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Summary:
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (8th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.
Several sources have multiple means for citation, especially those that appear in varied formats: films, DVDs, television shows, music, published and unpublished interviews, interviews over e-mail, published and unpublished conference proceedings. The following section discusses these sorts of citations as well as others not covered in the print, periodical, and electronic sources sections.
Use the following format for all sources:
Author. Title. Title of container (self contained if book), Other contributors (translators or editors), Version (edition), Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs URL or DOI). 2nd container’s title, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location, Date of Access (if applicable).
An Interview
Interviews typically fall into two categories: print or broadcast published and unpublished (personal) interviews, although interviews may also appear in other, similar formats such as in e-mail format or as a Web document.
Personal Interviews
Personal interviews refer to those interviews that you conduct yourself. List the interview by the name of the interviewee. Include the descriptor Personal interview and the date of the interview.
Smith, Jane. Personal interview. 19 May 2014.
Published Interviews (Print or Broadcast)
List the interview by the full name of the interviewee. If the name of the interview is part of a larger work like a book, a television program, or a film series, place the title of the interview in quotation marks and place the title of the larger work in italics. If the interview appears as an independent title, italicize it. For books, include the author or editor name after the book title.
Note: If the interview from which you quote does not feature a title, add the descriptor, Interview by (unformatted) after the interviewee’s name and before the interviewer’s name.
Gaitskill, Mary. Interview with Charles Bock. Mississippi Review, vol. 27, no. 3, 1999, pp. 129-50.
Amis, Kingsley. “Mimic and Moralist.” Interviews with Britain’s Angry Young Men, By Dale Salwak, Borgo P, 1984.
Online-only Published Interviews
List the interview by the name of the interviewee. If the interview has a title, place it in quotation marks. Cite the remainder of the entry as you would other exclusive web content. Place the name of the website in italics, give the publisher name (or sponsor), the publication date, and the URL.
Note: If the interview from which you quote does not feature a title, add the descriptor Interview by (unformatted) after the interviewee’s name and before the interviewer’s name.
Zinkievich, Craig. Interview by Gareth Von Kallenbach. Skewed & Reviewed, 27 Apr. 2009, www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/1056940-skewed-%2526-reviewed-interviews-craig. Accessed 15 May2009.
Speeches, Lectures, or Other Oral Presentations (including Conference Presentations)
Start with speaker’s name. Then, give the title of the speech (if any) in quotation marks. Follow with the title of the particular conference or meeting and then the name of the organization. Name the venue and its city (if the name of the city is not listed in the venue’s name). Use the descriptor that appropriately expresses the type of presentation (e.g., Address, Lecture, Reading, Keynote Speech, Guest Lecture, Conference Presentation).
Stein, Bob. “Reading and Writing in the Digital Era.” Discovering Digital Dimensions, Computers and Writing Conference, 23 May 2003, Union Club Hotel, West Lafayette, IN. Keynote Address.
Panel Discussions and Question-and-Answer Sessions
The MLA Handbook makes a distinction between the formal, rehearsed portion of a presentation and the informal discussion that often occurs after. To format an entry for a panel discussion or question-and-answer session, treat the panel members or speakers as authors by listing them first. If these people are formally listed as panelists, indicate this by following their names with a comma and the title "panelist(s)." Follow with the title of the discussion, or, if there is no title, a simple description. In the latter case, don't capitalize the description. Follow this with the title of the conference or event. End with the date and the location.
Bavis, Jim and Stein, Tammi, panelists. Panel discussion. Dawn or Doom Conference, 4 Nov. 2018, Stewart Hall, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.
Treat recorded discussions as instances of the appropriate medium (e.g., if you want to cite a recording of a panel discussion hosted on YouTube, cite it the same way you would cite an ordinary online video).
Published Conference Proceedings
Cite published conference proceedings like a book. If the date and location of the conference are not part of the published title, add this information after the published proceedings title.
Last Name, First Name, editor. Conference Title, Conference Date and Location, Publisher, Date of Publication.
To cite a presentation from published conference proceedings, begin with the presenter’s name. Place the name of the presentation in quotation marks. Follow with publication information for the conference proceedings.
Last Name, First Name. “Conference Paper Title.” Conference Title that Includes Conference Date and Location, edited by Conference Editor(s), Publisher, Date of Publication.
A Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph
Provide the artist's name, the title of the artwork in italics, and the date of composition. Finally, provide the name of the institution that houses the artwork followed by the location of the institution (if the location is not listed in the name of the institution, e.g. The Art Institute of Chicago).
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Museo del Prado, Madrid.
If the medium and/or materials (e.g., oil on canvas) are important to the reference, you can include this information at the end of the entry. However, it is not required.
For photographic reproductions of artwork (e.g. images of artwork in a book), treat the book or website as a container. Remember that for a second container, the title is listed first, before the contributors. Cite the bibliographic information as above followed by the information for the source in which the photograph appears, including page or reference numbers (plate, figure, etc.).
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Museo del Prado, Madrid. Gardener's Art Through the Ages, 10th ed., by Richard G. Tansey and Fred S. Kleiner, Harcourt Brace, p. 939.
If you viewed the artwork on the museum's website, treat the name of the website as the container and include the website's publisher and the URL at the end of the citation. Omit publisher information if it is the same as the name of the website. Note the period after the date below, rather than the comma: this is because the date refers to the painting's original creation, rather than to its publication on the website. Thus, MLA format considers it an "optional element."
Goya, Francisco.The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo del Prado,museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-family-of-carlos-iv/f47898fc-aa1c-48f6-a779-71759e417e74.
A Song or Album
Music can be cited multiple ways. Mainly, this depends on the container that you accessed the music from. Generally, citations begin with the artist name. They might also be listed by composers or performers. Otherwise, list composer and performer information after the album title. Put individual song titles in quotation marks. Album names are italicized. Provide the name of the recording manufacturer followed by the publication date.
If information such as record label or name of album is unavailable from your source, do not list that information.
Spotify
Morris, Rae. “Skin.” Cold, Atlantic Records, 2014. Spotify, open.spotify.com/track/0OPES3Tw5r86O6fudK8gxi.
Online Album
Beyoncé. “Pray You Catch Me.” Lemonade, Parkwood Entertainment, 2016, www.beyonce.com/album/lemonade-visual-album/.
CD
Nirvana. "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Nevermind, Geffen, 1991.
Films or Movies
List films by their title. Include the name of the director, the film studio or distributor, and the release year. If relevant, list performer names after the director's name.
Speed Racer. Directed by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski, performances by Emile Hirsch, Nicholas Elia, Susan Sarandon, Ariel Winter, and John Goodman, Warner Brothers, 2008.
To emphasize specific performers or directors, begin the citation with the name of the desired performer or director, followed by the appropriate title for that person.
Lucas, George, director. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Twentieth Century Fox, 1977.
Television Shows
Recorded Television Episodes
Cite recorded television episodes like films (see above). Begin with the episode name in quotation marks. Follow with the series name in italics. When the title of the collection of recordings is different than the original series (e.g., the show Friends is in DVD release under the title Friends: The Complete Sixth Season), list the title that would help researchers to locate the recording. Give the distributor name followed by the date of distribution.
"The One Where Chandler Can't Cry." Friends: The Complete Sixth Season, written by Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen, directed by Kevin Bright, Warner Brothers, 2004.
Broadcast TV or Radio Program
Begin with the title of the episode in quotation marks. Provide the name of the series or program in italics. Also include the network name, call letters of the station followed by the date of broadcast and city.
"The Blessing Way." The X-Files. Fox, WXIA, Atlanta, 19 Jul. 1998.
Netflix, Hulu, Google Play
Generally, when citing a specific episode, follow the format below.
“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation, season 2, episode 21, NBC, 29 Apr. 2010. Netflix, www.netflix.com/watch/70152031.
An Entire TV Series
When citing the entire series of a TV show, use the following format.
Daniels, Greg and Michael Schur, creators. Parks and Recreation. Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2015.
A Specific Performance or Aspect of a TV Show
If you want to emphasize a particular aspect of the show, include that particular information. For instance, if you are writing about a specific character during a certain episode, include the performer’s name as well as the creator’s.
“94 Meetings.” Parks and Recreation, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, performance by Amy Poehler, season 2, episode 21, Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2010.
If you wish to emphasize a particular character throughout the show’s run time, follow this format.
Poehler, Amy, performer. Parks and Recreation. Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, 2009-2015.
Podcasts
Begin with the title of the episode in quotation marks. Provide the name of the series in italics. Then follow with MLA format per usual.
“Best of Not My Job Musicians.” Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! from NPR, 4 June 2016, www.npr.org/podcasts/344098539/wait-wait-don-t-tell-me.
Spoken-Word Albums such as Comedy Albums
Treat spoken-word albums the same as musical albums.
Hedberg, Mitch. Strategic Grill Locations. Comedy Central, 2003.
Digital Files (PDFs, MP3s, JPEGs)
Determine the type of work to cite (e.g., article, image, sound recording) and cite appropriately. End the entry with the name of the digital format (e.g., PDF, JPEG file, Microsoft Word file, MP3). If the work does not follow traditional parameters for citation, give the author’s name, the name of the work, the date of creation, and the location.
Beethoven, Ludwig van. Moonlight Sonata. Crownstar, 2006.
Smith, George. “Pax Americana: Strife in a Time of Peace.” 2005. Microsoft Word file.
Council of Writing Program Administrators, National Council of Teachers of English, and National Writing Project. Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing. CWPA, NCTE, and NWP, 2011, wpacouncil.org/files/framework-for-success-postsecondary-writing.pdf.
Bentley, Phyllis. “Yorkshire and the Novelist.” The Kenyon Review, vol. 30, no. 4, 1968, pp. 509-22. JSTOR, www.jstor.org.iii/stable/4334841.
FAQs
How do you cite multiple sources in MLA? ›
If you would like to cite more than one source within the same in-text citation, simply record the in-text citations as normal and separate them with a semi-colon. Examples: (Smith 42; Bennett 71). (It Takes Two; Brock 43).
How do you cite the same source multiple times in-text MLA? ›MLA Style. In the Works Cited (Per the MLA Handbook (9th edition), p. 221: To cite two or more works by the same author, give the name in the first entry only. Thereafter, in place of the name, type three hyphens, followed by a period and the title.
What is the MLA rule for indirect sources? ›To reference an indirect quotation: Include both the original author and the author of the work where quote/idea was found in the in-text reference with the abbreviation qtd. in. In the reference list, provide the details of the author of the work in which you found the quotation or idea.
How do you cite sources in MLA format example? ›MLA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the page number from which the quotation or paraphrase is taken, for example: (Smith 163). If the source does not use page numbers, do not include a number in the parenthetical citation: (Smith).
Can you cite two sources next to each other? ›If you wish to refer to more than one source which has the same viewpoint, list them together at the relevant point in the sentence, putting them in brackets with the author's name, followed by the date of publication and separated by a semi-colon. The sources should be cited in alphabetical order in each list.
How do you cite 3 sources in one sentence? ›To highlight the work(s) most directly relevant to your point in a given sentence, place those citations first within parentheses in alphabetical order and then insert a semicolon and a phrase, such as “see also,” before the first of the remaining citations, which should also be in alphabetical order.
How do you repeatedly cite the same source? ›If you are using the author-date system, simply repeat the author and date in parentheses {(Rothfuss 2009)} every time, adding the page number you're citing {(Rothfuss 2009, 32)}.) 1.
How do you cite the same source multiple times in reference? ›When citing the work of the same author multiple times in one paragraph, you do not need to reference the author at the end of each sentence. That would look clunky and make your writing stilted. Instead, introduce the author with a full in-text citation at the beginning of the paragraph and then, again, at the end.
How many times do you have to cite the same source in a paragraph MLA? ›Including just one citation at the end of a paragraph is not sufficient unless the last sentence is the only information in the paragraph that came from the cited source. Cite sources often and correctly throughout a paragraph in order to avoid unintentional plagiarism.
What is prohibited under MLA? ›Under the MLA, a creditor may not impose an MAPR greater than 36 percent in connection with an extension of consumer credit that is closed-end credit or in any billing cycle for open-end credit.
Which is the correct way to cite an indirect source? ›
If you do use an indirect source in your paper, name the original source in your text and include the indirect source in your parenthetical citation. If what you quote or paraphrase from the indirect source is itself a quotation, put the abbreviation 'qtd.
What is an example of a correct indirect citation in MLA? ›You may document the original source ("Proust") in a footnote; provide a number for a footnote (p. 124, 3.4), e.g.: 1See Marcel Proust, On Reading (New York: Macmillan, 1971), 3, qtd. in Wolf, 6.
What are the three ways to cite sources? ›These methods are direct quotation from another source, paraphasing or summarising material, and citing the whole of a source document.
How do you cite a source in an essay example? ›When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, for example, (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.
How do you reference different sources? ›- author(s) name and initials.
- title of the article (between single quotation marks)
- title of the journal (in italics)
- available publication information (volume number, issue number)
- accessed day month year (the date you last viewed the article)
Order the citations of two or more works by different authors within the same parentheses alphabetically in the same order in which they appear in the reference list (including citations that would otherwise shorten to et al.). Separate the citations with semicolons.
Can you cite two sources one paragraph? ›Multiple In-Text Citations
When multiple studies support what you have to say, you can include multiple citations inside the same set of parentheses. Within parentheses, alphabetize the studies as they would appear in the reference list and separate them by semicolons.
To highlight the work(s) most relevant to your point in a given sentence, place those citations first within parentheses in alphabetical order. Then insert a semicolon and a phrase, such as "see also," before the remaining citations, which should also be in alphabetical order.
How do you cite multiple sources in an essay? ›Arrange by order of the reference list; use a semicolon between works: Several researchers (Alibali, Phillips, & Fischer, 2009; Siegler, 1976) . . .
Do I have to cite every sentence? ›No. The citation should appear only after the final sentence of the paraphrase. If, however, it will be unclear to your reader where your source's idea begins, include the author of the source in your prose rather than in a parenthetical citation.
How do you cite multiple sources in one citation? ›
When your parenthetical citation includes two or more works, order them the same way they appear in the reference list (viz., alphabetically), separated by a semi-colon. If you cite multiple works by the same author in the same parenthetical citation, give the author's name only once and follow with dates.
How do I cite multiple sources in one sentence? ›To highlight the work(s) most relevant to your point in a given sentence, place those citations first within parentheses in alphabetical order. Then insert a semicolon and a phrase, such as "see also," before the remaining citations, which should also be in alphabetical order.
How do you cite multiple sources in an essay? ›Arrange by order of the reference list; use a semicolon between works: Several researchers (Alibali, Phillips, & Fischer, 2009; Siegler, 1976) . . .
How do you cite multiple text citations at once? ›Citing Multiple Sources in the Same Parentheses
To do that, just include each set of authors and dates in your parentheses, in the same order they appear in your reference list (i.e. alphabetically), and separated by semicolons.
- author(s) name and initials.
- title of the article (between single quotation marks)
- title of the journal (in italics)
- available publication information (volume number, issue number)
- accessed day month year (the date you last viewed the article)
This depends on how you are citing them. If you are citing them in-text more than once, and you are referring to the same source each time, then you can simply reuse that same in-text reference with a single entry on your references page at the end.
How do you cite multiple websites from the same source MLA? ›113: To cite two or more works by the same author, give the name in the first entry only. Thereafter, in place of the name, type three hyphens, followed by a period and the title. The three hyphens stand for exactly the same name as in the preceding entry.
How do I cite a source multiple times within the same paragraph? ›Citing a source multiple times in one paragraph
That would look clunky and make your writing stilted. Instead, introduce the author with a full in-text citation at the beginning of the paragraph and then, again, at the end. For the body of the paragraph, you can refer to the author by name or pronoun.
Multiple In-Text Citations
When multiple studies support what you have to say, you can include multiple citations inside the same set of parentheses. Within parentheses, alphabetize the studies as they would appear in the reference list and separate them by semicolons.