Sample MLA Citations

Introduction 

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.

You can also consult this online reference: Diana Hacker, A Writer's Reference.

Books and Book Chapters

Books without an author

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

Books with one 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.

Articles (Scholarly and Unscholarly)

Article in a professional journal with pagination by volume or year

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

Note: No issue number is given.

Article in a professional journal with pagination by issue

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: The issue number is given after the period.

Articles in popular magazines

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

Note: DO NOT give issue or volume numbers.

Articles in newspapers

Note: Follow these special rules for citing newspapers:

• Omit the initial article of a newspaper title (e.g. A, An, The).
• If the newspaper is not nationally recognized (i.e. the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post), include the city name of the newspaper in square brackets [ ] after the newspaper name.
• When listing the date of publication, do not include volume and issue numbers.
• Abbreviate all months according to section 7.2 (p. 263) except for May, June, and July.
• 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.

Minzesheimer, Bob. "Peter Pan's early years." USA Today 2 Sept 2004: 1d.

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