MLA Documentation Style

MLA Basic Format

Books

Articles

Media

Internet

Books

Book by a single author
Wyss, O'Neill. Fundamentals of the Stock Market. New York: McGraw, 2001.
Book by two authors
Hamilton, John Maxwell, and George A. Krimsky. Hold the Press:The Inside Story On Newspapers. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1996.
Book by three or more authors
Quirk, Randolph, et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman, 1985.
Book by a corporate author
American Medical Association. Essential Guide to Asthma. New York: Pocket, 1998.
Book with no author listed
Cooking with Vegetables. New York: Oxmoor, 1983.

Note:
Eliminate the space for author and list alphabetically by the title, ignoring articles, "A" "The", etc.

Book by an editor or compiler
Allison, Nancy, ed. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Body-Mind Disciplines. New York: Rosen, 1999.
   
Spafford, Peter R., and Millicent Monroe, comps. The Protocol of Heaven. New York: Ballantine, 2002.

Note:
Use "ed." for editor, and "comp." for compiler. More than one, list the second editor or compiler with first name followed by last name.

Translation
Allende, Isabel. Eva Luna. Trans. Margaret Sayers Penden. New York: Bantam, 1989.
Edition
SarDesai, D. R. Vietnam: Past and Present. 3rd ed. Boulder: Westview, 1998.
Book with author and editor
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Harold Jenkins. London: Methuen, 1982.
Multivolume work
Jordan, William Chester, ed. The Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia for Students. 4 vols. New York: Scribner, 1996.
Book in a series
Heisler, Martin O., and Barbara S. Heisler. From Foreign Workers to Settlers?: Transnational Migration and the Emergence of New Minorities. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 485. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1986.
Work in an anthology
Chopin, Kate. "The Awakening." The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women: The Traditions in English. 2nd ed. Comp. Sandra M. Gilbert, and Susan Gubar. New York: Norton, 1996. 1011-1101.
Excerpt from an article, reprinted in an anthology
Fiedler, Leslie A. "William Faulkner: An American Dickens." Commentary 10.4 (1950): 384-87. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris and Sheila Fitzgerald. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1988. 151.
Excerpt from a book, reprinted in an anthology
West, Ray B. "Atmosphere and Theme in Faulkner's 'A Rose for Emily'." William Faulkner: Four Decades of Criticism. Ed. Linda Welshimer Wagner. East Lansing: Michigan State UP, 1973. 192-98. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris, and Sheila Fitzgerald. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 148-51.
Signed article in an encyclopedia
Cleland, Hugh G. "Child Labor." The Encyclopedia Americana. 1998 ed.
Unsigned article in an encyclopedia
"Mayflower." The Encyclopedia Americana. 1998 ed.
Government document or publication
United States. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010: Understanding and Improving Health. Washington: GPO, 2000.
   
United States. National Cancer Institute. Tobacco Research Implementation Group. Tobacco Research Implementation Plan: Priorities for Tobacco Research Beyond the Year 2000. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, 1998.
   
New York State. Commission on Water Use in the Upper Hudson Valley. Water Sanitation Facilities: Proposed Safety Regulations for 2000-2020. Albany: State of New York, 1999.

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Articles

Article in a scholarly journal with continuous pagination
Bulliet, Richard W. "Twenty Years of Islamic Politics." Middle East Journal 53 (1999): 189-2000.
Article in a scholarly journal that pages issues separately
Haynes, George W., and Deborah C. Haynes. "The Debt Structure of Small Businesses Owned by Women in 1987 and 1993. "Journal of Small Business Management 37.2 (1999): 1-19.
Article in a magazine
Silverstein, Ken. "Millions for Viagra, Pennies for Diseases of the Poor: Research Money Goes to Profitable Lifestyle Drugs." Nation 19 July 1999: 13-19.
Article in a daily newspaper
Meier, Barry. "Tobacco Industry Loses First Phase of Broad Lawsuit." New York Times 8 July 1999, late ed.: A1+.
Article in a Sunday newspaper or one with numbered sections
Hartocolis, Anemona. "New Math: No One Is Below Average." New York Times 20 June 1999, late ed., sec 4: 3.
Book review
Truax, Alice. "Anywhere but Here: A Satisfying Novel about Unsatisfactory Lives." Rev. of Amy and Isabelle, by Elizabeth Strout. New Yorker 8 Feb. 1999: 79-80.

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Internet Resources

Professional Site
MLA. Modern Language Association. 6 July 2002 <http://www.mla.org>.
Article in an online reference book
"Parks, Rosa." Britannica Online. Vers. 99.1. 1994-1999. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 4 Sept. 2002 <http://www.eb.com>.
Article in an online magazine
Du Boisrouvray, Albina. "Orphans and HIV: Saving the Second Wave of the Epidemic." Earth Times 31 Oct. 1999. 9 Nov. 1999 <http://earthtimes.org/oct/healthorphansandhivsavingoct31_99.htm>.
Work from a licensed subscription service: Article in a magazine
Skinner, Al. "The Big Comeback." Harvard Business Review Jan. 2002: 20-23. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOHost. 23 May 2002 <http://search.epnet.com>.
   
Tator, Charles, James D. Carson, and Robert Cushman. "Hockey Injuries of the Spine in Canada, 1966-1996". CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal 162 (2000): 787-788. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOHost. 15 Nov. 2000 <http://search.epnet.com>.
Work from a licensed subscription service: Article in a newspaper
Solomon, Alisa, and Deirdre Hussey. "Enemies of Public Education." Village Voice 21 Apr. 1998, educ. sec. 2+. General News. Lexis-Nexis Academic. 17 Apr. 1999 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe>.
Work from a licensed subscription service: Article in reprint service
"John (Ernst) Steinbeck 1902-1968." Contemporary Authors Online. Literature Resource Center. Gale Group Databases. 12 May 2002 <http://infotrac.galegroup.com>.

Media

CD-ROM
"Marshall, Paule." Contemporary Authors on CD. CD-ROM. Detroit: Gale, 1995.
Video
Medicine at the Crossroads. Prod. 13/WNET and BBC TV. Videocassette. PBS Video, 1993.

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