The Modern Language Association citation style, named MLA Style, is the most commonly used format for manuscripts in the social sciences. APA Style is used to correctly format manuscript text, in-text citations, and references and is currently in its seventh edition.
You can access the MLA Handbook, Ninth Edition (2021) in the Jim Dan Hill Library:
MLA Handbook, 9th ed. by "How to Cite in MLA Style" by the Jim Dan Hill Library is licensed by a CC BY 4.0 license.
MLA Style uses the Author-Page Number Citation System. The following are common examples you may use while writing in MLA Style. Please refer to chapter six of the MLA Handbook, 9th edition for more information and further examples.
Note: If you are citing the work as a whole, page numbers are not required in the citation.
| Author Type | Parenthetical Citation | Narrative Citation |
|---|---|---|
| One author | (Wolf 222-240) |
Wolf (222-240) |
| Two authors | (Salas and D'Agostino 222-240) |
Salas and D'Agostino (222-240) |
| Three or more authors | (Martin et al. 222-240) | Martin et al. (222-240) |
| No Page Numbers | (Stanford University) | Stanford University |
The following are common examples you may use while writing in MLA Style. Please refer to Appendix 2 of the MLA Handbook, 9th edition for further examples.
Author Last Name, First Name. Title. Publisher, Year.
Davis, Angela Y. Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday. Pantheon, 1998.
Author Last Name, First Name. "Chapter Title." Book Title, edited by Editor's Full Name, Publisher Name, Year, page range.
Bowden, Sarah. “Echo: The Silence Between the Notes.” Uncanny Bodies: Superhero Comics and Disability, edited by Scott T. Smith and José Alaniz, Penn State UP, 2019, pp. 79-94.
Author Last Name, First Name. "Journal article title." Journal Name, volume, issue #, Month Year, page range. Database Name, DOI or Stable URL.
Bockelman, Brian. "Buenos Aires Boheme: Argentina and the Transatlantic Bohemian Renaissance, 1890-1910." Modernism/Modernity, vol. 23, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp. 37-63. Project Muse, https://doi.org/10.1353/mod.2016.0011.
Author Last Name, First Name. "Article Title." Newspaper Title, Day Month Year, URL.
Parker-Pope, Tara. "How to Age Well." The New York Times, 2 Nov. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/how-to-age-well
Author Last Name, First Name. "Article Title." Magazine Title, Month Year, page range. URL.
Deresiewicz, William. "The Death of the Artist - and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur." The Atlantic, Jan.-Feb. 2015, pp.92-97. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/01/the-death-of-the-artist-and-the-birth-of-the-creative-entrepreneur/383497/
"Video Title." Streaming Site, uploaded by Creator Name, Upload Day Month Year, URL.
"What Is the MLA International Bibliography?" Vimeo, uploaded by MLA International Bibliography, 14 Oct. 2016, https://www.vimeo.com/187399565
Website Title. Website Author, Publication Day Month Year, URL.
Folgerpedia. Folger Shakespeare Library, 17 July 2018, https://www.folgerpedia.folger.edu/Main-Page
"Webpage Title." Website Title, URL. Accessed Date.
"Merry Kiss Cam (2022)." IMDB, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21223048/. Accessed 12 July, 2023.