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MLA Style
The Purdue OWL will begin listing these changes in all our MLA resources in April 2009. Until then, here are
some of the more noteworthy changes to look forward to:

No More Underlining! Underlining is no more. MLA now recommends italicizing titles of
independently published works (books, periodicals, films, etc).

No More URLs! While website entries will still include authors, article names, and website names,
when available, MLA no longer requires URLs. Writers are, however, encouraged to provide a URL
if the citation information does not lead readers to easily find the source.

Continuous Pagination? Who Cares? You no longer have to worry about whether scholarly
publications employ continuous pagination or not. For all such entries, both volume and issue numbers
are required, regardless of pagination.

Publication Medium. Every entry receives a medium of publication marker. Most entries will be listed
as Print or Web, but other possibilities include Performance, DVD, or TV. Most of these markers will
appear at the end of entries; however, markers for Web sources are followed by the date of access.

New Abbreviations. Many web source entries now require a publisher name, a date of publication,
and/or page numbers. When no publisher name appears on the website, write N.p. for no publisher
given. When sites omit a date of publication, write n.d. for no date. For online journals that appear only
online (no print version) or on databases that do not provide pagination, write n. pag. for no pagination.
MLA STYLE: ENGLISH AND OTHER HUMANITIES
An in-text citation names the author of the source, often in a signal phrase, and gives the page number in parentheses. At
the end of the paper, a list of works cited provides publication information about the source; the list is alphabetized by
authors' last names (or by titles for works without authors).
IN-TEXT CITATION
Matt Sundeen notes that drivers with cell phones place an estimated 98,000 emergency calls each day and that the
phones "often reduce emergency response times and actually save lives" (1).
ENTRY IN THE LIST OF WORKS CITED
Sundeen, Matt. "Cell Phones and Highway Safety: 2000 State Legislative Update." National Conference of State
Legislatures. Natl. Conf. of State Legislatures, Dec. 2000. Web. 27 Feb. 2001.
Basic rules for print and electronic sources
1. AUTHOR NAMED IN A SIGNAL PHRASE Ordinarily, introduce the material being cited with a signal phrase that
includes the author's name. In addition to preparing readers for the source, the signal phrase allows you to keep the
parenthetical citation brief.
Christine Haughney reports that shortly after Japan made it illegal to use a handheld phone while driving, "accidents
caused by using the phones dropped by 75 percent" (A8).
The signal phrase — Christine Haughney reports that — names the author; the parenthetical citation gives the page
number where the quoted words may be found.
Notice that the period follows the parenthetical citation. When a quotation ends with a question mark or an exclamation
point, leave the end punctuation inside the quotation mark and add a period after the parentheses:
" . . . ?" (8).
2. AUTHOR NAMED IN PARENTHESES If a signal phrase does not name the author, put the author's last name in
parentheses along with the page number.
Most states do not keep adequate records on the number of times cell phones are a factor in accidents; as of
December 2000, only ten states were trying to keep such records (Sundeen 2).
Use no punctuation between the name and the page number.
3. AUTHOR UNKNOWN Either use the complete title in a signal phrase or use a short form of the title in parentheses.
Titles of books are italicized; titles of articles are put in quotation marks.
As of 2001, at least three hundred towns and municipalities had considered legislation regulating use of cell phones
while driving ("Lawmakers" 2).
TIP: Before assuming that a Web source has no author, do some detective work. Often the author's name is
available but is not easy to find. For example, it may appear at the end of the source, in tiny print. Or it may
appear on another page of the site, such as the home page.
NOTE: If a source has no author and is sponsored by a corporate entity, such as an organization or a government
agency, name the corporate entity as the author.
4. PAGE NUMBER UNKNOWN You may omit the page number if a work lacks page numbers, as is the case with many
Web sources. Although printouts from Web sites usually show page numbers, printers don't always provide the same
page breaks; for this reason, MLA recommends treating such sources as unpaginated.
The California Highway Patrol opposes restrictions on the use of phones while driving, claiming that distracted
drivers can already be prosecuted (Jacobs).
According to Jacobs, the California Highway Patrol opposes restrictions on the use of phones while driving, claiming
that distracted drivers can already be prosecuted.
***When the pages of a Web source are stable (as in PDF files), however, supply a page number in your in-text citation.
NOTE: If a Web source numbers its paragraphs or screens, give the abbreviation "par." or "pars." or the word
"screen" or "screens" in the parentheses: (Smith, par. 4).
5. ONE-PAGE SOURCE If the source is one page long, MLA allows (but does not require) you to omit the page number.
Many instructors will want you to supply the page number because without it readers may not know where your citation
ends or, worse, may not realize that you have provided a citation at all.
No page number given
Milo Ippolito reports that the driver who struck and killed a two-year-old while using her cell phone got off with a light
sentence even though she left the scene of the accident and failed to call 911 for help. In this and in similar cases,
traffic offenders distracted by cell phones have not been sufficiently punished under laws on reckless driving.
Page number given
Milo Ippolito reports that the driver who struck and killed a two-year-old while using her cell phone got off with a light
sentence even though she left the scene of the accident and failed to call 911 for help (J1). In this and in similar
cases, traffic offenders distracted by cell phones have not been sufficiently punished under laws on reckless driving.
MLA Handbook
Bibliographic Format for References
In MLA style, sources are acknowledged by short parenthetical citations in the text instead of numbered
footnotes. The parenthetical citation includes just enough information to point the reader to the complete
information about the source in the Works Cited list. The parenthetical usually includes the author's last name
(if an anonymous work, the first one or two words from the title), and the page number cited. Leave the
author's name out of the parenthetical if it is clearly stated in your sentence. When your Works Cited list
includes more than one work by an author, the parenthetical should include part of the title, i.e., (Nielsen,
Hypertext 141). If the entire work is being acknowledged, or there is no page or paragraph number (as in the
case of many online works), incorporate the author's name into the sentence instead of using a parenthetical.
Type of Entry
Works Cited list
Citation in
Text
Book - single author
Nielsen, Jakob. Hypertext &
Hypermedia. Boston: Academic Press Professional,
1993. Print.
(Nielsen 141)
Book - more than
one author
Gilbert, Sandra M., and Susan Gubar. The Madwoman in
the Attic. New Haven: Yale UP, 1979. Print.
(Gilbert and
Gubar 9)
Newspaper article
(unsigned)
"Give Georgia More HOPE." Atlanta Journal Constitution
18 Dec. 1994: G6. Print.
("Give" G6)
Newspaper article
from online
database
Fletcher, Michael A. "Study Finds Wide Racial Disparity in
Death Penalty." Washington Post 5 June 1998: A24.
LexisNexis Academic: News. GALILEO. Web. 25 Sept.
2003.
Mention in your
text:
"Fletcher
reports..."
When citing an online source, include the publication date (5
June 1998) and the date you visited the site (25 Sept. 2003).
Magazine article
Cowley, Geoffrey. "I'd Toddle a Mile for a Camel."
Newsweek 23 Dec. 1991: 70-71. Print.
(Cowley 70)
Article from an online
database
Voss, Paul J. "Debris from Heaven in Paradise Lost."
English Language Notes 35.3 (1998): 37-41. Academic
Search Premier. EBSCOhost. GALILEO. Web. 25
Sept. 2003.
Mention in your
text:
"According to
Voss..."
When citing an online source, include the publication date (1998)
and the date you visited the site (25 Sept. 2003).
Article from a Web
site
Blume, Harvey. "Geek Studies." Atlantic Online 13 July
2000. Web. 25 Sept. 2003.
Mention in your
text:
"Harvey Blume
states..."
Article from online
encyclopedia.
Killam, G.D. "Chinua Achebe." Dictionary of Literary
Biography. Ed. Bernth Lindfors and Reinhard Sander.
Vol. 117. Detroit: Gale, 1992. 15-34. Literature
Resource Center. Gale. U of Georgia Lib. Web. 25
Sept. 2003.
Mention in your
text:
"Killam's
analysis..."
When citing an online source, include the publication date
(1992) and the date you visited the site (25 Sept. 2003).
Entire Web site
Electronic Poetry Center. 2003. SUNY Buffalo. Web. 25
Sept. 2003.
When citing an online source, include the publication date
(2003) and the date you visited the site (25 Sept. 2003).
Web page within a
larger Web site
Martin, Thomas R. "An Overview of Classical Greek
History from Homer to Alexander." Perseus Digital
Library. Ed. Gregory R. Crane. 1999. Tufts U. Web.
25 Sept. 2003.
When citing an online source, include the publication
date (1999) and the date you visited the site (25
Sept. 2003).
Mention in your
text:
"The Electronic
Poetry Center
archives..."
(Martin 4.8.IV)
If the site has
section or
paragraph
numbers