What is MLA?

The Modern Language Association (MLA) System of documenting sources is the frequently required method of citing books, articles, journals, etc. for most college level research papers.

What should you document?

You should document any insight, assertion, fact, finding, interpretation, judgment or other materials readers might mistake for your own. You should document:

• any source from which you use exact wording
• any source from which you adapt material in your own words
• any visual illustration: charts, graphs, drawings, or the like.

Whenever you use someone else's ideas, you must document the fact that you are not the originator of this material by acknowledging the source in the text at the exact place you use that material and in the works cited page.

You do not need to document anything considered common knowledge, i.e. materials that appear repeatedly in general sources.

Why is it important to document sources?

Anything you borrow, such as a quote or an idea, requires documentation. Borrowing without acknowledging the original author(s) is considered PLAGIARISM (academic theft), which can result in serious academic penalties.

So make sure you document all your sources whether direct quotes or just ideas in your parenthetical references (in-text citation) as well as your works cited page.

Parenthetical References

A parenthetical reference "briefly identifies the source(s)." A complete citation will appear at the end of a paper on the "Works Cited" page. The parenthetical reference includes the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the information was obtained.

Example:
Recent date provided by 196 colleges indicate that violent crime on campus is increasing (Landerman 31).
If your statement names the author within the text, do not repeat the author's name in the reference; simply give the page number(s).

Example:
Lederman points out that date provided by 796 colleges indicate that violent crime on
campus is increasing (31).

Note

• Do not place an abbreviation for page (p. or pg.) within the parenthetical reference.
• When citing two or more authors with the same name, use first initial. Ex. (R. Jones)
  (S. Jones 14)
• When citing two works by the same author include the first word (not a, an, or the) in the reference:
  Ex. (Lamont, Biophysics 100-01)
  (Lamont, Diagnostic Tests 81)
• If the work is by a group, association, etc. or the author is unknown, use the first few words:
  Ex. (American Medical Assn. 2)
  ("Distribution Systems" 18)

MLA Works Cited Entries for Books

1. Book, single Author-MLA

Kerzin-Fontana, Jane B. Technology Management: A Handbook. 3rd ed. Delmar, NY: American Assn., 1997.

Parenthetical reference: (Kerzin 3-4)

**Identify the state of publication by U.S. Postal Service abbreviations. If the city of publication is well known (Boston, Chicago, and so on), omit the state abbreviation. If several cities are listed on the title page, give only the first. For Canada, include the province abbreviation after the city. For all other countries, include an abbreviation of the country.

2. Book, Two or Three Authors-MLA

Aronson, Linda, Roger Katz, and Candide Moustafa. Toxic Waste Disposal Methods. New Haven: Yale UP, 1996.

Parenthetical reference: (Aronson, Katz, and Moustafa 121-23)

**Shorten publishers' names, as in "Simon" for Simon & Schuster or "Yale UP" for Yale University Press. For page numbers having more than two digits, give only the final two digits for the second number.

3. Book, Four or More Authors-MLA

Santos, Ruth J., et al. Environmental Crises in developing Countries. New York: Harper, 1994.

Parenthetical reference: (Santos et al. 9)

**"Et al." is the abbreviated form of the Latin "et alia," meaning "and others."

4. Book, Anonymous Author-MLA

Structured Programming. Boston: Meredith, 1995.

Parenthetical reference: (Structured 67)

5. Multiple Books, Same Author-MLA

Chang, John W. Biophysics. Boston: Little, 1997.
----, Diagnostic Techniques. New York: Randon, 1994.

Parenthetical references: (Chang, Biophysics 123-26) (Chang, Diagnostic 87)

6. Book, One or More Editors-MLA

Morris, A.J., and Louise B. Pardin-Walker, ed. Handbook of New Information Technology. New York: Harper, 1996.

Parenthetical reference: (Morris and Pardin Walker 34)

**For more than three editors, name only the first, followed by "et al."

7. Book, Indirect Source-MLA

Kline, Thomas. Automated Systems. Boston: Rhodes, 1992.
Stubbs, John. White-Collar Productivity. Miami: Harris, 1996.

Parenthetical reference: (qtd. in Stubbs 116)

8. Anthology Selection or Book Chapter

Bowman, Joel P. "Electronic Conferencing." Communication and Technology: Today and Tomorrow. Ed. Al Williams. Denton,
      TX: Assn. For Business Communication, 1994. 123-42.

Parenthetical reference: (Bowman 129)

**Page numbers in the entry cover the selection cited from the anthology.

MLA Works Cited Entries for Periodicals

Give all the available information in this order: author, article title, periodical title, volume and issue, date (day, month, year), and page numbers for the entire article-not just pages cited.

9. Article, Magazine

DesMarteau, Kathleen. "Study Links Sewing Machine Use to Alzheimer's Disease." Bobbin Oct. 1994:16-38.

Parenthetical reference: (DesMarteau 36)

**No punctuation separates the magazine title and date. Nor is the abbreviation "p." or "pp." used to designate page numbers. If no author is given, list all other information.

"Distribution Systems for the New Decade." Power Technology Magazine 18 Oct. 1996: 18+.

Parenthetical reference: ("Distribution Systems" 18)

10. Article, Journal with New Pagination Each Issue

Thackman-White, Joan R. "Computer-Assisted Research." American Library Journal 51.1 (1997): 3-8.

Parenthetical reference: (Thackman-White 4-5)

**Because each issue for that year will have page numbers beginning with "1," readers need the number of this issue. The "51" denotes the volume number; the "1" denotes the issue number. **Omit "The" or "A" or any other introductory article from a journal or magazine title.

11. Article, Journal with Continuous Pagination

Barnstead, Marion H. "The Writing Crisis." Journal of Writing Theory 12 (1994): 415-33

Parenthetical reference: (Barnstead 418)

**(Include the issue number if you think it will help readers retrieve the article more easily.) The "12" denotes the volume number.

12. Article, Newspaper

Baranski, Vida H. "Errors in Technology Assessement." Boston Times 15 Jan. 1997, evening ed., sec. B: 3.

Parenthetical reference: (Baranski 3)

**Omit any introductory article in the newspaper's name (not The Boston Times). If no author name is given, list all other information. If the Newspaper's name does not contain the city of publication, insert it, using brackets: "Sippican Sentinel [Marion, MA]."

MLA works Cited Entries for Other Sources

13. Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Other Alphabetic Reference

"Communication." The Business Reference Book." 1993 ed.

Parenthetical reference: ("Communication")

**Begin a signed entry with the author's name

14. Report

Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI). Epidemiologic Studies of Electric Utility Employees. (Report No. RP2964.5). Palo Alto, CA: Epri, Nov. 1994.

Parenthetical reference: (Electrical Power Research Institute [EPRI] 27)

**If no author is given, begin with the organization that sponsored the report. For any report or other document with group authorship, as above, include the group's abbreviated name in your first parenthetical reference, and then use only that abbreviation in any subsequent reference.

15. Conference, Presentation

Smith, Abelard A. "Radon Concentrations in Molded Concrete." First British Symposium in Environmental Engineering.
       London, 11-13 Oct. 1995. Ed. Anne Hodkins. London: Harrison, 1996. 106-21.

Parenthetical reference: (Smith 109)

**For an unpublished presentation, include the presenter's name, the title of the presentation, and the conference title, location and date, but do not underline or italicize the conference information.

16. Interview, Personally Conducted

Nasser Gamel. Chief Engineer for Northern Electric. Personal Interview. Rangeley, ME.2 Apr. 1996.

17. Interview, Published

Lescault, James. "The Future of Graphics." Executive Views of Automation. Ed. Karen Prell. Miami: Haber, 1997. 216-31.

Parenthetical reference: (lescault 218)

18. Letter, Unpublished

Rogers, Leonard. Letter to the author. 15 May 1993.

Parenthetical reference: (Rogers)

19. Questionnaire

Taylor, Lynne. Questionnaire sent to 612 Massachusetts business executives. 14 Feb. 1997.

Parenthetical reference: (Taylor)

20. Brochure or Pamphlet

Investment Strategies for the 21st Century. San Francisco: Blount Economics Assn., 1997.

Parenthetical reference: (Investment)

21. Lecture

Dumont, R.A. "Managing Natural Gas." Lecture. University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, 15 Jan. 1996.

Parenthetical reference: (Dumont)

22.Government Documents General Documents

A. General Documents

Virginia. Highway Dept. Standards for Bridge Maintenance. Richmond: Virginia Highway Dept., 1991.

Parenthetical reference: (Virginia Highway Dept. 49)

B. Congressional Documents

For any congressional document, identify the house of Congress) Senate or House of representatives) before the title, and the number and session of Congress after the title:

United States Cong. House. Armed Services Committee. Funding for the Military Academics. 103rd Congress.,
           2nd. sess. Washington: GPO, 1995.

Parenthetical reference: (U.S. Con. 41)

**GPO is the abbreviation for the U.S. Government Printing Office.

23. Document with Corporate Authorship

Hermitage Foundation. Global Warming Scenarios for the Year 2030. Washington: Natl. Res. Council, 1996.

Parenthetical reference: (Hermitage Foun. 123)

24. Map or Other Visual

Deaths Caused by Breast Cancer, by County. Map. Scientific American Oct. 1995:32D.

Parenthetical reference: (Deaths Caused)

**If the creator of the visual is listed, list that name first. Identify the type of visual ("Map," "graph," "Table," "Diagram") immediately following its title.

25. Unpublished dissertation, Report, or Miscellaneous Items

Author (if known), title (in quotes), sponsoring organization or publisher, date,
page numbers.

**For any work that has group authorship (corporation, committee, task force), cite the name of the group or agency in place of the author's name.

MLA Entries for Electronic Resources

26. Online Database Source

Sahl, J.D. "Power Lines, Viruses, and Childhood Leukemia." Cancer Causes Control 6.1
                                      (article title)                                         (title of whole work)
     (Jan. 1995): 83. MEDLINE. Online. DIALOG. 7 Nov. 1995.
(posting date) (page) (database title) (designation) (Service provider) (date of access)

Parenthetical reference: (Sahl 83)

**For entries with a printed equivalent, begin with complete publication information, then the database title (underlined), the "Online" designation to indicate the medium, the service provider, and date of access.
**The access date is important because frequent updatings of databases can produce different versions of the material.

For entries with no printed equivalent, give the title and date of the work in quotation marks, followed by the electronic source information:

Argent, Roger R. "An Analysis of International Exchange Rates for 1995." Accu-Data. Online. Dow Jones News Retrieval. 10 Jan. 1996.

Parenthetical reference: (Argent 4)

**If the author is not known, begin with the work's title.

27. Computer Software

Virtual Collaboration. Diskette. New York: Harper, 1994.

Parenthetical reference: (Virtual)

**Begin with the author's name if known.

28. CD-ROM Source

Cavanaugh, Herbert A. "EMF Study: Good News and Bad News." Electrical World Feb. 1995:8.
ABI/INFORM. CD-ROM. Proquest. Sept. 1995.
(online database)                  (search engine) (access date)

Parenthetical reference: (Cavanaugh 8)

**For CD-ROM reference woks that are not routinely updated, give the work title followed by the "CD-ROM" designation, place, electronic publisher, and date:

Time Almanac. CD-ROM. Washington: Compact, 1994.

Parenthetical reference: (Time Almanac 74)

**Begin with the author's name if known.

29. Internet Posting (Bulletin Board, Discussion List)

Templeton, Brad. "10 Big Myths about Copyright Explained." 29 Nov. 1994. Online posting. Listserv law/copyright-
                                                                                                                            (posting date)
           FAQ/myths/part 1.BITNET. 6 May 1995.
                (online posting)                              (access date)

Parenthetical reference: (Templeton)

30. E-mail

Wallin, John Luther. "Frog Reveries." E-mail to author. 12 Oct. 1996. Online posting.
          http://www.umassd.edu/englishdepartment (6 Jan. 1996)

**Cite personal E-mail as you would printed correspondence. If the document has a subject line or title, enclose it in quotation marks. For publicly posted E-mail (for a news groups or discussion list) include the address and the date of access.

Parenthetical reference: (Wallin)

31. Web Source

Dumont, R.A. "An Online Course in Technical Writing." 10 Dec. 1995. Online posting.
http://www.unassd.edu/englishdepartment (6 Jan. 1996).

Parenthetical reference: (Dumont 7 – 9)

**Begin with the author's name (if known), followed by title of the work (in quotation marks), the posting date, the "Online" designation, the Web address, and the date of access. In place of or in addition to) the Web address, include the name of the Web site (underlined) if available:

Rogers, S.E. "Chemical Risk Assessment Guidelines." 12 Feb. 1996. OTA Online. http://www.ota.gov. (10 Mar. 1996).

Parenthetical reference: (Rogers)

"OTA" stands for Office of Technology Assessment.

32. HyperNews Posting

LaLiberte, Daniel. libetre@ncsa.uninc.edu “HyperNews Instructions.” 23 May 1996.
<http//union.ncsa.uniac.edu/HyperNews.html> (24 May 1996).

Parenthetical reference: (LaLiberte)

**To document a HyperNews posting, provide the author’s name, author’s email address in angle brackets, subject line or title of posting in quotation marks, date of publication, type of message if appropriate, URL in angle brackets, and date of access in parentheses.

33. Listserv Message

Parente, Victor. vrparente@mailbox.syr.edu “On Expectations of Class Preparation.” 27 May 1997.
             philosed@sued.syr.edu (29 May 1997).

Parenthetical reference: (Parente)

34. Newsgroup Message (discussion)

Slade, Robert. res@maths.bth.ac.uk “UNIX Made Easy.” 29 Mar. 1996.
<alt.book.reviews> (31 May 1996).

Parenthetical reference: (Slade)

35. Telnet Site

Aquatic Conversation Network. “About the Aquatice Conversation Network.” National Capital Freenet 3 May 1994.

telnet.freenet.carleton.ca login as guest, go acn, press 1 (29 May 1997).

Parenthetical reference: (Aquatic Conversation Network)

** To document a telnet site or file available via telnet, provide the author’s name (if known), title of document (if known) in quotation marks, title of full work (if applicable) in italics or underlined, date of publication (if available), word telnet, complete telnet address with no closing punctuation, directions for accessing the document and date of access in parentheses.

37. FTP Site

Altar, Ted W. “Vitamin B 12 and Vegans.” 14 Jan. 1995. ftp wiretap.spies.com (28 May 1997).

Parenthetical reference: (Aquatic Conversation Network)

** To document a file available for transfer via file transfer protocol, provide the author’s name (if known), title of document in quotation marks, date of publication, abbreviation ftp, address of FTP site, full path to find document and date of access.

38. Linkage Data

Hoemann, George H. “Electronic Style-Elements of Citation.” Lkd. Electronic Style Page, at “Continue” and “Citation Elements.”
3 Nov. 1995. <http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~hoeman/style.html> (29 May 1997).

Parenthetical reference: (Hoemann)

** To document a specific file and give linkage data showing its hypertext context, provide the author’s name (if known), title of document in quotation marks, abbreviation Lkd. (i.e. linked from), title of document to which the file is linked in italics or underlined, additional linkage details preceded by at, and date of access.

Example of a Works Cited Page

Broad, William J. "Cancer Fear Is Unfounded, Physicists Say." New York Times 14 May 1995, sec. A:19. (magazine article)

Brodeur, Paul, "Annals of Radiation: The Cancer at Slater School." New Yorker 7 Dec. 1992: 86+. (magazine article)

Castleman, Michael. "Electromagnetic Fields." Sierra Jan/Feb. 1992:21-22. (trade-magazine article from CD-ROM database)

Dana, Amy and Tom Turner. "Currents of Controversy" Amicus Journal Summer 19993: 29-32. (alternative press)

"Electrophobia: Overcoming Fears of EMFs." University of California Wellness Letter Nov. 1994:1. (newsetter)

Jauchem, J. "Alleged Health Effects of Electromagnetic Fields: Misconceptions in the Scientific Literature." Journal of MicrowavePower and Electromagnetic Energy 26.4 (1991): 189-95. (journal article from print source)

Guidelines for Works Cited Page

1. Center the Works Cited title at the top of the page. Use one-inch margins. Double space the entries, and order them alphabetically. For numbering works cited pages, follow numbering of text pages.

2. Indent five spaces for the second and subsequent lines of an entry.

3. Place quotation marks around article titles. Underline or italicize periodical or book titles. Capitalize the first letter of key words in all titles (also articles, prepositions, and conjunctions only if they come first or last).

4. Do no cite a magazine's volume number, even if it is given.

5. For a CD-ROM database that is updated often (such as Proquest), conclude your citation with the date of electronic publication.

6. Conclude an online database citation with the date you accessed the source.

7. Use a period and one space to separate a citation's three major items (author, title, and publication date). Skip one space after a comma or colon. Use no punctuation to separate magazine title and date.

8. Include the issue number for a journal with new pagination in each issue. For page numbers of more than two digits, give only the final digits in the second number.

9. When an article skips pages in publication, give only the first page number followed by a plus sign.

Work Cited

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 4th ed. New York:
           Modern Language Association, 1995.

Lannon, John M. "Documenting Research Findings." Technical Writing. 7th ed.
           Longman: NY, 1997.

Compiled by: Samaa Gamei
UMD Professional Writing
Graduate Tutor, 2003