MLA 8 Print Samples
General Page Format Name=Top right Works Cited=Centered Font=Times New Roman 12pt Spacing=Double Citations=Alphabetical |
Gather basic information from the book’s title page. Only the author's last name is moved to the beginning. The basic form for a book is as follows:
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date. Gleick, James K. Chaos: Making a New Science. Penguin, 1987. Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. MacMurray, 1999. |
Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Lerner. The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. Allyn and Bacon, 2000. |
If there are three or more authors, list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. (Latin for "and others") in place of the subsequent authors' names. (Note that there is a period after “al” in “et al.” Also note that there is never a period after the “et” in “et al.”).
Wysocki, Anne Frances, et al. Writing New Media: Theory and Applications for Expanding the Teaching of Composition. Utah State UP, 2004. |
For entries in encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works, cite the piece as you would any other work in a collection but do not include the publisher information. Also, if the reference book is organized alphabetically, as most are, do not list the volume or the page number of the article or item.
"Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed., 1997. |
Works may include an essay in an edited collection or anthology. The basic form is as follows:
Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection, edited by Editor's Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range of entry. Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One, edited by Ben Rafoth, Heinemann, 2000, pp. 24-34. |
MLA 8 Electronic Source Samples
It is a good idea to list your date of access because web postings are often updated, and information available on one date may no longer be available later. When using the URL, be sure to include the complete address for the site except for the https://.
Editor or author (if available). “Article.” Name of Site. Sponsor or publisher (if the publisher name is the same as the site name, only list it once), date of resource creation (if available), URL, Accessed date.
The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl. Accessed 23 Apr. 2008. Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003, www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/. Accessed 10 May 2006. |
For an individual page on a Web site, list the author or alias if known, followed by the information covered above for entire Web sites. If the publisher is the same as the website name, only list it once.
"Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview." WebMD, 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview. Accessed 7 Feb. 2017. Lundman, Susan. "How to Make Vegetarian Chili." eHow, www.ehow.com/how_10727_make-vegetarian-chili.html. Accessed 6 July 2015. |
MLA 8 Database Citations
Copy and Paste from database. Usually provided at the end of the article or on a separate page labeled “Citation” or “Cite This.” Choose MLA 8 (or newer). You will need to correct for font and size.
Cheyette, Fredric L. "Feudalism, European." New Dictionary of the History of Ideas, edited by Maryanne Cline Horowitz, vol. 2, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005, pp. 828-831. World History in Context,libraries.state.ma.us/login?gwurl=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/ CX3424300286/WHIC?u=mlin_c_wachrh&xid=29166b43. Accessed 7 Feb. 2017. |
Thanks to: Russell, Tony, et al. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 27 Jan. 2017.