MLA Format

MLA Format Guidelines

Modern Language Association (MLA)

MLA citation refers to the rules and conventions established by the Modern Language Association for acknowledging sources used in an essay or research paper. MLA style is considered to be one of the most widely used styles in colleges and universities. It uses a simple two-part parenthetical documentation system for citing sources: citations in the text of a paper are used to point to an alphabetical Works Cited list that appears at the end of the paper. Together these references identify and credit the sources used in the paper and allow others to access and retrieve this material.

Below, you will find how books, journal articles, newspapers, magazines, encyclopedia articles or websites should be cited according to MLA format.

Book
Okuda, Michael, and Denise Okuda. Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future. New York: Pocket, 1993.

Journal Article
Wilcox, Rhonda V. "Shifting Roles and Synthetic Women in Star Trek: The Next Generation." Studies in Popular Culture 13.2 (1991): 53-65.

Newspaper or Magazine Article
Di Rado, Alicia. "Trekking through College: Classes Explore Modern Society Using the World of Star Trek." Los Angeles Times 15 Mar. 1995: A3.

Book Article or Chapter
James, Nancy E. "Two Sides of Paradise: The Eden Myth According to Kirk and Spock." Spectrum of the Fantastic. Ed. Donald Palumbo. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1988. 219-223.

Encyclopedia Article
Sturgeon, Theodore. "Science Fiction." The Encyclopedia Americana. International ed. 1995.

Encyclopedia Article
Horn, Maurice. "Flash Gordon." The World Encyclopedia of Comics. Ed. Maurice Horn. 2 vols. New York: Chelsea, 1976.

Gale Reference Book
Shayon, Robert Lewis. "The Interplanetary Spock." Saturday Review 17 June 1967: 46. Rpt. in Contemporary literary Criticism. Ed. Sharon R. Gunton. Vol. 17. Detroit: Gale Research, 1981. 403.

ERIC Document
Fuss-Reineck, Marilyn. Sibling Communication in Star Trek: The Next Generation: Conflicts between Brothers. Miami: Speech Communication Assn., 1993. ERIC Document Reproduction Service ED364932.

Website
Lynch, Tim. "DSN Trials and Tribble-ations Review." Psi Phi: Bradley's Science Fiction Club. 1996. Bradley University. 8 Oct. 1997 www.bradley.edu/campusorg/psiphi/DS9/ep/503r.html.

Newspaper or Magazine Article on the Internet
Andreadis, Athena. "The Enterprise Finds Twin Earths Everywhere It Goes, But Future Colonizers of Distant Planets Won't Be So Lucky." Astronomy Jan. 1999: 64-. Academic Universe. Lexis-Nexis. B.Davis Schwartz Memorial lib., Brookville, NY. 7 Feb. 1999 web.lexis-nexis.com/universe.

literature Resource Center
Shayon, Robert Lewis. "The Interplanetary Spock." Saturday Review 17 June 1967: 46. Rpt. in Contemporary literary Criticism. Ed. Sharon R. Gunton. Vol. 17. Detroit: Gale Research, 1981. 403. literature Resource Center. Gale Group. B. Davis Schwartz Memorial lib., Brookville, NY. 16 Oct. 2001 .

Notes on MLA format:

• Arrange the items on your reference list alphabetically by author, interfiling books, articles, etc.
• Doublespace all lines.
• Indent the second and following lines 5 spaces (or one half inch).
• If no author is given, start with the title.
• Abbreviate the names of all months except May, June, and July.
• If the encyclopedia does not arrange its articles alphabetically, treat the encyclopedia article as if it were a book article. Specific volume and page numbers are cited in the text, not in the list of references.
• Gale Reference Book: cite the original source being reprinted as shown under Book, Journal Article, Newspaper or Magazine Article, etc. The example shows a Magazine Article. Then include the citation information for the reference book.
• Websites: include the title of the web page, the name of the entire web site, the organization that posted it (this may be the same as the name of the website). Also include the full date the page was created or last updated (day, month, year if available) and the date you looked at it.
• Internet Magazine Articles Include:
  • The name of the database (underlined) and the company that created it and its home webpage;
  • The full date of the article (day, month, year if available) and the date you looked at it;
  • If you are citing a journal instead of a magazine, include the volume (and issue number) and date as shown under the Journal Style above.
  • The library or other organization (and its location) that provided you with access to the database.
  • As for page numbers, different databases will provide different information. Include the range of pages (ex. 101-104.); or the starting page followed by a hyphen, a blank space, and a period (ex. 88- .); or the total number of pages or paragraphs (ex. 71 pp. or 99 pars.). If no page information is given, then leave it out.
  • The rules concerning a title within a title are not displayed here for purposes of clarity.