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Citing Sources: MLA

MLA 8 Guiding Principles

The 8th edition provides a "universal set of guidelines" for citing sources across all format types.

These guidelines state that, if present, these major elements should be included in the citation:

  1. Author
  2. Title of Source
  3. Title of Container*
  4. Other Contributors
  5. Version
  6. Number
  7. Publisher
  8. Publication date
  9. Location

*Note:  Container is the larger whole of what you are citing.  For example, the larger whole of a chapter is a book, the larger whole of an article can be a journal, magazine, newspaper, encyclopedia, or other type of publication

Citation Resources

MLA 8th Edition 2016

MLA Forrnatting and Style Guide  OWL Purdue

MLA Style  WWNorton & Co

MLA Sample Works Cited Page  OWL Purdue

MLA Sample Paper  OWL Purdue

MLA Style Examples Printable  Highline CC Library

MLA Footnotes and Endnotes     OWL  Purdue University

MLA 8th ed. Quick Tutorial (3:38 min.)

From CSUDH Library under Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed)

Works Cited Format Examples

Below are some examples for formatting a works cited page. 

Book,
Single Author

Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. Love in the Time of Cholera. Vintage, 1988.     

Book,
Two Authors

Casell, Kay Ann and Uma Hiremath. Reference and Information Services in

          the 21st Century:  An Introduction. Neal-Schuman, 2004.

NOTE: Authors should be listed in the order they are listed on the title page.

Book,
Three or More Authors

Robbins, Chandler S., et al. Birds of North America: A Guide to Field

          Identification. Golden, 1966.

Book,
with Translator or other contributors

Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles, Viking, 1996.

NOTE: Some other common descriptions: Adapted by, Directed by, Edited by, Illustrated by, Introduction by, Narrated by, Performance by.

A work (e.g., essay, short story) in an anthology or compilation.

Kimball, Jean. "Growing Up Together: Joyce and Psychoanalysis,

         1900-1922." Joyce through the Ages: A Nonlinear View, edited by

          Michael Patrick Gillespie, UP of Florida, 1999, pp. 25-45.

Book,
Later Edition

Blamires, Harry. The New Bloomsday Book: A Guide through Ulysses.

        3rd ed., Routledge, 1996.

Article in an Online Database

Hannah, Daniel K. "The Private Life, the Public Stage: Henry James in

       Recent Fiction." Journal of Modern Literature, vol.30, no. 3, 2007,

       pp. 70-94. JSTOR,

            www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.uwf.edu/stable/30053134.

NOTE: When including the URL, omit the https:// and https://

Article in Print Journal

Hannah, Daniel K. "The Private Life, the Public Stage: Henry James in

        Recent Fiction." Journal of Modern Literature, vol.30, no.3, 2007,

         pp. 70-94.

Article (Web Page) on a Web Site

Farkas, Meredith. "Tips for Being a Great Blogger (and a Good Person)." 

         Information Wants  to Be Free, 19 July  2011,   

         meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2011/07/19/tips-for-being-a-great-

          blogger-and-good-person/. 

NOTE: When including the URL, omit the https:// and https://
Website (Whole site)

Farkas, Meredith. Information Wants to Be Free. Jun. 2015,

          meredith.wolfwater.com.

About this guide

This guide was adapted from one originally created by Britt McGowan, Reference & Instruction Librarian at the University of West Florida: https://libguides.uwf.edu/c.php?g=215200&p=3321453 

All Content CC-BY.