Skip to Main Content
Circulation Desk
Email a Librarian
(734) 432-5703
ref@madonna.edu

Citation Styles: APA, MLA: MLA 9th Edition

This guide is designed to provide you with assistance in citing your sources in an academic paper.

MLA Style

MLA Citations

Basic Format:

(Author(s) Last Name Page #)

  • If no author is provided, use a shortened version of title.
    • ("Impact of Global Warming")
  • Citations can appear in your prose or in parentheses after.
    • John Anderson expanded the knowledge on this subject by "foolishly experimenting on himself" (5).
    • One researcher expanded the knowledge on this subject by "foolishly experimenting on himself" (Anderson 5).
  • Direct quotations are introduced with the author and title within the sentence or paragraph.
    • Include page number(s) at the end of the quote in parentheses.
  • 2 Authors: Connect authors' last names with and, include page number.
    • (Anderson and Jones 5)
  • 3 or More Authors: Use first author's last name and et al., include page number.
    • (Anderson et al. 5)

Complete citations/references are provided at the end of your paper in a Works Cited page.

  • Organized by author's last name in alphabetic order (A-Z).
  • Hanging indents separate each item in the list.

Basic Format:

Author Last Name, First Name Middle Name/Initial. Title of Longer Work or "Title of Shorter Work." Publisher, Year. URL or DOI.

Sample Works Cited Page

Basic Elements:

  1. Author(s). Last Name, First Name Middle Name/Initial. Use and before the last author's name in multiple author work.
  2. "Title of Article." Include title of shorter work like an article in a journal in quotation marks and use headline-style capitalization.
  3. Title of Journal, Use italics for title of longer work like a journal and use headline-style capitalization.
  4. vol. #,
  5. no. # If no additional number after volume, include only volume number.
  6. Publication date,
  7. pp. xxx-xxx.

If accessed online or in a database:

  • Database, Use italics for names of databases.
  • URL or permalink.

MLA 9 Journal Citation

From Notre Dame Library

Basic Elements - Book:

  1. Author(s). Last Name, First Name Middle Name/Initial. Use "and" before the last author's name in multiple author work.
  2. Title of Book. Use italics for the title of a longer work and use headline-style capitalization.
  3. Edition If multiple editions, use format 1st/2nd/3rd ed.
  4. Publisher,
  5. Publication date.

MLA 9 Book Citation Example

From Northwest Missouri State University

 

Basic Elements - eBook:

  1. Author(s). Last Name, First Name Middle Name/Initial. Use "and" before the last author's name in multiple author work.
  2. Title of Book. Use italics for the title of a longer work and use headline-style capitalization.
  3. Edition If multiple editions, use format 1st/2nd/3rd ed.
  4. Publisher,
  5. Publication date.
  6. Database, Use italics for database name.
  7. URL or permalink.

Basic Elements:

  1. Author(s) of Chapter. Last Name, First Name Middle Name/Initial. Use "and" before the last author's name in multiple author work.
  2. "Title of Chapter." Include title of shorter work like chapter in quotation marks and use headline-style capitalization.
  3. Title of Book, Use italics for the title of a longer work and use headline-style capitalization.
  4. Editors If one editor, use format "edited by Author's name." If multiple editors, use "and" before last author's name.
  5. Publisher,
  6. Publication date.
  7. pp. xxx-xxx.

If accessed online, add these after the page numbers.:

  1. Database, Use italics for database names.
  2. URL or Permalink.

MLA 9 Chapter in Book Citation Example

Basic Elements:

  1. Author. If no individual author, begin citation with "Title of Page."
  2. "Title of Page, Section, or Document."
  3. Publisher,
  4. URL.

"Citation Styles: APA, MLA." Madonna University Library, https://madonna.libguides.com/citationguide.

Helpful Resources