An Abbreviated Guide to MLA Documentation

An Abbreviated Guide to MLA Documentation

Print Sources

Book by one author:
Presnall, Judith Janda. The Giant Panda. California: Lucent, 1998.

Book by two authors:
Bourke, Anthony, and John Rendall. A Lion Called Christian. New York: Doubleday, 1972.

Book by three authors:
Minasian, Stanley, Kenneth C. Balcomb, III, and Larry Foster. The World's Whales. New York: Norton, 1984

Book with an editor:
Grene, David, ed. The Complete Greek Tragedies. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1954.

Signed article in reference book:
Harington, C. R. "Polar Bear." TheWorld Book Encyclopedia. 1997 ed.

Unsigned article in reference book:
"Tharp, Twyla." Who's Who of American Women. 17th ed. 1991-1992.

Article from monthly or bimonthly magazine:
Conniff, Richard. "Cheetahs, Ghosts of the Grasslands." National Geographic December 1999: 2-31.

Article from weekly or biweekly magazine:
Lemonick, Michael D. "Under Attack." Time 11 Aug. 1997: 58-64.

Signed article from daily newspaper:
McKnight, Missy. "MCIDC Plaza Fire Considered Suspicious." The Sentinel 9 Oct.
2000: A3.

Unsigned article from daily newspaper:
"Merlino Seeks Release from Prison Isolation." The Patriot-News 9 Oct. 2000: A3.

Cartoons and advertisements:
Addams, Charles. Cartoon. New Yorker 22 Feb. 1988: 33.

Air France. "The Fine Art of Flying." Advertisement. Travel and Leisure May 1988: 9.

Commonly Used References

Current Controversies Series:

Berman, Paul. "Political Correctness and Campus Speech: An Overview." Free Speech.
Bruno Leone, ed. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 1994. 71-74.

Opposing Viewpoints Series:
Zuckerman, Mortimer B. "Television Violence Contributes to Juvenile Crime." Juvenile Crime: Opposing
Viewpoints. A. E. Sadler, ed. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 1997. 52-55.

Reference Shelf Series:
Solomon, Brian, ed. Chemical and Biological Warfare. New York: Wilson, 1999.

Occupational Outlook Handbook from Government Printing Office:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook
Handbook, 2000-01, Bulletin 2520. Superintendent of Documents, U. S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 2000.

Occupational Outlook Handbook published by JIST (Dept. of Labor reprint):
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook
Handbook, 1998-1999 edition, Bulletin 2500. Indianapolis, IN: JIST, 1998.

Twentieth Century America series
Signed article:
Gilmore, Eddy. "An Interview With Stalin." Twentieth-Century America: A Primary
Source Collection from the Associated Press. Danbury, CT: Grolier, 1995. 69-70.

Unsigned article:
"Who to Believe." Twentieth-Century America: A Primary Source Collection
from the Associated Press. Danbury, CT: Grolier, 1995. 147.

SIRS Citation:
Morton, Oliver. "Is the Earth Alive?" Discover Oct. 1999. 96+. Rpt. In Science
Eleanor Goldstein, ed. Boca Raton, FL: SIRS Mandarin, Inc., 2000. Art. 2000.

Footnote information:
Instead of footnotes, the author's surname and article number are placed in parentheses within the body of the text. To document the article cited above: (Morton, Art. 20). If there are two or more works by the same author in the works cited list add a shortened version of the title: (Morton, "Is the Earth," Art. 20).

Current Biography Series:
Moritz, Charles, ed. Current Biography Yearbook, 1991. New York: Wilson, 1992.

Facts on File:
"Troubled Hedge Fund Giant Gets $3.5 Billion Bailout." Facts On File World News Digest, 1 Oct. 1998: 691.

Statistical Abstract:
U. S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1997 (117th edition.) Washington,
DC, 1997.

Corporate Author
Time. Great Events of the 20th Century. New York: Time, 1997.

Time-Life. The Old West: The Cowboys. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life, 1973.

Interview

Personal Interviews:
Hernan, Raymond. Personal interview. 8 Aug. 1999.

Electronic Sources

Basic component of reference citation:
Author's Last name, Author's First name. "Title of Document." Title of Complete Work.

Version or File Number, if applicable. Document date or date of last revision (if

different from access date). Protocol and address, access path or directories (date of

access).

Electronic Database (CD-ROM):
Choices. ISM Corporation, 1999.

Article in reference database:
"Women in American History." Britannica Online Vers. 98.1.1. Nov. 1997.
Encyclopedia Britannica. 10 Mar. 1998 <http://www.britannica.com>.

Article in a magazine:
Levine, Judith. "I Surf, Therefore I am." Salon 29 July 1997. 9 Dec.1997 <http://www.salonmagazine.com/July97/mothers/surfing.970729.html>.

Professional Site:
MLA on the Web. 25 Nov. 1997. Modern Language Association of America.
25 Mar. 1998 <http://www.mla.org>.

Personal E-mail Message:
Penning, Sarah. "Mentor Advice." E-mail to Rai Peterson. 6 May 1995.

Book:
Conrad, Joseph. Lord Jim. London: Blackwood, 1900. Oxford Text Archive.
12 July 1993. Oxford University Computing Services. 20 Feb. 1998.
<ftp://ota.ox.ac.uk/pub/ota/public/english/conrad/lordjim.1824>.

Poem:
Hampi, Patricia. "Who We Will Love." Woman Before an Aquarium. Pittsburgh:
U of Pittsburgh P, 1978: 27-28. A Poem a Week. Rice University. 13 Mar 1998
<http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~alisa/Jun24html>.