MLA style
The MLA (Modern Language Association) referencing style guidance below has been cited from MLA Handbook. 8th ed., Modern Language Association of America, 2016.
Important to note:
The MLA Handbook has recently published a new edition of guidelines than those used in the examples below. Please check with your tutor or lecturer to see if they have a specific MLA Handbook edition preference.
How to reference a particular source in MLA style
Click on the appropriate header below to expand the section and find information about how to reference a particular source in MLA style.
- In-text citations
Generally, when using the MLA style an in-text citation requires only the name of the author(s) and the page number (with no punctuation between the two items).
Placement of citation:
Whenever possible, place citation at the end of a sentence (before the concluding punctuation).
Example
...as one writer put it "the darkest days were still ahead" (Weston 45).
Alternatively, the author's surname may be integrated into the text, followed immediately by page number(s) in brackets.
Example
Scholtz (564) has argued that…
Works with more than four authors
If you need to reference a work written by four or more authors, write the first author's name followed by et al.
Example
Edwards, L. et al (76) reports…
Unknown author
If the author's name is unknown you should give a shortened title of the article, book or webpage.
Example
the worst election loss in the party's history (The Age 2)...
Referring to works quoted within other works
You may want to refer to a work that you haven't actually read, but which has been summarised or discussed in somebody else's work.
Example
The work of Oliver (see Kogut 33) is very interesting
*Note: only include original work references that you read in the list of references at the end of your work; you cannot include details about original studies if you have not read them.
- List of works cited
MLA referencing style requires you to list "works cited" in alphabetical order at the end of your work; this is your reference list. References listed in your "List of Works Cited" that contain two or more lines should be indented by half an inch (1.3cm).
Omit sources that are not directly cited in your text, and instead list them in the form of a footnote or endnote. You must use superscript numbers for footnotes.
- Books and edited books
Book
Citation order and format
Author Surname, Forename. Title of book. ed.* Place of publication: Publisher, year of publication. Medium.
*only include if not the first edition
Example
Gombrich, E. H. The Story of Art. 13th ed. Oxford: Phaidon, 1978. Print.
Edited book
Citation order and format
Author of the chapter/section- Surname, Forename. “Title of chapter/ section.” Title of book. editor(s) name(s) ed(s). Place of publication: Publisher, year of publication, page numbers. [Medium.]
Example
Kwint, Marius, Christopher Breward, and Jeremy Aynsley, eds. Material Memories. Oxford: Berg, 1999, 27-52. Print.
More than 3 authors
Citation order and format
Author Surname, Forename et al. Title of book. ed.* Place of publication: Publisher, year of publication. Medium.
*only include if not the first edition
Example
Gibbons, Michael, et al. The New Production of Knowledge: The Dynamics of Science and Research in Contemporary Societies. London: Sage, 1994. Print.
Unknown author
Citation order and format
Title of book. ed.* Place of publication: Publisher, year of publication. Medium.
*only include if not the first edition
Example
Encyclopedia of Paper-Folding Designs. Tokyo: P.I.E., 2001. Print.
Scholarly edition (e.g. a classic edited by someone other than the author)
Example
Eliot, George. Daniel Deronda. Ed. Barbara Hardy. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1967. Print.
Translation
Citation order and format
Author Surname, Forename. Title of book. Trans. Translators forename surname. Place of publication: Publisher, year of publication. Medium.
Example
Barthes, Roland. The Fashion System. Trans. Matthew Ward and Richard Howard. New York: Hill and Wang, 1983. Print.
- Chapter in book
Citation order and format
Author of the chapter/section- Surname, Forename. “Title of chapter/ section.” Title of book. Name of editor of book - preceded by Ed. Place of Publication: Publisher, year of publication, page numbers. Medium.
Example
Frank, Barbara E. "Ceramics as Testaments of the Past: Field Research and Making Objects Speak." Museums in the Material World. Ed. Simon Knell. London: Routledge, 2007. 60-64. Print.
- Ebook
When referencing e-books, include all the details as for a print book. You also need to include the name of the platform (MyiLibrary, Project Gutenberg, Google Books, etc) and the date you accessed the e-book.
Citation order and format
Author Surname, Forename. Title of book. ed* Place of publication: Publisher, year of publication. Name of database or collection. Web. Date month (abbreviated) year.
Example
Lapsley, Robert and Michael Westlake. Film Theory: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Manchester: Manchester UP, 2006. MyiLibrary. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.
*only include if not the first edition
If you have used an e-book reader such as a Kindle, put "Kindle file" in your reference in place of "Web". If the place of publication has not been given, you can omit it from your reference. You do not need to include the accessed date.
Example
Duncan, Carol. Civilizing Rituals: Inside Public Art Museums. Routledge-Taylor and Francis, 2005. Kindle file.
*Note: If the e-book is divided into stable numbered sections/chapters, the section/chapter number can be used in the citation. For example: ...... (Duncan, ch. 2).
- Journals
Citation order and format
Author Surname, Forename. “Title of article.” Title of journal. volume number. issue number (year of publication): page numbers. [Medium.]
Example
Klepp, Ingun Grimstad. "Slimming Lines." Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture. 15.4 (2011): 451-80. Print.
- Magazine articles
Citation order and format
Author Surname, Forename. “Title of article.” Title of magazine. volume number and issue number. Date, month (abbreviated) year of publication: page numbers [Medium.] Add a date if accessed online.
Example
Blackburn, Simon. "You are not helpful!" London Review of Books 29 Jan. 2009: 17-18. [Print].
*Note: For a weekly or biweekly magazine, include the day but leave out the volume and issue number. For online magazines, use the same format above, but add an access date to the end of the reference.
- Articles in online collections
If you have accessed the journal article using an online source such as JSTOR or from a publisher's site such as Sage, you need to include this in your reference. You also need to include "Web" and the accessed date.
Citation order and format
Author Surname, Forename. “Title of article." Title of journal volume number. issue number (year of publication): page numbers. Name of the collection. Web. date month (abbreviated), year accessed.
Example
Byrde, Margaretta. "Jane Austen." The Sewanee Review, 32.3(1924): 280-94. JSTOR. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.
- Webpage
Citation order and format
Author Surname, Forename. Title of web page, year that the site was published/last updated. Web. Date month (abbreviated) year accessed. URL
Example
Jane, Lady. Jane Austin's Fiction Manuscripts, 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. http://www.janeausten.ac.uk/manuscripts/lady_susan/Front_(left)_board.html
- Film, television and YouTube
Film
Citation order and format
Title of film. Dir. Forename, Surname. Perf. Names of principal performers Forename, Surname. Distributor, Year of release. Film.
Example
Macbeth. Dir. Orson Wells. Perf. Orson Welles. Republic Pictures, 1948. Film.
Films on DVD
Citation order and format
Title of film. Dir. Forename, Surname. Perf. Names of principal performers Forename, Surname. Distributor, Year of release. DVD.
Example
The English Patient. Dir. Anthony Minghella. Perf. Ralph Fiennes. Buena Vista Home Video, 1996. DVD.
Television
Citation order and format
“Title of episode.” Title of programme. Broadcaster or network. Date. abbreviated month. year of publication. Television.
Example
"Wind Turbines." The Nuclear Age. ITV, 16. June. 2009. Television.
iPlayer or Broadcast Box
Citation order and format
“Title of episode.” Title of programme. Broadcaster or network. Date. abbreviated month. year of publication. Box of Broadcasts. date. abbreviated month. year accessed.
Example
"Time & Entropy." Wonders of the Universe: Destiny. BBC2. 6. March. 2011. Box of Broadcasts. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.
YouTube
Citation order and format
Name of person posting video. Title of video. Name of Website. [YouTube] date. abbreviated month. Year. video was posted. Web. date. abbreviated month. year accessed.
Example
Shakespeare animated. BBC Shakespeare Animated Tales: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Part 2. 2008. YouTube. Web. 12 May 2011.
- Government document
Citation order and format
Country or state. Corporate author. Title. Place of publication: Publisher, year of publication. Print.
Example
Great Britain. Home Office. Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 2001. London: HMSO, 2002. Print.
- Newspapers
Citation order and format
Author Surname, Forename. “Article Title." Newspaper title [City] date month year printed: issue number. Print.
Example
Godfrey, Miles. "Global Warming Blamed as Venomous Spider Nibbles Shocked Window Cleaner." Argus [Brighton] 9 July 2008: 4. Print.
*Note: always omit the "The" in newspaper titles/names, e.g. "The Argus" becomes "Argus".
- Online newspaper article
Citation order and format
Author Surname, Forename. “Article title.” Newspaper title. date printed in the following format: date month (abbreviated) year: issue number. Web. date accessed in the following format: day month (abbreviated) year.
Example
Brown, Mark. "Read All About It: How Gilbert & George Stole the Headlines and Made Art." Guardian, 8 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.
- Tweet
Citation order and format
Author – Surname, forename if known (Screen name). “Entire tweet” Day month. Year, time of posting. Medium
Example
Gaiman, N (neilhimself). "You have my blanket permission for any of my stories Levar." 25 Mar. 2020, 1:58 a.m. Tweet.