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Citing Sources

Guide to citing sources in APA, MLA, ASA, and Vancouver/NLM.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition

Modern Language Association (MLA) Citation Style, 9th Edition

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MLA Works Cited

MLA Works Cited

Basic Format:
MLA citations are made up of the following core elements in the order given below. Note: not every citation will include all 9 elements. 

MLA Core Elements of a citation

Image credit: Works Cited: A Quick Guide (MLA Style Center)

I'm citing a...

 

  1. Author(s). [One author example: Castelli, Darla M.; Two author example: Castelli, Darla M. and David Goss.; Three or more authors example: Castelli, Darla M. et al.]
  2. "Title of the Article." [capitalized and in quotation marks]
  3. Title of the Journal, [capitalized and in italics],
  4. vol. #, [volume number of the journal, abbreviated]
  5. no. #, [issue number of the journal (if any), abbreviated]
  6. Year,
  7. pp. xxx-xxx. [starting page number - ending page number, with pp. in front]
  8. Database, [If you used a database, put database name in capitals and in italics] Note: if you know the specific database name, such as Academic Search Complete, then use that. If not, use the database vendor name, such as EBSCOHost. See the MLA blog for more about database names.
  9. DOI or URL. [Digital object identifier always preferred. If using URL, use permalink if available and remove http://]
  10. Accessed Day Mo. Year. [Optional, but recommended when publication date is unknown]

 

With DOI

Castelli, Darla M., et al. "Healthy Outcomes for Teens Project: Diabetes Prevention through Distributed Interactive Learning." Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, vol. 13, no. 3, 2011, pp. 359-64. Gale Academic OneFile, doi.org/10.1089/dia.2010.0125

With URL

Takagi, Chiaki. "Third Space Wonderland and the End of the Modern: Representation of Tokyo in the Works of Murakami Haruki." Southeast Review of Asian Studies, vol. 32, 2010, pp. 193-198. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A293544446/AONE?u=ccsf_main&sid=AONE&xid=958dfe04

 

  1. Author(s). [One author example: Castelli, Darla M.; Two author example: Castelli, Darla M. and David Goss.; Three or more authors example: Castelli, Darla M. et al.]
  2. "Title of the Article." [capitalized and in quotation marks]
  3. Title of the Newspaper or Publication, [capitalized and in italics]
  4. Publication date, [formatted like this: Day Mo. Year]
  5. pp. xxx-xxx. [starting page number - ending page number, with pp. in front]
  6. URL. [use permalink if available and remove http://]
  7. Accessed Day Mo. Year. [Optional, but recommended when publication date is unknown]

 

Magazine Article (from a database)

Hiatt, Brian. "The Psychedelic Superhero."Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2011, pp. 48-74. ccsf.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=65034462&site=ehost-live.

Newspaper Article (from a website)

Cochrane, Emily, and Noah Weiland. "Hillary Clinton, the N.F.L., Roy Moore and Other Asides from the President." New York Times, 16 Nov. 2018, nyti.ms/2zf1TPB.

 

  1. Author(s). [One author example: Castelli, Darla M.; Two author example: Castelli, Darla M. and David Goss.; Three or more authors example: Castelli, Darla M. et al.]
  2. Title of the Book. [capitalized and in italics]
  3. Edition [number] ed., [if any, such as 3rd or 5th, followed by ed.]
  4. Publisher, [capitalized]
  5. Year.

If an eBook accessed in a library database...

  1. Database, [in italics]
  2. DOI or URL. [Digital object identifier always preferred. If using URL, use permalink if available and remove http://]
  3. Accessed Day Mo. Year. [Optional, recommended when publication date is unknown]

 

Print Book
Bell, Suzanne S. Librarian's Guide to Online Searching: Cultivating Database Skills for Research and Instruction. 4th ed., Libraries Unlimited, 2015.

eBook

Siegel, Ethan. Beyond the Galaxy: How Humanity Looked beyond Our Milky Way and Discovered the Entire Universe. World Scientific, 2016. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1105694&site=ehost-live
(Use when citing a chapter, essay, story, poem or entry from a book.)

 

  1. Author(s) of the Chapter/Essay. [One author example: Castelli, Darla M.; Two author example: Castelli, Darla M. and David Goss.; Three or more authors example: Castelli, Darla M. et al.]
  2. "Title of the Chapter/Essay." [capitalized and in quotes]
  3. Title of the Book, [capitalized and in italics]
  4. Edited by , [First and Last Names of the editors, separated by commas if more than one]
  5. Edition [number] ed., [if any, such as 3rd or 5th, followed by ed.]
  6. Publisher, [capitalized]
  7. Year,
  8. pp. xxx-xxx. [starting page number - ending page number, with pp. in front]

If an eBook chapter accessed from a library database...

  1. Database Name, [capitalized and in italics]
  2. DOI or URL. [Digital object identifier always preferred. If using URL, use permalink if available and remove http://]
  3. Accessed Day Mo. Year. [Optional, but recommended when publication date is unknown]

 

Chapter from a Print Book

Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." An Introduction to Fiction, edited by X.J. Kennedy, 5th ed., HarperCollins, 1991, pp. 194-200.

Chapter from an eBook

Halopeau, Bruno. "Terrorist Use of the Internet." Cyber Crime and Cyber Terrorism Investigator's Handbook, edited by Babak Akhgar, Andrew Staniforth, and Francesca Bosco, Syngress, 2014. O'Reilly for Higher Education, learning.oreilly.com/library/view/cyber-crime-and/9780128007433/B9780128007433000104.xhtml.

 

  1. Author. [if any, capitalized]
  2. "Title of Webpage/Article." [capitalized and in quotes]
  3. Title of Website, [capitalized and in italics]
  4. Name of Publisher/Organization, [include and capitalize only if different from title of website]
  5. Date of Publication, [if any, formatted like this: Day Mo. Year]
  6. URL. [remove http://]
  7. Accessed Day Mo. Year. [Optional, but recommended when publication date is unknown]

 

Examples

"Coping with Stress." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3 Sep. 2019, www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/suicide/copingwith-stresstips.html.
"MLA Formatting and Style Guide." Purdue Online Writing Lab, owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2019.

 

  1. Director Name. Last name, First name.
  2. Title of Film/Video. Capitalized and in italics, followed by period.
  3. Name of Film Distribution Company, Capitalized and followed by comma,
  4. Date of Production/Release.Year of production.
  5. Title of website where film/video was viewed, Capitalized, italicized, and followed by uploader name, if any, then a comma,
  6. Date of access/viewing, Day Mo. Year followed by comma,
  7. URL. Web address with http:// removed, followed by period.

See more about citing YouTube videos on the Ask the MLA Blog.

Examples

Schwartzberg, Louis. Fantastic Fungi. Moving Art, 2019. YouTube Movies, uploaded by Bitmax, 3 Sep 2020, youtu.be/C7abxMxL4so

 

  1. Artist Name. Last name, First name, followed by period. If no artist, leave blank.
  2. Title or Description of Image. Capitalize all major words and put in italics, followed by period.
  3. Date, Date the artwork was created, followed by period.
  4. Website Name, Capitalized and italicized, followed by comma,
  5. URL. Web address with http:// removed, followed by period.

 

Example

See more examples of citing images from the MLA Style Center

Concretion of Ceramics from the Hoi An Shipwreck. approx. 1450-1500. Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture, asianart.emuseum.com/view/objects/asitem/items$0040:14318.

 

  1. Author of Chapter. Last name, First name, followed by period.
  2. "Title of Chapter." Capitalize all major words and end with a period inside the quotation marks.
  3. Canvas, [Course management system name] capitalized and italicized, followed by a comma,
  4. uploaded by [Name of Professor], Capitalize only the name and follow it with a comma,
  5. Date. Date the chapter was uploaded to Canvas, if available, followed by a period.
  6. ccsf.instructure.com/. Web address of the CCSF Canvas home page, with http:// removed, followed by period.

 

Example of a Chapter in a Canvas Course page

See more about citing a document on a course management system from the MLA Style Center

Moskowitz, Peter. " Preface." Canvas, uploaded by Alissa Buckley, 17 Sep. 2021, ccsf.instructure.com/.

 

When using generative AI, such as ChatGPT, keep in mind that these tools make up sources if they cannot find them, and that they do not always accurately describe the information that they do get from information sources. It is always best to locate the original source of the information and view and cite that directly.

  1. MLA recommends against treating generative AI as an author, so omit the author name element.
  2. Title of source. Describe what was generated, followed by a period.
  3. Title of Container. Write the name of the generative AI tool and put in italics, followed by a comma,
  4. Version Name the version of the AI tool, followed by a comma,
  5. Publisher Name the company that made the tool, followed by a comma,
  6. Date, Give the date the content was generated, followed by a comma,
  7. URL. Give the general web address for the tool, with http:// removed, followed by a period.

 

Example

See more examples of citing generative AI, including AI-generated images, from the MLA Style Center

Write a research question about friendship and academic success. ChatGPT, 3 Aug. version, OpenAI, 14 Sept. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

 

MLA In-text Citations

MLA In-text Citations

Basic Format:
(Last Name Page #).

I'm citing...

You only need the author's last name and the page number

(Burke 3)

Connect both authors' last names with and, and include the page number.

(Best and Marcus 9)

Use the first author's last name and et al., and include the page number.

(Franck et al. 327)

Use a shortened title of the work and include the page number.

("Impact of Global Warming" 127)

Many online sources lack page numbers. (For articles, look for a .PDF version, which usually shows page numbers.) If your source has explicitly numbered or labeled sections or chapters, include it instead of a page number. If your source simply has no page numbers, then you can do either of these options:

  • Option 1: use only the author name in the parentheses with no page number. Example, showing a source with no author: "Young people’s unprecedented mobilization around the world shows the massive power they possess to hold decision-makers accountable." ("Youth in Action")
  • Option 2: incorporate the author’s name into the text and leave out the parenthetical citation entirely. Example: As Youth in Action makes clear, young people have the power to "hold decision-makers accountable."

Whichever option you choose, you must still list the source with a complete entry in the list of works cited.

What does the general format of an MLA paper look like?

What does the general format of an MLA paper look like? 

How do I make a hanging indent in Word?

How do I make a hanging indent in Word?

1. Highlight the citation with your cursor. 

2. Right click. 

3. Select Paragraph.

4. Under Indentation, select Special and Hanging.

Animated gif of creating a hanging indent in Word. Highlight the full citation. Right click. Go to Paragraph. To to the Special drop down menu, select Hanging. Select Okay.

CC License

Creative Commons License CC by NC 4.0 This guide was created by Tessa Withorn and Jillian Holt Eslami and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.


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