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Citation Formats

MLA 8 and 9

The MLA Handbook, 8th edition, has abandoned the "print" v. "web" designations, and now uses a universal set of guidelines for all sources focusing on "containers" of information. The 9th edition of the handbook continues the same format and provides additional examples.

  • A useful practice template for creating source citations is linked in the Additional Resources section below.
  • For experienced users of MLA, check out the link to "What's New in the Ninth Edition" for a summary of changes.

Journal Article examples

Journal article with a DOI (Digital Object Identifier):

Kincaid, Jamaica. "In History." Callaloo, vol. 24, no. 2, Spring 2001, pp. 620-26. Project Muse, doi:10.1353/cal.2001.0097.

Parenthetical citation: (Kincaid 622)

Journal article from a database:

Capperdoni, Alessandra. "Why the Avant-Garde? The Function of the Letter in Canadian Avant-Garde Poetics." Canadian Literature, no. 210/211, Autumn/Winter 2011, pp. 97-114. Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=73785263&site=ehost-live

Parenthetical Citation: (Capperdoni 100)

Journal article in print (more than 2 authors):

Cooper, Stewart E., et al. "Professional Preparation and Continuing Education for Beginning, Entry, Midlevel, and Senior Consulting Psychologists." Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, vol. 59, no. 1, 2007, pp. 1-16.

Parenthetical Citation: (Cooper et al. 14)

Journal article reprinted in a book series:

Bergmann, Harrier F. "‘A Piercing Virtue': Emily Dickinson in Margaret Drabble's The Waterfall." Contemporary Literary Criticism, edited by,  Jeffrey W. Hunter, vol. 129, Gale, 2000, pp. 124-29. Originally published in Modern Fiction Studies, vol. 36, no. 2, Summer 1990, pp. 181-93.

Parenthetical Citation: (Bergmann 183)

Journal article from an online repository or other open access site:

Shehan, Constance L., and Amanda B. Moras. “Deconstructing Laundry: Gendered Technologies and the Reluctant Redesign of Household Labor.” Michigan Family Review, vol. 11, no. 1, 2006, pp. 39-54. hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.4919087.0011.104.

Parenthetical Citation: (Shehan and Moras 50)

Articles from Magazines, Newspapers, Encyclopedias, and the Web

Print magazine article:

Kates, Robert W. “Population and Consumption: What We Know, What We Need to Know.” Environment, Apr. 2000, pp. 10-19.

Parenthetical Citation: (Kates 12)

Online magazine article:

Deresiewicz, William. “The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur.” The Atlantic, 28 Dec.2014, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01/the-death-of-the-artist-and-the-birth-of-the-creative-entrepreneur/383497/.

Parenthetical Citation: (Deresiewicz)

Print newspaper article:

Ruhe, Pierre. "Pouring it On: Heat Churns in a Vicious Cycle." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, main edition, 8 Aug. 2008, p. A1.

Parenthetical Citation: (Ruhe)

Online newspaper article (no author):

“The Scientists Speak.” New York Times, 20 Nov. 2007, nyti.ms/25n2Pf9.

Parenthetical Citation: ("The Scientists Speak")

Newspaper article from a library database:

Jeromack, Paul. “This Once, A David of the Art World Does Goliath a Favor.” New York Times, late edition, 13 July 2002, p. B7. LexisNexis Academic, www.lexisnexis.com/lnacui2api/api/version1/getDocCui?lni=468H-Y5C0-01CN-H2CR&csi=270944,270077,11059,8411&hl=t&hv=t&hnsd=f&hns=t&hgn=t&oc=00240&perma=true.

Parenthetical Citation: (Jeromack)

Article in multi-volume encyclopedia:

Schroth, Gwen. "Scheduling." Encyclopedia of Education, edited by James W. Guthrie, 2nd ed., vol. 6, Macmillan Reference USA, 2003, pp. 2095-99.

Parenthetical Citation: (Schroth 2098)

Blog post or web article:

Hollmichel, Stefanie. "The Reading Brain: Differences between Digital and Print." So Many Books, 25 Apr. 2013, somanybooksblog.com/2013/04/25/the-reading-brain-differences-between-digital-and-print/.

Parenthetical Citation: (Hollmichel)

Book and Anthology examples

Books in print:

Wieder, Alan. Teacher and Comrade: Richard Dudley and the Fight for Democracy in South Africa. State U of New York P, 2008.

Parenthetical Citation: (Wieder 10-11)

Eggins, Suzanne, and Diana Slade. Analyzing Casual Conversation. Cassell, 1997.

Parenthetical Citation: (Eggins and Slade 32)

Quirk, Randolph, et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. Longman,1985.

Parenthetical Citation: (Quirik et al. 11)

Ebook from a library database:

Coutinho, Steve. An Introduction to Daoist Philosophies. Columbia UP, 2014. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=658170&site=ehost-live.

Parenthetical Citation: (Coutinho 21)

Book chapter in an edited volume:

Bordo, Susan. “The Moral Content of Nabokov’s Lolita.” Aesthetic Subjects, edited by Pamela R. Matthews and David McWhirter, U of Minnesota P, 2003, pp. 125-52.

Parenthetical Citation: (Bordo 132)

Stand-alone work (e.g., a play) in an anthology:

Euripides. The Trojan Women. Ten Plays, translated by Paul Roche, New American Library, 1998, pp. 457-512.

Parenthetical Citation: (Euripides 485)

Dissertations And Theses

Dissertation from ProQuest database:

Njus, Jesse. Performing the Passion: A Study on the Nature of Medieval Acting. 2010. Northwestern U, PhD dissertation. ProQuest, search.proquest.com/docview/305212264?accountid=13965.

Parenthetical Citation: (Njus 143)

Print master's thesis:

Remedios, Richard E. Defining My Process: My Journey Through the MFA Acting Program at the University of South Carolina. 2007. U of South Carolina, Master's thesis.

Parenthetical Citation: (Remedios 31-32)

Social Media and Non-Textual Sources

X Post (formally "Tweet")

@USC. "GO GAMECOCKS." X, 13 Mar. 2022, 7:52 p.m., x.com/USC/status/1503157124217675780.

Parenthetical Citation: (@USC)

YouTube video:

"This is How Social Media is Destroying Your Life - The Fake Reality." YouTube, uploaded by MotivationGrid, 16 Jul. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Tq2gvGt80.

Parenthetical Citation: ("This is How Social Media is Destroying Your Life" 02:40-03:25)

Online image with URL and access date:

Van Gogh, Vincent. The Potato Eaters. 1885. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. Van Gogh Museum, artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-potato-eaters-vincent-van-gogh/7gFcKarE9QeaXw. Accessed 20 Mar. 2022.

Parenthetical Citation: (Van Gogh)

Streaming film:

The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till, directed by Keith Beauchamp, Shout Factory, 2005, Kanopy. sc.kanopy.com/video/untold-story-emmett-louis-till. Accessed 20 Mar. 2022.

Parenthetical Citation: (The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till)

Additional Resources

Printable style sheet

MLA Handbook