Parenthetical notes are used instead of footnotes. References in the text must clearly point to specific sources in the list of the works cited. Keep parenthetical references as brief, and as few, as clarity and accuracy permit. Usually the author’s last name and a page reference are enough to identify the sources and the specific location: (Townsend 10).
If there are two authors for a source, give the last name of each person: (Rabkin and Olander vii).
If there are three or more authors for a source, list only the first authors last name followed by et al.: (Rabkin et al. vii).
If you include the author’s name in a sentence, you need not repeat the name in the parenthetical page citation that follows, provided that the reference is clearly to the work of the author you mention: Tannen has argued this point (178-85).
If you wish to cite an entire work rather than part of the work, it is usually preferable to include the author’s name in the text instead of in a parenthetical reference. But Peter Scotto has offered another view.
In parenthetical citations of a work available in multiple editions, such as a commonly studied novel, play, or poem, it's often helpful to provided division numbers in addition to, or instead of page numbers: (Austen 533; vol. 3, ch. 17).
In a parenthetical citation of one of two or more works by the same author, put a comma after the author’s last name and add the title of the work (if brief) or a shortened version and the relevant page reference. (Durant and Durant, Age 214-48).
Note: Short titles of books should be placed in italics while short titles of articles should be places in quotation marks.
If no author name is provided, the parenthetical citation should list a short form of the title: (Reading 3).
When citing works by more than one author with the same last name, eliminate ambiguity by adding the author's first initial, or, if the initial is also shared, the full first name: (N. Baron 194).
Examples of preparing reference citations and the list of works cited are taken from the MLA Handbook, 8th Edition (available in reference shelves of the Shapiro Library and the Hatcher Library, call number LB 2369.G53 2016).
Alphabetize entries in the list of works cited by the author’s last name. If the author is anonymous, alphabetize by title, ignoring initial articles (like “The,” “An,” etc.).
The works cited should include as many core elements as are relevant to the source as possible. The list below, taken directly from the MLA style handbook, lists the elements for each source in the order they should appear in a citation. MLA 8th edition only uses periods and commas to indicate the end of an element, as noted in the list below.
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Author. |
List the author's last name first, followed by comma and the the first name. |
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Title of Source.
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Standard capitalization rules should be used for the title. If the source is standalone, such as the name of a book or journal, it should be italicized. If the source is part of a larger work, the title should be placed in quotation marks. |
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Title of container,
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When a source is part of a larger whole, such as a chapter in a book, the larger whole is known as the container. The title of the container should follow standard capitalization rules and be italicized. More than one container can be listed, such as an article in an online journal (container 1) located in an online database (container 2). |
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Other contributors,
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A description of the role other contributors had in the creation of a work should be noted before listing the name of the contributor. For example "translated by" or "edited by." |
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Version,
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Books with more than one version may use the terminology "edition" instead. Unabridged versions and director's cut versions should also be noted under this element. |
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Number,
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This can indicate an issue or volume number. Generally, you should follow the volume number with the issue number if available (vol. x, no. x) |
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Publisher,
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If more than one publisher is listed, use a forward slash to divide the names of each. |
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Publication date,
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If possible, the publication date should be listed as: day month, year. For example 21 Jan. 2019. |
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Location.
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The location can be indicated through a URL or doi for an online resource, or by noting a page number (p. x.) or a range of page numbers (pp. x-x.) |
Last Name, First Name. Title. Publisher, Publication Date.
Jacobs, Alan. The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. Oxford UP, 2011.
Last Name, First Name, et al. Title. Publisher, Publication Date.
Burdick, Anne, et al. Digital_Humanities. MIT P, 2012.
Last Name, First Name, editors. Title. Publisher, Publication Date.
Holland, Merlin, and Rupert Hart-Davis, editors. The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde. Henry Holt, 2000.
Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, vol. x, no. x, date, pp. x-x. Database name, doi.
Chan, Evans. "Postmodernism and Hong Kong Cinema." Postmodern Culture, vol. 10, no. 3, May 2000. Project Muse, doi:10.1353/pmc.2000.0021
Note: If no doi is provided, use the URL instead. An access date can be provided at the end, although it's not required.
Last Name, First Name. "Title." Title of Journal, vol. x, no. x, date, pp. x-x. URL or doi
Belton, John. "Painting by the Numbers: The Digital Intermediate." Film Quarterly, vol. 61, no. 3, Spring 2008, pp. 58-65. doi: 10.1353/pmc.2000.0021
Last Name, First Name. "Title." Journal Name, vol. x, no. x, date, pp. x-x.
Baron, Naomi S. "Redefining Reading: The Impact of Digital Communications Media." PMLA, vol. 128, no. 1, Jan. 2013, pp. 193-200.
Last Name, First Name. "Title." Newspaper Name, date, pp. x-x.
Deresiewicz, William. "The Death of the Artist - and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur." The Atlantic, Jan-Feb. 2015, pp. 92-97.
Last Name, First Name. "Title." Newspaper Name, date, URL.
Deresiewicz, William. "The Death of the Artist - and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur." The Atlantic, 28 Dec. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01/the-death-of-the-artist-and-the-birth-of-the-creative-entrepreneur/383497/.
Last Name, First Name. "Title." Website Name, date, URL.
Hollmichel, Stefanie. "The Reading Brain: Differences between Digital and Print." So Many Books, 25 Apr. 2013, somanybooksblog.com/2013/04/25/the-reading-brain-differences-between-digital-and-print/.
Title. Publisher, location, URL.
Manifold Greatness: The Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible. Folger Shakespeare Library / Bodleian Libraries, U of Oxford / Harry Ransom Center, U of Texas, Austin, manifoldgreatness.org
Note: If two or more organizations are named in the source and they seem equally responsible for the work, cite each of them, separating the names with a forward slash (/).
See also Citing Gov Docs tab
Last Name, First Name. Name of national government, agency. Title. Publisher, date. Number of the Congress, session, report number.
United States, Congress, House, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Al-Qaeda: The Many Faces of an Islamist Extremist Threat. Government Printing Office, 2006. 109th Congress, 2nd session, House Report 615.
Note: If no author name is included, start with the name of the national government and agency.
Last Name, First Name, director. Title. Broadcast Organization, date.
Kuzui, Fran Rubel, director. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Twentieth Century Fox, 1992.
"Episode Title." Title of Series, season, episode, Broadcast organization, broadcast date. Name of online broadcaster, URL.
"Under the Gun." Pretty Little Liars, season 4, episode 6, ABC Family, 16 July 2013. Hulu, www.hulu.com/watch/511318.
Artist Name. "Song Name." Album Name, publisher, year, URL.
Beyoncé. "Pretty Hurts." Beyoncé, Parkwood Entertainment, 2013, www.beyonce.com/album/beyonce/?media_view=songs.
"Name of Video." Hosting Platform, upload by Uploader Name, date, URL.
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Unaired Pilot 1996." YouTube, uploaded by Brian Stowe, 28 Jan. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR3J-v7QXXw.
Username. "Text of tweet." Hosting Platform, date, time, URL.
@persiankiwi. "We have report of large street battles in east & west of Tehran now - #Iranelection." Twitter, 23 June 2009, 11:15 a.m., twitter.com/persiankiwi/status/2298106072.
Last Name, First Name. "Subject." Received by Name, date.
Boyle, Anthony T. "Re: Utopia." Received by Daniel J. Cahill, 21 June 1997.
Clowes, Daniel. David Boring. Eightball, no. 19, Fantagraphics, 1998.
Last Name, First Name. Name of Object. Date, Location.
Bearden, Romare. The Train. 1975, Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Last Name, First Name. "Title of Presentation." Location, date, Venue, City.
Atwood Margaret. "Silencing the Scream." Boundaries of the Imagination Forum. MLA Annual Convention, 29 Dec. 1993, Royal York Hotel, Toronto.
"Title of source" prompt. Container, version, publisher, date, general URL. (https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/)
“Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.