For more information see the MLA website: http://www.mla.org

Formatting Citations for Your Bibliography or Works Cited Page
- Basic MLA (Modern Language Association) Style Format -

  • Arrange the citations in alphabetical order by the first element of the citation, usually the author’s last name.
  • Hanging Indents are required for citations in the bibliography, as shown below. That is, the first line of the citation starts at the left margin. Subsequent lines are indented 5 spaces.
  • The bibliography is double spaced, both within the citation and between citations. Do not add an extra line between the citations.
  • The right margin is the normal right margin of your document.
  • If the URL (Web address) is more than one line, only break after a slash.

MLA Citation Examples --

Printed book with one author --

Hills, Ken. Visual Factfinder: World History. New York:
ddddd
Scholastic, 1993.
Printed book with two or more authors (Cite authors as they appear on title page, not necessarily in alphabetical order.) --
Wellek, Rene, and Austin Warren. Theory of Literature.
ddddd
3rd ed. New York: Harcourt, 1962.
Chapter, short story, or poem from a book or a work in a collection --

O’Connor, Flannery. “Everything That Rises Must
ddddd
Converge.” Mirrors: An Introduction to Literature.
ddddd
Ed. John R. Knott, Jr. and Christopher R. Reaske.
dddddSan Francisco: Canfield, 1975. pgs. 58 - 67.

Print encyclopedia article with no author -- 
“China.” Encyclopedia Americana. 1978 ed.
Print encyclopedia article with an author -- 
Buckley, Francis J. “Team Teaching.” Encyclopedia of
ddddd
Education
. Ed. James W. Guthrie. 2nd ed. 8 vols.
ddddd
New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003.
Online encyclopedia article with no author --
“Western Painting.” Encyclopaedia Brittanica. 2004.
ddddd
Encyclopedia Brittanica Online.
ddddd
<http://search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=115377>.

Classroom Connect Citation Examples --

Web page

Savage, Anne. How to Cite a Web Resource. [Online]
ddddd
Available <http://www.tekmom.com/cite/
ddddd
index.html>, January 5, 2000.
Image from the Web (Google, Yahoo, Ask, and other search engines cannot be used; the actual page the image is on must be cited) -- 
Lee, Chris. Cardinals rock; Wainwright rolls. [Online]
ddddd
Available <http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/
ddddd
stories.nsf/cardinals/story>, August 22, 2008
Image with no author --
Two beluga whales. [Online image] Available
ddddd<
http://www.seaworld.org/beluga_whales/
dddddbeluga_col.gif>, January 5, 2000.

This page includes sample citations from the MLA handbook:
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
dddddPapers. 6th ed. NYork: MLA, 2003.
ddddd<http://www.lesley.edu/library/guides/citation/
ddddd
MLAbasic.pdf> April 2007
And from TekMom's Citation Page:

Savage, Anne. How to Cite a Web Resource. [Online]
ddddd
Available <http://www.tekmom.com/cite/
dddddindex.html>, February 28, 2002.

Back to Links