MLA Bibliographic Information and Documentation: How to Get It Right by Dr. Carter

MLAMLABibliographic Bibliographic Information Information

and and Documentation:Documentation:How to Get It RightHow to Get It Right

by Dr. Carter

The purposes of documentation The purposes of documentation are are to make it possible for someone to make it possible for someone else to check the validity of your else to check the validity of your research, to disclaim authorship research, to disclaim authorship of ideas and information, to give of ideas and information, to give credit to the original author(s), credit to the original author(s), and to help other scholars in and to help other scholars in their own research. So there are their own research. So there are specific rules to make these jobs specific rules to make these jobs easier.easier.

Start with the author’s name. Put the Start with the author’s name. Put the last name first for easy alphabetizing last name first for easy alphabetizing (this is the ONLY place you invert the (this is the ONLY place you invert the name):name):

Burns, Olive Ann. Cold Sassy Tree. New York: Tricknor, 1984. Print.

Sometimes you have two or three Sometimes you have two or three authors: then you invert the first authors: then you invert the first name but NOT the second or third name but NOT the second or third one. Separate the names with a one. Separate the names with a comma:comma:

Ashby, Eric, and Mary Anderson. The Rise of the Student

in Britain. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1970. Print.

Sebranek, Patrick, et al. Write for College. Wilmington MA: Write Source, 1997. Print.

Sometimes you have more than three Sometimes you have more than three authors: then you may invert the first authors: then you may invert the first name and add “et al.” (Latin for “and name and add “et al.” (Latin for “and others”). You still use a comma:others”). You still use a comma:

The same rules apply to the names of The same rules apply to the names of editors, but you add “, ed.” or editors, but you add “, ed.” or “, eds.” to show that they’re not “, eds.” to show that they’re not authors:authors:

Mitchell, Jack M., ed. The Poetry of Robert Frost. New Haven: Yale UP, 1975. Print.

Siegal, Mark, et al., eds. Gambling. Wylie, TX: Information Plus, 1994. Print.

Sometimes you have both an author Sometimes you have both an author and an editor. The author’s name and an editor. The author’s name (inverted) goes before the title and (inverted) goes before the title and the editor’s after it (not inverted):the editor’s after it (not inverted):

Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Oxford Sherlock Holmes. Ed. Owen Dudley Edwards. 9 vols.

New York: Oxford UP, 1993. Print.

Sometimes a source doesn’t have an Sometimes a source doesn’t have an author. Then you start with the title:author. Then you start with the title:

A Guide to Australia. Sydney: Australian Information Service, 1982. Print.

The titles of major works, like books, The titles of major works, like books, magazines, journals, movies, plays, magazines, journals, movies, plays, operas, CDs, etc. should be italicized:operas, CDs, etc. should be italicized:

Burns, Olive Ann. Cold Sassy Tree. New York: Tricknor, 1984. Print.

Shakespeare, William. Henry IV Part 1. New York: Washington

Square, 1994. Print.

The titles of parts of works like The titles of parts of works like articles, essays, short stories, songs, articles, essays, short stories, songs, etc. appear in quotation marks:etc. appear in quotation marks:

Elson, John T. “Much Ado.” Time 19 Jan. 1976: 17. Print.

McCrank, Lawrence J. “Libraries.” Dictionary of the Middle

Ages. Ed. Joseph R. Strayer. Vol. 7. New York: Scribner’s, 1986. Print.

The same rule applies to web pages The same rule applies to web pages and web sites and to sound and web sites and to sound recordings:recordings:

“Marco Polo and His Travels.” The Silk Road. Web. 28 Feb. 2006.

The Wailers. “Get Up, Stand Up.” By Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. Burnin’.

Island, 1973. CD.

The last element of the entry is the The last element of the entry is the publication information, which gives publication information, which gives the reader some directions on finding the reader some directions on finding the text in question. In the case of the text in question. In the case of books, it is based on the quaint books, it is based on the quaint notion that you would mail the notion that you would mail the publisher a letter, so it includes the publisher a letter, so it includes the city, the name of the publisher, and city, the name of the publisher, and the year of publication:the year of publication:

Bailey, Sydney D. British Parliamentary Democracy. 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton, 1971. Print.

For the place of publication, the state For the place of publication, the state is omitted if the city is well known; is omitted if the city is well known; otherwise, use the Post Office otherwise, use the Post Office abbreviation:abbreviation:

Lifton, Robert Jay, ed. The Woman in America. Boston: Houghton, 1965. Print.

Siegal, Mark, et al., eds. Gambling. Wylie, TX: Information Plus, 1994. Print.

If there are many cities to choose If there are many cities to choose from, pick the first or the one closest from, pick the first or the one closest to you. If there is no place of to you. If there is no place of publication listed, put publication listed, put “n. p.” :“n. p.” :

Van Loon, Hendrik Willem. The Story of Mankind. n.p.: Liveright, 1972. Print.

When citing the publisher, omit all When citing the publisher, omit all unnecessary words, such as “A,” unnecessary words, such as “A,” “The,” “Publisher,” “Press,” “Inc.,” “The,” “Publisher,” “Press,” “Inc.,” “Co., or “Ltd.”“Co., or “Ltd.”

Lehan, Richard D. F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Craft of

Fiction. New York: Viking, 1966. Print.

Abbreviate “University Press” as Abbreviate “University Press” as “UP.”“UP.”

Riley-Smith, Jonathan, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of

the Crusades. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1995. Print.

The publication element ends with The publication element ends with the year if it is for a book, or the date the year if it is for a book, or the date for a magazine (followed by the page for a magazine (followed by the page numbers). Abbreviate the month.numbers). Abbreviate the month.

Hesse, Herman. Beneath the Wheel. Trans. Michael Roloff. New York: Farrar, 1968. Print.

Bazell, Robert. “Science and Society: Growth Industry.” New

Republic 15 Mar. 1993: 13-14. Print.

If there is no year of publication, put If there is no year of publication, put “n. d.”:“n. d.”:

Simons, Gerald. Barbarian Europe. New York: Time-Life, n.d. Print.

The last element is the medium of The last element is the medium of the work. If it is a printed text, put the work. If it is a printed text, put “Print.”“Print.”

Airne, C.W. The Story of Prehistoric and Roman Britain. Manchester: Sankey, Hudson. n.d. Print.

Sometimes you get a book in a Sometimes you get a book in a series. The name of the series and series. The name of the series and the book’s number in the series go the book’s number in the series go after the word “Print.”after the word “Print.”

Miller, David Lee, and Alexander Dunlop, eds. Approaches to Teaching Spenser's Faerie Queene. New York: MLA, 1994. Print. Approaches to Teaching World Literature 50.

If it is a website, put “Web.” and the If it is a website, put “Web.” and the date you hit it.date you hit it.

“The Hundred Years War: Overview.” eHistory. Ohio State University. Web. 15 Sept. 2009.