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Allen Memorial Library

VCSU Library Citation Guide

Citation help for the five citation styles most used at VCSU.

General Formatting: 

The basic MLA format follows these guidelines:

  • The paper should be double-spaced and typed
  • The paper should have 1-inch margins on all sides. Microsoft Word and most other word processors have 1-inch margins as the default setting. 
  • Each page of the paper should have a page number and the last name of the author in the header. The name and number should be on the right side of the header. 
  • While the MLA no longer strictly requires Times New Roman, some professors will still require it. If Times New Roman is not required, a different legible font in size 12 can be used, as long as there is a clear enough difference between the base font and the italicized font. 
  • Each paragraph should be indented. 

First Page Formatting:

MLA Style does not include a separate title page. The first page of the MLA paper should have the following information listed in the upper left corner:

  • Author Name 
  • Professor's Name
  • Course Subject and Number
  • Date

Put each element on it's own line, double-spaced. 

The title should be centered, but not bolded or underlined. 

Works Cited Formatting:

The Works Cited page is the last page of your paper and is the list of sources used to write the paper. Any source in your works cited must also be used in your paper and vice versa. Format your works cited page using the following guidelines:

  • Write "Works Cited" at the top center of the page. 
  • Citations should be left aligned and double-spaced
  • Do not put extra space between citations
  • Use a hanging indent. A hanging indent is when the first line of the citation is not indented, but all other lines in the citation are. 

MLA Basics

  • Italicize titles of self-contained works (books, periodicals, films, television series, etc)
  • All citations should be double spaced
  • Indent after the first line of each entry
  • If an element is not present, omit it
  • Capitalize titles of books and articles according to convention, no matter how they appear in a database or catalog
  • Dates are in Day Month Year format (e.g. 12 Dec. 1992)
  • If the page numbers are three or more digits, shorten the second number to two digits when possible. Examples: 8-9; 44-49; 112-23; 492-506; 1253-66.

Elements of a Citation

MLA style includes three "core elements," the author, the title of source, and the container.

Author: Who is the primary creator of the work? This could be a writer, an artist, a singer, a group of people, an organization, a government, or any other type of creator. Editors or translators may fall under the author element, although these types of creators may be formatted differently. 

Title of Source: What is the title of the work? Sometimes this title is easy to identify, like a book title or the title of a journal article. Other times, it may take a little time to identify the title, as with a web page or an artwork. If a source does not have a title, as with a post on social media, use a short description of the source. 

The Container: MLA uses the term "container" to describe a work that holds another work. For example, a journal article's container is the journal where it is published, a web site is the container of a specific web page, and a museum is the container of an art piece of display. Some works, for example a book, are self-contained. When citing a self-contained work, some of the container elements will be ignored. The sub-elements of the container are:

  • Title of the Container - This would be the journal where an article is published, a website name, a newspaper, or other such elements. 
  • Contributor - A contributor is someone who worked on the container. For example, the editor of an anthology, a translator, the director of a film, or a music ensemble that performed a composer's work for a recording. 
  • Version - Some works may have different versions or editions. The version may include a second edition, a revised edition, a director's cut, an e-book edition among others. 
  • Number - The number is used for containers that use volume numbers or other sequence markers. Journals usually have volume and issue numbers, books may be published in multivolume sets, and tv shows are put into seasons and episodes. 
  • Publisher - The primary entity responsible for making the work available to the public. This may be a book publisher, a film studio, or the institution in charge of a website. Periodicals like academic journals or magazines don't need a publisher element, neither do websites where the site title and publisher are the same. 
  • Publication Date - The date a work was published, last revised, or accessed.
  • Location - Page numbers and a URL or DOI when applicable.

Formatting Authors in Reference Page Citations

Single Author: Last name, First name Middle name 

Two Authors: Last name, First name, and First name Last name.

Three or More Authors: Last name, First name Middle name, et al. 

 

An in-text citation is used in the body of your paper to let your reader know which parts of your writing are other people's ideas and which are your own. 

In text citations include the last name of the author or authors and the page number. For web sources, you should only include the first element of your works cited reference. Usually, this is the author name or the article's title. 

The citation information goes inside parentheses before the period or other ending punctuation mark. If the author's name is mentioned in your sentence, don't include it in the citation.

Examples:

According to scholars, science exists (Lastname 35). 

Dr. Lastname, a renowned scientist, writes "the reality of the matter is that science exists" (35).

One article argues "science is absolutely real, because we've seen the results" ("Realities of Science").

Visit Purdue OWL's MLA In Text Citation Basics for more information and examples.

Basic Format

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

Edited Book (with author)                                                                                            

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book, edited by First Name Last Name, City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

Edited Book (no author)                                                                                            

Last Name, First Name, editor. Title of Book. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

Work Within an Anthology

Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection, edited by Editor's Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range of entry.

Multi Volume Work                                                                                                      

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book, vol. #. City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

Translated Book                                                                                                          

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book, translated by First Name Last Name, City of Publication, Publisher, Publication Date.

Dictionary, Encyclopedia, etc. 

"Entry title." Title of Book. Edition. Date of Publication. 

Basic Format                                                                                                               

Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal, Volume, Issue, Year, pages.

Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 41-50.

Report by Government Agency or Other Organization

Name of Government, Name of Responsible Agency. Title of Publication. Publisher's Name, Date.

United States, Congress, House, Committee on the Judiciary. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, December 1, 2015. Government Printing Office, 2015.

Film or Video

Title of Film. Directed by First Name Last Name, performances by First Name Last Name and First Name Last Name, Studio Name, Release Year.

TV Series

Last Name, First Name and First Name Last Name, creators. Title of Series. Production Studio(s), Release Year.

TV Series Episode (DVD)

"Title of Episode." Series Title, written by First Name Last Name and First Name Last Name, directed by First Name Last Name, Studio Name, Release Year.

TV Series Episode (Streaming)

"Title of Episode." Series Title, season #, episode #, Studio Name, Release Year. Streaming Platform, URL. 

YouTube Video

Last Name, First Name. “Title of Video.” YouTube, uploaded by User Name, Upload Date, URL. 

“Title of Video.” YouTube, uploaded by User Name, Upload Date, URL. 

Podcast Episode

“Title of Episode.” Podcast Name from Podcast Studio Name, Release Date, URL.

Song (CD)

Recording Artist. "Title of Song." Name of Album, Name of Studio, Year of Release.

Song (Streaming)

Recording Artist. "Title of Song." Name of Album, Name of Studio, Year of Release. Streaming Service, URL.

Artwork, Photo, or Other Image (Physical)

Last Name, First Name. Name of Artwork. Date of Creation, Location.

Artwork, Photo, or Other Image (Viewed Online)

Last Name, First Name. Name of Artwork. Date of Creation, Location, URL. 

Basic Format

Last Name, First Name. Title of Thesis/Dissertation. Date of Publication. University Name, Type of Source, URL. 

Tweet

@UserName. “Tweet in Entirety.” Twitter, Date of Posting, 0:00 a/p.m., URL.

Blog Post

Author or compiler name (if available). “Posting Title.” Name of Site, Version number (if available), Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), URL. Date of access.

Website (with author)

Last Name, First Name. “Posting Title.” Name of Site, Version number (if available), Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), URL. Date of access.

Website (organization as author)

Organization Name. “Posting Title.” Name of Site, Version number (if available), Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), URL. Date of access.

Website (organization same as site name)

“Posting Title.” Name of Site, Version number (if available), Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), URL. Date of access.

Magazine / Newspapers

Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical, Day Month Year, pages.

It is always best to find the original source for information you're using in your paper. If you are unable to find an original source, you can cite a source referenced in another source. These are called "indirect citations." When citing indirect citations, provide the source in which the original work was referenced in your works cited page.

For the in-text citation:

Professor Smith points out that “workers are objects of information collection without participating in the process of exchanging the information” (qtd. in Johnson 14).