OPL : MLA Style Guide

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Style Guides

MLA Style Guide

Works Cited or a Bibliography at the end of your paper lets people know where you found your information and allows you to give credit to ideas and quotations you've used in your work. Be sure to check with your teacher/instructor as to which Style Guide to follow.

Citing Print Sources

Format:

Author (Last name, First name). Title. Place: Publisher, Date. Print.

Examples:

Book

Magnusson, Lynne. Shakespeare's Social Dialogue. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1999. Print.

Book With 2 Or 3 Authors

Walton, Priscilla and Manina Jones. Title. Place: Publisher, Date. Print.

Book With An Editor

Natoli, Joseph, ed. Title. Place: Publisher, Date. Print.

Essay Or Chapter In A Book

Bewley, Marius. "The True Heir of the American Dream." Readings on the Great Gatsby. Ed. Katie Koster. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1998. 1-20. Print.

Signed Article Daily Newspaper

Christie, James. "All-Star Game Marries Glitz and Ghosts." Globe and Mail [Toronto] 5 Feb 2000: S1+. Print.

Government Publication

Canada. Library of Parliament, Research Branch. Homelessness in Canada. Ottawa: Library of Parliament, Research Branch, 1989. Print.

Citing Electronic Sources

Format:

Author (if given). "Title of document or page in website" (if given). Title of Site. Version or edition used (if given). Publisher or sponsor of site (if not given, use N.p.), Date of publication or date of latest update (if not given use n.d.). Web. Date of access.

Examples:

Website

Rubio, Mary. "Montgomery, Lucy Maud." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation of Canada, 2005. Web. 13 July 2005.

Article from Online Database (accessed through library website, print version may be available)

Greene, Ellen. "Refiguring the Feminine Voice: Catullus Translating Sappho." Arethusa 32.1 (1999): 1-18. Project Muse. Web. 5 June 2009.

Online Newspaper

Stelter, Brian. "A Tearful Winfrey Explains Her Departure." New York Times. New York Times, 20 Nov. 2009. Web. 20 Nov. 2009.

Blogs and Wikis

Byford, Phil. "Networking." Phil Byford's Website. N.p., 26 July 2006. Web. 28 Nov. 2008.

Podcast

Fink, Sheri. "AIDS in Papua New Guinea." BBC World News: Health/HIV AIDS. BBC, 29 May 2006. Web. 1 Aug. 2006.

Video Weblog Post (YouTube)

"Skateboarding Dog." YouTube. YouTube, 28 June 2007. Web. 2 Feb. 2008.

Citing Other Sources

Interview

Graaf, Vera. Personal Interview. 19 Dec. 1993.

Television Program

"Swift Kick in the Year End." With Bob Robertson and Linda Cullen. Double Exposure. CBC. Vancouver. 31 Dec. 1995. Television.

Film Or Video Recording

The Royal Tenenbaums. Dir. Wes Anderson. Buena Vista Pictures, 2001. Film.

This guide is based on the 7th edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2009). The examples above are from the MLA Style Guide by McMaster University Library and are used with permission.