MLA Examples of Works Cited Entries and In-Text Citations

A Book

Author’s name.Title of the Book.Publication Information

Examples:

Franke, Damon. Modern Heresies: British Literary History, 1883-1924. Columbus: Ohio State UP, 2008. Print.

Examples of in-text citations for above source: (Franke).

A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection

Works may include an essay in an edited collection or anthology, or a chapter of a book. The basic form is for this sort of citation is as follows:

Lastname, First name."Title of Essay."Title of Collection.Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page range of entry.Medium of Publication.

Examples:

Franklin, Benjamin. “from The Autobiography.” McDougal Littel Literature: British Literature. Ed. Janet Allen, et al. Dallas: McDougal Littel, 2008. 264-270. Print.

“Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790.” McDougal Littel Literature: American Literature. Ed. Janet Allen, et al. Dallas: McDougal Little, 2008. 262. Print.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth.McDougal Little Literature: American Literature. Ed. Janet Allen, et al. Dallas: McDougal Littel,2008. 340-423. Print.

Examples of in-text citations for above sources: (Franklin 265) ; (“Benjamin Franklin” 262) (Shakespeare5.1.14-15).

Films or Movies

List films (in theaters or not yet on DVD or video) by their title. Include the name of the director, the film studio or distributor, and the release year. If relevant, list performer names after the director’s name. Use the abbreviation perf. to head the list. List film as the medium of publication. To cite a DVD or other video recording, see “Recorded Films and Movies” below.

The Usual Suspects.Dir. Bryan Singer.Perf. Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, ChazzPalminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Beneciodel Toro. Polygram, 1995.Film.

Examples of in-text citations for above source: (The Unusual Suspects).

A Page on a Web Site

For an individual page on a Web site, list the author or alias if known, followed by the information covered above for entire Web sites. Remember to use n.p. if no publisher name is available and n.d. if no publishing date is given.

"How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow.com.eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.

Examples of in-text citations for above sources: (“How to Make”).

An Article from an Online Database (or Other Electronic Subscription Service); also a PDF File

Cite articles from online databases (e.g. LexisNexis, ProQuest, JSTOR, ScienceDirect, Academic Search, Newspaper Source, etc.) and other subscription services just as you would print sources. Do not include EBSCO in title. Since these articles usually come from periodicals, be sure to consult the appropriate sections of the Works Cited: Periodicals page, which you can access via its link at the bottom of this page. In addition to this information, provide the title of the database italicized, the medium of publication, and the date of access.

Note: Previous editions of the MLA Style Manual required information about the subscribing institution (name and location). This information is no longer required by MLA.

Kemble, Rebecca. “Walker Rolls Back Civil Rights.” Progressive 75.9 (Sept. 2011): 18-21.MAS Ultra. Web. 10 Oct. 2011.

Langhamer, Claire. “Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England.”Historical Journal 50.1 (2007): 173-96. ProQuest.Web. 27 May 2009.

Purcell, William F. “Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible and the essentializing of Africa: a critical double standard.” Notes on Literature 37.5 (2007): 2 Gale Student Resources in Context. Web. 12 Oct. 2011.

Samuel, Terence. “Clinton’s Final Act Could Be a Doozy.” U.S. News and World Report 11 Sept. 2000: 32. Sirs Discoverer.Web. 8 Feb. 2006.

Examples of in-text citations for above sources:(Kemble) ; (Langhamer) ; (Purcell) ; (Samuel)

Also note:

For all above in-text citations, you may also use author within your sentence like this:

According to Claire Langhamer, courtship in modern times has changed significantly from earlier periods.

Bentley, Phyllis. “Yorkshire and the Novelist.”The Kenyon Review 30.4 (1968): 509-22. JSTOR.PDF file.

Examples of in-text citations for above source. Because this is a PDF file, the page number must be included in the cite even though it is taken off the web where page numbers are not usually included:

(Bentley 510) ; Phyllis Bentley feels the words of the author must be cited correctly (510).