MLA, or Modern Language Association of America, format is one of the major manuscript formats for writers in the humanities. The guidebook gives precise format guidelines and examples for specific sections of a paper. The works cited section of a paper is the place in which the writer lists the works referred to in the body of the paper. Different types of works have different formatting rules.
Basic Format
Always begin your works cited page on a separate page at the end of the research paper. Center the words "Works Cited" at the top of the page, without the quotation marks. Double space all citations, but do not skip lines between entries. Indent the second and following lines of each citation five spaces to create a hanging indentation.Use italics for longer works such as books and magazines and quotations for articles, stories and poems.
Books
For the works cited page, books are listed alphabetically by author's name. They should read, Last name, First name. Title of book in italics. Place of publication:Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.
If more than one author, list the second author First Name Last Name. For instance, Doe, John, and Jane Doe.
If an author has more than one book listed in works cited, list them alphabetically with the second book beginning with a three hyphens and a period, then list title. Leave off second mention of author's name; the hyphen takes the place of author's name in that case.
If a book is written by a corporation or organization, list that group in place of author in italics. If no author is listed, work the entry in alphabetically by title, beginning the listing with the title.
If the book was translated, list the book normally, but following the title, add Trans. and author's name first name first. Similarly, if the book is a specific edition, add that edition number or date after title, and if it was prepared by an editor or editors, add that information following title for example, Ed. John Doe.
Periodicals
To cite an article in a magazine, list as follows: Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of periodical in italics. Day Month Year:pages. Medium of publication. Be sure to abbreviate the month.
Newspaper articles are cited the same way, with few exceptions. Pages will include number and section, such as A3. If there is an early and late edition of the paper, include that info after the date. If it's a lesser known or smaller paper, include the city and state following the title, in brackets.
For a review, list the review author, the review title, then Rev. of Title of Performance or Work, authors or directors of work, then publication information as typically listed. List and editorial or letter to the editor as any other newspaper listing but include the word Letter or Editorial following the author. For an anonymous article, begin the listing with the title.
Electronic Sources
For web publications, the MLA no longer requires the use of URLS in works cited pages. For web publications, you will use the abbreviations n.d. when no date is available, and n.p. to indicate no publisher is listed, and n. pag. to indicate no page number listed.
To cite an entire website, list it as follows: Author, or editor or compiler name, if available. Name of site in italics. Name of institution, organization or publisher if available. Medium of publication. Date of access or publication if available.
To cite an image such as a work of art, list the artist's name, the work's title in italics, the institution and city where the work is housed. Website in italics. Web. Date of access. If if the image is online only, then use regular website citation method.
To cite an article in a scholarly journal that appears in print as well as online, cite it as you would a print article, then follow that information with the medium (Web) and date of access. To cite e-mail, list author, subject line as title, and who the message was sent to, the date of the message and E-mail. For instance, Clark, Julie. "Re: Tree Frogs." Message to Kate Johnson. 1 Dec. 2007. E-mail.
Other Works
For a personal, unpublished interview you conduct, write the entry as follows: Name of interviewed person last name first. Personal interview. Date.
For a published or broadcast interview, list the interviewed person's name, the title of the interview in quotes, the larger work it is a part of in italics, and follow the format for the medium the interviews appears in. If the interview is not part of a larger work, then the title is italicized rather than put in quotations.
For speeches or lectures, list by speaker, then title of speech, the event the speech is given at, the location and date. Finally denote the type of speech, such as Keynote Address, Guest Lecture or Reading, for example. If the speech is published, then cite as a book.
For films in theaters, list by title, director, film studio or distributor and release year. Medium. For those on DVD, list the same way, with medium as DVD. For broadcast television, list by episode title, series, network name, call letters of the station, date of broadcast. Medium.
Tags: author name, works cited, following title, name first, cite article, Date access
