Sample MLA Citations

The examples below are consistent with the format in Joseph Gibaldi's MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. You can find this guide in the reference stacks at LB2369 .G53 2003. Please consult this book for more citation examples and information about proper formatting.

Alternately, you can consult this online reference:

Mother Goose Keepsake Collection. Lincolnwood, IL.: Publications International, 2002.

Books with 1 Author

Sendak, Maurice.  Where the Wild Things Are. New York: HarperCollins, 1963.

Books with multiple authors

Berenstain, Stan, and Jan Berenstain. The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room. New York:
      Random House, 1983.

Books with an Editor

Hall, Donald, ed. The Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children's Poems. Oxford:
      Oxford UP, 2001.

Two or more books by the same author

Geisel, Theodor Seuss. Green Eggs and Ham.  New York: Random House, 1960.

   ------. The Lorax. New York: Random House, 1971.

Edition other than the first

Rey, H. A. and Margaret Rey. The Complete Adventures of Curious George. 60th Anniversary
      ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.

Duffy, Edward. "Sentences in Harry Potter, Students in Future Writing Classes." Rhetoric Review 21 (2002): 170-88.

*Note that for this citation, no issue number is given

Sciandra, Denise. "DINING WITH AN OOGABOO: Relating the Long-term Joys of Oz." Children & Libraries: The Journal of the
      Association for Library Service to Children 2.3 (Winter 2004): 64

*Note that for this citation the issue number is given after the period.  (volume 56, issue 6).

Articles in Popular Magazines

 "Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events." People, 10 January 2005: 33. 
 

*DO NOT give issue or volume numbers for these citations.

Newspaper Articles

1. Omit the initial article of a newspaper title (e.g. A, An, The).
2. If the newspaper is not nationally recognized (the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post), include the city name of the newspaper in square brackets [ ] after the newspaper name.
3. When listing the date of publication, do not include volume and issue numbers.
4. Abbreviate all months according to section 7.2 (p. 263) except for May, June and July.
5. If an edition is listed on the paper, include this after the date. If each section of the paper has separate page numbers, include the section number or letter with the page numbers. If the article is not printed on consecutive pages, write only the first page number followed by a + sign.

Smith, John F. “Memories of Childhood Reading!” Argus [Brighton, MI] 15 Jan 2001: 1+.  

For instructions on citing websites click here for directions from MLA (note: scroll to the bottom of the page for examples of different web sources): MLA Electronic Style Guide