MLA Citation Style: A Quick Guide (7th Edition)

Navigating citation styles can be tricky. This quick guide covers the basics of the MLA 7th Edition style for some of the most common sources. For a complete list of rules and examples, always consult the official handbook.

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General MLA Formatting Rules

Before diving into examples, remember these core rules:

• In-Text Citations: Cite sources in parentheses within your paper's text.

• Works Cited Page: Every source cited in your paper must have a corresponding entry on your Works Cited page at the end.

• Spacing & Indentation: Double-space your entire paper, including the Works Cited list. Use a hanging indent for each entry (first line flush left, subsequent lines indented).

• Titles:

  • Books, Journals, Websites: Italicize.

  • Articles, Chapters, Web Pages: Use "Quotation Marks".

• Capitalization: Capitalize each word in a title, except for articles (a, an, the) unless they are the first word.

• Authors: Use the author's full first and last name when known (e.g., Smith, Bob).

• Order: Arrange entries alphabetically by the last name of the first author.

• Medium: Every entry must indicate the source's medium (e.g., Print, Web, DVD, CD).

   

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Citing Books & Parts of Books

Basic Format:

Author Surname, First Name. Book Title: Subtitle. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Medium.

Common Examples:

1. Book with One Author

• Works Cited: Berman, Ronald. Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and the Twenties. Tuscaloosa: UP of Alabama, 2001. Print.

• In-Text Citation: (Berman 146-55)

2. Book with Two or Three Authors

• Works Cited: McCloskey, Mary Lou, and Lydia Stack. Voices in Literature. Boston: Heinle, 1996. Print.

• In-Text Citation: (McCloskey and Stack 46)

3. Book with More Than Three Authors You can use "et al." for all authors after the first.

• Works Cited: Pound, Richard W., et al. The Fitzhenry and Whiteside Book of Canadian Facts and Dates. Markham: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2005. Print.

• In-Text Citation: (Pound et al. 54)

4. Work in an Anthology or Edited Book

• Works Cited: Bordo, Susan. “The Moral Content of Nabokov’s Lolita.” Aesthetic Subjects. Ed. Pamela R. Matthews and David McWhirter. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2003. 125-52. Print.

• In-Text Citation: (Bordo 127)

5. E-Book

• Works Cited: Kanneh, Kadiatu. African Identities: Race, Nation and Culture in Ethnography, Pan-Africanism and Black Literatures. London: Routledge, 1998. ebrary. Web. 25 June 2009.

• In-Text Citation: (Kanneh 76)

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Citing Articles

Basic Format (Print Journal):

Author Surname, First Name. “Article Title: Subtitle.” Journal Title Volume.Issue (Year): Page Range. Medium.

Basic Format (Online Journal):

Author Surname, First Name. “Article Title: Subtitle.” Journal Title Volume.Issue (Year): Page Range. Database Title. Medium. Date of Access.

Common Examples:

1. Basic Journal Article (Print)

• Works Cited: Beeman, Angie, Davita Silfen Glasberg, and Colleen Casey. "Whiteness as Property: Predatory Lending and the Reproduction of Racialized Inequality.” Critical Sociology 37.1 (2011): 27-45. Print.

• In-Text Citation: (Beeman, Glasberg, and Casey 32)

2. Journal Article from an Online Database

• Works Cited: Shah, Amar, et al. "Factors Associated with Length of Admission at a Medium Secure Forensic Psychiatric Unit." Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology 22.4 (2011): 496-512. EbscoHost. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.

• In-Text Citation: (Shah et al. 498)

3. Magazine Article (Print)

• Works Cited: Geddes, John. “The Canadian Hired to Save the World.” Maclean’s 21 Nov. 2011: 16-18. Print.

• In-Text Citation: (Geddes 16)

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Citing Web Sources

Basic Webpage

• Works Cited: Zalta, Edward N., ed. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.

• In-Text Citation: (Zalta)

Document from a Website

• Works Cited: Stein, Karin, and Anna Paletta. “Canadian Social Science Faculty Survey.” Department of Justice Canada. Government of Canada, 20 Feb. 2002. Web. 19 Sept. 2011.

• In-Text Citation: (Stein and Paletta)

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Citing Other Media

Film or DVD

• Works Cited: Double Indemnity. Dir. Billy Wilder. Perf. Edward G. Robinson. MCA Home Video, 1991. DVD.

• In-Text Citation: (Double Indemnity)

Online Image

• Works Cited: Escher, M.C. Castle in the Air. 1928. National Gallery of Canada. National Gallery of Canada: M.C. Escher Mindscapes. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.

• In-Text Citation: (Escher)

E-mail

• Works Cited: Barrett, Linda. “Re: Homer.” Message to the author. 26 Jun. 2010. Email.

• In-Text Citation: (Barrett)

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A Note on Indirect Sources (Quoting a Quote)

If you cite information from a source that was quoted in another source, use "qtd. in" (quoted in) in your in-text citation. Only list the source you actually read in your Works Cited.

• In-Text Citation: Fong’s 1987 study found that older students’ memory can be as good as that of young people, but this depends on how memory is tested (qtd. in Bertram 124).

• Works Cited Entry: Bertram, Christian. Memory and Age. Academic Press, 2010. Print.

     

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