. 1997 <http://www.eb.com:180>.
Article First Published in a PeriodicalTamblyn, Robyn, et al. “Adverse Events
Associated With Prescription Drug Cost-Sharing Among Poor and Elderly Persons.” JAMA 24/31 Jan. 2001. 30 Jan. 2000 http://www.jama.ama.org/article/24310101.html .
Electronic Resources – More Examples
Personal Site Lancashire, Ian. Home Page. 30 Jan. 2001
<http://www.chass.utoronto.ca:8080/~ian/index.html>.
Book Nesbit, Edith. Ballads and Lyrics of
Socialism. London, 1908. Victorian Women Writers Project. Ed. Perry Willett. Indiana U. Apr. 1997. 26 Apr.1997 <http://www. indiana.edu/~letrs/vwwp/nesbit/ballsoc. html>.
Electronic Resources – More Examples
Web Page from a Larger Web Site.
“About Kidney Disease and Dialysis.” Kidney Dialysis Foundation. 18 Feb. 2000 < http:// www.kdf.org.sg/aboutkidney.html >.
Remember:
• MLA is tricky.
• You must follow it exactly.
• You can’t memorize it.
• Always use a handbook with the most recent version of MLA.
• Go to MLA.org if you want more help on electronic sources.