This page provides examples of works cited entries in MLA Citation Style (8th edition) for a variety of common sources. These examples should not be considered exhaustive.
If you are unsure how to cite a particular source, visit the MLA or Purdue OWL websites, talk to your instructor or a librarian, or consult the MLA Handbook on reserve at the Library Services Desk.
Book
Author's Last Name, First name. Title of the Book. Publisher, Publication date.
Herrera, Hayden. Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo. Harper, 1983.
Article from Online Database (One Author)
Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, Volume Number, Issue Number, Publication date, Page Range. Title of Database, DOI/URL/Permalink. Date Accessed.
Zadek, Simon. "The Path to Corporate Responsibility." Harvard Business Review, vol. 82, no. 12, 2004, pp. 125-133. MEDLINE, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid&db=cmedm&AN=15605571&site=eds-live. Accessed 16 Nov. 2016.
Book by one author (Mazzaro 45)
Mazzaro, Jerome. Postmodern American Poetry. U of Illinois P, 1980.
Book with two authors (Cohen and Regan 288)
Cohen, Carl, and Tom Regan. The Animal Rights Debate. Rowman and Littlefield, 2001.
Book with three or more authors (Epstein, et al. 210-25)
Epstein, Samuel S., et al. Hazardous Waste in America. Sierra Club, 1982.
Multiple books, same author (Wilson, Social Conquest 45) (Wilson, Future 143)
Wilson, Edward O. The Social Conquest of Earth. Liveright, 2013.
---. The Future of Life. Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.
Edited book (Barron xii)
Barron, Neil, ed. Anatomy of Wonder: A Critical Guide to Science Fiction. Libraries Unlimited, 2004.
Chapter in an edited book (Montalvo 26, 28)
(Note: When citing multiple pages, insert a comma in between.)
Montalvo, Juan. “Washington and Bolivar.” The Oxford Book of Latin American Essays, edited by Ilan Stavans, Oxford UP, 1997, pp. 26-28.
Book with a corporate author (American Psychological Association 210-15)
American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th ed., American Psychological Association, 2010.
Dictionary entry (“Palapa”)
(Note: since there is no author listed, you are only citing the word.)
“Palapa.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 4th ed., 2000.
Journal article, one author (Wilson 344)
Wilson, Edward O. "The Linnaean Enterprise: Past, Present, and Future." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 149, issue 3, 2005, pp. 344-48.
Journal article, two authors (Kelley and Turley 400)
Kelley, Scott W., and L. W. Turley. “The Effect of Content on Perceived Affect of Super Bowl Commercials.” Journal of Sport Management, vol. 18, no. 3, 2004, pp. 398-420.
Journal article, three or more authors (Lesourd et al. 615)
Lesourd, Mathieu, et al. "Mechanical Problem-Solving Strategies in Alzheimer’s Disease and Semantic Dementia." Neuropsychology, vol. 30, no. 5, 2016, pp. 612-623. PsycINFO, dx.doi.org/10.1037/neu0000241. Accessed 9 Nov. 2016.
Article, monthly magazine (Plotkin 54)
Plotkin, Fred. “Navigator: Chocolate Lover’s Madrid.” Bon Appetit, Nov. 2008, p. 54.
Article, monthly magazine, two authors (Gross and Altman 55)
Gross, Edward, and Mark A. Altman. “Battle for the Soul of Star Trek.” Smithsonian, May 2016, pp. 50-61.
Article, weekly magazine (Lipper and Hirsh 2829)
Lipper, Tamara, and Michael Hirsh. “Stepping into the Fray.” Newsweek, 16 June 2003, pp. 26-29.
Newspaper article, edition stated on masthead (Chang F1)
(Note: F1+ should be read as section F, beginning on page 1, and the + means that the article continues on nonconsecutive pages.)
Chang, Kenneth. “The Melting (Freezing) of Antarctica.” New York Times, 2 Apr. 2002, late ed., p. F1+.
Newspaper article, no edition stated (Grant A5)
Grant, Peter. “Offers for Adelphia’s Assets Pour In.” Wall Street Journal, 1 Feb. 2005, p. A5.
Newspaper editorial with no author (“Federal Deficit”)
(Note: If the editorial has an author, the intext citation should follow the same format as a newspaper article. If the editorial has an author, include the author’s name in the citation before the editorial title as: Last_Name, First_Name.)
“Federal Deficit Will Stress Bush Agenda.” Editorial. Denver Post, 2 Feb. 2005, p. 6B.
Article, Web magazine (Babich)
Babich, Nick. “In-App Gestures And Mobile App User Experience.” Smashing Magazine, 6 Oct. 2016, www.smashingmagazine.com/2016/10/in-app-gestures-and-mobile-app-user-experience/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2016.
Article, newspaper Web site ("Being American")
"Being American in the Trump Years." Editorial. New York Times, 9 Nov. 2016, nyti.ms/2eE11Jm. Accessed 10 Nov. 2016.
Entire Web Site (Liu)
Liu, Alan, ed. Voice of the Shuttle. English Department, U of California, Santa Barbara, vos.ucsb.edu/. Accessed 3 Sept. 2009.
Page on a Corporate Web site ("Art & Science")
"Art & Science." Winsornewton.com. Winsor & Newton, 2014, www.winsornewton.com/na/discover/about-us/art-and-science. Accessed 18 Dec. 2014.
Image on a Web site ("Verb Tenses")
Wells, Jaclyn M. "Verb Tenses." Chart. “1.2: Verb Tense.” The OWL at Purdue. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2013, owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/2/1/39/. Accessed 9 Nov. 2016.
Image in a Database ("Anna H. Jones")
“Anna H. Jones.” Oberlin College Archives, Oberlin College Libraries. Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000, Scholar's Edition,
Magazine article, full-text online database (“Call”)
“Business: The Call of the East; Tecnovate eSolutions.” The Economist, vol. 374, no. 70, 19 Feb. 2005, p. 70. ABIinform, search.proquest.com/docview/224009704?accountid=10728
Scholarly journal article, full-text online database (Zadek 130)
Zadek, Simon. "The Path to Corporate Responsibility." Harvard Business Review, vol. 82, no. 12, Dec. 2004, pp. 125-133. Business Source Complete, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=15242507&site=ehost-live. Accessed 16 Feb. 2005.
Newspaper article, full-text online database (Stole)
(Note: A4 refers to section A and page 4.)
Stole, Jasmine. “Woman in Travel Scam Found Guilty of Theft.” Pacific Daily News [Hagatna, Guam], 11 Nov. 2016, p. A4. Gannett Newsstand, search.proquest.com/docview/1838195354?accountid=10728. Accessed 11 Nov. 2016.
Blog Post (Sarvas)
Generic format: Editor, screen name, author, or compiler name (if available)."Title of the Blog Post Entry." Blog Title. Publisher. Date Posted, URL. Date Accessed.
Sarvas, Mark. "My Top 10 Banned Literary Essay List." The Elegant Variation, Typepad, 19 February 2014, marksarvas.blogs.com/elegvar/2014/02/my-top-10-banned-literary-essay-list.html. Accessed 18 December 2014.
E-mail (Smith)
Generic format: Last Name, First Name. "Subject of Message." Received by Recipient's Name, Date of Message.
Smith, John. "Library adds feature film collection." Received by Julia Cook, 16 May 2013.
Facebook Post (GTL)
Generic format: Lastname, Firstname [or username or page name]. "First several words of a Facebook post..." Facebook, Day/month/year posted, time posted [if available], URL.
(There are two ways to get a Facebook post's URL:
Elmira College - Gannett-Tripp Library. "Therapy Dogs International are back!” Facebook, 11 October 2016, 9:52 a.m., https://www.facebook.com/ECGTL/photos/a.126936260722671.33124.126932440723053/1154491854633768/?type=3
Instagram Photo (National Geographic) Generic format: Account holder’s Last name, First name or Username. “Photo Title or Description.”* Instagram, Other contributors, Date photo was published, URL (without http:// or https://).
*If no title is available, create a simple description and do not place it in italics or quotation marks.National Geographic. Photo of Bering Sea. Instagram, photographed by Corey Arnold, 2 Apr. 2017, www.instagram.com/p/BSaisVuDk7S/?taken-by=natgeo.
Instagram Video (itsdougthepug) Generic format: Poster’s Last name, First Name or Username. “Video Title.”* Instagram, Other contributors, Date published, URL (without http:// or https://).
*If no title is available, create a simple description and do not place it in italics or quotation marks.@itsdougthepug. “I Climb All The Time…Into Bed.” Instagram, April 2, 2017, www.instagram.com/p/BSWo9-0j940/?taken-by=itsdougthepug&hl=en.
Tweet (White House)
Generic format: User’s Twitter Handle. "Enter the tweet message here." Twitter, Date Posted, Time Posted, URL.
@WhiteHouse. "RT to share how President Obama is charting a new course in U.S.-Cuba relations: go.wh.gov/uyLvUE #CubaPolicy." 17 December 2014, 12:05 p.m., twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/545308787720986624
YouTube Video ("Finding Keywords")
“Finding Keywords.” YouTube. uploaded by UWM Libraries, 14 August 2013, youtu.be/KgP_xj8YpMk.
For sources not listed here, see Purdue OWL -- MLA: Other Common Sources, which has additional examples of works cited in MLA format.
Thesis or Dissertation found in a Database
(Salas 30)
Salas, Gayla L. “Increasing Reading/Literacy Performance of At-Risk Elementary Students Through Increased Access to Fiction/Non-Fiction Resources and Incorporating Readers Theater Activities.” ERIC, Elmira College and EBSCOhost, May 2008, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED501061&site=ehost-live.
Company Profile
Generic format for a company profile in the Business Insights: Essentials database: "Company Name." Company Profile. Business Insights: Essentials. Date of Access (day/month/year).
("Darden Restaurants")
"Darden Restaurants." Company Profile. Business Insights: Essentials. 14 Sept. 2010.
Film or Video Recording
Generic format: Title of Film. Directed by Director_Name, performance(s) by Performer_Name(s), Film Studio/Distributor, Year of release.
(Enemy)
Enemy at the Gates. Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, performances by Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law, and Rachel Weisz, Paramount Pictures, 2001.
Personal Interview
Generic format: Last_Name_interviewee, First_name interviewee. Kind of Interview (Personal, Telephone, Email). Date of interview.
(Clinton)
Clinton, Bill. Personal interview. 4 July 2005.
Purdue OWL -- MLA: Other Common Sources
(Additional examples of works cited in MLA format.)
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