Penn State University Libraries | MLA Quick Citation Guide

MLA Quick Citation Guide

Below are some examples of common citation formats in MLA (Modern Language Association) Style. For complete citation information, see the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing.

Note: Citations with more than one line of text should have a hanging indent of 1/2 inch or 5 spaces.

Print Publications
Books
Articles from Print Periodicals

Electronic Resources
     Articles from the Library's Databases
     Articles in Online Journals, Magazines and Newspapers
     Web Sites

Multimedia Resources
Motion Picture
Television & Radio Program

Other Formats
Government Publications
Personal Interviews

Print Publications

Books

Important Elements:

Author (last name, first name)
Title (underlined)
Place of publication
Publisher
Publication date

Book by a single author	Rollin, Bernard E. Science and Ethics. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Book by two authors	Sherman, Chris, and Gary Price. The Invisible Web: Uncovering Information Sources Search Engines Can’t See. Medford, NJ: CyberAge Books, 2001.
Book by three or more authors	Goodpaster, Kenneth E., Laura L. Nash, and Henri-Claude de Bettignies. Business Ethics: Policies and Persons. 3rd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2006.
Book by a corporate author	American Medical Association. American Medical Association Family Medical Guide. 4th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2004.
Article within a book	Winne, Philip H. “Self-regulated Learning Viewed from Models of Information Processing.” Self-regulated Learning and Academic Achievement. Eds. Barry J. Zimmerman and Dale H. Schunk. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001.
Translation	Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace. Trans. Anthony Briggs. New York: Viking, 2006.

Articles from Print Periodicals (magazines, journals, and newspapers)

Find out more about the different types of periodicals here.

Important Elements:

Author (last name, first name)
Title of article (in quotation marks)
Title of publication (i.e., Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Newsweek, New York Times)
Volume and issue number (for journals only)
Date of publication of article (month and year for monthly publications, exact date for weekly and daily)
Page numbers of article

Article in a monthly magazine	Swedin, Eric G. “Designing Babies: A Eugenics Race with China?” The Futurist May/June 2006: 18-21.
Article in a weekly magazine	Will, George F. “Waging War on Wal-Mart.” Newsweek 5 July 2004: 64.
Article in a daily newspaper	Dougherty, Ryan. “Jury Convicts Man in Drunk Driving Death.” Centre Daily Times 11 Jan. 2006: 1A. Rimer, Sara. “A Campus Fad That’s Being Copied: Internet Plagiarism Seems on the Rise.” New York Times 3 Sept. 2003, late ed.: B7.
Article in a scholarly journal paginated by volume (include volume, year, and pages)	Stock, Carol D. and Philip A. Fisher. “Language Delays Among Foster Children: Implications for Policy and Practice.” Child Welfare 85 (2006): 445-462.
Article in a scholarly journal paginated by issue (include volume, issue, year, and pages)	Fiksel, Joseph. “A Framework for Sustainable Materials Management.” JOM 58.8 (2006): 15-22.
Book review	Rifkind, Donna. “Breaking Their Vows.” Rev. of The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. Washington Post 10 Apr. 2005, final ed.: T6.

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Electronic Resources

Articles from the Library’s Online Databases
(articles from print publications accessible electronically through the library’s subscription databases)

Important Elements

publication information (see Periodicals, above)
database (if known)
name of company providing the service (i.e., ProQuest)
name and location of library where you accessed the article (i.e., Penn State University Libraries)
date you accessed the article
the URL (Web address) of the service (if known)

Magazine article from an online subscription service: ProQuest	Poe, Marshall. “The Hive.” Atlantic Monthly Sept. 2006: 86-95. ProQuest. Penn State U Lib., PA. 27 Nov. 2006 <http://www.proquest.com>.
Newspaper article from an online subscription service: LexisNexis	Barnes, Tom. “Booze Binge Fad Alarming Colleges.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 16 Apr. 2005: A1. General News. LexisNexis Academic. Penn State U Lib., PA. 27 Nov. 2006 <http://web.lexisnexis.com/universe>.
Journal article from an online subscription service: EBSCOhost	Cross, Tracy L. “Nerds and Geeks: Society’s Evolving Stereotypes of Our Students with Gifts and Talents.” Gifted Child Today 28.4 (2005): 26-27. Professional Development Collection. EBSCOhost. Penn State U Lib., PA. 8 Dec. 2006 <http://search.epnet.com>.

Articles in Online Journals, Magazines and Newspapers:
(articles from online publications accessible free on the Web, not from the library’s databases)

Important Elements

Author (last name, first name)
Title of article (in quotation marks)
Title of publication (underlined)
Volume and issue number (for scholarly journals, if given)
Date of publication of article
Date you accessed the article
URL (Web address) of the article (for long web addresses break after a slash /)

Article in an online scholarly journal	Sankey, Michael. “Considering Visual Literacy When Designing Instruction.” e-journal of Instruction Service and Technology (e-JIST) 5.2 (2002). 30 Nov 2006 <http://www.usq.edu.au/electpub/e-jist/docs/Vol5_No2/sankey_frame.html>.
Article in an online magazine	Ervin, Kathleen A. “Some Kind of Wonderful: Frank Capra Examines Failure.” Failure Magazine. 1 Mar. 2006. 1 Dec. 2006 <http://www.failuremag.com/>.
Article in an online newspaper	McCarthy, Michael. “Only Nuclear Power Can Now Halt Global Warming.” Earthtimes. 24 May 2004. 1 Dec. 2006 <http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/159.html>.

Web Sites
Find out more about using Web resources here.

Important Elements

Author (if known)
Title of Web site
Sponsor (if known)
Date of publication, copyright date, or date of last update
Date you accessed the information
URL (Web address) of the site

Web site with author	Kraizer, Sherryll. Safe Child. 2005. Coalition for Children, Inc. 29 Nov. 2006 <http://www.safechild.org/>.
Web site with corporate author	Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Stop Underage Drinking. 18 Oct. 2006. 29 Nov. 2006 <http://www.stopalcoholabuse.gov>.
Web site with unknown author	The Nittany Lion Mascot. 20 June 2006. Penn State University. 9 Nov. 2006 <http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/mascot.html>.
Page within a Web site	Baker, Marcia. “2005 Vies for Hottest Year on Record.” Global Warming. 16 May 2006. Union of Concerned Scientists. 29 Nov. 2006 <http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science/recordtemp2005.html>.

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Multimedia Resources

Film/Video/DVD

Important Elements

Title
Director
Lead actors
Medium (for video/DVD)
Distributor
Date of release

Film	Hidalgo. Dir. Joe Johnston. Perf. Viggo Mortensen, Zuleikha Robinson, Omar Sharif, and Louise Lombard. Touchstone/Disney, 2004.
DVD	Ballroom Dancing. Dir. Steve Kemsley. Perf. Angela Rippon and Ian Waite. DVD. American Home Treasures, 2006.

Television/Radio Program

Important Elements

Title of television episode or radio segment
Title of program
Names of writer, director, performers and/or host (if known)
Network
Local station and location
Date of broadcast

Television Program	“Dogs and More Dogs.” NOVA. Dir. Noel Buckner and Rob Whittlesey. PBS. WPSU, State College, PA. 30 Nov. 2006.
Radio Program	“Could Shakespeare Survive in Hollywood?” All Things Considered. By Elizabeth Blair. NPR. WPSU-FM, State College, PA. 20 Nov. 2006.

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Other Formats

Government Publications

Important Elements

Government (i.e., United States)
Government Agency
Title of document
Place of publication (for print documents)
Publisher (government agency)
Date of publication
URL (for online documents)

Print document	United States. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Breaking the Cycle of Domestic Violence: Know the Facts. Washington: U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, 2000.
Online document	United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Acid Rain. 4 Oct. 2006. 4 Dec. 2006. <http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/acidrain/index.html>.

Personal Interview

Important Elements

Name of person interviewed
Date of interview

Interview

Smith, John. Personal interview. 31 Aug. 2007.

Please address questions and comments to Library Learning Services at instruct@psulias.psu.edu

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