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MLA 2016 Eighth Edition Format and Style Guide

MLA 2016 Eighth Edition Format and Style Guide

MLA 2016 Eighth Edition Style for Print Sources

Book (one author)

Belage, Gail Ingham.  Women in Baseball:  The Forgotten History. Praeger, 1994.

Example of In-Text Citation: (Belage 345).


Book (two or three authors)

Marquart, James, W., Sheldon Eckland Olson, and Jonathan Sorenson.  The Rope, the Chair and

          The Needle: Capital Punishment in Texas 1923-1990.  U of Texas P, 1994.

Please note that it is common to abbreviate publishers such as the University of Texas Press.

Example of In-Text Citation:  (Marquart, Olson, and Sorenson 23-26). If you have more than three authors, use:  (Marquart et al.).


Book (more than three authors)

Allende, Jean, et al.  Introduction to Online Classes. Greenwood, 2007. 

Example of In-Text Citation:  (Allende et al. 25).


Book (Corporate Author)

National Research Council.  Beyond Six Billion: Forecasting the World’s Population.  

          Natl. Acad., 2000.

Example of In-Text Citation:   (National Research Council 45).


Book (Translation)

Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles. Viking, 1996.

Example of In-Text Citation:   (Homer 45).


Book with No Author

How to Cite Books. Schuster, 2016.

Example of In-Text Citation:   (How to 52).
Note: You can condense titles within an in-text citation.


Dictionary or Encyclopedia Article

“Ideology.” The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed., 1997.

Example of In-Text Citation:   (“Ideology” 24). 


Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword

Farrell, Thomas B. Introduction. Norms of Rhetorical Culture, by Farrell,

          Yale UP, 1993, pp. 1-10.

Example of In-Text Citation:   (Farrell 7).
 

NOTE: In this instance, Farrell is the author of the book AND the author of the introduction (by Farrell). If the author of the introduction is different than the author of the book, then type the full name of the author of the introduction or preface after “by”.

Duncan, Hugh Dalziel. Introduction. Permanence and Change: An Anatomy of Purpose, by

          Kenneth Burke, 1935, 3rd ed. U of California P, 1984, pp. xi- xv.


Anthology / Editor

Lopate, Philip, editor.  The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to    
         
           the Present.  Anchor-Doubleday, 1994. 

Example of In-Text Citation:   (Lopate 24). 
 


Work in an Anthology

Allende, Isabel. “Toad’s Mouth.”  Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden. A Hammock Beneath          

the Mangoes: Stories from Latin America, edited by Thomas Colchie, Plume, 1992,

pp. 83-87. 

Example of In-Text Citation:  (Allende 84).

Government Documents

United States, Congress, Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

          Hearing on the Geopolitics of Oil. Government Printing Office, 2007.

          110th Congress, 1st session, Senate Report 111-8.


Example of In-Text Citation (These can be lengthy):

 (U.S. Cong. Senate Comm. On Energy and Natural Resources 50)

United States, Government Accountability Office. Climate Change: EPA

          and DOE Should Do More to Encourage Progress Under Two Voluntary

          Programs. Government Printing Office, 2006.

Example of In-Text Citation:  (U.S. Government Accountability Office  25)


Pamphlet

Seven Myths about Tutoring. Delta College, n.d.

Example of In-Text Citation: (Seven Myths about Tutoring).


Your Rights Under California Welfare Programs. California Department of

          Social Services, 2007.

Example of In-Text Citation: (Your Rights 2).


Magazine
 

Monthly Magazine

Lukacs, John.  “The End of the Twentieth Century.”  Harper’s, Jan. 1993, pp. 39-40.

Example of In-Text Citation:  (Lukacs 39).

Weekly Magazine (Like Time or Newsweek):

Schiff, Stephen.  “Muriel Spark between the Lines.”  New Yorker, 24 May 1993, pp. 36-43. 

Example of In-Text Citation:  (Schiff  37).


NO AUTHOR

“Where Angels No Longer Fear to Tread.”  Economist, 22 Mar. 2008, pp. 89-91. 


Example of In-Text Citation:  (“Where Angels”  89-91).

In cases where you are citing an anonymous source, or a source for which the author is unknown, use a shortened version of the title.  It is important that the shortened title that you use points your reader to the appropriate entry in the works cited list.  For this reason, include the word (or words) in the full title which determines how that title is alphabetized in the works cited list.  Also, punctuate the shortened title appropriately.  For example, “Where Angels” is within quotes on the works cited page. Then when using the title to cite in-text (in the body of your paper), put “Where Angels” in quotes, such as (“Where Angels” 89-91). 


Journal

Ostrowsky, Michael K.  “Does Marijuana Use Lead to Aggression and Violent Behavior?”

          Journal of Drug Education, vol. 41, no. 4, 2011, pp. 369-89.

Example of In-Text Citation:    (Ostrowsky 371).

Newspaper

Manning, Anita.  “Curriculum Battles from Left and Right.”  USA Today, 2 Mar. 1994, p. D5. 

Example of In-Text Citation:   (Manning D5).

If you have an unsigned article in a newspaper or magazine, begin with the title in quotes: 

“Radiation in Russia.” U.S. News and World Report, 9 Aug. 1993, pp. 40-42. 

If you cite this article in the body of your paper, you would cite it as:

(“Radiation in Russia” 41).

These examples are based on The MLA Handbook 2016 Eighth Edition (Reference LB 2369 .G53 2016) and The Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL).