Modern Language Association Citation Style
This guide shows you how to cite using MLA 8th edition. Citations will differ slightly depending on the source. Click the source type below to see an example:
Sample Journal Citation:
Journal (Scholarly) Article
Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article: Subtitle if Any." Name of Journal, vol. volume number, no. issue number, date of publication, pp. first page number-last page number. Name of Database, doi:DOI number.
| Works Cited List Example | Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 41-50. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Author's Last Name Page Number) (Bagchi 43) |
Book
Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of book: Subtitle if any. Edition if given and is not first edition, Publisher Name often shortened, Year of publication. The city of publication is no longer needed except for books published pre-1900 (see 5.67)
|
Works Cited List Example |
Kirsh, Steven J. Children, Adolescents, and Media Violence: A Critical Look at the Research. 2nd ed., Sage, 2006. |
| In-Text Example |
(Author's Last Name Page Number) Example: (Kirsh 70) |
| Citation in prose | (example) Steven Kirsh's synopsis of early censorship includes films that were featured in Kinetoscopes, nickelodeons and movie theaters. |
- Two authors: Use both names in the order in which they appear. Invert only the name of the first author, but the second author's name occurs in the normal order. (see 5.7)
- Three or more authors: Use the first author, comma, then et al in italics.: Dewey, Richard, et al.
- Give the full title (including any subtitle) with conventional capitalization. Titles of books should be italicized.
- Abbreviate the name of a publisher to the fewest words possible while allowing clear identification. For example, Sage instead of Sage Publications.
- Use the date of the publication or printing that you used.
eBook
Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Book: Subtitle if Any. Edition if given and is not first edition, Publisher Name often shortened, Year of publication. Name of Library Database.
| Works Cited List Example | Waldau, Paul. Animal Rights: What Everyone Needs To Know. Oxford University Press, 2010. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Author's Last Name Page Number) Example: (Waldau 132) |
Newspaper Article
Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article: Subtitle if Any." Title of Website, Date of Publication, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.
| Works Cited List Example | Brubaker, Bill. "New Health Center Targets County's Uninsured Patients." Washington Post,24 May 2007, p. LZ01. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Author's Last Name Page Number) (Brubaker LZ01) |
Films & Television
General Guidelines:
According to MLA 8th edition, Page 43:
When the source being documented forms a part of a larger whole, the larger whole can be thought of as a container that holds the source. The title of the container is normally italicized and is followed by a comma, since the information that comes next describes the container. The container may be a book that is a collection of essays, stories, poems, or other kinds of works.
Taken from Buffy the Vampire Slayer tv series S02E07, ‘Lie To Me’
From Television (page 44):
| Works Cited List Example | "Lie to Me." Buffy the Vampire Slayer. created by Joss Whedon, performance by Anthony Head, season 2, episode 10. Mutant Enemy, 1997. |
| In-Text Example | (Whedon Lie to Me) |
From a streaming service (page 53):
| Works Cited List Example | "Lie to Me." Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 2, episode 10, UPN, 1997. Hulu, www.hulu.com. |
| In-Text Example |
(Whedon Lie to Me) or a time stamp, if discussing a particular scene: (Lie to me 00:21:16-43)
|
From a DVD
| Works Cited List Example | "Lie to Me." 1997. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, performance by Anthony Head, season 2, episode 10, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2008. |
| In-Text Example | (Whedon Lie to Me) |
From a Film :
|
Works Cited List Example |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui, Twentieth Century Fox, 1992. |
| In-Text Example | (Kuzui Buffy the Vampire Slayer) |
More in-text citation examples:
General:
Whedon's vampires wrestle with the atrocities they've committed in the past (Lie to Me).
When citing a specific scene:
Angel, portrayed by David Boreanez, wrestles with his violent past. (Lie to Me 28:27-29:13)
Chapter, Short Story, or Essay from a Book (Edited Anthology or Collection)
Author's Last Name, First Name. "Title of Chapter, Short Story, or Essay." Title of Book: Subtitle if Any, edited by Editor's First Name and Last Name, Edition if given and is not first, Publisher Name often shortened, Year of publication, Page numbers of the chapter, short story, or essay.
Note: The author listed at the beginning of the citation is the author of the chapter, short story, or essay.
| Works Cited List Example | Ross, Colin. "The Story of Grey Owl." Fiction/Non-Fiction: A Reader and Rhetoric, edited by Garry Engkent and Lucia Engkent, 2nd ed., Thomson Nelson, 2006, pp. 327-333. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Author's Last Name Page Number) Example: (Ross 332) |
Website
"Title of Page or Document." Title of Website, Name of Organization Affiliated with the Website, Date of copyright or date last modified/updated, URL. Accessed Day Month Year site was visited.
| Works Cited List Example |
"How to Teach Yourself Guitar." eHow, Demand Media, www.ehow.com/how_5298173_teach-yourself-guitar.html. Accessed 24 June 2016. Note: The above example has no copyright/last updated date. It is important to include the date of access if the source has no date specifying when it was produced or published. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
("Title of Page or Document") ("How to Teach") Note: There is no author, so the title (or an abbreviated version of the title) is used in the in-text citation, in quotation marks, as it appears in the Works Cited List Example above. |
Interview
Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed, First Name. Interview. By Interviewer First Name Last Name. Day Month Year of interview.
| Works Cited List Example | Smith, John. Interview. By Bob Jones. 12 Mar. 2020. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Last Name of Person Who Was Interviewed) Example: (Smith) Note: If the name of the person who was interviewed is mentioned in the sentence leading into the quote or paraphrased content, you do not need to repeat it in the in-text citation. |
Streaming Video From a Website (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
Last Name, First Name of video creator or Username of Creator. "Title of Video." Title of the Hosting Website, uploaded by Username, Day Month Year of Publication, URL of video. Accessed Day Month Year video was viewed.
| Works Cited List Example |
Sethi, Ramit. "How to Write a Winning Resume, With Ramit Sethi." YouTube, uploaded by I Will Teach You to Be Rich,23 June 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0fjkKCsM1w. Accessed 28 June 2016. Note!: If the video creator is unknown, begin the citation with the title of the video. |
| In-Text Example |
If video creator is known: (Last Name of Video Creator Start Time of Revelant Section-End Time of Section) (Sethi 00:03:30-00:04:16) If video creator is unknown: ("Words from Title" Start Time of Revelant Section-End Time of Section) ("Secrets of Drawing" 02:40-03:25) Note!: Cite the relevant hour, minute and seconds as displayed in your media player. |
Podcast Episode
Host's Last Name, First Name, host(s). "Title of Podcast Episode." Title of Overall Podcast, Season Number if given, Episode Number if given, Web Site Hosting if Different From Podcast Title, Day Month Year of Episode, URL of Episode. Accessed Day Month Year podcast was downloaded/played.
| Works Cited List Example | Orton, Tyler, and Patrick Blennerhassett, hosts. "Lessons From the Brexit." BIV Podcast, episode 18, Business Vancouver, 28 June 2016, www.biv.com/article/2016/6/biv-podcast-episode-18-lessons-brexit/. Accessed 2 July 2016. |
| In-Text Citation Example |
(Host's Last Name Start Time of Revelant Section-End Time of Section) (Orton and Blennerhassett 01:15-02:22) |
Tweet
Twitter Handle (First Name Last Name if known). "The entire tweet word-for-word." Twitter, Day Month Year of Tweet, Time of Tweet, URL.
| Works Cited List Example | @ReallyVirtual (Sohaib Athar). "Helicopter hovering above Abbottad at 1AM is a rare event." Twitter, 4 Jan. 2013, 3:58 p.m., twitter.com/reallyvirtual/status/64780730286358528?lang=en. |
| In-Text Example |
(Twitter handle) (@ReallyVirtual) |
More MLA Citation Examples
Several of these examples came from Columbia College's MLA Citation Guide (8th Edition). For more examples of MLA citations for other resource types, you can see their guide to the 9th edition here.