Navigation Menu Citing Your Sources MLA Style APA Style Quiz 6

MLA Citation Style The Modern Language Association (MLA) citation system was first developed in 1951 for use by researchers and was published as the MLA Style Sheet. In 1977 the MLA Style Sheet was expanded for use by students and renamed the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. The MLA Handbook is updated periodically to take new formats into consideration. The advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web has provided a new challenge to citation systems. The MLA citation style uses a combination of parenthetical citations in the text of the document and a list of works cited located at the end of the document. The parenthetical citations are placed at the end of a quotation and refer the reader to the list of works cited for a more complete citation. Citing sources with MLA   The most authoritative source for MLA citation guidelines is the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers which can be purchased at most bookstores. The MLA Handbook is available in the reference area of most college libraries. At the Williams Library it is located in three places: MAIN COLLECTION LB2369 .G53 1999, REFERENCE LB2369 .G53 1999, and a copy is on Reserve at the Circulation Desk. For complete citation information consult the MLA Handbook. As we said before, the MLA citation style requires parenthetical citations in the text of the document and a list of works cited. For the parenthetical citation it is usually enough to list the author's last name and the page from which the quote is taken. Here is an example: Medieval Europe was a place both of "raids, pillages, slavery, and extortion" and of "traveling merchants, monetary exchange, towns if not cities, and active markets in grain" (Townsend 10). Townsend is the author of the book from which the quote was taken. The quote came from page 10 of the book. If your reader turned to your list of works cited she/he would find the complete citation for the book: Townsend, Robert M. The Medieval Village Economy. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1993. Below are a few examples of how to use MLA citation style to cite resources. For a complete list consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.   Book with single author Author's Last Name, [space] Author's First Name. Title of Work. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date of Publication. Quaratiello, Arlene Rodda. The College Student's Research Companion. New York: Neal Schuman Publishers, 1997. Print Encyclopedia Article (Format for familiar encyclopedias that frequently publish new editions, i.e., World Book, Britannica, etc.) Author of Article [last name first, if a name is given]. "Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia. Edition. Date of Publication. "Bookbinding." World Book. 2000 ed. 2000. (There is no author because World Book articles are unsigned.) Print Subject Encyclopedia Article             (Format for less familiar encyclopedias that do not often publish new editions.) Author of Article [last name, first]. "Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia. Editor. Edition. Number of volumes. Place of Publication: Publisher, Date of Publication. Bedau, Hugo Adam. "Civil Disobedience." Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics. Ed. Ruth Chadwick. 4 vols. San Diego: Academic Press, 1998. (No edition is listed in this example because the encyclopedia is a first edition). Online Encyclopedia Article Author of Article [last name first] (if available). "Title of work." Edition Title of Encyclopedia. date accessed <Encyclopedia homepage address (URL)>. "Racism." Encyclopædia Britannica 2003  Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 10 Feb, 2003  <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=63957>.  Print Magazine Article (Do NOT give volume and issue numbers) Author's Last Name, [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Magazine Article." Title of Magazine Date of Publication: Page Numbers of Article. Krimmerman, Len. "Worker Ownership's Uncertain Future: Lessons From Two Decades of Trials." Dollars and Sense: What's Left in Economics Sept./Oct. 1998: 28-32. Online Magazine Article (from a full-text magazine database) Author (if applicable). "Title." Name of publication Day Month Year: pages. Database Source (InfoTrac). accession number (article number) if possible. Library. download date. Database URL.  "Nebraska's Kool-Aid test." The Economist  22 August 1998: 24. Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale Group Databases.  Northern State University, Williams Lib., Aberdeen, SD.15 Jan. 2003. <http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com>. Online Magazine Article (from an online publication) Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Magazine Article." Title of Magazine Date of Publication. Date Accessed <URL>. Landsburg, Steven E. "Who Shall Inherit the Earth?" Slate 1 May 1997. 2 May 1997 <http://www.slate.com/Economics/97-05-01/Economics.asp>. Print Scholarly Journal Article Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Journal Article." Title of Journal Volume Number (Date of Publication) : Page Numbers of Article. Ford, Douglas. "Sherman Alexie's indigenous blues." MELUS 27.3 (2002) : 197-215. Online Scholarly Journal Article (from a full-text online database) Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Journal Article." Title of Journal Volume Number (Date of Publication) : Page Numbers of Article (if available). Name of the Periodical Database. Davidson, Paul. "Globalization." Journal of Post Keynesian Economics 24.3 (2002): 475+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale Group Databases.  Northern State University, Williams Lib., Aberdeen, SD.15 Jan. 2003. <http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com>. Online Scholarly Journal Article (from a full-text online publication) Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Article." Title of journal Date of Publication. Date Accessed <URL>. Flannagan, Roy. "Reflections on Milton and Ariosto." Early Modern Literary Studies 2.3 (1996): 16 pars. 22 Feb. 1997 <http://unixg.ubc.ca:7001/O/e-sources/emls/02-3/flanmilt.html>. Print Newspaper Article Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Newspaper Article." Title of Newspaper Date of Publication, Edition: Section and Page Number(s) of Article. Feder, Barnaby J. "For Job Seekers, A Toll-Free Gift of Expert Advice." New York Times 30 Dec. 1993, late ed.: D1+. Online Newspaper Article (from a full-text newspaper database) Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Newspaper Article." Title of Newspaper Date of Publication, Edition: Section and Page Number(s) of Article. Name of the Newspaper Database. Date Accessed. Wildstrom, Stephen H. "A Big Boost for Net Privacy." Business Week Apr. 5, 1999: 23. Online. LexisNexis Academic. 5 August 1999. Web Page Web pages are more difficult to cite because they do not contain pagination; authors may not be listed; and it may not be clear who is the publisher or upon what date the page was published. When citing a Web page you should try and get as much traditional citation information as possible. In addition to the traditional citation information you will need to include the Web page address (URL). For more information and the most up-to-date guidellines, check the MLA Web site <http://www.mla.org>.   Author's Last Name [space] Author's First Name. "Title of Web Page." Title of the Complete Web Site if Applicable. Date of Publication, or Last Revision. Title of Sponsoring Organization. Date on which you visited the web site <Web Page Address (URL)>  Banned Books Week. 25 Sept. 2002. Office of Intellectual Freedom, American Library Assoc. 26 Sept. 2002 <http://www.ala.org/bbooks/>.