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MLA 8th Ed. Citation Guide

Contents
Periodicals
Journal Article - [Library Database]......................................................................................... 2
Journal Article [Print & Electronic] .......................................................................................... 3
Magazine Article – [Print & Electronic]................................................................................... 3
Newspaper Article – [Print & Electronic] ............................................................................... 4
Book Review from a Magazine, Journal or Newspaper ..................................................... 5
Websites and Social Media
Work on a Website ......................................................................................................................... 5
Blog Post ............................................................................................................................................ 6
Twitter ................................................................................................................................................ 6
Books
Book [Print Version] ...................................................................................................................... 7
Book Published Electronically ................................................................................................... 7
Article or Chapter in an Edited Collection ............................................................................. 7
Entry in a Widely-Used Dictionary/Encyclopedia .............................................................. 7
Audiovisual Media
YouTube Video ................................................................................................................................ 8
Streaming Video (Netflix, Hulu) ................................................................................................ 8
Film/Movie........................................................................................................................................ 8
Podcast ............................................................................................................................................... 8
An Image from a Website ............................................................................................................. 9
Class Resources
Custom Textbook Chapter ........................................................................................................... 9
Presentation Slides ........................................................................................................................ 9
Blackboard Discussion Post ...................................................................................................... 10
Class Lecture/Class Notes .......................................................................................................... 10
Multiple Author Examples ............................................................................................................... 11
Formatting Papers .............................................................................................................................. 11
Citing Sources In-Text........................................................................................................................ 12
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Periodicals – Print or Online

(Journals, Magazines, Newspapers)

Journals – Print and Electronic

Journal Article - [on a Library Database]

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Article title.” Journal Title, volume, issue, date, page

number range. Database Name, doi or URL. Accessed day month year.

Otero, Valerie K. and David E. Meltzer. "A Discipline Specific Approach to the History of U.S.

Science Education." Journal of College Science Teaching, vol. 46, no. 3, Jan./Feb. 2017,

pp. 34-39. Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=120346711&site=ehost-live. Accessed 18 Jan. 2017.

Notes:
• Periodicals are typically issued in multiple volumes and issues, which are
numbered. If you consult an article with a volume and/or issue number, indicate the
volume and issue number after the magazine or journal title. Volume is abbreviated
“vol.” and issue number is shortened to “no.”.
• If you are indicating a URL, you can leave off “http://” and any prozy prefix like
“http://ezproxy.mvcc.edu/login?url=”.
• If a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is provided, use it rather than a URL. A DOI is
indicated like this: “doi: 10.4103/0028-3886.198236”.
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Online Journal Article [on the free Web]

Author(s). “Article title.” Journal Title, publication date, URL. Accessed day month year.

Lee, Michelle. “Reference on the Road.” Library Journal, 7 Nov. 2013,

reviews.libraryjournal.com/2013/11/reference/reference-on-the-road/. Accessed

24 Jan. 2017.

Journal Article [print]

Author(s). “Article title.” Journal Title, volume, issue, date, page number range.

Otero, Valerie K. and David E. Meltzer. "A Discipline Specific Approach to the History of U.S.

Science Education." Journal of College Science Teaching, vol. 46, no. 3, Jan./Feb. 2017,

pp. 34-39.

Magazines – Print and Electronic

Magazine Article – [From a Library database]

Author(s). “Article Title.” Magazine Title, volume, issue, date, pages. Database name, DOI or

URL. Accessed day month year.

Hinton, Marva. “Diversity Gaps in Computer Science Education.” Education Week, vol. 36,
no. 10, 2016 October 26, p. 5. Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com
/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=119125322&site=ehost-live. Accessed 24 Jan.
2017.

Magazine Article – [From a Website]

Author(s). “Article Title.” Magazine Title, Date on Web, Pages, URL. Accessed day month

year.

Dockerman, Elaina. “The History of Why it’s Impossible to Find Clothes That Fit.” Time, 2
Sept. 2016, time.com/4477865/clothes-fit-history/?xid=homepage. Accessed 2
Sept. 2016.
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Magazine Article – [Print version]

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Article title.” Magazine Title, Day Month Year, pages.

Dockerman, Elaina. “The History of Why it’s Impossible to Find Clothes That Fit.” Time, 2

Sept. 2016, p.12.

Newspapers – Print and Electronic

Newspaper Article – [Print version]

Author. “Article title.” Newspaper Title, date, page(s).

Jargon, Julie. “Fast Food Aspires to Move Up the Food Chain.” The Wall Street Journal, 2012

Oct. 11, p. B11.

Notes:
• If no author is given for the newspaper article, begin with the article’s title instead.
• If the article appears on more than one page then use pp. not p. (Example: pp. A1,
A8.) If the article is on nonconsecutive pages, indicate the start page then a + sign.

Newspaper Article – [Online]

Author. “Article Title.” Newspaper Title, date, page number(s) if available, URL or DOI.

Accessed day month year.

Downes, Lawrence. “The Sun Sets on Sugar Cane in Hawaii.” The New York Times, 2017 Jan.

16, www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/opinion/the-sun-finally-sets-on-sugar-cane-in-

hawaii.html. Accessed 20 Jan. 2017.

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Newspaper Article – [From a Library Database]

Author. “Article Title.” Newspaper Title, date, page number(s). Database, URL or DOI.

Accessed day month year.

Cohen, Jason. “Going On, Cane Sugar and All, After Dr Pepper.” The New York Times, 2012

July 15, p. 23B. LexisNexis Academic, www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/.

Accessed 24 Jan. 2017.

Book Review from a Magazine, Journal or Newspaper

Review Author. “Article title.” Review of Title of Book, by Author First Name Last Name.

Title of publication, volume, issue, date, page range. Database (if applicable), DOI or

URL. Accessed day month year.

Buckley, Gail Lumet. “The Eerie Tragedy of Emmett Till’s Father, Told by John Edgar

Wideman.” Review of Writing to Save a Life: The Louis Till File, by John Edgar

Wideman. The New York Times, 2016 Dec. 14, www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14

/books /review/john-edgar-wideman-emmett-till-father-writing-to-save-a-

life.html. Accessed 24 Jan. 2017.

Websites & Social Media

Work on a Website

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Website Name. Publisher, Date, URL.

Accessed day month year.

Frotman, Seth. “Did you Take Out Student Loans to Attend ITT Tech? You Have Options.”

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 7 Sept. 2016, www.consumerfinance.gov

/about-us/blog/did-you-take-out-student-loans-attend-itt-tech-you-have-options/.

Accessed 24 Jan. 2017.

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Webpage - No Author

“Webpage Title.” Name of site, Name of institution/organization affiliated with site, date,

URL/DOI. Accessed day month year.

“Suicide Statistics.” American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2017, afsp.org/about-

suicide/suicide-statistics. Accessed 24 Jan. 2017.

Blog Post

Author. “Title of blog entry.” Name of the site, Name of institution affiliated with blog, date,

URL. Accessed day month year.

Houghton, Sarah. “Open Letter to ALA President Julie Todaro re: Recent ALA Statements.”

Librarian in Black, 20 Nov. 2016, librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/. Accessed 26

Jan. 2017.

Twitter

@Twitter handle. “Title of post.” Twitter, date & time of Tweet, URL. Accessed day month

year.

@BillGates. “#Polio is 99% eradicted. Join me @FCBarcelona as we work to finish the job

and #EndPolio. VIDEO: http://b-gat.es/X75Lvy.” Twitter, 25 Feb. 2013, 4:13 P.M.,

twitter.com/BillGates/status/30619534845665792. Accessed 26 Jan. 2017.

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Books – Print or Online

*For textbook references see Class Resources*

Book [print version]

For multiple author examples see page 12
Author(s). Title. Publisher, year of publication.

Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Penguin, 2006.

Note:

• Providing the place of publication is not necessary in MLA 8th edition citations.
• You can abbreviate publisher names in a works cited page to an extent. Omit
business words like Company (Co.) , Corporation (Corp.), Incorporated (Inc.), and
Limited (Ltd.). In names of academic presses, replace University Press with UP(or, if
the words are separated by other words or appear alone, replace them with U or P.
For example, University of Chicago Press would be U of Chicago P.

Book Published Electronically

Author. Title. Source of Ebook. Publisher, year of publication, doi: or URL. Accessed day

month year.

Lebraty, Jean-Fabrice, and Katia Lobre-Lebraty. Crowdsourcing: One Step Beyond. eBook

Collection (EBSCOhost), Wiley, 2013, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct

=true&db=nlebk&AN=638291&site=ehost-live. Accessed 26 Jan. 2017.

Article or Chapter in an Edited Collection

Author of chapter. “Chapter or article title.” Book Title, edited by First Name Last Name,

publisher, year of publication, page number range.

Kelly, John D. “Seeing Red: Mao Fetishism, Pax Americana, and the Moral Economy of War.”

Anthropology and Global Counterinsurgency, edited by John D. Kelly, et al., U of

Chicago P, 2010, pp. 67–83.

Entry in a Widely-Used Dictionary/Encyclopedia

Author (if available). “Entry Title.” Reference Book Title. Edition, date.

"Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed., 1997.

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Audiovisual Media

YouTube Video

“Title.” YouTube, uploaded by screen name, date uploaded, URL.

“The Ultimate Viral Cat Video.” YouTube, uploaded by AaronsAnimals, 6 Apr. 2016,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0InWSCIFk4.

Streaming Video (Netflix, Hulu)

Title of Film. Role by First and Last Names, Production Studio, Copyright date. Streaming

Service, URL. Accessed day month year.

Daddy’s Home. Directed by Sean Anders, performances by Will Ferrell and Mark

Wahlberg, Paramount Pictures, 2015. Hulu, www.hulu.com. Accessed 19 Jan. 2017.

Film/Movie

Movie title. Director’s name, performances by names, Film Studio or Distributor, release

year.

The Usual Suspects. Directed by Bryan Singer, performances by Kevin Spacey, Gabriel

Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Benecio del Toro, Polygram, 1995.

Podcast

Presenter name(s), role. “Episode Title.” Title of Program, season, episode, sponsor, date,

URL. Accessed day month year.

Demby, Gene, and Shereen Marisol Meraji, hosts. “Obama’s Legacy: Callouts and Fallouts.”

Code Switch, NPR, 18 Jan. 2017, www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch.

Accessed 24 Jan. 2017.

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An Image from a Website

Artists’ last name, first name. Title of Work, date created Museum where it’s kept, city. URL.

Accessed day month year.

Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.

www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-family-of-carlos-

iv/f47898fc-aa1c-48f6-a779-71759e417e74. Accessed

20 Jan. 2017.

Class Resources
The following are not included in MLA guidelines.

Custom Textbook Chapter

Chapter Author. “Chapter Title.” Title of Book. Publisher, copyright date, page range.

Rosic, Ibrahim. “Polynomials.” Fundamental Math. Mohawk Valley Community College,

2015, pp. 12-26.

Presentation Slides

Author. “Title of presentation.” PowerPoint slides, date. Course name, Blackboard, URL (if

retrieved online)

Christman, Norma. “Computer Worms and Viruses.” PowerPoint slides, 2016. ED 100:

College Seminar, Blackboard, www.mvcc.blackboard.com.

Note:

• If you are citing PowerPoint slides printed by an instructor and not retrieved online,
then use the same format, but omit Blackboard and the URL in the above example.
Replace the URL with the location of class (Academic Building 226).
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Blackboard Discussion Post

Name of writer. “Title of post.” Description of item. Title of listserv or discussion list.

Blackboard, date of posting, date you accessed the post.

Williams, Mary. “Discussion 2: Plot.” Discussion Board. EN102, Blackboard, 12 Jan. 2017.

www.mvccblackboard.com. Accessed 14 Jan. 2017.

Class Lecture/Class Notes

Lecturer’s name. Course. Location, Date of lecture.

Rathbun, Breanne. Math 110: Statistics. Academic Building 151, 20 Jan. 2017.
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Multiple Author Examples

For the Works Cited Page:

No Author/Editor: Start with the title; then follow typical guidelines.

One Author

Smith, John L.

Two Authors

Smith, John L., and Sam Evans.

Three Authors or More

Smith, John L., et al.

Two or more works by the same author

Sparks, Nicholas. See Me. Grand Central Publishing, 2015.

---The Longest Ride, Grand Central Publishing, 2013.

Author and Editor

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title. Edited by First and Last Name(s), Publisher, Date.
Government Example
United States, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Mental

Health. Autism Spectrum Disorders. Government Printing Office, 2004.

Formatting Papers
Header: Steps to insert a page number—1) Insert 2) Page number 3) Top of page 4) Close
header
Font, spacing, margins and indenting: 12 point Times New Roman font, double spaced. 1
inch margins. Indent the first line of each paragraph.

Last Name #
Your Name
Professor
Class
Date
Title
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Citing Sources In-Text

In-text citations are required for paraphrases, direct quotations, and any other researched
ideas. The in-text citation will often be the author’s last name and page number.

Author
Rosic stated, “tutoring is important” (212).
It has been said that “tutoring is important” (Rosic 212).
Rosic has emphasized the importance of tutoring (212).
For two authors, include both with “and” in between them. (Rosic and Rathbun).
No author
Tutoring has been researched for years. One study explored the impact on “student
success rates after five tutoring sessions” (“Tutoring Study”).
Two authors (same last name) Provide the authors’ first initials or full names if the
initials are the same.
Example: Studies have shown that tutoring is beneficial (I. Rosic 15), but some students
fail to take advantage of available services (B. Rosic 345).
Indirect sources: Use "qtd. in" to specify the source you accessed.
Rosic argues that tutoring should be required for all first year students because “it make a
difference in their skill level” (qtd. in Raab 12).

One author Two Authors Three Authors No Author

Smith explained “….” One study showed the Smith et.al completed a study In the article, “Article
(2). correlation between on “the importance of Title,” student
success and hard work tutoring” (12). retention was show to
(Smith and Jones). be most impacted by
relationship building.
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Titles: Use title case. (Capitalize the Important Words in the Title).
• Books, periodicals and other longer works should be in italics.
• Shorter works should be placed in quotation marks.

Long Quotations: For more than four lines of text, more than three poetry lines, or the
inclusion of dialogue from characters in a play, tab quotations. Quotation marks are not
needed, and the punctuation will appear before the parenthetical documentation. Double
space.

President Randall VanWagoner recently blogged about the transitional state of Mohawk
Valley Community College:
This summer, we’ve experienced a number of major changes — a $30 million
redevelopment of the Rome Campus; a renovated bookstore and food service area at
the Utica Campus; a transformation of the Utica Campus Learning Center into the
new Learning Commons; a full replacement of the platform and support columns on
Payne Hall; and a redesign of the Academic Affairs administrative structure that also
resulted in nearly 70 full-time employees changing offices.

Poetry (3 or more lines)

In the third stanza of Henry David Thoreau’s poem “Inspiration,” he writes:
But if with bended neck I grope
Listening behind me for my wit,
With faith superior to hope,
More anxious to keep back than forward it; (9-12)
Return to the left margin to continue typing the rest of the paragraph.
Dates
• Use the most recent publication date. Abbreviate: Jan., Feb., Mar. Apr., Aug., Sept.,
Oct., Nov., Dec. (May, June and July are not abbreviated).
Page numbers
• Give a page number/range for books. If the information is not on consecutive pages,
provide the first page number and a plus sign. Example: pp. 4+

Illustrations
• Place illustrations by the text about them. If a table is included, format it as follows:
Table 1. This should be above the table.
• Include a caption and source information beneath the table.

Sample MLA paper: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13/