MLA style calls for references to be typed double-spaced, in hanging indention, as shown in the examples below.
Periodical articles in Databases
General format for articles:
Author, Firstname. "Article Title." Periodical Title Volume
number.Issue number [if available] (Date): Number range
of pages [if numbered]. Name of database. Web. Date
of access.
- If there are no page numbers, use the abbreviation, "n. pag."
- Give the name of the database, not the database publisher or service, e.g., "Academic OneFile," not "Gale."
Magazine Articles (examples)
The volume and issue numbers are not necessary for popular magazines.
Example from one of the Gale databases:
Thurston, Peter. "Conflict Along the Amazon." Time 15 March
2007: 32-33. General OneFile. Web. 1 October 2009.
Example from CQ Researcher:
Jost, Kenneth. "Sentencing Debates." The CQ Researcher 5 Nov.
2004: 925-948. CQ Researcher. Web. 28 Feb. 2008.
Note: In CQ Researcher, you can find the appropriate information for citing an article by clicking the "CiteNow!" link, then clicking on "MLA Style" in the resulting popup window.
Example from Issues & Controversies:
"Update: Genetic Engineering." Issues & Controversies On File 7
Oct. 2005: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Web. 5 Jun. 2007.
Note: In Issues and Controversies, you can find the appropriate information for citing an article by clicking by clicking the "Print/Citation" icon at the top of the screen.
Examples from Congressional Digest
The library's online access to Congressional Digest is throughCongressional Digest Corporation's database, Pro & Con Online. Each issue of the magazine is divided into two sections. The first, or feature, section discusses the overall topic, and is divided into subsections. Here is an example of a citation for either the entire issue or for the first, (feature) section:
"Covering Uninsured Children: The SCHIP Reauthorization Debate."
Congressional Digest Oct. 2007: n.pag. Pro &
Con Online. Web. 16 Jun. 2008.
The second part of each issue is headed Pro & Con, and asks a question relating to the featured topic. The questions are answered for or against by arguments taken from congressional speeches. If you wish to cite only one argument, you may wish to begin with the name of the author, and use the captioned question as the title of the article, e.g.,
Etheridge, Bob. "Should the House pass H.R. 3162, the
Children's Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act?"
Congressional Digest Oct. 2007: n. pag. Pro &
Con Online. Web. 16 Jun. 2008.
Journal Articles (examples)
Give the volume and (if available) issue number, with the year in parentheses. Examples:
Fredericks, Samuel. "Cognitive Ergonomics and Concept-stage Desk
Design." Journal of Ergonomic Research 25.3 (2008): 535-541.
Business Source Premier. Web. 16 June 2008
McMaster, K. L., et. al., "Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies: A 'Tier 1'
Approach to Promoting English Learners' Response to Intervention."
Exceptional Children 74.2 (2008): 194-214. Education Full Text.
Web. 22 Feb. 2010.
Brausch, Amy M., and Jennifer J. Muehlenkamp. Body Image and
Suicidal Ideation in Adolescents. Body Image 4.2 (2007):
207-212. ScienceDirect Health and Life Sciences Collection.
Web. 19 Mar. 2009.
Newspaper Articles (examples)
Pollack, Andrew. "In Midwest, Flutters May Be Far Fewer." The New York
Times 12 Jul. 2011, late ed.: sec. D:1. Web. 15 July 2011.
Joyeuse, Elizabeth. "Headache Cures." Toronto Star 31 January
2006: A24. Infotrac Newsstand. Web. 5 Febuary 2009.
Literature Resource Center (examples)
Articles reprinted from Gale reference books
These reprints can be recognized by the paragraph that begins "Rpt. in" underneath the original citation:
Palmer, James W. "From Owl Creek to La Riviere du Hibou: The Film
Adaptation of Bierce's 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'." Southern
Humanities Review 11.4 (1977): 363-71. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism,
Vol. 72. Ed. Joseph Palmisano. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature
Resource Center. Web. 22 Feb. 2009.
Articles taken directly from journals
Journal articles show the title of the journal followed by a volume and issue number, with a date in parentheses. There is no "Rpt." statement:
Samide, Daniel E. "Anatomy of a Classic: Ambrose Bierce Cleverly Used
Some Key Literary Tools in Crafting His Civil War Tale 'An
Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'." The Writer 118.5
(2005): n. pag. Literature Resource Center. Web. 22 Jun.
2009.
Aggregated reference databases
Gale Virtual Reference (example)
González, Josué M. "Baby talk." Encyclopedia of Bilingual
Education. Ed. Josué M. González. Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage, 2008. 51. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 7 July 2009.
Oxford Art Online (example)
Gianluigi Colalucci. "Fresco." Grove Art Online. Oxford
Art Online. 28 Jun. 2012 .
Oxford Reference Online (example)
Crocker, Ruth. "Addams, Jane." The Oxford Companion to United States
History. Ed. Paul S. Boyer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
N. pag. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 13 November 2008.
LexisNexis Academic (example)
Periodical (newspaper and magazine) articles in LexisNexis Academic are cited in the ordinary way. Reference works are somewhat problematic, as it is not always easy to identify whether there was an original printed publication, and complete publication information for original printed publications is not given.
In looking at LexisNexis results, you may find it helpful to filter your results by clicking on the Categories at left of the results screen. They will help you to know whether you are looking at directories (i.e., reference materials), magazine articles, etc.
"Michael Dammann Eisner." The Complete Marquis Who's Who (R) Biographies.
11 Jun. 2009. N. pag. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 7 Dec. 2009.
Note: LexisNexis Academic also includes laws, regulations, and other legal information. Legal citations follow a complex system; MLA suggests that you use the The bluebook: a uniform system of citation. Ask your librarian for assistance.
General format for electronic books:
Author, Firstname. Title of the book. Place of publication: publisher,
year of publication. Name of Internet site. Web. Date of access.
Example:
Evans, C.D., and Emma Tippins. The Foundations of Emergency Care.
Maidenhead, Berkshire: McGraw-Hill/Open University Press, 2007.
ebrary. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.
Image from Database
General format for art images:
Artist lastname, firstname. Title of work, in italics. Date of
composition. Medium. Collection. Database name, in italics.
Item number. Web. Date accessed.
If the date of composition is unknown, use the abbreviation "N.d."
Example for an art image:
Riemenschneider, Tilman. Saint Jerome and the Lion. c.1490-1500.
Sculpture in alabaster. Cleveland Museum of Art. ARTStor.
Image No. AMICO_CL_103799732. Web. 17 Nov. 2009.
Example for a photograph from a photo database:
Child, Martin. Kafka Statue, Old Town, Prague, Czech Republic, Europe.
Photograph. 2007. Robert Harding World Imagery. Encyclopædia
Britannica Image Quest. Web. 27 Jun 2012. http://quest.eb.com/
images/151_2570486
Streaming Video
Example from Ambrose Video:
Twelfth Night, or, what you will. By William Shakespeare. Dir. John
Gorrie. Perf. Alec McCowen, Robert Hardy, and Felicity Kendall.
BBC. 1980. Ambrose Video. Web. 16 June 2012.
Sources: Based on
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook For Writers Of Research Papers. 7th ed. New
York: Modern Language Association of America, 2009. [R 808.02 G35]
More information on citing resources using MLA style can be found at The OWL at Purdue (MLA)
To comment or request help, please e-mail Reference or call 503.399.5231.
Address of this page: http://library.chemeketa.edu/instruction/mla.php
Updated: 6 February 2012
