The "Reference List" contains the full bibliographic information for your in-text citations.
Please note: You need to include both an in-text citation and a work cited entry when citing a source.
For additional examples, please consult the MLA Handbook (8th Edition).
Book
Basic Format:
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.
Example:
Bryson, Bill. Shakespeare: The World as Stage. HarperLuxe, 2007.
eBook
Basic Format:
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Date. Title of Database, URL or DOI.
Example:
Hatchuel, Sarah. Shakespeare, from Stage to Screen. Cambridge University Press, 2004. Proquest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.proxy.library.niagarac.on.ca/lib/niagaracollege-ebooks/detail.action?docID=266618.
An Edition of a Book
Basic Format:
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. # ed., Publisher, Publication Date.
Example:
Brockett, Oscar G. History of Theatre. 10th ed., Pearson, 2014.
Work in an Anthology or Collection
Basic Format:
Last Name, First Name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection, edited by Editor's Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range of entry.
Example:
Wolf, Virginia. “’Twelfth Night’ at the Old Vic.” Shakespeare in the Theatre: An Anthology of Criticism, edited by Stanley Wells, Oxford University Press, 1997, pp. 200 – 205.
Print Periodical
Basic Format:
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, vol. #, no. #, Year, Page range of entry.
Example:
Barresi, John. “’Why did Van Gogh cut off his ear’: Revisited.” Qualitative Psychology, vol. 6, no. 3, 2019 pp. 232-253.
Online Periodical with DOI
Basic Format:
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, vol. #, no. #, Year, Page range of entry. Name of Database, doi: ###.
Example:
Barresi, John. “’Why did Van Gogh cut off his ear’: Revisited.” Qualitative Psychology, vol. 6, no. 3, 2019 pp. 232-253. PsycArticles, doi: 10.1037/qup0000120.
Online Periodical with URL
Basic Format:
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, vol. #, no. #, Year, Page range of entry. Name of Database, url.
Example:
’Why did Van Gogh cut off his ear’: Revisited.” Qualitative Psychology, vol. 6, no. 3, 2019 pp. 232-253. PsycArticles, https://login.proxy.library.niagarac.on.ca/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=url,cookie,ip,uid&db=pdh&AN=2018-13309-001&scope=site.
Article/Page on a Website
Basic Format:
Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article/Page.” Title of Website, Date Posted, URL.
Example:
Swed, Mark. “Commentary: Beethoven 2020: The 250th birthday tributes start, with mixed results.” Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2020, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-01-15/beethoven-2020-250th-birthday.
Online Video
Basic Format:
“Title of Video.” Title of Website, uploaded by First Name, Last Name, Date Uploaded, URL.
Example:
“Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas.” YouTube, uploaded by Brilliant Classics, 12 Apr. 2018, https://youtu.be/G7sDg8_26N8.
Citing a Source with One Author
Basic Format:
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.
Example:
Anderson, Zoe. The Ballet Lover’s Companion. Yale University Press, 2015.
Citing a Source with Two Authors
Basic Format:
Last Name, First Name and First Name Last Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.
Example:
Strauss, Mark and Myron Nadel. Looking at Contemporary Dance: A Guide for the Internet Age. Princeton Book Company, 2012.
Citing a Source with Three or More Authors
Basic Format:
Last Name, First Name, et al. Title of Book. Publishers, Publication Date.
Example:
Kronenberg, Jennifer C., et al. Experiencing the Art of Pas de Deux. University Press of Florida, 2016.
"Citations" are used in the text of your paper to document the source of the quotation/paraphrase/idea you are using. The citation is an abbreviated version of the full reference, which appears in a reference list at the end of your paper.
Please note: You need to include both an in-text citation and a work cited entry when citing a source.
For additional examples, please consult the MLA Handbook (8th Edition).
When you summarize or paraphrase another individual’s ideas or words, or you include facts in your work that are not well-known, you need to cite the source within the text. This lets readers know: a) that the knowledge you are writing about is not your own; and b) where to seek out the original source of the knowledge.
In MLA, in-text citations include the author name and page number in parenthesis at a natural break in your text (usually at the end of a sentence). You can also include the name of the author in the actual text of your essay, and just include the page number at the end of your sentence. Below are an example of each.
Example 1
There are different types of tragedies. Mythic tragedy is a type of tragedy that deals with gods (Frye 4).
Example 2
According to Northrop Frye, in his book Anatomy of Criticism, there are different types of tragedies. One of these tragedies is mythic tragedy, which deals with gods (4).
Short Quotations
Short quotations are to be treated just like regular citations.
Example
Nietzche begins Beyond Good and Evil by asking, “What in us really wants ‘truth’?” (9).
Longer Quotations
If a quote is long-enough to warrant being highlighted as separate from the actual essay/assignment, then the quote should be indented.
Example
The author writes,
After having looked long enough between the philosopher’s lines and fingers, I say to myself: by far the greater part of conscious thinking must still be included among instinctive activities, and thus goes for philosophical thinking. We have to relearn here, as one has had to relearn about heredity and what is “innate.” (Nietzche 9)
One Author
Example
(Anderson 59).
Two Authors
Example:
(Strauss and Nadel 63).
Three or More Authors
Example:
(Kronenberg et al. 17).