The following examples are basic formatting rules for citations. For more indepth information on reference list entries, in-text citations, and/or how to set up your paper, please see the MLA Resource Guides list.
The basic format for books is:
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Publisher, Year of Publication.
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. Penguin, 1987.
Note: If a book was published before 1900, the publisher has offices in more than one country, or the publisher is unknown in North America, then the city in which the book was published precedes the Publisher, Year of Publication:
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York City, Penguin, 1987.
The basic format for scholarly articles in print journals is:
Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical, volume, issue, publication year,
pages.
DuVall, John N. "The (Super)Marketplace of Images: Television as Unmediated Mediation in
DeLillo's White Noise." Arizona Quarterly, vol. 50, no. 3, 2000, pp. 127-153.
The basic format for scholarly articles from an online database is:
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Article." Title of Periodical, volume, issue, day month year,
pages. Name of Database, DOI or URL, Accessed date.
Langhamer, Claire. "Love and Courtship in Mid-Twentieth-Century England." Historical
Journal, vol. 50, no. 1, 2007, pp. 173-196. ProQuest, https:doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X06005966. Accessed 27 May 2009.
The basic format for articles in scholarly journals that are published in both print and online is:
Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical, Volume, Issue, Year, pages, DOI or
URL. Accessed Date.
Wheelis, Mark. “Investigating Disease Outbreaks Under a Protocol to the Biological and Toxin
Weapons Convention.” Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 6, no. 6, 2000, pp. 595-600, wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/6/00-0607_article. Accessed 8 Feb. 2009.
The basic format for scholarly articles in journals that are ONLY published online is:
Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Article." Title of Periodical, volume, issue,year, DOI or URL.
Accessed date.
Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future
Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2008, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 20 May 2009.
The basic format for articles with more than one author is:
Lastname, Firstname, and Firstname Lastname. "Title of Article." Title of Journal, volume,
issue, day month year, pages. Title of Journal, DOI or URL. Accessed date.
Alonso, Alvaro, and Julio A. Camargo. “Toxicity of Nitrite to Three Species of Freshwater
Invertebrates.” Environmental Toxicology, vol. 21, no. 1, 3 Feb. 2006, pp. 90-94. Wiley Online Library, https://doi.org/10.1002/tox.20155. Accessed 26 May 2009.
