Associationcitationformat.ThefollowingpageincludessamplecitationsfromtheMLAhandbook:
Gibaldi,Joseph.MLAHandbookforWritersofResearchPapers.6thed.NYork:MLA,2003.
Formoreinformation,consulttheoriginaldo BasicMLACitationFormat
OneofthecitationformatsLesleyUniversityrecommendsforstudentsistheModernLanguagecument,ortheMLAwebsite:ttp://www.mla.org
h
ReferenceswithintheText
ExampleA
"Therearetwobasictypesofsociodramaticplaytraining:outsideinterventionandinside
intervention"(Christie29).
Byputtingtheauthor'slastname,Christie,andthepagenumber,29,inparenthesesafteryour
quotationaboutplaytraining,youaretellingthereaderwhereyoufoundthisinformation.
ExampleB
Christiestatesthat"therearetwobasictypesofsociodramaticplaytraining:outsideintervention
andinsideintervention"(29).
Becauseyouhavementionedtheauthor'snameinyoursentence,youdonothavetorepeatitin
theparentheses.
ExampleC
MargaretSangerwasthoughttobeprimarilyresponsiblefortheintroductionofbirthcontrolin
thiscountry(Kennedy251).
or
DavidKennedysaysthatMargaretSangerwasprimarilyresponsiblefortheintroductionofbirth
controlinthiscountry(251).
Sentencesinyourownwordsabouttheidea(s)ofanauthoraretreatedinmuchthesameway.Here
therearenoquotationmarksbecauseyouaredescribinganauthor'sidea,notquotingwordfor
word.Thisiscalled"paraphrasing"andisasimportanttocitecorrectlyasifitwereadirectquote.
ewMLABasicCitationFormat
FormattingCitationsforYourBibliographyorWorksCitedPage
MLA Citation Examples
Books / Articles / Encyclopedias / Web Pages / Images / Other
I. Books
Printed books / Online books / Book chapter, short story, poem
Printed book with one author
Kennedy, David. Birth Control in America: The Career of Margaret Sanger . New
Haven: Yale UP, 1970.
Printed book with two or more authors (Cite authors as they appear on title page, not
necessarily in alphabetical order.)
Wellek, Rene, and Austin Warren. Theory of Literature. 3rd ed. New York:
Harcourt, 1962.
Online book
Basic MLA Style Format
Arrange the citations in alphabetical order by the first element of the citation, usually the
authors last name.
Hanging Indents are required for citations in the bibliography, as shown below. That is, the first
line of the citation starts at the left margin. Subsequent lines are indented 5 spaces.
As with every other part of an MLA formatted essay, the bibliography is double spaced, both
within the citation and between citations. Do not add an extra line between the citations.
The right margin is the normal right margin of your document.
LesleyUniversityLibraries26/2/2004MLABasicCitationFormat
(When citing an online resource, follow the basic format for a print source, and then add online
retrieval information. If the URL, or Web address, is more than one line, dont break at a
hyphen; only break after a slash.)
Pinson, Linda, and Jerry Jinnett. Steps to Small Business Start-up: Everything You Need
to Know to Turn Your Idea Into a Successful Business . Chicago: Dearborn, A Kaplan
Professional Company, 2000. NetLibrary, Lesley University Libraries, Cambridge, MA.
March 31, 2003 <http://www.netlibrary.com/ >.
Chapter, short story, or poem from a book or a work in a collection (an anthology, a
casebook, or a group of essays)
OConnor, Flannery. Everything That Rises Must Converge. Mirrors: An Introduction to
Literature. Ed. John R. Knott, Jr. and Christopher R. Reaske. San Francisco: Canfield, 1975.
58-67.
II. Articles, essays, and reviews
Scholarly journal articles: Print or PDF / Lesley database / Web
Magazine articles
Newspaper articles
Art review
Book review
Print or PDF article in a scholarly journal
Christie, James F. Sociodramatic Play Training. Young Children 37 (1982): 25-32.
Scholarly journal article available online from a Lesley University database if not PDF
Buchanan, Richard. Education and Professional Practice in Design. Design
Issues 14 (Summer 1998): 63-66. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Lesley University
Libraries, Cambridge, MA. 21 November 2003 <http://www.epnet.com/>.
LesleyUniversityLibraries36/2/2004MLABasicCitationFormat
Scholarly journal article on the Web (not from a Lesley database)
MacLean, A. Peter, and Peters, Ray Dev. Graduate Student Couples: Dyadic
Satisfaction in Relation to Type of Partnership and Demographic Characteristics.
Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science 17.1 (1995): 13 pars. 22 April 2004
<http://www.cpa.ca/cjbsnew/1995/april/peters.html>.
Print or PDF article in a weekly magazine
Cohen, Hennig. Why Isnt Melville for the Masses? Saturday Review 16 Aug.
1969: 19-21.
Article in a newspaper, print or PDF. (If an edition is noted, list this after the date e.g., 15
Nov. 1976, ed. late If a section letter is used, add this to the citation. If the article is not on
consecutive pages, write only the first page number and a plus sign, leaving no intervening
space. Ex.: A13+)
Brody, Jane E. Cancer Termed on Increase. New York Times 10 Oct. 1976, sec. 1:37.
Newspaper article on the Web if not PDF
Calem, Robert E. Does the Web Addict People? Or Just Tempt Internet Abuse? The
New York Times 17 March 1996. 20 March 1996
<http://www.nytimes.com/web/docsroot/library/cyber/week/0317addict.html>.
Art review
Kipnis, Jeffrey. Rev. of Lifestyle, by Bruce Mau. Artforum International
Sum. 2001: 46.
Book review
Nodelman, Perry. Rev. of Inside Picture Books, by Ellen Handler Spitz. The Lion
and the Unicorn 22 (2000) 150-171.
LesleyUniversityLibraries46/2/2004MLABasicCitationFormat
III. Encyclopedia articles
Print / Online
Print encyclopedia article with no author
China. Encyclopedia Americana. 1978 ed.
Print encyclopedia article with an author
Buckley, Francis J. Team Teaching. Encyclopedia of Education. Ed. James W. Guthrie. 2nd ed. 8
vols. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003.
Online encyclopedia article with no author
Western Painting. Encyclopaedia Brittanica. 2004. Encyclopedia Brittanica
Online. Lesley University Libraries, Cambridge, MA. 7 April 2004 < http://search.eb.com/eb/article?
eu=115377>.
IV. Web Pages
Web page
Vandergrift, Kay E. Social History of Childrens Literature. Kay E. Vandergrifts
Special Interest Page. September 1995. SCILS, Rutgers U. 1 April, 2004
< http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~kvander/HistoryofChildLit/index.html>.
Web page essay from an organizations Web site
National Center for Health Statistics. Alcohol Use. 25 March 2004. Fastats A to Z. 28 April 2004
<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/alcohol.htm>.
V. Images
LesleyUniversityLibraries56/2/2004MLABasicCitationFormat
Original work / Art reproduction / Image from Lesley database / Image from Web
Original painting, sculpture, or photograph
(The date of creation is not necessary; if used, place it immediately after the
title of the work. In this example, it is 1308-11.)
Duccio di Buoninsegna. The Temptation of Christ on the Mountain. 1308-11. The
Frick Collection, New York.
Art reproduction
Walker, Kara. The End of Uncle Tom and the Grand Allegorical Tableau of Eva in
Heaven. 1995. Collection of Jeffrey Deitch, New York. The American Century:
Art & Culture, 1950-2000. By Lisa Phillips. New York: Whitney Museum of
American Art, 1999. Plate 556.
Image from a Lesley University Library Database
Barney, Matthew. Cremaster 1. 1995-6. Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN. The
AMICO Library. Wilson. Lesley University Libraries, Cambridge, MA. 4 April, 2003.
<http://www.amico.org/>.
Image from the Web
Wallen, Ruth. If Frogs Sicken and Die, What Will Happen to the Princes? Bus Image 11 . 1999. Green
Museum, Corte Madera, CA. 4 April 2003
<http://greenmuseum.org/content/wif_detail_view/
img_id-55_prev_size-1_artist_id-5_work_id-13.html>.
VI. Other Resources
ERIC Document / Lesson Plan / Personal E-mail / Interviews / Film or Video / Lecture, Speech,
etc.
LesleyUniversityLibraries66/2/2004MLABasicCitationFormat
ERIC document
Milgram, Norman A. The Many Faces of Procrastination: Implications and
Recommendations for Counselors. Paper presented at the Annual International
Council of Psychologists Convention. 22-16 Aug. 1987. New York: 1987. ERIC ED 290 103.
Lesson Plan on the Web
Barry, Karie. Amelia Bedelia. Educators Reference Desk Lesson Plans. 1994.
5 February 2004 <http://www.eduref.org/cgibin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Reading/RDG0043.html>.
Personal E-mail
Kennedy, Edward. Budget Preparation Meeting. E-mail to John Kerry. 10 March 1996.
Personal interview conducted in person
McKenna, Margaret. Personal interview. 17 April 1992.
Telephone interview
Poussaint, Alvin F. Telephone interview. 10 Dec. 1998.
Film or video recording
Andrews Plan. Prod. IEP Resources. Videocassette. Attainment Co. and Video
Architects, 2000.
Lecture, speech, address, or reading
(When citing an oral presentation, give the speakers name; title of the presentation, if known,
in quotation marks, or a descriptive label; the meeting and sponsoring organization; the
location; and the date.)
LesleyUniversityLibraries76/2/2004MLABasicCitationFormat
Terkel, Studs. Address. Conf. on Coll. Composition and Communication
Convention. Palmer House, Chicago. 22 Mar. 1990.
Course lecture
Dockray-Miller, Mary. Modernism: A Quick Overview. CLITR 2116 English
Literature II: Romanticism to the Present. Lesley University, Cambridge,
MA. 30 Mar. 2004.
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