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MLA Citation Style

This guide provides examples for the Modern Language Association (MLA) style guide rules on citations and bibliographies.

Book with a Single Author

Lastname, Firstname. Title of the Book: Plus a Subtitle. Publisher, Year of Publication.

Tippins, Sherill. Inside the Dream Palace: The Life and Times of New York's Legendary Chelsea Hotel. Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, 2013.

Book with Multiple Authors

List up to three authors in the order in which they are displayed on the title page of the book. For more than three authors, the first author is listed followed by et al.

Lastname, Firstname, Firstname Lastname, and Firstname Lastname.  Title of the Book: Plus a Subtitle. Publisher, Year of Publication.

Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research. 3rd ed. U of Chicago P, 2008.

Book with an Editor

Lastname, Firstname. Title of the Book: Plus a Subtitle. edited by Firstname Lastname, Publisher, Year of Publication.

cummings, e.e. E.E. Cummings: A Miscellany Revised. edited by George J. Firmage, October House, 1965.

Book with No Author

Title of the Book: Plus a Subtitle. edited by Firstname Lastname, Publisher, Year of Publication.

French XX Bibliography: A Bibliography for the Study of French Literature and Culture Since 1885. edited by Sheri K. Dion, Susquehanna UP, 2014.

Chapter of an Anthology

Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Chapter." Title of the Book: Plus a Subtitle, edited by Firstname Lastname, Publisher, Year of Publication. Inclusive Page Numbers.

Bell, Christina. "In Practice and Pedagogy: Digital Humanities in a Small College Environment." Digital Humanities in the Library: Challenges and Opportunities for Subject Specialists, edited by Arianne Hartsell-Gundy, Laura Braunstein, and Liorah Golomb, Association of College and Research Libraries, 2015. 103-126.

An Introduction, Preface, Forward, or Afterword

Lastname, Firstname. Introduction. Title of the Book: Plus a Subtitle. By Firstname Lastname. Publisher, Year of Publication. Inclusive Page Numbers.

Walker, Nancy J. Introduction. The Awakening. By Kate Chopin. Bedford's Books, 1993. 3-18.

Reference Work Entry with No Author

"Title of Entry."Title of the Book: Plus a Subtitle. Ed. Firstname Lastname. Publisher, Year of Publication.

"Falstaff, Sir John." The Reader's Encyclopedia of Shakespeare. edited by Oscar James Campbell, Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1966.

Reference Work Entry with an Author

Lastname, Firstname. "Title of Entry." Title of the Book: Plus a Subtitle. Ed. Firstname Lastname. Edition. Publisher, Year of Publication.

Eden, Bradford L. "Elves." J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. edited by Michael D.C. Drout, Routlage, 2007.

Widely Used Reference Works

"Entry Title."Title of Publication. Edition. Year of Publication.

"Addition." Def. 1d. Oxford English Dictionary. 3rd ed. 2010.