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FYSP 093: Disability: Writing & Citing (MLA)

Introduction

MLA is most often used in English, Rhetoric, foreign language, and the humanities. Citations are created using both a detailed works cited list appearing at the end of a paper and brief in-text citations that direct readers to particular sources from that reference list. 

The examples and rules described on this page are intended as a quick reference for general MLA citation. For more sources with exhaustive rules, exceptions to rules, and types of sources not described here, see the MLA resources below. 

MLA Resources

Writing & Citing Help

Works Cited

​An MLA Works Cited citation should include the following elements if they are relevant to the work. Use the punctuation shown below: 

  1. Author.
    • Last Name, First Name
  2. Title of source.
    • If the source has a container, you will typically put the title of the source in quotation marks. 
    • If the source does not have a container, or if it would most commonly be published without a container, put the title of the source in italics. 
  3. Title of container,
    • Use italics
  4. Other contributors,
    • Specify their role, for example, translated by. 
  5. Version,
    • Abbreviate revised and edition as rev. and ed. respectively
    • Use Arabic numerals for ordinal numbers
  6. Number,
    • Abbreviate volume and number as vol. and no. respectively and separate them with a comma
  7. Publisher,
    •  
  8. Publication date,
    • Day Month Year
    • Months may be abbreviated
  9. Location.
    • Print source
      • Include the pages, abbreviate pages as pp. 
    • Digital source
      • Use a DOI if one is available
      • If a DOI is not available, use a permalink, and omit http:// or https://
      • If a permalink is not available, use a standard URL, and omit http:// or https://

Journal Article

Gold, Susanna W. "The Death of Cleopatra /the Birth of Freedom: Edmonia Lewis at the New World's Fair." Biography, vol. 35, no. 2, 2012, pp. 318-341.

Book

Morris, J. B. Oberlin, Hotbed of Abolitionism: College, Community, and the Fight for Freedom and Equality in Antebellum America. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 2014.