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Ms Taube - Hamlet Lens Project: Cite your sources

MLA Citation Basics

Books

BOOK WITH ONE AUTHOR: 

            Last name, First name. Title. City of publication: Publisher, Publication/copyright date. Medium.

           Janson, H.W. History of Art. New York: Abrams, 1986. Print.

 

BOOK WITH TWO AUTHORS:

            Last name, First name, and First name Last name. Title. City: Publisher, copyright date. Medium.

            Rutherford, F. James, and Andrew Ahlgren. Science for All Americans. New York: Oxford UP, 1990. Print.

 

BOOK WITH NO AUTHOR:

            If anonymous/no author or editor is given, begin the citation with the title of the book (omit a, an, the).  

      e.g. 
            Go Ask Alice. New York: Avon, 1989. Print 


AN EDITED BOOK
: Add ed. (for editor) or comp. (for compiler) after the name.

Last name, First name, ed. Title. City: Publisher, copyright date. Medium.

McGuckin, Frank, ed. Volunteerism. New York: Wilson, 1998. Print.


A CHAPTER OR SECTION OF A BOOK / ANTHOLOGY:

Last name, First name. "Title of chapter or section (if given)." Title of book. Editor's name, Ed. City:

      Publisher, copyright date. Page(s). Medium.
   
Allende, Isabel. "Toad's Mouth." A Hammock beneath the Mangoes: Stories from Latin America.

      Ed. Thomas Colchie. New York: Plume, 1992. 83-88. Print.

 

E-BOOKS : electronic digital versions for print books availabel from the publisher via the Web. Use the citation given with the book/article. e.g.

"Kinds of Tundras." UXL Encyclopedia of Biomes. Ed. Marlene Weigel.  Vol. 3: River and Stream,

      Seashore, Tundra, Wetland. Detroit: UXL, 2000. 438-439. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web.

      20 Oct. 2010.

 

A book from Google Books: title accessed from www.books.google.com

            Last name, First name. Title. City of publication: Publisher, Publication/copyright date. Google Books. Web.

                   Date accessed.

Frost, Robert. North of Boston. New York: Henry Holt, 1922. Google Books. Web. 18 Jan. 2011. 

 

Encyclopedia

GENERAL ENCYCLOPEDIA:

Author of article (if listed) Last name first. "Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia. Edition by year. Medium.

Deese, David, A. "Persian Gulf War." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1999 ed. Print.


SPECIALIZED ENCYCLOPEDIAS:

SIGNED ARTICLE (alphabetical encyclopedia):

Author of article, Last name first. "Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia. Editor of encyclopedia (if listed)

      First name first. City: Publisher, copyright date. Medium.

Kemp, Martin. "Leonardo da Vinci." The Dictionary of Art. Ed. Jane Turner. New York: Grove, 2002. Print.



UNSIGNED ARTICLE 
(alphabetical encyclopedia):

"Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia. Editor of encyclopedia (if listed) First name first. City: Publisher, 

      copyright date. Medium.

"Arthur, King." World Monarchies and Dynasties. Ed. John Middleton. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference, 

       2005. Print. 


SIGNED ARTICLE 
(non-alphabetical encyclopedia):

Author of article, Last name first. "Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia. Editor of encyclopedia (if listed) 

      First name first. Volume number. City: Publisher, copyright date. Page(s). Medium.

Gordon, Nancy M. "Newcomen Develops the Steam Engine." Great Events from History: The 18 th Century.

      Ed. John Powell. Vol I. Pasadena, CA: Salem, 2006. 56-58. Print.


UNSIGNED ARTICLE (non-alphabetical encyclopedia):

"Title of Article." Title of Encyclopedia. Editor of encyclopedia (if listed) Ed. First  name first. Volume

      number.
City: Publisher, copyright date. Page(s). Medium.

"Mali." Encyclopedia of African History and Culture: From Conquest to Colonization (1500 to 1850). 
  

       Ed. Willie F. Page. Vol III. New York: Facts On File. 2001. 157-158. Print.



ONLINE ENCYCLOPEDIA: web-based

Author of article (if listed) Last name first. "Title of Article." Title of Online Encyclopedia. Date of publication 

      or most recent update. Publisher. Web. Date accessed. <URL>.

Deese, David, A. "Persian Gulf War." The World Book Online. 2002. World Book. Web. 29 Sept. 2002 

       <http://www.worldbookonline.com>.


NOTE:   URL is optional.

App, Atlas, Map, Blog

App - computer software

Author of article (if listed). Title of App. Computer software. Website Title. Version number. Publisher. Date 

      published/created. Web. Date accessed. 

Gray, Theodore. The Elements. Computer software. The Apple Store. Vers. 1.0.2.1. Element Collection.

      1 June 2010. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-elements-a-visual-exploration/id364147847?mt=8>.

NOTE:  URL is optional 

 

ATLAS - map in an atlas or a book

Title of book. Editor's name. "Title of map." Map. City: Publisher, copyright date. Page(s). Medium.

World Atlas. Andrew Heritage, ed. "Bulgaria & Greece." Map. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2000. 116-117. Print.

 

MAP or chart (not in a book or atlas)

Title. Map. City: Publisher, copyright date. Medium.

Africa. Map. Washington: National Geographic Society, 1980. Print.

 

map or chart (in an atlas or a book )

Title of book. Editor's name. "Title of map." Map. City: Publisher, copyright date. Page(s). Medium.

World Atlas. Andrew Heritage, ed. "Bulgaria & Greece." Map. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2000. 116-117. Print.



BLOG

A Blog should be cited as a website.

Last name, First name, "Title of individual blog entry." Weblog entry. Name of  Weblog. 

      Sponsoring organization -- if any. Date posted. Web. Date accessed. <URL>.

Bradley, David. "Cloud Spotting." Weblog entry. Sciencebase Science Blog. 12 June 2009. Web. 16 June 2009. 

      <http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/cloud-spotting.html>.


NOTE: URL is optional.

Databases

DATABASES

For online subscription databases (eg. InfoTrac, JSTOR, World History in Context, GREENR, etc.)  use the source citation information given with the article. e.g.

Glazer, S. (2009, May 29). “Future of books.” CQ Researcher, 19, 473-500. Retrieved June 18, 2009, from CQ

      Researcher 
Online,  http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2009052900.


Jo Beall, Stephen Gelb, Shireen Hassim.  Journal of Southern African Studies, Vol. 31, No. 4, “Fragile Stability:

      State and Society in Democratic South Africa” (Dec., 2005), 681-700. Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 

      Stable URL:  http://www.jstor.org/stable/25065041. "Cloning." World of Scientific Discovery. Gale, 2010. Gale

      Science In Context. Web. 22 Oct. 2010.

 

Note: the URL is optional 

Digital files

DIGITAL FILES (images audio, video)

Digital files may be in various file types (jpeg, tiff, gif, pdf, mp3, etc. ) that are independent of a book or website. For example, these may be on your computer as a legally downloaded file or as a saved scanned image file. Provide as much information as possible.

Artist's name, last name first. "Title of work." Date work was created. Publisher, date. FILE Format file.

Hudson, Jennifer, perf. "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going." Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture. Sony

      BMG, 2006. MP3 file. McQuillan, Dorothy. "Dogwood Blossoms." April 2009. JPEG file.

 

 POWERPOINT PRESENTATION (or lecture, speech, etc.) 

If you took notes on a PowerPoint Presentation given at a conference, lecture or meeting, you should cite it as a lecture or public address.

Author. "Title of presentation." Location (place, city, state). Date. Description.

Matuozzi, Robert. "Archive Trauma." Archive Trouble. MLA Annual Convention. Hyatt Regency, Chicago. 29 Dec. 

      2007. Address.

If you accessed the PowerPoint presentation via the Internet, it should be cited as a webpage, with the addition of PowerPoint presentation before the last updated date.

McQuillan, Dorothy. "How to Write a Thesis Statement." Newton South High School Library. Web. PowerPoint 

     presentation. 23 November 2006.

Newspaper, magazine, pamphlet

NEWSPAPERS

PRINT ISSUE:

Author of article (if listed) Last name first. "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper Date of issue: Section. 

      page(s). Medium.

Coleman, Sandy. "State Hit for Poor Libraries." Boston Globe 26 Oct. 2000: B1+.  Print.

 

ELECTRONIC ISSUE:

Author of article (if listed) Last name first.  "Title of Article." Title of Newspaper Date of issue: pages

      (if  listed). Name of database (if applicable). Name of subscription service. Date of access. <URL>.

Jan, Tracy. "Harvard's paper cuts: School library works to maintain stature in the shift to digital." Boston Globe 24 

      May 2010, Boston Globe. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. 

     <http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2010/05/24/ for_harvards_library_an_arduous_digital_shift/>. 

NOTE:   URL is optional.


MAGAZINES

PRINT ISSUE:

Author of article (if listed) Last name first. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine Date of issue: page(s). Medium.

Blanding, Michael. "Strings of Desire." Boston Magazine Oct. 2000: 100-103. Print.


ELECTRONIC ISSUE: online database source 
For online subscription databases (eg. InfoTrac, JStor, Student Resource Center, Social Studies Database, etc.) use the source citation information given with the article. e.g.

"The Missouri way; Cracking down on illegal immigration." The Economist (US) 391.8635 (June 13, 2009): 47EU. 

      General OneFile. Gale. Newton South High School. 16 June 2009.

      <http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS>.

 

ELECTRONIC ISSUE: Web based

Author of article (if listed) Last name first. "Title of Article." Title of overall website. Publisher or sponsor. 

      Date of publication (day, month and year). Web. <URL>.

Park, Alice. "Larks and Owls: How Sleep Habits Affect Grades." TIME.com. Time. June 10, 2009. Web.  
            
      <
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1903838,00.html>.

NOTE:   URL is optional


PAMPHLET   cite as a book

Last name, First name. Title. City: Publisher, copyright date. Medium.

Furrie, Betty. Understanding MARC Bibliographic: machine-readable cataloging. Washington, DC: 

      Library of Congress in collaboration with Follett Software Co.2003. Print.

Media: Film, Images, Podcast, Video, Audio

FILM, video recording, or DVD

Title of film. Dir. Name. Perf. Names of significant performers. Distributor, year of release. Medium.

It's a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and

      Thomas Mitchell. RKO, 1946. Film.

If you are citing a video or DVD, use the same format but include medium, name of distributor and date of publish.

It's a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and Thomas

      Mitchell. RKO, 1946. Republic, 2001. DVD.

 

IMAGE (photograph, drawing, graph from a book)

Artist's name, last name first. "Title of work." Date work was created. Name of institution that houses 

       the work (e.g. a museum) or name of owner. Title of book. Author's name or editor's name. Place: 

      Publisher, date. page number (or plate number, etc.). Medium.

Johns, Jasper. "Three Flags." 1958.Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. History of Art. H.W.

      Janson. New York: Abrams. 1991. 749. Print.

 

IMAGE (photograph, graphic, etc. from a website)

Artist's name, last name first. "Title of work." Date work was created. Name of institution that houses work 

      (e.g. a museum) or name of owner. Title of web site. Web. Date of access. <URL>.

Bentley, Wilson A. "Snowflake." c.1905. Museum of Modern Art, NY. MoMA.org. Web. 19 June 2009.

     <http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=102870 >.

NOTE:   URL is optional.

PODCAST

            Author, host or producer. "Title of podcast." Title of program. Release date. Name of organization that sponsors

                  the website. Web. Date of access. Podcast. <URL>.

 Ashbrook, Tom. "Texting Trends & Human Contact". On Point with Tom Ashbrook. Web. 19 October 2010. NPR

      and WBUR.org. 21 October 2010. Podcast. <http://www.onpointradio.org/2010/10/texting-human-contact>.

NOTE:   URL is optional.

 

SOUND RECORDINGS (audio CDs, records, tape recordings,etc.)

Author or performer of work (if listed) Last name first. "Tilte of individual song" if applicable. Title of Work. 

      Publisher, copyright date. Medium.

Davis, Miles. "'Round Midnight". Acoustic. Sony Music Entertainment, 1996. CD.

 

TV or RADIO PROGRAM

"Title of episode or segment." Title of program. Title of series if any. Name of network. Call letters and city. 

      Broadcast date. Medium.

"Books." Chronicle. ABC. WCVB, Boston. 3 December 2003. Television Broadcast.

 

YOUTUBE

TItle of Video. Date of Publication of Video. YouTube. Web. Date Accessed. <URL>.

JK Wedding Entrance Dance. 19 July 2009. YouTube. Web. 21 October 2010. 

       <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0>.

NOTE:   URL is optional.

Social Media

E-MAIL Communication

Name of person who wrote the email, last name, first name. "Title of the email." (from the subject field)

      E-Mail to recipient. Date email was received. Medium.

             Solo, Han. "Party Plans for Chewbacca." E-Mail to Wookie Club. 30 November 2012. E-mail.


FACEBOOK

Author. Posting Title. Facebook.com. Date Posted. Web. Date Accessed. <URL>.

World Wildlife Fund.org. Pristine sea monuments edge closer to protection off Chile. Facebook.com.

      26 August 2010.  Web. 21 October 2010. <http://www.facebook.com/

      posted.php?id=20373776304&share_id=146030912094513&comments=1>.

NOTE: URL is optional.


TWITTER cite as a web posting

Twitter Handle. Web log post. Twitter.com. Date posted. Web. Date Accessed. <URL>.

@whitehouse. Web log post. Twitter.com. 19 October 2010. Web. 22 October 2010.

      <http://www.twitter.com/whitehouse/>.

NOTE:   URL is optional.


YOUTUBE

TItle of Video. Date of Publication of Video. YouTube. Web. Date Accessed. <URL>.

JK Wedding Entrance Dance. 19 July 2009. YouTube. Web. 21 October 2010. 

      <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0>.

NOTE:   URL is optional.

other: dictionary, interview, lecture, translation

DICTIONARY
     
        "Definition." Def. number. Name of Dictionary. City:Publisher, Copyright date. Medium.

             "Salient." Def. 1. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 2004. Print.

INTERVIEW

Name of interviewee, Last name first. Personal interview. Date of interview.

Obama, Michelle. Personal interview. 23 June 2009.

 

LECTURE

         Speaker's name. "Title of the lecture". Name of meeting. Program sponsor. Location, date. Medium. 

          Potter, Harry James. "Springtime at Hogwarts School". School SeasonsNSHS Library, Newton,

                1 April 2011. Lecture.


TRANSLATION

Name of author, last name first. Title. Trans. translator's name, last name first, ed. editor's name, 

       last name first. City: Publisher, copyright date. Medium.

Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits. Trans. Magda Bogim. New York: Bantam, 1985. Print.

Website

WEBSITE 

Author of webpage (if listed) Last name first. Title of Webpage. Date webpage was published or 

     last updated(if available). Web. Date of access. <URL>. 

Galvin, William Francis. Elections: How to Register to Vote in Massachusetts. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

     16 June 2009. Web. <http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleifv/howreg.htm>.  

NOTE:   URL is optional. 

Primary Sources

PRIMARY SOURCES

"A primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event. Some types of primary sources include:

  • ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS (excerpts or translations acceptable): Diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, news film footage, autobiographies, official records 
  • CREATIVE WORKS: Poetry, drama, novels, music, art 
  • RELICS OR ARTIFACTS: Pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings

Examples of primary sources include:

  • Diary of Anne Frank - Experiences of a Jewish family during WWII 
  • The Constitution of Canada - Canadian History 
  • A journal article reporting NEW research or findings 
  • Weavings and pottery - Native American history 
  • Plato's Republic - Women in Ancient Greece"

 "Primary vs Secondary Sources." Primary vs Secondary Sources. Princeton University, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

  • Most of the time, you will not be citing the original primary source itself, rather you will be citing a facsimile or reproduction of the source, often found online.
  • Consequently, the primary elements of the citation you create will be gleaned from the facsimile source, not from the original or any intermediary sources (e.g., if you got a primary source from Fordham University's Internet History Sourcebook website, and they got it from a book edited by William Stearns Davis, you would cite the website and not the book).  The reader can be directed back to a prior intermediary source by going to the your source and finding the additional reference there.  
  • You should make every attempt to credit multiple source contributors where available.  For example, Fordham University's Internet History Sourcebook website is edited by Paul Halsall, so he should be credited in your citation as an editor.  If the facsimile source credits other contributors, like a translator or an additional editor for this source, then add these as additional contributors in your citation. 
  • Citations do not indicate whether a source is primary or not.  Consequently, the format of the citation is dependent upon where you found the source facsimile, e.g., on a website, in a book (in print or online), in a database, etc.  If you saw the original primary source and not a facsimile, then you should cite it based on the form of that source, e.g., a manuscript, a map, an artwork, a treaty, etc.

Here is an example citation for a primary source found online.  This source is Res Gestae Divi Augusti, fournd on Fordham University's Ancient History Sourcebook website.

Source: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/14resgestae.asp

Citation:

"Res Gestae Divi Augusti, C. 14 CE." Internet History Sourcebooks: Ancient History Sourcebook. Ed. Paul Halsall and J. S. Arkenberg. Fordham University, June 1998. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

 

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