MLA FORMAT FOR BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATIONS

Part of the process of writing a research paper is using facts, opinions, and/or quotations that are not your own. Every time you include such material in your paper, you must give credit to each source of information by listing key identifiers such as author, title, city of publication, publisher, and copyright date. This documentation, called a “bibliographic citation,” must be done in a specified format. Our school uses the format created by the Modern Language Association (MLA). 

This guide is designed to help you with the process of creating bibliographic citations in MLA format. Note that only twelve examples of the most commonly used bibliographic citations are listed here. There are many more listed in MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, seventh edition. 

Identify which of the following categories matches your source and then follow that format. Make sure you use the same exact punctuation and spacing, including “hanging indents” when a citation takes up more than one line.

• Spelling must be perfect. 
• All rules of capitalization must be followed.
• Put one space between each part (that is, after each punctuation mark). 
• Dates are arranged international style (day/month/year). Example: 2 Sept. 2011.
• When more than one line is required for a citation, use a hanging indent (that is, a half inch space at the beginning of the line) for all but the first line

1.BOOK - ONE AUTHOR

Jones, Samuel. On the Road. Vero Beach: Chelsea House, 2011. Print.

2.BOOK - TWO OR MORE AUTHORS

Mason, Daniel, and Melanie Silva. Life in the City. New York: Rosen Publishing, 2010. Print.

3.BOOK - EDITOR INSTEAD OF AUTHOR

Witherspoon, James C., ed. Anthology of Humorous Stories and Jokes. Englewood Cliffs:

Lucent Books, 2001. Print.

4.BOOK - CORPORATE AUTHOR

American Library Association. Intellectual Freedom Manual. 7^thed. Chicago:ALA Press, 2006. 

Print.

5.BOOK - NO AUTHOR OR EDITOR GIVEN

Sharks: Silent Hunters of the Deep. New York: Reader’s Digest, 2001. Print. 

7.ARTICLE FROM A FAMILIAR ENCYCLOPEDIA

Snow, Vernon F. “Cook, James.” World Book Encyclopedia. 2009. Print.

8.MAGAZINE ARTICLE WITH AUTHOR GIVEN

Paik, Carol. “I’m Not Who You Think I Am” Newsweek 18 Feb. 2008: 20. Print.

10. ARTICLE FROM “BIOGRAPHY RESOURCE CENTER” VIA ETC PORTAL

Tolson, Jay. “The Many Faces of Benjamin Franklin.” U.S. News and World Report 23 June 

2003: 34-38. Biography Resource Center. Web. 9 Sept. 2011.

11.ARTICLE FROM THE INTERNET WITHOUT AUTHOR LISTED

"How to Use the Resource Guide." IPL: Science Fair Project Resource Guide. 2011. Regents of the 

University of Michigan, Web. 9 Oct. 2011. 

12.VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDING

Confucius: Words of Wisdom. A&E Television Networks. New Video, 1996. Videocassette.

When you create your Works Cited page, do the following:

• Use 12 point Times New Roman. 
• Center the words “Works Cited” about one inch down from the top of the page.
• Double space below the title.
• Arrange your bibliographic citations in alphabetical order according to the first word or name of each citation unless the first word is “a,” “an,” or “the.” In that case, go by the second word.
• Single space after each punctuation mark within citations.
• Double space between each line within citations and between citations. 
• When more than one line is required, use a hanging indent (that is, a half inch space at the beginning) for all but the first line.

EXAMPLE:

Works Cited

Benjamin Franklin. History Channel. 2009. DVD.

BrainyQuote. BookRags Media Network. 2011. Web. 5 Nov. 2011. 

“The Franklin Stove.” Cobblestone Jan. 2008: 5. Print.

Hutson, James H. “Franklin, Benjamin.” World Book Encyclopedia. 2009. Print.

Li, Sam. Benjamin Franklin, Statesman and Inventor. Vero Beach: Chelsea House, 2010. Print.

Morris, Daniel, and Louise Jones. Philadelphia. New York: Rosen Publishing, 1983. Print.

Tolson, Jay. “The Many Faces of Benjamin Franklin.” U.S. News and World Report 23 June 

2003: 34-38. Biography Resource Center. Web. 29 Sept. 2010.