The point of citation is to give credit to the author of your sources and explain to your professor where you found the information to support the argument of your paper.
As a college student, you are required to cite all published quotations, ideas, arguments, research and obscure facts that you have used to write your paper. There are two main parts to MLA and APA citation, the in-text citation and the Works Cited/References list. When using MLA or APA, it is important to format your citations exactly as stated paying close attention to punctuation, capitalization and italics.
MLA WORKS CITED PAGE
When citing in MLA, the last page of a research paper or essay is called the "Works Cited" list. This is where you list the full citation of the sources you used to write your paper.
CREATING A CITATION FOR THE WORKS CITED PAGE
To create the citations for your sources, use the MLA universal set of guidelines to build your citations. Your source may not contain information in all of these categories, so only include the information you have. Pay attention to and follow the punctuation and capitalization. Here is the universal format to follow:
FORMAT:
Author. "Title of Source". Title of Container, Other Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.
EXAMPLE MAGAZINE ARTICLE:
Kunzig, Robert. "The New Europeans: Voices from a Changing Continent". National Geographic, vol. 258, no. 5, Nov. 2015, pp. 58-75.
DETAILS ON EACH CATEGORY:
| Category | Notes |
|---|---|
| 1. Author. |
One author format: Last, First. |
|
2. "Title of Source." |
Capitalize all main words of the title. |
|
If your source is found in a larger source, like an article in a magazine, list the title of the overall source. |
|
| 4. Other Contributors, | These include editors, illustrators, translators, etc. |
| 5. Version, | Include if your source has an edition number, like you would see with a textbook. |
| 6. Number, |
Include if your source has a volume, issue, episode or series number. You will see this with volumes of encyclopedias, journal articles or tv shows. |
| 7. Publisher, | |
| 8. Publication date, | Include day, month and year when available. Abbreviate long month names. Format: Day Mo. Year; Ex.: 5 Dec. 2011, |
| 9. Location. | Include if your source has page numbers or if your source comes from a website. Example of source with pages: pp.12-54 Example of website: http://www.time.com/aj245/ |
MLA WORKS CITED FORMATS FOR POPULAR SOURCE TYPES
Format:
Author Last name, First name. Title of Book: Subtitle. Publisher, year. Database or URL (if applicable).
Example (Print):
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. Little, Brown and Company, 2008.
Example (eBook):
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The story of success. Little, Brown and Company, 2008. eBook Collection EBSCOhost.
Use this format if your book has an editor and each chapter has a different autho.
Format:
Editor’s Last name, First name, editor. Title of Book: Subtitle. Edition (if other than first), Publisher, year. Database or URL (if applicable).
Example:
Lopate, Philip, editor. The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present. Doubleday, 1994.
Format:
Last name, First name. "Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia (or Dictionary), Edition (if noted), year. Database or URL (if applicable).
Example:
Reimers, David. "Immigration." The World Book Encyclopedia, 2001.
Magazine Format:
Author Last name, First name. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine, vol. no., issue no., day Month year (of issue), page number(s). Database or URL (if applicable).
Magazine Example:
Elliott, Philip, and Zeke J. Miller. “How President Trump is Trampling Precedent.” Time, vol. 189, no. 4, 6 Feb. 2017, pp. 9–11. Academic Search Complete
Newspaper Format:
Author Last name, First name. "Title of Article." Name of Newspaper, day Month year (of issue), page number(s). Database or URL (if applicable).
Newspaper Example:
Sang-Hun, Choe. “South Korea Leader Fires Aides in Uproar.” New York Times, 31 Oct. 2016, p. A9(L). Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Format:
Author Last name, First name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, vol. no., issue no, year, pages. Database or URL (if applicable).
Example:
Yong, Caleb. “Justice in Labor Immigration Policy.” Social Theory & Practice, vol. 42, no. 4, Oct. 2016, pp. 817–844. JSTOR.
Format:
Author’s Last name, First name. “Title of Page.” Title of Website, Website Publisher (if different than title of website), Date of publication, URL. Date accessed (optional).
Example with an author:
Warren, Tom. “Microsoft’s Surface PC Event: What to Expect.” The Verge, Vox Media, 24 Oct. 2016, www.theverge.com/2016/10/24/13379386/microsoft-surface-eventwindows-10-devices-preview. Accessed 31 Oct. 2016. Web page without an Author
Example without an author:
“Influenza A (H3N2) Variant Virus.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12 Sept. 2016, www.cdc.gov/flu/swineflu/h3n2v-cases.htm.
MLA RESOURCES
