Citation & Style Guide

MLA released the new 9th edition in 2021. See MLA's "What's New in the Ninth Edition" for changes since the 8th edition. Check with your faculty to learn which edition to use. You can find the print version of the 8th and 9th editions in the Reference section of the Library.

This page offers advice from MLA 9th edition.

• Literatures
• Languages
• Other Humanities fields
• If you aren't sure which citation style to use, be sure to ask your professors which style they prefer for assignments.

• Use in-text citations. Example: (Wordsworth 262)
• Bibliography heading: Use "Works Cited" as page heading.
• Core elements: Rather than give strict format rules for different types of sources, the MLA Handbook identifies 9 "core elements" common to most sources and provides flexible guidelines on how to reference them in your Works Cited list.

In-text citations are brief, parenthetical references to your sources that point readers to the full citation in your Works Cited page. In-text citations should interrupt the flow of your text as little as possible.

The Basics

• Include the author's last name in parentheses immediately following the cited material.
• If there is a page number (or line number, time stamp, etc.), include it after the author's last name.
• Do not use commas inside the parentheses.
• Quotation marks come before the parentheses; sentence punctuation follows them. 

Example

Rather than belabor the point or summarize what you've already said, a strong conclusion should "take your readers slightly by surprise and yet seem exactly right" (Zinsser 64).

Special Situations

Block Quotes

Instead of having separate citation groups for each format type, the MLA identifies a set of 9 elements for "universal guidelines" applicable to all of them. Besides standardizing the elements required for a citation, the MLA 8th edition introduced the idea of "containers", so that the basic elements of a citation in a works cited list are the same regardless of the type of resource cited.

Practice by trying out MLA's interactive template.

The following examples are the most commonly used.  Consult the MLA website citation examples or the full MLA Handbook (print edition at the Research Desk) for the official, comprehensive guide to sources and examples.

Format: Author’s last name/first name (and second author's name if applicable). Title of Source. Publisher, Date of Publication. 

Brooks, Max. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead. Three Rivers Press, 2003.

Book with two authors:
Verstynen, Timothy and Bradley Voytek. Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep? A Neuroscientific View of the Zombie Brain. Princeton, 2014.

Book with three or more authors:
Evans, Arthur B., et al.The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction. Wesleyan University Press, 2010.

Book with translator or other contributor:
Murakami, Ryu. From the Fatherland with Love. Translated by Ralph McCarthy, et al. Pushkin Press, 2013.

Chapter from an anthology or edited compilation:
Sabau, Ana. "The Perils of Ownership: Property and Literature in NIneteenth-Century Mexico." Mexican Literature in Theory, edited by Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado, Bloomsbury Academic, 2018, pp. 33-54.
 

Similar to print, except also add e-book source (where you got the e-book from database, Hathi Trust, Amazon, etc), Location.

Format: Author's last name. Title. Publisher, date of Publication. Ebook source, Location.

Zehr, E. Paul. Becoming Batman: the Possibility of a Superhero. Johns Hopkins Press, 2009. EBL, www.middlebury.eblib.com.ezproxy.middlebury.edu/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=3318448.

Format: Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical, Volume, Issue, Date, pages. 

Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 41-50. .

Author’s name. “Title of the Article.” Journal Title, Volume, Issue, Date of publication): pages. Name of database or other relevant information. Access Provider, URL or DOI.

Joye, Stijn and de Walle Van. "Batman Returns, Again and again: An Exploratory Inquiry Into the Recent 'batman' Film Franchise, Artistic Imitation and Fan Appreciation". Catalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies 7, no. 1, 2015, pp. 37-50. MLA International Bibliography, ezproxy.middlebury.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1696259860?accountid=12447.

Format: Author's name. "Title of Article." Magazine Title, day month year: pages. URL or DOI.

Berlatsky, Noah.. "Bring back Doofus Batman: Attention, Ben Affleck: the Dark Knight Is Better when He's an Idiot." Atlantic, 26 Aug. 2013, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/08/bring-back-doofus-batman/279038/.

Format: Same as magazine.

Muskus, Jeff. "A Sampler: A Batman Wrestling With Ghosts of the Past."  New York Times Online, 29 July 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/arts/television/a-sampler-a-batman-wrestling-with-ghosts-of-the-past.html.

Format: Author’s name. "Title of Source." Title of Web Site, Other contributors, Institution or organization associated with/producing the website, Date of posting/revision, URL. [Optional: Date Accessed].

“Rover Report: Three Years on Mars!” NASA’s Journey to Mars: Videos, edited by Sarah Loff, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 30 July 2015, www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars/videos/index.html.

Format: Author of Review. "Title of Review." (if there is one) Rev. of Title of work reviewed, by Name of Author. Source Information. (follow format for print, online journal, etc. as given above)

Grimes, William. "Beyond Mandalay, the Road to Isolation and Xenophobia." Review of The River of Lost Footsteps: Histories of Burma, by Thant Myint-U. New York Times, 13 Dec. 2006, pp. E8+. ProQuest, search.proquest.com/docview/93034828?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=12447.

You may include additional elements if they help distinguish your source. Optional elements may be placed near related core elements or at the end of the citation.

• Date of original publication
• City of publication
• Other facts about the source (e.g., total number of volumes, series name, unexpected type of work such as a transcript, information about prior publication, Congressional session)
• Date of access (for online sources - especially when no publication date is given or for sites where content is likely to change)

In-text citations are brief, parenthetical references to your sources that point readers to the full citation in your Works Cited page.

Example

Rather than belabor the point or summarize what you've already said, a strong conclusion should "take your readers slightly by surprise and yet seem exactly right" (Zinsser 64).

The Basics

• Include the author's last name and the appropriate page number(s) in parentheses immediately following the cited material.
• Do not use commas inside the parentheses.
• Quotation marks come before the parentheses; sentence punctuation follows them. 

Special Situations

Entire Works: If you are citing an entire work, you can omit page numbers.

(Zinsser)

Signal Phrases: You don't need to include the author's name in the parentheses when context clarifies whom you are citing (e.g., you have used the author's name as part of your signal phrase, you have cited the same source immediately preceding the current citation.) If you are in doubt, include the author's last name.

In On Writing Well, William Zinsser argues a strong conclusion should "take your readers slightly by surprise and yet seem exactly right" (64).

Multiple Works by Same Author: If your Works Cited list has more than one work by the same author, include the work title in the in-text citation, separated by a comma.

(Zinsser, On Writing Well 64)

Multiple Authors with Same Last Name: If your Works Cited list has more than one author with the same last name, include the initial of the author's first name in the in-text citation.

(W. Zinsser 64)

Multiple Authors of a Single Work: If three or fewer authors, include all in your in-text citation; if four or more, list the first author only followed by the abbrevation "et al."

(Rodriguez, Jones, and Bartell 273)
(Rodriguez et al. 273)

Indirect or Quoted Material: Find the original source if possible. If not, use the abbreviation "qtd. in" for "quoted in".

(qtd. in Liu 392)

Ebooks: If the ebook has stable page numbers (i.e., page numbers remain consistent regardless of device used or font size), use those as you would a print book. If the ebook has reflowable pages, do not use page numbers. Instead, cite the section or chapter if possible.

(Zinsser, ch. 9)

If the ebooks does not have stable page numbers, sections, or chapters, cite the work as a whole.

(Zinsser) 

An annotated bibliography includes a citation and a written statement or abstract about each work to help potential readers decide if an item is relevant to their interests.