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Information Literacy & Library Research: MLA Style Examples

Information literacy is the ability to know when information is needed and to be able to identify, locate and evaluate, and then legally and responsibly use and share that information.

MLA Style with Examples

Section Four B - Evaluate & Cite - Citing Your Sources - MLA Style with Examples

MLA 8th Edition Works Cited Examples

The Works Cited is how MLA style formats the list of the sources cited in the text of a research paper. It appears at the end of the paper, in an easily readable font (e.g. Times New Roman), a standard size (e.g. 12), and one inch margins. It is double-spaced throughout the page, and the sources are arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name. The sources should have a hanging indention, in which the first line of each source is flush with the left margin, with the second and succeeding lines indented ½ inch from the left margin. Most writing programs can automatically set this hanging indentation.

Other formatting guidance can be found here, although your instructor is always the ultimate guide, as they might have specific requirements for the assignment.

One important introduction for MLA 8th edition is the template of core elements. This template is used for every source, whether in print, digital, professional, or social media. This brings up the concept of containers, which can be viewed as an anthology is a container for a short story, a journal is a container for an article, or a TV series is a container for a single episode of a TV show. 


The following examples follow the 8th edition MLA style, the MLA Handbook 8th edition. (SUU call number: LB2369 .G53 2016)

  1. MLA Print Sources
    Book: one author
    Book: 2 or 3 authors
    Book: more than 3 authors
    Government author
    Encyclopedia article
    Encyclopedia article with author
    Newspaper article
    Magazine article
    Journal article

  2. MLA Electronic Sources
    Online book
    Encyclopedia article from a subscription service
    Newspaper article from a subscription service
    Magazine article from a subscription service
    Journal article from a subscription service
    Website
    Article on Website

  3. Social Media Sources
    Blog post
    Youtube video
    Tweet
    Facebook post
    Email

  4. MLA In-Text Citations


1. MLA Print Sources

Book: one author

Wilson, Frank R. The Hand: How Its Use Shapes the Brain, Language, and Human Culture. Vintage Books, 1999.

Book: 2 authors

Ford, Donna Y., and J. John Harris. Multicultural Gifted Education. Teachers College Press, 2003.

Book: 3 or more authors

Gilman, Sander, et al. Hysteria Beyond Freud. U of California P, 1993.

Government author

United States, Bureau of Land Management. A Guide to Our Federal Lands. Government Printing Office, 1999.

Encyclopedia article

“Mold.” The World Book Encyclopedia, vol. 13, World Book, 2007, pp. 689-90.

Encyclopedia article with author

Wood, P. B. “Fibromyalgia.” Encylopedia of Stress, editted by George Fink, 2nd ed., Elsevier, 2003, pp. 56-62.

Newspaper article

Abbott, Steve, and Joan Simpson. “Now Playing: Babes in Cyberspace.” Christian Science Monitor 3 Apr. 2002. Extra ed.: C1+. Print.

"Marines Charged in Assault Case." Houston Chronicle 14 Feb. 2003: 6A. Print.

Magazine article

Armstrong, Larry, and Doris Jones Yang. “The Learning Revolution.” Business Week, no. 3360, 28 Feb. 1994, pp. 80-88.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. “The Creative Personality.” Psychology Today, vol. 29, no. 4,  July-Aug. 1996, pp. 36-40.

Journal article

Hallin, Daniel C. " Sound Bite News: Television Coverage of Elections." Journal of Communication, vol. 42, no. 2, 2003, pp. 5-24. 

Lindahl, Kristin M., and Neena M. Malik. "Observations of Marital Conflict and Power: Relations with Parenting in the Triad." Journal of Marriage and the Family, vol. 61, no. 2, May 2003, pp. 320-30. 

2. MLA Electronic Sources

Online book

Painter, Martin, and Guy B. Peters. Tradition And Public Administration. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. EBSCOhost, proxy.li.suu.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=346816&site=ehost-live.

Yocco, Victor S. Design for the Mind: Seven Psychological Principles of Persuasive Design. Manning Publications, 2016. Safari Online Books, proquest.safaribooksonline.com/9781617292958.

Encyclopedia article from a subscription service

"Hurston, Zora Neale." Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature, Merriam-Webster, 1995. Literature Resource Center, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=sutahu&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CRN1480004641&asid=c3ee0f87cc89e6364672d1b0919f56b2.

Southam, Brian C. "Jane Austen." Encyclopædia Britannica​, 22 Dec. 2016, www.britannica.com/biography/Jane-Austen.

Newspaper article from a subscription service

Seib, Gerald F. “On Green Affairs, Politics Aren't All Black and White.” Wall Street Journal 11 Apr. 2001. Eastern ed.: A.20. ProQuest Newspapers. Web. 23 Apr. 2009.

Magazine article from a subscription service

Jost, Kenneth. "Student Rights." CQ Researcher, vol. 19, no. 21, 5 June 2009, pp. 501-24. CQ Researcher, library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2009060500.

Kluger, Jeffrey. “Dr. Sigmund Doolittle.” Discover, vol. 17, no. 2, Feb. 1996, pp. 84+. Academic Search Premier, proxy.li.suu.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mat&AN=9602010945&site=ehost-live.

Journal article from a subscription service

Guber, Deborah Lynn. “Voting Preferences and the Environment in the American Electorate.” Society & Natural Resources, vol. 14, no. 6, July 2001, pp. 455-69. GreenFILE, proxy.li.suu.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=8gh&AN=4802275&site=ehost-live.

Thompson, Michael D., and Robert O. Riggs. “Institutional Expenditure Patterns and the Facilitation of Mission.” Community College Review, vol. 27, no. 4 , 2000, pp. 1-15. EBSCOhost, proxy.li.suu.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=3323183&site=ehost-live.

Website

"U.S. and World Population Clock." United States Census Bureau, 27 Mar. 2017, www.census.gov/popclock.

Article on Website

Luhm, Steve. "College football: Defense, special teams carry Southern Utah over Weber State, 44-0." Salt Lake Tribune, 2 Oct. 2015, www.sltrib.com/home/3020385-155/college-football-defense-special-teams-carry.

Green, Joshua. "The Rove Presidency." The Atlantic, Sept. 2007, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/09/the-rove-presidency/306132.

Lubell, Sam. “Of the Sea and Air and Sky.” New York Times, 26 Nov. 2008, p. D1, www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/garden/27california.html.

3. Social Media Sources

Blog post

Velella, Rob. "Poe on Stage: Rather Tedious." The American Literary Blog, 8 Aug. 2012, americanliteraryblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/poe-on-stage-rather-tedious.html.

Email

Boyle, Anthony T. "Re: Utopia." Received by Daniel J. Cahill, 21 June 1997.

Facebook post

The Library of Congress. "Happy birthday to Alexander Cartwright, the "Father of American Baseball," born #OTD 1820. Read about him in our historical newspapers site. http://go.usa.gov/3WycC." Facebook, 17 Apr. 2015, 9:00 a.m., www.facebook.com/libraryofcongress/photos/a.487300093058.258710.90245883058/10152794738448059.

Tweet

@persiankiwi. "We have report of large street battles in east & west of Tehran now - #Iranelection." Twitter, 23 June 2009, 11:15 a.m., twitter.com/persiankiwi/status/2298106072.

@wsj. "Los Angeles, long the center of sprawl, is embracing its density." Twitter, 28 Mar. 2018, 5:49 a.m., twitter.com/WSJ/status/846705769840070657.

YouTube video

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Unaired Pilot 1996." YouTube, uploaded by Brian Stowe, 28 Jan. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR3J-v7QXXw.

Episode of a television series

"Under the Gun." Pretty Little Liars, season 4, episode 6, ABC Family, 16 July 2013. Hulu, www.hulu.com/watch/511318.

4. MLA In-text Citations

The MLA (Modern Language Association guidelines require that you cite any quotations, summaries, paraphrases, and other material used from sources within parentheses typically placed at the end of the sentence in which the quoted or paraphrased material appears. The parenthetical method replaces the use of footnotes. These in-text parenthetical citations correspond to the full bibliographic entries found in a Works Cited list of sources at the end of your paper.

The information that you need to include depends on what type of source the material comes from. For printed material you normally only need to include the author(s)  (or title if there is no author) and page number(s) in your reference. This information can be either included in the sentence that you write, or added in parentheses at the end of the sentence. The parentheses are usually placed at the end of a sentence, between the last word and the period.

Here is an example of how to use MLA in-text parenthetical citation:

In-text parenthetical citation for a paper about cell phones and accidents:

The driver said in court that when he looked up from the cell phone he was dialing, he was three feed from the car and had no time to stop (Stockwell B1). A recent article by an expert on cell phones and accidents estimates that between 450 and 1,000 crashes a year have some connection to cell phone use (Sundeen 23-25). John Violanti of the University of Utah found a nine fold increase in the risk of fatality if a phone was being used in a vehicle (522-23).

Works Cited citations for these information sources:

Stockwell, Jamie. "Phone Use Faulted in Collision." Washington Post, 6 Dec. 2000:, p. B1, www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/12/06/phone-use-faulted-in-collision/c336f174-e7f6-4404-aea4-856fb1f981c7.

Sundeen, Matt. "Cell Phones and Highway Safety." National Conference of State Legislatures, Mar. 2007, www.ncsl.org/print/transportation/2006cellphone.pdf.

Violanti, John M. "Cellular Phones and Fatal Traffic Collisions." Accident Analysis and Prevention, vol. 30, no. 4, 1998, pp. 519-24, doi:dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0001-4575(97)00094-8.