MLA Citation Style

It is important to follow a certain style when writing a research paper. It is suggested that you ask your professor which style he/she would like your paper to be written before writing. Please consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or Electronic Style: A Guide to Citing Electronic Information by Li and Crane for detailed explanations of the examples below.  Copies are available at the Circulation Desk of Cal State San Marcos Library (MLA Handbook call number: LB2369.G53; Li and Crane: PN 171.F56 L5 1996)

PRINT  SOURCES

BOOK:

            Author(s). Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

Ex.       Bloom, Allan.  The Closing of the American Mind.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987.

**A part of a book (such as an essay in a collection)

Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Collection.  Ed. Editor's Name(s). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year. Pages.

Ex.       Agnew, Jean-Christophe. “The Consuming Vision.” Henry James: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Ruth B. Yeazell.  New Jersey : Prentice Hall, 1994. 190-206.

NEWSPAPER OR MAGAZINE ARTICLE

             Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Source Day Month Year: pages.

Ex.       Gibbs, Nancy. “A Week in the Life of a Hospital.” Time 12 October  1998: 64-101.

SCHOLARLY JOURNAL

            Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal Vol (Year): pages.

Ex.       Agrawal, Surendra P. “What is this Thing Called Quality.”  The International Journal of Applied

       Quality Management 1 (1998): 1-4.          

ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE

Author(s) (if given). “Title of Article.” Title of Encyclopedia. Edition (if stated) year.

Ex.         Switzer, Gerorge. “Graphite.” The Encyclopedia Americana. 1998 ed.

ELECTRONIC  SOURCES

A WEBPAGE

Author(s). Name of Page. Date of Posting/Revision. Date of Access. <electronic address>.

Ex.       Dunbar, Brian. NASA. 15 Jan. 1998. 17 Oct. 1998. <http://www.nasa. Gov>.

E-MAIL

Author. “Description.” Email to the author. Date.

Ex.       Doe, John. “The Library of California.” Email to the Author. 1 Oct. 1998.

Listserve Posting

Author. "Title of Posting." Online posting. Date. Name of listserv. Date of access <electronic address for retrieval>.

Ex.       Doe, John. “Ereserve.” Online posting. 1997. ARL-Ereserve. 4 Sept. 1998 <arl-ereserve@cni.org>.

PERIODICAL ARTICLES

Material accessed through a COMPUTER SERVICE (Lexis-Nexis, OCLC FirstSearch, etc.)

If material indicates publication information for a printed source or analogue:

Author/s (if given). “Title of the article.” Title of the Periodical. Day Month Year: pages. Title of the Database. Online. Name of the Computer Service. Date of access.

            If material does not indicate a specific print counterpart:

Author/s (if given). “Title of the Article.” Date of the Article. Title of the Database. Online. Name of the computer service. Date of Access.

                                                (*** If you cannot find some information required, cite what is available)

Examples:

Vanderccok, Terri, Marilyn Nelson, Jo Montie and Betsy Bralts. “A School Dedicated to Inclusion.” Principal Jan 1998: 37-39. ERIC. Online. OCLC FirstSearch. 15 Oct. 1998.

Gonzalez, Alexander. “Classroom Cooperation and Ethnic Balance.” DAI 40 (1979):05B. U of California Santa Cruz, 1979. Disseration Abstracts Online. Online. OCLC FirstSearch. 22 Oct. 1998.

Leslie, Citrome, Jerome Levine, and Baerbel Allingham.  “Utilization of Valproate: Estent of Inpatient Use in the New York State Office of Mental Health.” Psychiatric Quarterly. 69.4 (1998) : 283-300.  PsycLit. Online. WebSpirs’ Silverplatter. 13 Nov. 1998.

D’Amato, Alfonse M. “ The 1998 Campaign; In Their Own Words.” New York Times. 22 Oct. 1998. late ed.: C5.  New York Times Online. Online. Nexis. 30 Nov. 1998.

Rohwer, Jim.  “Capital Controls Done Right.” Fortune 138.9 (1998): 32 +. ABI Inform. Online. UMI. 37 Dec. 1998.

Pipho, Chris.  “Voter Apathy or Voter Overload?” Phi Delta Kappan. 80.2 (1998): 2 pars. Online. EbscoHost. 1 Nov. 1998.

Barnard, Neal D. and Andrew Nicholson. “Beliefs about Dietary Factors in Breast Cancer Prevention among Americans, 1991 to 1995.” Prevention Medicine. 26.1 (Feb. 1997): 109-113. Online. Ideal 12 Nov. 1998.

Material accessed through a COMPUTER NETWORK (Internet)

Author (if given). “Title of the article/document.” Title of the journal, newsletter, or conference.  Vol. #. Issue number (year of publication): pages/paragraphs (if given). Online. Name of Computer network. Date of Access. <URL>

Ex:      Locker, Lawrence, Jr. and Mac E. Pratarelli.  “Lexical Decision and the Detection of Concealed Information.” The Journal of Credibility Assessment and Witness Psychology. 1.1 (1997) 33-43. Online. Internet. 15 Oct. 1998 <http://truth.idbsu.edu/jcaawp/9306/9306.html>

An article in a Reference Database

            “Title of the article.” Name of database. Title of Source. Date of Access <URL>.

Ex:      “Manet, Edouard.” Britannica Online.  Encyclopedia Britannica. 29 Oct. 1998 <http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/372/10.html>.

“John (Ernst) Steinbeck.” Contemporary Authors. GaleNet. 29 Oct 1998 <http://galenet.gale.com/a/acp/

neta…a/acp/db/gbrd/company.html>