MLA Citation Style

MLA Style includes guidelines for parenthetical (in text) citations, with the full bibliographic information supplied in a Works Cited list. Guidelines for parenthetical citation are given in chapter 6 of the MLA Handbook. What is included in a parenthetical citation depends on many variables, including the wording of your sentence, the number of works by the same author in your Works Cited list, and the nature of the source being cited.

Examples of parenthetical citations:

...In her Guide to Immaculate Academic Style, Lucy Librarian stresses the importance of proper citations (113).

...Many experts stress the use of scholarly attribution in academic writing (Librarian 113).

...Librarian has observed in one work that some citation guidelines are suggestive rather than proscriptive (Guide 113) while claiming the opposite in another (Handbook 433).

What is most important is that your parenthetical citations are consistent and give your reader a clear idea of the source being cited.

MLA style generally stipulates that authors denote electronic works found in a library subscription database (e.g., JSTOR, Ebsco, ProQuest) by including the name of the database and the name of the library subscribing to that resource. For freely available Web materials, one does not need to indicate the library name.

If you do not know whether or not a source is a subscription product or a free site, you can always consult the librarians at the reference desk or simply include the library information, just in case.

MLA style asks that one include a URL for any electronic source. Some URLs can be very long and almost unreadable. In these cases, you may choose to shorten the URL to the base address, e.g., <http://libinfo.uark.edu>.

We've given examples below for electronic resources from library subscription databases and for resources available freely on the Web.

• article in a scholarly journal
• article in a popular magazine
• article in a newspaper
• book or media review
  
  
• entire book
• chapter or section of a book
• article in a reference book, dictionary or encyclopedia
  
  
• published conference paper
  
  
• government document
  
  
• unpublished thesis or dissertation
  
  
• web page

Author last name, Author First Name or initials. "Title of Article." Title of Journal volume.issue (if issue numbered) (year): pages.

Brinkmeyer, Robert H., Jr. "New Orleans, Mardi Gras, and Eudora Welty's the Optimist's Daughter." Mississippi Quarterly: The Journal of Southern Culture 44.4 (1991): 429-41.

in a library subscription service:

Author Last Name, Author First Name or initials. "Title of Article." Title of Journal volume.issue (if issue numbered) (year): pages. Database Name. Vendor or Platform Name (if different from database). Name of Library where accessed. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of article>.

Brinkmeyer, Robert H., Jr. "New Orleans, Mardi Gras, and Eudora Welty's the Optimist's Daughter." Mississippi Quarterly: The Journal of Southern Culture 44.4 (1991): 429-41. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. University of Arkansas Libraries. 26 April 2006. <http://search.epnet.com/ login.aspx? direct=true& db=mzh&an=1991062898 &loginpage=Login.asp>.

Author Last Name, Author First Name or initials. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine Month Year or Day Month Year of publication. pages.

Gilchrist, Ellen. "My Delta, Myself." Outside June 1999. 70-1.

in a library subscription service:

Author Last Name, Author First Name or initials. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine Month Year or Day Month Year of publication. pages. Database Name. Vendor or Platform Name (if different from database). Name of Library where accessed. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of article>.

Gilchrist, Ellen. "My Delta, Myself." Outside June 1999. 70-1. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. University of Arkansas Libraries. 26 April 2006. <http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=aph&an=1932550& loginpage=Login.asp>.

direct from the magazine site:

Author Last Name, Author First Name or initials. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine Month Year or Day Month Year of publication. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of article>.

Gilchrist, Ellen. "My Delta, Myself." Outside June 1999. 26 April 2006. <http://outside.away.com /outside/magazine/0699/9906miss.html>.

Author Last Name, Author First Name or initials. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper Publication Day Month Year, edition: sectionpages.

Gorman, James. "Deep in the Swamp, an 'Extinct' Woodpecker Lives." New York Times 29 April 2005, Late Edition - Final ed.: A18.

in a library subscription service:

Author Last Name, Author First Name or initials. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper Day Month Year of publication. Name of Database Service. Name of Library where accessed. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of article or service>.

Gorman, James. "Deep in the Swamp, an 'Extinct' Woodpecker Lives." New York Times 29 April 2005. Lexis Nexis Academic University of Arkansas Libraries. 26 April 2006. <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/>.

direct from the newspaper site:

Author Last Name, Author First Name or initials. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper Day Month Year of publication. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of article or service>.

Gorman, James. "Deep in the Swamp, an 'Extinct' Woodpecker Lives." New York Times 29 April 2005. 26 April 2006. <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/29/science/29bird.html>.

review in a scholarly journal:

Review Author Last Name, Review Author First Name or initials. "Title of Article (if needed)." Rev. of Title of Work Being Reviewed, by/dir. Author or Director of Work First Name Author or Director of Work Last Name. Title of Periodical . volume and issue (year of publication): pages.

Horowitz, Marc, and Josef Krebs. Rev. of Crash, dir. by Paul Haggis. Sound & Vision 70.9 (2005): 106.

review in a popular magazine:

Review Author Last Name, Review Author First Name or initials. "Title of Article (if needed)." Rev. of Title of Work Being Reviewed, by/dir. Author or Director of Work First Name Author or Director of Work Last Name. Title of Periodical . Month and Year or Day Month Year of publication: pages.

Denby, David. Rev. of Crash, dir. by Paul Haggis. New Yorker 13 June 2005: 48.

scholarly review in a library subscription service:

Review Author Last Name, Review Author First Name or initials. "Title of Article (if needed)." Rev. of Title of Work Being Reviewed, by/dir. Author or Director of Work First Name Author or Director of Work Last Name. Title of Periodical . volume.issue (year of publication): pages. Database Name. Vendor or Platform Name (if different from database). Name of Library where accessed. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of article>.

Horowitz, Marc, and Josef Krebs. Rev. of Crash, dir. by Paul Haggis. Sound & Vision 70.9 (2005): 106. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. University of Arkansas Libraries. 26 April 2006. <http://search.epnet.com/ login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph& an=19197681&loginpage=Login.asp>

review in a popular magazine:

Review Author Last Name, Review Author First Name or initials. "Title of Article (if needed)." Rev. of Title of Work Being Reviewed, by/dir. Author or Director of Work First Name Author or Director of Work Last Name. Title of Periodical . Month and Year or Day Month Year of publication. Database Name. Vendor or Platform Name (if different from database). Name of Library where accessed. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of article>.

Denby, David. Rev. of Crash, dir. by Paul Haggis. New Yorker 13 June 2005. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. University of Arkansas Libraries. 26 April 2006. <http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=aph&an=17405853& loginpage=Login.asp>.

review direct from a web site:

Review Author Last Name, Review Author First Name or initials. "Title of Article (if needed)." Rev. of Title of Work Being Reviewed, by/dir. Author or Director of Work First Name Author or Director of Work Last Name. Web Site Name. Day Month Year of publication. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of review>.

Atkinson, Michael. Rev. of Crash, dir. by Paul Haggis. Village Voice Online. 3 May 2005. 26 April 2006. <http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0518 ,atkinson2,63638,20.html>.

single author:

Author last name, Author First Name or initials. Title of Book. Place: Publisher, year.

Cochran, Robert. Our Own Sweet Sounds: A Celebration of Popular Music in Arkansas. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1996.

multiple authors or edited work:

First Author last name, First Author First Name or initials, Second Author First Name Second Author Last Name and Third Author First Name Third Author Last Name, eds. Title of Book. Place: Publisher, year.

Donovan, Timothy, Willard Gatewood and Jeannie Whayne, eds. The Governors of Arkansas. 2nd ed. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1995.

in a library subscription service:

Author last name, Author First Name or initials. Title of Book. ed. by Editor First Name Editor Last Name (if needed). Place: Publisher, year. Database Name. Vendor or Platform Name (if different from database). Name of Library where accessed. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of book>.

Anger, Jane. Jane Anger her Protection for Women To Defend them Against the Scandalous Reportes of a Late Surfeiting Lover... London: Printed by Richard Iones, and Thomas Orwin, 1589. Early English Books Online. University of Arkansas Libraries. 26 April 2006. <http://eebo.chadwyck.com/>.

freely available online:

Author last name, Author First Name or initials. Title of Book. ed. by Editor First Name Editor Last Name (if needed). Place: Publisher, year. Site name. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of book>.

Pay as You Go! or, The Unconstitutionality of the Nine Million Debt Bill Demonstrated. New York: W.C. Bryant, 1851. Making of America. 26 April 2006. <http://name.umdl.umich.edu/AJQ1304>.

Author last name, Author First Name or initials. "Title of the Book Chapter." Title of Book. Ed. Editor's First Name Editor's Last Name. Place: Publisher, year. pages of chapter.

Cochran, Robert. "Lessons of the Bear." Value and Vision in American Literature: Literary Essays in Honor of Ray Lewis White. Ed. Joseph Candido and Charles H. Adams. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1999. 83-94.

Author last name, Author First Name or initials. "Title of the Book Chapter." Title of Book. Ed. Editor's First Name Editor's Last Name. Place: Publisher, year. pages of chapter. Database Name. Vendor or Platform Name (if different from database). Name of Library where accessed. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of book>.

Arnold, Edwin T. "Donald Harington." Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 152: American Novelists Since World War II, Fourth Series. Ed. by James Giles and Wanda Giles. Detroit: The Gale Group, 1995. 82-91. Gale Literature Resource Center. University of Arkansas Libraries. 26 April 2006. <http://galenet.galegroup.com/>.

"Title of article or entry." Work Title. Edition. Number of volumes. Place: Publisher, date.

"Ivory-billed woodpecker." The New Encyclopædia Britannica. 15th ed. 32v. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2002.

article in a subscription reference service:

"Title of article or entry." Work Title. Edition or Date of Work. Name of online service. Name of Library where accessed. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of resource>.

"Ivory-billed woodpecker." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. University of Arkansas Libraries. 26 Apr. 2006 <http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9043081>.

article in a free Web reference source:

"Title of article or entry." Site Title. Ed. Site Editor First Name Site Editor Last Name (if available). Edition or Date of Work. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of resource>.

"Ivory-billed Woodpecker." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 27 April 2006. 27 April 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory-billed_woodpecker>.

Author last name, Author First Name or initials. "Title of the Paper." Title of Conference Proceedings . Ed. Editor's First Name Editor's Last Name. Place: Publisher, year. pages of paper.

Woods, Randall B. "The Rhetoric of Dissent: J. William Fulbright, Vietnam, and the Crisis of International Liberalism." Presidential Rhetoric; Critical Reflections on the Cold War Linking Rhetoric and History, 4th Annual Conference, 1988. Ed. M.J. Medhurst and H.W. Brands. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2000. 187-208.

Author last name, Author First Name or initials. "Title of the Paper." Title of Conference Proceedings . Ed. Editor's First Name Editor's Last Name. Month Day Year of Publication. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of paper >.

Maness, Jack and Sarah Naper. "Hurry! Hurry! r u dum? *#%@!" Virtual Reference Desk Conference 2005. 20 January 2006. 26 April 2006. <http://www.webjunction.org/do/ Navigation?category =11842>.

Country/State/Country/Municipality. Name of Issuing Agency. Title of Document . additional identifying information (document number, Congress number, etc.). Place: Publisher, date.

United States. Executive Office of the President. The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned. PREX 1.2:K 15. Washington: GPO, 2006.

article in a subscription reference service:

Country/State/Country/Municipality. Name of Issuing Agency. Title of Document. additional identifying information (document number, Congress number, etc.). date. Name of online service. Name of Library where accessed. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of resource>.

United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on the Levees of the Mississippi River. Memorial of the Chamber of Commerce of New Orleans, La., Asking that the National Government Assume the Construction and Care of the Levees of the Mississippi River. 42nd Congress, 3rd Session S.Misc.Doc. 42. 22 January 1873. U.S. Congressional Serial Set Online. University of Arkansas Libraries. 26 April 2006. <http://infoweb.newsbank.com/>.

document freely available on the Web:

Country/State/Country/Municipality. Name of Issuing Agency. Title of Document . additiional identifying information (document number, Congress number, etc.). Day Month Year of Publication or update. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of resource>.

United States. Executive Office of the President. The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned. PREX 1.2:K 15. 23 February 2006. 26 April 2006. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned/>.

Author last name, Author First Name or initials. "Title of thesis or dissertation." Diss. / MA Thesis / MS Thesis. University, Place, year.

Zeller, Gary. "'If I ain't one, you won't find another one here': Race, identity, citizenship, and land, the African Creek experience in the Indian Territory and Oklahoma, 1830-1910." Diss. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, 2003.

Author last name, Author First Name or initials. "Title of thesis or dissertation." Diss. / MA Thesis / MS Thesis. University, Place, year. Database Name. Vendor or Platform Name (if different from database). Name of Library where accessed. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of thesis or dissertation >.

Zeller, Gary. "'If I ain't one, you won't find another one here': Race, identity, citizenship, and land, the African Creek experience in the Indian Territory and Oklahoma, 1830-1910." Diss. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, 2003. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. University of Arkansas Libraries. 26 April 2006. <http://0-wwwlib.umi.com.library.uark.edu/ dissertations/fullcit/3122394>.

Page Title. Ed. Site Editor First Name Site Editor Last Name (if available). Day Month Year of page date, if known. Day Month Year accessed. <URL of resource>.

Rock Art in Arkansas. Ed. George Sabo et. al. 2001. 26 April 2006. <http://rockart.uark.edu/>.