MLA Style

6th Edition

What Is MLA Style?What Is MLA Style?

• The style recommended by the Modern Language Association for preparing scholarly manuscripts and student research papers

• It is concerned with the mechanics of writing, such as punctuation, quotation, and documentation of sources.

Books: Single Author

Kasson, John F. Civilizing the Machine: Technology and Republican Values in America 1776-1900. New York: Penguin, 1976.

Multiple Authors

Two or three authors.

Adler, Ronald B., and Neil Towne. Looking Out, Looking In. 9th ed. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace, 1999.

More than three authors.

Santos, Ruth J., et al. Environmental Crises in Developing Countries. New York: Harper, 1994.

Corporate Authorship of Reports

Alan Guttmacher Institute. State Legislative Record: 1988 Fertility-Related Bills and Laws as of December 31. Washington, D.C.: Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1988.

Edited Books

Citing volume.

Fee, Elizabeth, and Daniel M. Fox, eds. AIDS: The Burdens of History. Berkeley: U of California P, 1988.

Edited Books

Citing chapter/essay in volume.

Zola, Irving Kenneth. "Medicine as an Institution of Social Control." The American Health Empire:Power, Profits, and Politics. Eds. Barbara Ehrenreich and John Ehrenreich. New York: Vintage,1971. 80-100.

Second Work by Same Author

Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer. East into Upper East : Plain Tales from New York and New Delhi. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint Press, 2000

---. Heat and Dust. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987.

The second work is introduce by three space hyphens, not the author’s name (alphabetical order on works).

Books: Republished or Later Editions

Gibbon, Lewis Grassic. Sunset Song. 1932. Intro. Tom Crawford. Edinburgh: Canongate Classics, 1988.

Newbold, Paul. Statistics for Business and Economics. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990.

Multi-Volume Works

Citing entire series.

Lucas, Robert E., Jr., and Thomas J. Sargent, eds. Rational Expectations and Econometric Practice. 2 vols. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1981.

Citing single volume.

Lucas, Robert E., Jr., and Thomas J. Sargent, eds. Rational Expectations and Econometric Practice. Vol. 1. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1981.

Encyclopedia ArticlesSupplemental Sources Only

No author given.

"Mealworm." Encyclopedia Britannica. 1987 ed.

Author given.

Garvey, Lawrence. "El Paso, Illinois." Encyclopedia Americana. 1982 ed.

Periodicals: Magazines

Monthly magazine/journal.

Hall, Stuart. "Cold, Comfort, Farm." New Socialist Nov. 1985: 10-12.

Weekly.

Whitaker, Mark. "Getting Tough at Last." Newsweek 10 May 1993: 22.

Scholarly Journals

Continuous Pagination:

Schuetz, A. “The Stranger.” Journal of American Sociology 49 (1944): 499-507.

Non-Continuous Pagination:

Magistrale, Tony. "Wild Child: Jim Morrison's Poetic Journeys." Journal of Popular Culture 26.3(Winter 1992): 133-44.

Subscription Services and Data Bases

• Cite just like original article would be cited.

• Name the subscription service following the entry.– Give any additional info the service offers, such

as– Article number, data base number, etc.

• Don’t put date or access or url.

Periodicals: No Author(From Periodical/Journal Database)

“Cooling Trend In Antarctica.” Futurist May-June 2002: 15. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. New York Institute of Technology Manhattan Lib. 22 May 2002 <http://www.epnet.com/>.

Maaike van Rijn. “Darfur: arrival.” Canadian Medical Association. Journal  179.2 (2008): 134. ProQuest Health Management. ProQuest. New York Institute Of Technology Manhattan Lib., New York, NY. 14 Jul. 2008 

<http://www.proquest.com/>

Interview or Private Correspondence

Goodkind, Mary. Personal interview. 4 Sept. 1996.

Smith, Jaclyn. Telephone interview. 5 Oct. 1999.

Morris, Ralph. Letter to author. 26 June 1994.

Maran, Meredith. E-mail to the author. 20 Aug. 2002.

Maran, Meredith. “Re: Dirty-Fascinating!” E-mail to Ed Jessup. 3 Mar. 2008.

Electronic Resources• All web based sources (not from data bases or

paid subscription services) must have:– Title of Page

• In quotes for minor page• Underlined for major site

– Date of Access – Url in < >– Period at the end.

“Title.” Date of Access <url>.

• If more info exists, you need to use it.– Author– Web Site that the page is a part of– Original publication information– Date of site

Electronic Resources--Examples

Scholarly Project

Willett, Perry, ed. Victorian Women Writers Project. Apr. 1997. Indiana U. 30 Jan 2001 <http://www.indiana.edu/~ letrs/vwwp/>.

Professional Site

Portuguese Language Page. U of Chicago. 30 Jan. 2001 <http://humanities. uchicago.edu/romance/port/>.

Electronic Resources – More Examples

Article in a Reference Database “Fresco." Britannica Online. Vers. 97.1.1.

Mar. 1997. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 29 Mar. 1997 <http://www.eb.com:180>.

Article First Published in a PeriodicalTamblyn, Robyn, et al. “Adverse Events

Associated With Prescription Drug Cost-Sharing Among Poor and Elderly Persons.” JAMA 24/31 Jan. 2001. 30 Jan. 2000 http://www.jama.ama.org/article/24310101.html .

Electronic Resources – More Examples

Personal Site Lancashire, Ian. Home Page. 30 Jan. 2001

<http://www.chass.utoronto.ca:8080/~ian/index.html>.

Book Nesbit, Edith. Ballads and Lyrics of

Socialism. London, 1908. Victorian Women Writers Project. Ed. Perry Willett. Indiana U. Apr. 1997. 26 Apr.1997 <http://www. indiana.edu/~letrs/vwwp/nesbit/ballsoc. html>.

Electronic Resources – More Examples

Web Page from a Larger Web Site.

“About Kidney Disease and Dialysis.” Kidney Dialysis Foundation. 18 Feb. 2000 < http:// www.kdf.org.sg/aboutkidney.html >.

Remember:

• MLA is tricky.

• You must follow it exactly.

• You can’t memorize it.

• Always use a handbook with the most recent version of MLA.

• Go to MLA.org if you want more help on electronic sources.